cleaning green

three of most favorite things to discover are ways to simplify my life, ways to save money, and ways to improve my family's health. and when i discover one thing that helps me do all three at once, it is something i just need to share. so, here are some great links with helpful hints about cleaning your entire house and solving household problems with nothing more than  vinegar and baking soda. both are inexpensive (much less expensive than icky chemical cleaning products), both are healthy (unlike the nasty chemicals in most cleaners), and they are very simple to keep stocked.

clean your entire home with baking soda & vinegar, from mother earth news

8 household uses for vinegar, from circle of moms

10 more household uses for vinegar, from circle of  moms

mother earth news points out that you should check the label on tehe vinegar you buy to be sure it's made from natural products (grain, wine, etc), rather than petroleum (yides! i didn't know that was possible!)

i'm excited to get scrubbing!

 

 

 

Comments

[Jill Mulder]

I love baking soda and vinegar and have been using them all over the house for years. Some of my favorites: scrubbing the kitchen sink with baking soda (it works like cleanser, but smells fresh and isn't toxic). I use white vinegar as a rinse aid in the the dishwasher now that our dishes seem to need a rinse aid. We dust wood furniture with a combination of olive oil and white vinegar . We clean the bathrooms with white vinegar and scrub the sinks and tubs with baking soda. My most recent baking soda discovery for those who can stand to go without anti-perspirant and use deodorant instead (to avoid aluminum) is this great deodorant recipe: Equal parts coconut oil (first pressed, extra virgin if possible), cornstarch (or arrowroot powder), and baking soda. I've tried several others and this is the best. I love it. And speaking of natural products in general, I love, love, love castille soap with essential oils. I dilute the soaps and put them in foaming dispensers. We use them at all our sinks and in the showers. (I like peppermint in the kitchen and tea tree oil in the bathroom. For the showers (body soap), we use black soap. And coconut oil makes the best body lotion just out of the shower. I'm so glad you posted this because I have been thinking about how much I love these things too, and have wanted to share some of my favorites. It feels to good to find something inexpensive, effective, and all-natural. I love that my kids can clean the house without me having to worry about what they are being exposed to. It's all edible! Oh, and I use the non-chlorine bleach (which is really hydrogen peroxide) in the laundry. I love all this and wonder why I spent so many years using smelly, toxic products. I'm excited to try the baking soda and vinegar stain remover idea, as well as several others I hadn't heard of before. Thanks!

[Lorianne]

I use vingear in my carpet cleaner. I don't use any soap. It cleans away smells, and deoderizes. It smells until it is dry. The carpet is so soft and no smells.