So, if you want to Green Up your cleaning supplies, there are lots of ways to do that. One is the way that I've found that works for me so far, and all it takes is making a couple homemade concoctions and then picking up the rest of these green cleaning supplies at your health food store (some are at Target). This method is fast and efficient, but truth be told, it still leaves something to be desired. Though these greener cleaning agents are much better than the chemical-laden alternative, some of them still have ingredients that are less than ideal - fragrance, for example. So, this is a first step...and if this is as far as you go, then hats off to you for making a change!
The next step will get you to a place where your cleaning cabinet isn't even dangerous for a kid to taste test anymore. Now that's what I'm talkin' about! The "next step" requires a little more work because all of the items are homemade. But by a little work I mean like 5 minutes. It won't take long or be hard. And it's what I'm going to do once I find the bottom of the bottles of the store-bought green cleaning products I have under the sink right now. And this second way is WAY cheaper, too, so everybody wins.
I know that some of you will never make your own baking soda paste to scrub your sinks with, so for you lovely people I've got Option 1 - Ginger's Current Selections (below). The next post will be about the homemade approach that, again, is cheaper and really easy.
Btw, I love that I now only use a handful of cleaning supplies. Nobody needs fifty bottles of cleaning paraphernalia under the sink!
1.) Window/Mirror Cleaner (I love this stuff)
Recipe from naturemoms.com
- 1/4 c. Vinegar (White)
- Several sections of Lemon Peel (no juice, just take a peeler and peel off 3-5 chunks of peel and put them in the bottle)
- Fill the rest of your spray bottle with water
2.) All-Purpose Cleaner - sinks, countertops, floors, etc.
I like Ecover and Mrs. Meyer's (MM has yummy essential oil scents) concentrated All-Purpose Cleaner. I dilute them for a counter/sink spray, and I also use these for mopping (you'll see directions for how much to add/gallon of water on the bottle).
3.) Sink/Shower Scrub
Mrs. Meyer's Surface Scrub (Geranium scent is yummy!). This stuff smells good and works like a charm! No elbow grease needed here. Phosphate and Chlorine-free. Has some bleach in it (non-chlorine), just FYI.
4.) Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Ecover - smells like the forest! This one smells a little more intense than I like, but it works.
5.) Dusting Spray (dusting sprays are oober toxic, so find another way...this way works well for me)
1/2 c. Vinegar
1 t. Olive Oil
Put it in a sprayer, shake well, and spray onto the rag you're dusting with.
6.) Dishwashing Detergent
Alright, people, this is one thing that I do not recommend you try making on your own. Or, if you do, just don't blame me for the results! We tried for months to find a homemade solution that worked for us, and all we ended up with, 5 attempts later, was super foggy, nasty looking glasses. I tried Method Smarty Dish (tablets) from Target (and other places), and it works great! Not as greenerific as a homemade one would be, but foggy dishes are just nasty. So this one is the best option I've found. I've tried 7th Generation also, and that didn't work well for us at all. Mrs. Meyers worked better but not great. (We have very hard water, so you may find that you have better luck with homemade detergent than I did).
7.) Dish Soap
Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid (Target sells it now and it's cheap there!) I love the "Lavender Floral and Mint" one.
8.) Carpet Cleaner
I used Mrs. Meyer's, but they don't seem to sell it anymore (not a good sign for my carpet cleaner bottle!). So, I don't have much to offer here. Try Biokleen Carpet and Rug Shampoo...they're a reputable company. Or, make your own (directions in the next post).
9.) Bleach
Seventh Generation Free and Clear Chlorine Free Bleach. Don't use products that contain chlorine bleach. This one has no chlorine, perfumes, or dyes.
2 comments:
ging, thanks for posting ides for these products! i have mostly made the switch and agree with your recommendations. one question i've been meaning to ask you is PLEASE do you have any recommendations for getting stains out of clothes!?! seems like nothing works like oxyclean, especially with a very active, messy little boy. HELP i need a safer alternative! XOX kiersten
Hey girl!! I have been using a less-than-ideal product - Mrs. Meyers Clean Day baby stain remover, which works fairly well, but not amazingly...and it has fragrance in it which is not good. SO, I checked it out, and this is what I recommend. I found it at this site http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2010/08/the-stain-removal-trick-that-saves-kids-clothes-money-and-my-sanity.html if you want to read more...but it's Biokleen Bac-Out mixed with water, and she recommends spraying the stain right when you take the clothes off instead of right before putting them in the washer. Check out the link. I've heard great things about Bac-Out for a long time. It will be at the health food store (for us it's in the natural section of the regular grocery store). I am going to try this one next. But this article on it is about kids' clothes, so I'm excited about it. I have no doubt it will work well based on hearing about it for years from various "natural" resources. Let me know if you try it!
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