Green Steps | Green Clean

We’ve had a long winter so when we start to get a little sun and warmer temps, my mind turns to spring cleaning.  All I want to do is open all the windows, get rid of clutter that’s piled up since the holidays and CLEAN!  We have spring break coming up so I’m definitely claiming some time to do a thorough house-cleaning!!!   (Think I can convince my girls that it’ll be fun?)  Unfortunately, most of the conventional cleaning products today contain a lot of ingredients known to trigger asthma, eczema, and just poor indoor air quality.  So after some searching, I found that making your own cleaning solutions is not as daunting as you would think.  In fact, most of the key ingredients are items you already have in your kitchen.  Items like baking soda, distilled white vinegar, lemon (or any citrus), salt, and water.  With these ingredients, you can feel pretty confident that the cleaning you’re doing won't hurt you or the environment.

Here are some of my tried and true favorites for basic cleaning:

General Purpose Kitchen Cleaner

Mix 1 cup white vinegar and 3 cup water.  Simple right?  Vinegar is a great cleaning agent since it can dissolve grease, deodorize, and kill germs.  The smell of vinegar dissipates after it dries but if you still can’t stand the smell, you can add a couple drops of essential oils or even just squeeze some lemon juice into the mixture.

Cutting Board Cleaner

Just use white vinegar in its full strength to remove any odors or bacteria and wipe with damp cleaning cloth afterwards.

Oven Cleaner

Baking soda and water.  Spread baking soda over the bottom of the oven, then spray water over the baking soda until it becomes like paste.  The baking soda will absorb the grease.  Leave the paste in the oven for a couple of hours.  Then use a dish brush to scrape the paste off and remove from the oven before using a damp cloth to wipe clean.  Option – you can spray with white vinegar instead of water for tougher cleaning.

Drain Cleaner

Pour ½ cup of baking soda down the drain then follow with ½ cup vinegar.  Then wait about 15 minutes until the bubbling stops before pouring hot water down the drain.

Bathroom Cleaner

½ cup baking soda, ¼ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup fine sea salt (optional) and 1 cup or more white vinegar (add enough to make a paste).   This works wonders on grimy bathtubs and bathroom sinks.  This is a one time use solution but feel free to increase if you want some to store in the fridge.

Wall Cleaner

Baking soda on damp sponge gets rid of some of the crayon, marker, and pen marks on the wall.

As you can see, making your own solution is not too difficult.  However, there are times when you are short on time and just need something quick and ready to use.  Luckily, there are more options these days for non-toxic and effective cleaners - Seventh Generation is always a good bet as is Mrs. Meyers, Method and Ecover.

I'm always on the lookout for different homemade solutions or safe yet effective off-the-shelf cleaners.  What are some of your favorites?