I've been working on eliminating chemical cleaning products from our household. Why? Well for a couple of reasons. All of the
research I've been doing while I write for Thirsties has really helped grow my appreciation for the less-expensive, earth-friendly alternatives that I already keep on hand. Now that I've expanded my knowledge about anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-microbial products such as Tea Tree Oil, grapefruit seed extract and colloidal silver, not to mention my staples of white vinegar and baking soda, I've got just about every base covered from cleaning the kitchen, to wiping down the leather couch and getting rid of the ring around the tub. I've just given myself a challenge: not to buy a single commercial household cleaning product between now and 2013. The mad-scientist in me likes the idea of mixing my own "potions," adding a drop of this and a dab of that and experimenting with my own concoctions. I've already started buying both baking soda and vinegar in bulk. My very favorite thing about natural cleaning products is that their ingredients can be used for so many other things around the house--from cooking to cleaning and treating cuts and scrapes. As I was searching for a recipe for homemade dish-soap, one of the few things I've yet to figure out on my own, I came across a really great website called frugallysustainable.com. The frugally sustainable homeowner herself (Andrea) says "100% of her cleaning needs are met with the following products:" Borax Baking Soda Super Washing Soda White Vinegar Castille Soap **essential oils Here is Andrea's recipe for liquid dish-soap, or rather, her daughter's. One thing that I just recently realized is that I love my dishwasher. I mean, I love my dishwasher so much that I just wrote a whole blog about it. Can I possibly make my own dishwasher detergent? Because otherwise I'll be making an exception to my Green Goal and I haven't even started yet! Give me a minute. Ok, I'm back and guess what?? I found a recipe on myhealthygreenfamily.com. I have to make a big trip to the grocery store but this is going to be fun. Now I just need a some beakers and white lab coat and I'll be ready to get to work on my first batch of cleaning products and detergents. I'll let you know how it goes.
LIsa, that’s a great point. I loved the fact that when I saw Cooper had dragged a bottle of my spray cleaner out from under the sink that it was just water, vinegar and grapefruit seed extract. It means that the kids can help me clean and I don’t need to worry about the chemicals.
That’s a great goal to set, I too would love to eliminate chemical cleaning products. :(
I also recently decided to start making my own cleaning supplies. It’s actually a pretty awesome feeling to know that not only is a room/area clean, but it’s 100% safe AND you made the cleaning product yourself. That’s a great goal – if I wasn’t so in love with my Honest brand dishwashing soap, I may follow suit. Good luck!
Great tips! And good luck on your goal! I do a lot of cleaning with a white vinegar/ water mix and it works great.
We are doing more of that as well. We did notice that they dishwashing detergent didn’t work for us but maybe that is because our dishwasher is ancient :)
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