Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Cleaning tips!

By Margaret Briggs & Vivian Head
I just got a book yesterday that is blowing my face off!!!!!  Phil (my husband), bought me a book when he went to Barnes & Noble.  What makes him even sweeter is he bought it with part of his special gift card!  Brownie points for him!  :)  The book is called Green Cleaning; Natural Hints and Tips For the Eco-Friendly Household.  It's on sale right now so you should buy it! :)

Now, the environment isn't really one of my passions.  I mean, I care about the environment...but I care more about Phil's and my future babies not swallowing poisonous chemicals or being around poisonous chemicals, and I like the idea of Phil and me not being around toxic chemicals too.  (It's okay if you think I'm a hippie, I come by that quite honestly (thank you Dad!)).  I just love natural remedies and solutions because they don't harm anyone.

If I could, I would probably re-name this book from something other than Eco-friendly to Human-friendly!  That's all this book is...great ideas, using non-toxic ingredients, to clean your house beautifully and efficiently!  Plus garden tips...laundry tips...and the list goes on.  Seriously, it's fabulous!  I already cleaned my hot water kettle this morning after reading the first HALF of this book yesterday.

Another great thing about this book is it only has about FOUR, yes, 4, chapters!  In these chapters it highlights 5 simple ingredients that can be used to clean practically EVERYTHING!  (Can you tell I'm a fan?)  Vinegar.  Lemon juice.  Baking Soda.  Tea-tree oil.  Borax.  Salt.  Done and done!

Every time I make a new solution or try it out, I will post it on here for you to read and try yourself.    I'll keep back to update them.  This book is definitely the thing I needed to have in order to get me on track for making my own cleaning products because it always sounded like too much to me before.  I hope you enjoy all these tips as much as I am!  Leave comments with feedback if you try any non-toxic homemade cleaners, or if there are any other fun books similar to this that you would like to recommend.

xo
-h-

Ps-  If you're interested in homemade deodorant (using baking soda) that really does work, check out that post here...and the update on how it keeps working, here.


Cleaning tips I've tried and continue to use:
1.  Cleaning your kettle:  Put 2/3 cups of white distilled vinegar (you can get a gallon at a supermarket for like $5; it'll last a good while!) in with the water and boil like normal.  My kettle was really bad with hard water deposits caked on, so I boiled it a few times, rinsed it out, and put in another round of vinegar and water.  It looks like brand new now!

2.  Cleaning work surfaces:  Wipe all kitchen surfaces with full-strength white distilled vinegar to clean them and reduce bacteria (pg34).  Just did this and it works very nicely!  I also just read about lemons being a natural bleach...so I'm planning on getting some lemons and getting some stains out on our white counter tops!

3.  Multi-purpose cleaner:  2 1/2 cups of warm water, 1/2 white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of baking soda. 1 spray bottle.  I would recommend measuring out the baking soda and vinegar and combining those first.  Let it fizz and bubble away, then add the warm water.  Stir, and then transfer into the spray bottle and wa-la!  There you have an all-purpose cleaner.  I use mine for my kitchen and bathroom mostly.  Be VERY CAREFUL if you spray stainless steal...just make sure to wipe it all off so it doesn't erode.  It's a grate cleaner for stainless, but you just want to make sure you buff it off too.  Sometimes I add an essential oil such as Tea Tree or Thieves for some extra kick, and nice spell!


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