These are some of the things I've been using with fantastic success. Some came from my mother in law, my grandmother (who everyone says I'm just like) and from natural living websites/books.
baking soda paste. I use this for everything. Sometimes I keep it in an old parmesan cheese shaker container and other times I keep it in an old large yogurt container and use an old scoop from my Charlie's Soap powder. For a while I was washing my hair with it, diluted. I make a simple paste with baking soda and water to clean the stainless steel tea pot, to scour anything in the kitchen or bathrooms (not the faucets - I had a hard time getting it all off of our dark metal). I've heard it also works great with a bit of castile soap added in, but just the 2 ingredients work great for me. In a pinch you can use it to brush your teeth and sprinkle it on your carpet to help with odors.
distilled white vinegar. I also use this often. I buy it in a huge jug and usually have 1 in a bathroom and another in the kitchen. It works well as fabric softener in my front-loader washing machine. Lately I've used it in my dish washer as the rinse aid. The jury's still out on this one. I dilute it and damp mop my hardwood floors. It works great against soap scum, and to use when washing anything that had mold. I keep a spray bottle of diluted vinegar and microfiber towels handy for cleaning off kitchen counters and the table - it helps them have a nice shine. That is also how I clean my mirrors and windows. You can add some drops of your favorite essential oil but I usually do not.
baking soda + distilled white vinegar. Ahhh, the ultimate combo. I clean the drains in the house with this. First, I sprinkle baking soda over/in the drain, then pour some vinegar on it. It foams as it goes down and cleans drains really well. Drains are one of the dirtiest places in the house. I do the same thing to clean toilets and also the bathtub. It cleans well and then if I have areas I need to scrub, I use a bit more baking soda paste and some elbow grease. And it's fun to combine the 2!
It is so exciting to see how well these simple things work. There really is no need at all to buy 20 different cleaning bottles filled mostly with water and dye. I do NOT like to clean. But cleaning with things that I know will not irritate me or my family is a good thing.
What do you do? I'd love to hear. For now I'll get back to finishing my Spring cleaning and sewing projects for the shop.
2 comments:
I enjoyed your blog post and the simplicity of your cleaning. I'm all for simpler lately! My "Granny" used to use lemon or orange juice to clean her silver, and lemon juice with salt to remove mildew. She also used to boil water with salt in it to remove burnt stuff inside her pots and pans.
oooh, i totally forgot to add lemon juice! i don't use it that often but yes, there's nothing like it when you need it! thanks!
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