Natural cleaning tips

Guest

Here are some easy recipes for home cleaning:
Use baking soda on sinks, tubs and toilets.

Vegetable oil with a little lemon works very well on wood furniture.

Simmer a mixture of cloves and cinnamon or use vinegar and water as a safe environmentally friendly air freshener.

Use vinegar and water in a pump spray bottle for cleaning mirrors and shining chrome.

Use dishwashing detergents that are free of chlorine bleach and low in phosphates.

Use bathroom cleaners that are free of aerosol propellants and antibacterial agents.

As important as it is to keep intruders from entering our home, it is just as important to keep the inside of our home healthy and safe for our family and pets. By taking a few steps to clean your home the natural way, you will reduce the existence of allergens.

Guest

Use this recipe to make a homemade carpet freshener:

4 cups cornstarch or baking soda
25 drops rosewood essential oil
35 drops eucalyptus essential oil
30 drops lavender essential oil

Procedure: Mix these ingredients in a bowl, breaking apart clumps as you stir thoroughly. Sprinkle your freshener from a shaker bottle on carpets approximately 15 minutes before vacuuming. You can create your own set of oils to mix in place of the ones listed above.

Use the following mixture for cleaning floors:

15 drops orange essential oil
8 drops lemon essential oil
1 gallon hot water
2 tbsp liquid soap

Guest

SIMPLE SOLUTION: Making your own nontoxic cleaning kit will take you no time at all with these simple, straightforward directions, and with this kit you will be supplied with enough cleaning product for months of cleaning.
As an added bonus, ounce for ounce homemade cleaning formulas cost about one-tenth the price of their commercial counterparts -- and that includes costly, but worthwhile essential oils and concentrated, all-purpose detergents for homemade recipes.

SUPPLIES
baking soda
washing soda
white distilled vinegar
a good liquid soap or detergent
tea tree oil
6 clean spray bottles
2 glass jars

MOLD KILLERS
Tea Tree Treaure
Nothing natural works for mold and mildew as well as this spray. I've used it successfully on a moldy ceiling from a leaking roof, on a musty bureau, a musty rug, and a moldy shower curtain. Tea tree oil is expensive, but a little goes a very long way. Note that the smell of tea tree oil is very strong, but it will dissipate in a few days.
2 teaspoons tea tree oil
2 cups water
Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on problem areas. Do not rinse.
Makes 2 cups
Preparation Time: Under a minute
Shelf Life: Indefinite
Storage: Leave in the spray bottle

Guest

Guest

WINDOW CLEANER
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon liquid detergent
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups water
spray bottle

Put all the ingredients into a spray bottle, shake it up a bit, and use as you would a commercial brand. The soap in this recipe is important. It cuts the wax residue from the commercial brands you might have used in the past.

OVEN CLEANER
1 cup or more baking soda
water
a squirt or two of liquid detergent

Sprinkle water generously over the bottom of the oven, then cover the grime with enough baking soda that the surface it totally white. Sprinkle some more water over the top. Let the mixture set overnight. You can easily wipe up the grease the next morning because the grime will have loosened. When you have cleaned up the worst of the mess, dab a bit of liquid detergent or soap on a sponge, and wash the remaining residue from the oven. If this recipe doesn’t work for you it is probably because you didn’t use enough baking soda and/or water.

ALL-PURPOSE SPRAY CLEANER
1/2 tsp. washing soda
a dab of liquid soap
2 cups hot tap water
Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake until the washing soda has dissolved. Apply and wipe off with a sponge or rag.

FURNITURE POLISH
1/2 teaspoon oil, such as olive (or jojoba, a liquid wax)
1/4 cup vinegar or fresh lemon juice
Mix the ingredients in a glass jar. Dab a soft rag into the solution and wipe onto wood surfaces. Cover the glass jar and store indefinitely.

VINEGAR DEODORIZER
Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5 percent vinegar in your kitchen near your cutting board, and in your bathroom, and use them for cleaning. I often spray the vinegar on our cutting board before going to bed at night, and don't even rinse, but let it set overnight. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straight vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on and wipe off.