As Green As You Can Be

Green household cleansers are just as efficient as store bought cleansers.  Recycle the bottles from your store bought chemical cleansers and make your own!  The “recipes” are easy.  You probably have most of the “ingredients” in the house already.

Ready?
Give your paper towels to your neighbor or throw them in the compost bin!  I use “bar towels” for everything from wiping up spills to scrubbing the tub!  We get the bar towels at a big box store for about $4.00 for six.  Keep a basket of them under the kitchen sink.  When the towels are dirty, toss them in the washer with the other whites!

General All-Purpose Cleaner:
Using a recycled spray bottle add vinegar or ammonia to the half-way mark and fill the remainder of the bottle with water.  I use this to clean countertops, mirrors and windows.
I’ll admit the smell does take some getting used to but you can add a few drops of essential oils to the mix.  Peppermint oil is nice and Tea Tree Oil has antibacterial properties.

Vinegar has tons of household uses!  www.vinegartips.com

Paste Cleaner:
Mix baking soda and water until it has a paste-like consistency.  I use this for cleaning the stovetop, scrubbing the shower, baked on food from pots and pans and to clean the coffee pot.

Floor Cleaner: (Do Not Use on hardwood flooring)
In a bucket mix _ cup of ammonia to a gallon of water.  You can use more ammonia if your floor is really dirty.  If you want to you can add some essential oils.
* Extra tip – My wife used to use a Swiffer with all of those wasteful disposable cloths.  Now she still uses the Swiffer “stick” but she now soaks a bar towel in the water & ammonia and uses that in place of the disposable cloth.

Laundry Detergent:
Powder:  2 cups Borax, 2 cups Arm & Hammer washing soda, 1 cup baking soda and 4 oz. grated laundry soap.  Depending on load size use 1 Tbsp. to _ cup per load.  Fels Naptha laundry soap
is a good one.
*Extra tip – Use _ cup to _ cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle help get rid of odors (since this lacks added fragrance) and keep colors bright!  Oh and LINE DRY!  You don’t need that electricity hog of a dryer!