Spring Clean Green

For those of you who:

A. Have allergies or Asthma

B. Have small children

C. Have a very tight budget.

D. Are interested in keeping the environment and your home clean



Then I have some interesting cleaning tips for you.



While the cleaning powers of vinegar and baking soda have long been known, it has always been a bit of a mystery to me as to how to put them to use in my own cleaning regime. I recently read the following article in Quick and Simple Magazine (March) with these natural cleaning remedies. All of these suggestions come from Annie Bond, author of Home Enlightenment.

I went out and bought distilled vinegar and baking soda at Costco, along with some spray bottles. I have been putting them to use and I have to say I am really happy with the results. I am also VERY happy with the price tag! Cleaning products are so expensive! The only draw back to using vinegar is that for a while things smell like vinegar. But the smell dissipates after a few hours and things stay sparkling clean! I hope you find the following article as helpful as I did.

Germ Warfare
Ordinary distilled white vinegar is both antibacterial and antifungal, and can be used on everything from the bathroom sink to doorknobs. Green guru Annie Bond suggests keeping a spray bottle of 5 percent distilled vinegar in the kitchen near your cutting boards and in the bathroom for fast sink and toilet cleanups. Vinegar is even safe to leave on surfaces overnight; the smell dissipates within a few hours.

Soft Scrubber
For an all-purpose cleaner that works on counters, sinks and the bathtub, measure 1/4 cup baking soda into a bowl. Slowly stir in squirts of organic dish washing liquid (try a brand like Seventh Generation or Ecover, available at grocery and health food stores) until you have a frosting-like consistency. Scoop it up on a sponge and use some elbow grease. It’s a great abrasive and wipes away clean.

Window of Opportunity
To make a glass cleaner, mix together 1 cup of water, 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of organic dish washing liquid. Pour mixture into a spray bottle and shake it up. Use this solution on all your windows. Vinegar and water alone leaves streaks — the dish liquid is what helps cut the waxy buildup that glass develops, says Bond.

Polished Look
A few drops of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice on a rag will give you a perfect polish for all your wood furniture. The lemon and oil mixture cleans dirt easily and puts some oil back into the furniture, too. Lemon juice is also a great neutralizer for alkaline substances, such as tarnish or scale from hard water.

Break the Mold
Bond swears by tea tree oil (available in health food stores) for a go-to mold and mildew combatant. Add 1 teaspoon of the oil to a cup of water and mix it in a spray bottle. Spray the moldy area and let it sit for a couple of days. Once the strong scent dissipates (it will!), the mold’s musty smell will be gone for good.

Uncommon Scents
Farewell, aerosol air fresheners. To deodorize rugs, simply sprinkle them with some baking soda, leave for a little while and vacuum. Lavender oil, mixed with a cup of water in a spray bottle, makes a wonderful air freshener: Not only does it smell lovely simply spritzed around the house, it has relaxing aromatherapy benefits, too!

Hole-istic Solution
Pungent mothballs are a thing of the past! Create your own herbal concoction to battle the little bugs in your bureau drawers: Make a sachet with two 4- by 4-inch pieces of natural fiber material, such as silk or tight-weave linen, sewing three of the sides together with a simple straight stitch. Combine 2 teaspoons each of dried thyme, rosemary and mint, and 1 teaspoon of whole cloves in a bowl. Stuff your sachet about three-quarters full with the herb mixture and sew up the last side to seal. Or take a shortcut and use cotton tea bags, which come ready to fill with a drawstring (find them in health food stores or visit mountainroseherbs.com).