Since I’m a nature lover I’ve been active in taking care of the environment since I was in grade school. I remember in the 6th grade a few friends and I started a petition to have recycling bins in all the classrooms and we were granted our wish! All the piles of paper that we cringed seeing go into the waste baskets were now being collected in every single class of our middle school 🙂 My notebooks were recycled paper and at home we always recycled everything we could. During college a good friend introduced me to a fabulous home made cleaning recipe and I’ve been using it ever since! With that introduction I started researching more on safe cleaning products that cost pennies to make and went on a frenzy of making these line of cleaning products – at the time I was living with my cousin and he thought it was amusing but definitely was witness to the sparkly cleaning power of these homemade products!
A great book containing many of the recipes I have used is “Clean House, Clean Planet” by Karen Logan and you can purchase it directly through my site. It also provides great information on those harmful ingredients tainting the usual conventional cleaners found abundantly throughout many people’s homes today. These toxic chemicals affect our own health as well as the planet’s health and we can ease this by being mindful of the products we use on a daily basis.
I like to call this product Mother Earth Scrub and I use it for everything! I find it’s marvelous for the stove top and kitchen sink as well as the bathroom counter tops and bathtub leaving it super shiny! It’s equivalent to Soft Scrub and so does a great job cutting grease and grime 🙂 Vinegar is a natural antiseptic and baking soda is a great yet gentle abrasive!
The recipe is as follows (kiddies get your parent’s permission first)
Mother Earth Scrub
1 2/3 Cup of Baking Soda
1/2 Cup of Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castille Soap (can be found at Whole Foods)
1/2 Cup of Water
2 Tablespoons of Vinegar (poured in last)
Mix it all together in a large bowl and use a funnel to place in a squeeze bottle. I went to Sally’s Beauty Supply and bought a large plastic dispenser used for coloring hair and it works perfectly!
This is the one I use and I created a quick label for it which I covered entirely with clear tape so it doesn’t get wet while using it. I’ve had this same bottle for years now creating less waste as well. Voila! And you won’t be dizzy inhaling those nasty fumes and actually enjoy the process of cleaning away 🙂 Plus you’re doing your children’s children a favor by helping to keep the Earth that much more beautiful! Oh yea and did I mention how much money you save in the long run??? Lotsa dollars I tell ya!
If you don’t feel like creating this product (which I highly recommend you to try!) you can always head to your nearest natural foods store and pick up some Eco friendly supplies. I’m a big fan of the Seventh Generation brand of cleaning supplies which is what we also use in our home and for windows and glass I use Club Soda in a plastic spray bottle (also picked up at Sally’s Beauty Supply) and I have to say that someone walked right into our patio door because it was so clear after I had just cleaned it with Club Soda. It was a funny moment but definitely proved to me how great it works!
The Seventh Generation line is all plant based therefore eliminating our need for petroleum based products. You pay a little more but I look at the chain these products create. Not only the outcome being that they are healthier for you and the earth but the process of them being made. I think of the people who aren’t working in a toxic factory suffering from chemical exposure daily with families to feed, as well a oil spills from drilling to make these petroleum based products that are so dominant in the the market.
Change always begins with us. Being mindful of our role as consumers, knowing the livelihood of everyone – people and planet – are being affected and embrace your responsiblity in being a positive catalyst for change – one Greener Cleaner at a time!