Go Green and Save Green!

Recently my mother in law lent me a book entitled, "The Detox Strategy - Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps". It is such a great book that goes into detail about the toxins that can be found in so many products and items that we use everyday. These toxins can build up in our body and cause many health issues over time. Of course, cleaning products are full of chemicals and are very toxic so the author offered suggestions of natural ingredients which can be used to replace the more toxic (and expensive) bottled cleaners.

My husband can attest to the fact that I love to clean and love the smell of walking into a clean house.  But I have become more aware of how many harsh chemicals I clean with and have begun to notice how strong they smell.  I'm rethinking what "clean" actually smells like!  My baby is generally under foot when I clean, wanting to be involved and breathing in the Lysol vapors in the process. I have decided to replace my bottled cleaners with as many natural cleaning products as possible so she is not exposed to so many chemicals. My main motivation for changing my cleaning products is for health reasons but the savings is a great added bonus.

In general, you can make most of your own cleaning product at a tenth of the price of buying them and most of them take very little time to put together.  After doing some research, I found that you need very few ingredients to make most cleaners. Lemon, distilled white vinegar, baking soda, washing soda, a good liquid soap (castile soap can be found in most health food stores) and tea tree oil are fantastic cleaners on their own and can be combined for a more powerful cleaning solution. Below are a couple of recipes that I have found to be excellent and more can be found at http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/daily-green-tips/cleaning-products/.  Check out the following website for great step by step instructions to make a non-toxic cleaning kit.   http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html .



Toilet Cleaner
1/4 c. baking soda
1 c. white vinegar
Pour into toilet and let sit for 5 minutes before scrubbing with a brush.


Counter top Cleaner
Cut a lemon in half and dip the cut side in baking soda. Rub on counter top, rinse and dry.


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 up and use.