Making All Natural Cleaners

With the current BP oil spill, {catastrophe} it has me thinking more about the effects that I personally have on what gets thrown away or flushed down the toilets when it comes to cleaning products. To me this is a perfect time to be accountable for what I what to use in my own home as well as put back into the earth. And though there are others have been using natural cleaners for years, I have always had this task on my TO-DO list for a couple of years. So this week was it. I purchased a gallon of no name vinegar, and three empty spray bottles. I had everything else that I needed right at home. I love that!

What you need for Natural Cleaners:
Vinegar
Water
Cornstarch
Baking soda
Lemons & Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Salt
Newspapers & Soft Cloths
Clean Spray Bottles

Vinegar is a wonderful all purpose cleaner when mixed with water 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. If you want, you can add an essential oil 15 -20 drops per spray bottle for a nice smell, but note that the vinegar smell will dissipate as it dries.
Another option is baking soda in 1 quart of warm water.

Natural Glass Cleaner:
Mix equal parts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. I like to add a small amount of lemon juice, just to have a nice smell.
Another option: Mix 1/8 cup of vinegar to 1/4 Tablespoon cornstarch and 1/2 Quart of warm water. This make for a wonderful streak-free glass cleaner. Make sure you use a crumpled newspaper for a lint free finish. And don't spray too much of the mixture onto the glass, and you will be spending more time wiping to get the moisture up. This really does leave your windows looking good!

Natural Toilet bowl cleaner:
NOTE: Either mix this into a large pail or mix over the toilet....it bubbles over like a shaken bottle of soda!
Mix 1/4 cup of baking soda to 1 cup of vinegar, and let it stand in your toilet for 5 minutes. Then scrub with a brush.

Natural Wood Polish:
Mix 1/2 Teaspoon olive oil with 1/4 Cup vinegar OR fresh lemon juice together. Apply the mixture to a soft cloth and wipe onto furniture. You do not need much and don't use so much that it makes the  wood to wet. {I am using the lemon/oil combo and love it}

For cleaning chores that need scouring, I love those Magic erasers!!! Esp. the plain, no frills kind with out anything added to them. Try them, I get mine at Wal-Mart in the cleaners isle.

Another option: Sprinkle baking soda and alittle water and scrub clean. Then rinse well. Salt is also a great scouring agent. Clean your stove top by sprinkling salt then scrub with a half of a lemon. The lemon juice is a great grease cutter. And the salt aides in the scrubbing. I like sea salt for this, but regular table salt is good too.

Laundry:
Add 1/2 to 1 cup of WHITE vinegar to the rinse cycle. It will soften clothes and eliminates static cling.

I notice that when I usually grocery shop, I am grabbing cleaners, which usually adds about $4 - $7 dollars per bottle to my bill. Now with converting over to this method, I figure the money I save, I will spend that on buying organic foods! What a great trade off!!