Green Cleaning

I mentioned my switch to natural cleaning products in my last column. Here are some of the recipes I use at home. I'll keep adding to the list as I think of things. Sometimes, I do need to pull out the "big guns" but it's better to use those things rarely. We certainly don't need them every week.

Cleaning Floors:

-add 1/4 cup of vinegar to a bucket of warm water and wash with a mop or cloth
-You may need to rinse with fresh water
-vinegar is a natural disinfectant
-it removes dirt well and leaves things shiny
-don't leave large pools to dry

Windows:

-2 teaspoons white vinegar with a quart of water in a spray bottle
-spray on and wipe clean with a cloth

Scouring Powder for Sinks and Tubs:

-cover surface with baking soda
-scrub with a plastic scouring pad
-rinse well
-if you want to let the surface "soak" mix a little dish soap or castile soap with the baking soda to make a paste

Quick wash for countertops, tubs, and sinks

I love castile soap. It's vegetable based, removes soap scum well, smells good, and rinses away easily. I use Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap (love the Hemp Pure-Castile Lavender). In Brockville, you can get it at New Horizons but I've seen it at many health food stores. A 16 oz bottle is about $11 and lasts for months. The bottle is very strange but the contents work great. To clean the tub and shower surround, I squirt a little on one of those shower "poofs" that we all have lying around (mine's actually attached to a broom stick), scrub, and rinse. So quick. Nothing toxic.