9 Basic Ingredients to Spring Clean Your Home – Naturally

It’s Spring and time to think about cleaning out all those nukes and crannies, airing out the house, and making your home smell, look, and be naturally clean. Our home is where we should feel safe, comfortable and should not be polluted with toxic chemicals. Are you cleaning your home naturally? There are many health risks of conventional cleaners, but there are simple and basic ingredients that can clean without worry or fear of the toxins that could invading your home and causing many unnoticed problems. There are so many great alternatives  — so please read on!

Some Important Facts:

Did you realize that Americans use 35 million pounds of toxic household cleaning products every year? What a tragedy for our children and all of us.

According to the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition, in Los Angeles traces of chemicals from toxic cleaning products can be found throughout the human body within seconds of exposure.

What are the health risks?

• Asthma
• Allergies
• Cancer
• Reproductive Toxicity
• Hormone Disruption
• Neurotoxicity
• Even Death

Sadly cleaning product labels  lack transparency according to Johanna Congleton. PH. D., a senior scientist for the EWG. “Manufacturers aren’t required to specify ingredients.”

According to the TerraChoice Group – More than 95 percent of “green” products manipulate labels by providing irrelevant information (declaring a product is free of an already illegal chemical), being vague (masking poisons as natural ingredients), outright lying (claiming false endorsements) and other maneuvers.

I believe it is vitally important to keep our families safe and one great, easy, economical way to do that is do-it-yourself (DIY) with natural homemade ingredients that you create yourself. Not only are we making life simple and getting back to the basics, but we are being protecting our health and the environment health.

9 Basics Ingredients

1. White vinegar — Cleans effectively, deodorizer, cuts grease, and disinfect against bacteria, viruses and mold.

2. Castile Soap — Use liquid or bar form. It is biodegradable, vegetable based, surfactants and a great all around cleaner. I even use this on my hair and as a hand soap. Learn more — “5 Reasons To Go Green With Your Antibacterial Soap!”

3. Baking Soda — Whitens, cleans, neutralizes odors and softens water. I love to use it in my bathroom, refrigerator, oven, kitchen sink. It is an excellent scrubbing agent for so many cleaning duties and will soften your clothes without toxic fabric softener. Learn more “Are You Using Toxic Fabric Softener?”

4. Borax — A natural mineral that works well in laundry soap.

Note: Borax is as a low-level health hazard and should be kept away from children and animals. Borax is not a carcinogenic and is not absorbed through the skin.

5. Washing Soda — Related to baking soda but a much stronger potent cleaner. It softens water and will help remove impossible stains. It is recommended to wear gloves when using washing soda.  Check out “Removing Stains The Green Way Without Toxic Chemicals”

6. Hydrogen Peroxide  — A very effective disinfectant and great alternative to using toxic bleach according to the EPA. It will whiten grout and remove stubborn stains. Learn some important information and the many uses of peroxide –  “10 Reasons Why You Need The Little Brown Bottle!”

7. Essential Oils and Herbs  — A true gift from Nature – Essential oils are derived from herbs or plants and are natural cleaning agents that can have many uses. There is an array of many choices of essential oils and herbs that can add wonderful fragrance, others have germ-fighting power, anti-bacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties.  Tea tree oil, eucalyptus, peppermint, and lavender are some of the most common and have many beneficial uses in your daily cleaning.

8. Lemon Juice — A natural fragrance that will cut through grease, remove mold and bacteria, and leaves dishes streak free.

9. Coarse Kosher Salt — Helps soften dishwasher water and acts as a scouring agent.

All-Purpose DIY Spray Cleaner:

• 1 cup of White Vinegar

• 1 Cup of Water

• 15 drops of lemon oil

Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle. Can be used almost anywhere in your home. Works excellent for glass and mirrors.

 Living a green and healthy lifestyle is so important in all aspects of our lives and how we clean our homes is extremely important. There are many recipes and ways you can use these natural and safe cleaners. You need to choose what works best for your needs and situation.  For example some people find the smell of vinegar over powering and other people have an intolerance to certain essential oils.  I just hope you choices include to clean and live the true green way and stop wasting your money on toxic chemical cleaners that are so hazard to your health. Do you have a truly natural alternative DIY recipe you would like to share?

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About the author

Marla

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Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog! I believe in living green, organically, and natural in every aspect of our lives. My mission is to help educate you on how to live green, help save our environment and to help you and your family live a happier, healthier life!