Green Cleaning

I have started in the last year to use some homemade green cleaners. I have to admit so far I’m in love! They are soo much cheaper; I feel most clean better, and honestly, what more can you say about cleaners? I thought I would share which ones I’ve started using and which ones I want to try soon.

Laundry detergent. I am beyond in love with homemade laundry detergent. My skin is slightly sensitive, and obviously my son’s is as well. We always bought “free and clear” versions of the cheap laundry detergent, because honestly, what else could we afford? Young married couples don’t get money trees for wedding presents, though honestly they should. Or maybe we did and they just aren’t mature enough yet? Moving on… The laundry detergent I make is extremely easy, cheap: like I had Dutch grandparents cheap, cleans well, doesn’t affect my skin nor my son’s, and can be used on our cloth diapers! What is there not to love?? Yes, it takes a little time mixing the ingredients, but it took Jer and I about a half hour roughly a month before our son was born and we are still working on that batch three and a half months since he was born. And have a good quarter to third left. So now that I have you sold that it’s amazing, I’ll tell you what it is. Arm and Hammer washing soda (it’s the same as baking soda just a bit stonger), Borax, and Ivory soap. Three ingredients, that’s all. Ratio: one cup washing soda, one cup borax, one bar grated Ivory soap. Some people boil it into a liquid and add essential oils for scent… that’s too much work for me. I stir them all in a big bowl, put it in a sealed container, and use one tablespoon per load. Except cloth diapers, that’s only a half tablespoon. Ah-mazing. And Easy. Admit it you thought it would be hard. But I’m the queen of easy. And cheap- I am mostly Dutch after all.

Next thing I switched to was baking soda instead of Lysol. I hate Lysol. Anything that smells that potent cannot be good for you. And per my husband’s preference, we sprayed Lysol in the trash can after every bag of trash. Ick. Now, we sprinkle baking soda in the bottom of the new trash bag, and after anything majorly stinky. No more smell of Lysol, and honestly no more nasty smells at all really. I even use baking soda in the cloth diaper bin. And only the days where it’s 90 out multiple days in a row (and I hadn’t washed them in about 5 days…) have we smelled the diapers. I keep old parmesan containers for sprinkling baking soda. Works wonders! We keep one in the closet for the cloth diapers and one under the kitchen sink for cleaning.

Next I ran out of toilet bowl cleaner. And I do cloth diapers (as I keep saying). I clean the bowl at least twice a week. I’m not sticking my hands in there unless it’s been cleaned properly. And I ran out of the Works toilet bowl cleaner. Another smelly cleaning product. That I worshiped for needing a clean toilet bowl. So I looked at my list of green cleaners, and there was a mix. A complicated mix of lemon juice, washing/baking soda, and borax. I don’t do complicated. Ever. So I googled other ways. There must be something easier. Easier than running ten minutes to town with a one month old (or less I don’t remember exactly when I ran out) to Dollar General to pick up the Works. Easier than that complicated mix with instructions to boil. So I read the borax box… Hey wow! It cleans and deodorizes the bowl! Hmmm. So I now scrub my toilet bowl twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays typically, thanks for asking) with approximately a quarter cup of straight borax, straight from the box. It would be from a parmesan container if I had more than two empty (well now baking soda filled). Pour in, scrub, let sit for half an hour to overnight, as the box says. I love it. Well mostly. Right now I hate it. Since I started the water challenge and was peeing every ten minutes yesterday, I was going to do the overnight sit. Well I was tired. And forgot. Right now I have five minutes of the half hour left, and am typing faster than I ever have, because I have to pee soooo bad!!! Stupid water challenge. Back to the borax toilet bowl cleaner: it does not disinfect. So if you are anal about your toilet bowl being disinfected find something different. I figure it’s going to hold poop. In fact, I only stick my hands in it for poop. So what’s the point?

Well this post has just hit a second page on word…. So I will make what I want to try next (because honestly those are the only three things we regularly have changed) on my next post. Look out! I have an idea for a next post! One more minute till I can pee…..