Super Washing Soda

Big Binder asked in a comment what washing soda was.  It’s made by Arm and Hammer and is all natural.  Here is a link with further explanation and how to use it besides in the recipe I provided in my last post.  I am still working on a local source for here in Michigan.  Does anybody have a big chain that carries it?

 

Doing More with Less

I do not like to watch the news lately.  Everytime I turn it on, there is more news about how the economy is getting worse and worse.  It’s depressing I tell you!  It’s a good thing we don’t have to buy so many of those pricey cleaners.  Yep, that’s right.  Remember that the greenest method of cleaning your home isn’t with an expensive natural formulated cleaner that you would buy at the store.  If you really want to be green (in your home and in your wallet), make your own cleaners.  I have gone over this before but was so excited to find some new “recipes” and facts to spur my little MEEPs onward and upward.

Here’s my next challenge for MEEPs and anybody else who wants to try.  Do not purchase any of the new “green cleaning” products from the store.  Make your own using some simple ingredients.  You will not be contributing to the energy costs and wastes created throught the processing of store bought cleaners.  You will not be supporting the production and use of yet another plastic container.  You can reuse one that you already have. 

More importantly to most of you, you will save on your grocery/home budget in a HUGE way!  For example:  A typical bathroom cleaner would cost $3.19 and the homemade version costs $.15.  That’s a 95% savings.  Window cleaner costs about the save.  That would be another 95% savings.  How’s that for a start?  You can use the savings that you get from making your own cleaners to buy increasingly costly food and gas.

A “Less Streaky” Window Cleaner:  1/3 Cup White Vinegar, 1/4 Cup Rubbing Alcohol (aids in evaporation to prevent streaking), 3 1/2 Cups Water, 1 Clean Plastic Spray Bottle (reuse an empty one).  Mix all ingredients in the spray bottle.  Shake well.  Spray on glass surface.  Wipe with a crumpled already read newspaper. (when done, throw the damp newspaper out in the recycle bin to dry) 

Citrus Disinfectant:  Comparable to those commercial orange cleaners.  Peel from 1 orange, lemon, grapefruit, or lime.  3 cups White Vinegar.  1 clean quart jar with lid (such as a ball canning jar).  1 clean 32oz spray bottle (reuse an empty one).  Combine the citrus peel and vinegar in the quart jar.  Place lid on jar and store in a cupboard for 2 weeks (yes, you will need to plan in advance.  Convenience really does cost a little in some situations)  Shake occasionally.  Remove the peel from the jar and strain the vinegar.  Put the vinegar back into the jar.  To use as a spray cleaner, put 1 cup of vinegar into spray bottle and add water to fill.  To clean linoleum floors:  add 1 cup of the vinegar mixture to 2 gallons of water.

Fresh Smelling Multipurpose Cleaner:  Nice clean smell and inexpensive.  3 1/2 cups water.  1/2 cup white or apple cider vinegar.  1 teaspoon Borax (in supermarket detergent section).  1 teaspoon washing soda (in supermarket detergent section).  1 teaspoon liquid castile soap (at health food stores).  1 clean 32 oz spray bottle (reuse an empty one).  Fill spray bottle with hot water.  Then add the other ingredients.  Shake well.  Spray on countertops, appliances or fixtures, and tile or painted surfaces.  Wipe with a clean cloth (I like to use old burp cloths) or a damp sponge.

 

 

 

Essential Nonessentials

As some of you may know from this post.  I have been trying to find out some better ways to use essential oils.  I love essential oils.  Essential oils (EOs) are concentrated oils from various flowers, herbs, fruits, and plants.  Since ancient times, they have been used for their medicinal and aromatherapy properties.  There seems to be an endless number of scents and combinations you can use for various purposes.   The best part…they are known for their antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and antimicrobial properties.  A great, cheap and natural alternative to synthetic chemicals. 

However, I have been scared to venture too far into this because of cautionary tales of what to mix and what not to mix.  If you mix the wrong combination, you can end up with some not so enjoyable results (various toxicities, skin rashes, horn growth, etc).  So it has made me a little nervous to be messing around with these concentrated little gems when I have been either pregnant, nursing, or in the immediate vacinity of children and pets.  Basically, the past 5 years have been a wash with EOs at my house except for use in a couple cleanin sprays.

But now, I shall no longer be chained to my fears!  I will embark on this experiment.  Let’s hope it goes better than my experimentation with concentrated HCL in the lab years ago.  For those of you who haven’t heard this story, my sense of smell has been moderately altered from respiratory passages being burnt out from that experiment.  There are certain scents I have trouble detecting and my smell thresholds are off.  (Pair that with my mild color blindness and I am a multisensory mess!). Oooh, I was so young and naive.  Lesson learned:  If you are told to only use a chemical under a fume hood, don’t think that you can save time by just trying to hold your breath by the lab bench instead.  On a positive note, it taught me that chemicals can be very bad for your body.  Bad, bad chemicals!

Anyway, back to EOs.  First of all, remember this about EOs:  A little bit goes a very, very long way.  One drop is usually about equal to one ounce or more of the actual plant.  A small bottle may cost you a few buckeroos but it lasts a really, really long time.  Secondly, remember that as with any substance, at a certain amount EOs are toxic.  Do your research and follow any necessary precautions.  Better yet, if you are doing something really fancy with them, please contact a professional aromatherapist.

I will first address one household use for EOs…Air fresheners.  Some may argue that air fresheners are not essential.  I beg to differ.  Try living with the funky 5 over here at my house.  And no, I am not talking about our dance moves.  I am talking about our own essential aromas.  Mmmm…somedays I thank the good Lord that my sense of smell was altered before entering motherhood.

To create a room scent, you can diffuse it using an electric diffuser for aromatherapy and for air freshening purposes.  You can easily create room sprays for the same thing.  All you need is a small plastic spray bottle, water and your oils.  For example, citrus, cinnamon, or peppermint will help to eliminate food and cooking odors in the kitchen.  My personal new favorite use…put a few drops in your vacuum bag (I put it on my filter since I have a bagless) to freshen while you vac. That’s a ”2-fer-1″ deal for ya.

 

A recipe for a kitchen freshener is on this page 

Some air freshener recipes are here. and here.

Some blogs addressing EOs:  here, here, and here…..oh, sorry!  I just spent 2 hours reading random blogs and ended up here.  I love it!  I have no idea what the path was but if you know me, you know why I was so interested in this blog.  It’s like my past life and conversations as a biologist in industry came back to haunt me in a very amusing way.

 

Awesome Website

Check it out Greenies!  Especially the kids section, there is lots of great info here!

www.newdream.org

That’s all I have to say about that.