I have NOT ONE commercial cleaning product left in our home. Oh wait, I lie…. I do have an industrial sized bottle of Palmolive that I refuse to get rid of because I am “frugal” and just cannot bring myself to waste money on purpose. Yah, and that bag of 20 LemiShine dishwasher tabs. Anyhoooo, enter the green cleaning challenge.
I’ve been cleaning with more “natural” ingredients for a while now, kinda by default. But now it is really real. I have no Scrubbing Bubbles, Soft Scrub, any brand granite cleaner (again because I am frugal and REFUSE to buy a “uni-tasker”), Windex, Tide (or any other brand) Free and Clear, Downy, Febreze, etc., etc.
What I DO have is vinegar, baking soda, alcohol (and/or Vodka…. shot anyone?), borax, washing soda, and peroxide. Oh and an essential oil or 2 and Castile soap (more on this in another post). Water is a given (or it should be). All of these are items I always have on hand anyway, so technically nothing to “buy”.
So far it turns out that’s all I need to “make” all those commercial items that are just as effective, if not more so. AND I control what’s in my cleaner(s). YAY for the type-A/INTJ personality!
I am planning to post some road tested Mean Green Cleaning recipes soon, but for this post I am providing a list of natural cleaners, toxic items they replace, and what each does that I am aware of thus far based on my own usage.
Original Item | Green replacement | Use |
Ammonia | Hydrogen peroxide (3%) | Whitener, cleaner, and powerful disinfectant, stain remover |
Chlorine bleach | Oxygen bleach/hydrogen peroxide (3%) | Disinfectant, stain remover, whiten & brighten |
Vinegar | Disinfectant, odor eliminator, cuts grease, removes soap residue, stain remover | |
Downy | Vinegar | Fabric softener |
Detergents | Borax | Whitener, stain-remover, and deodorizer, scouring agent |
Washing Soda | Cut grease, deodorize, disinfect | |
Baking Soda | Scouring agent, deodorizer | |
Castile Soap | ||
Random multi-taskers | Essential Oils (especially tea tree, citrus, and lavender) | Fragrance, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-fungal |
Isopropyl alcohol (or Vodka) | Cut grease/dissolve oils, disinfectant |
