Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Natural Cleaning

Today's living simply theme is natural house cleaning. The DH and I made the switch to natural cleaners over the past several years. As one thing ran out, we just didn't replace it. Now, we clean with baking soda, water, and vinegar. I have a bottle of store-bought natural wood and all-purpose cleaner that is about out, and I plan to make my own with a bit of olive oil and lemon going forward. It's a comfort to me to know that I can ingest the things I clean with.

I also stopped using synthetic air fresheners. Now, I can hardly stand their unnatural smell. Instead, I use essential oils in a diffuser. I became so aware of the badness of these synthetic fragrances from a colleague whose daughter is highly sensitive to chemicals. Think of an airport bathroom - it can certainly give me a headache with that syrupy-sweet masking scent. Unfortunately, for those with chemical sensitivities, it's much more serious. The chemicals can cause this girl's fragile body to have a seizure.

It's easy to give up the expensive and harsh chemicals and clean naturally. Here are some great resources and recipes. Do you have a favorite home-cleaning recipe? Please share!


*Image from free online image sources.

4 comments:

crescent said...

Thanks for these links. It is a strong intention of mine to move toward a more natural way to maintain my home and life. These resources are quite welcome.

I give thanks... at this time of Thanksgiving.

Anonymous said...

Hello! I love it that you are using natural cleaners. I try to buy the "green" brand of cleaners in spite of their larger price tags. But maybe I will try some more natural recipes. Thanks for the tips.

Anonymous said...

I've not found anything better at removing tea stains from china, and my sink, than baking soda.

I was disappointed, when Seventh Generation started showing the full ingredient list on their dish liquid, to find sodium lauryl sulfate on the list. A natural dish soap is my next soap making project.

Jennifer said...

I'm glad my sensitive child has influenced your choices. I sometimes think that is part of her purpose here on Earth.

My favorite window cleaner is the ACT Natural microfiber cloth. No more Windex or other chemically-based window cleaner. Just spritz glass with water, then rub with the ACT Natural cloth. I have the whole line of cleaning products.
http://www.actnatural.net/

Check out the Queen of Clean recommendations, too.
http://queenofclean.com/picks.php

We use several products she recommends: Clean and Shield, Odorzout, and of course, baking soda and vinegar.

Thanks for yet another great post, Steph!