Green Cleaning

If you are attempting to be green, you will probably be disgusted to know that 85% of our toxic load comes from our home. Things like cleaners, lotions, soaps, air fresheners, etc. contain dangerous chemicals that harm both our planet and ourselves. Not to mention, those cleaners don't just magically appear on the shelves of the grocery store, they come from a factory that produces tons of pollution. Making your own cleaners is cheap, easy, and a very green thing to do. Instead of having 20 bottles of cleaners around for every household mess, you carry a few basic ingredients and use them in place. I recommend cleaning out your old toxic cleaner's bottles and reusing those for these recipes.

Some basic cleaning supplies are:

Baking Soda
A commonly available mineral full of many cleaning attributes, baking soda is made from soda ash, and is slightly alkaline (it’s pH is around 8.1; 7 is neutral). It neutralizes acid-based odors in water, and adsorbs odors from the air. Sprinkled on a damp sponge or cloth, baking soda can be used as a gentle nonabrasive cleanser for kitchen counter tops, sinks, bathtubs, ovens, and fiberglass. It will eliminate perspiration odors and even neutralize the smell of many chemicals if you add up to a cup per load to the laundry. It is a useful air freshener, and a fine carpet deodorizer.

Washing Soda
A chemical neighbor of baking soda, washing soda (sodium carbonate) is much more strongly alkaline, with a pH around 11. It releases no harmful fumes and is far safer than a commercial solvent formula, but you should wear gloves when using it because it is caustic. Washing soda cuts grease, cleans petroleum oil, removes wax or lipstick, and neutralizes odors in the same way that baking soda does. Don’t use it on fiberglass, aluminum or waxed floors—unless you intend to remove the wax.

White Vinegar & Lemon Juice
White vinegar and lemon juice are acidic—they neutralize alkaline substances such as scale from hard water. Acids dissolve gummy buildup, eat away tarnish, and remove dirt from wood surfaces.

Liquid Soaps and Detergent Liquid soaps and detergents are necessary for cutting grease, and they are not the same thing. Soap is made from fats and lye. Detergents are synthetic materials discovered and synthesized early in this century. Unlike soap, detergents are designed specifically so that they don’t react with hard water minerals and cause soap scum. If you have hard water buy a biodegradable detergent without perfumes; if you have soft water you can use liquid soap (both are available in health food stores).

Castile Soap
You can find castile soap at some major grocery stores, but more likely at natural/health food stores. My favorite brands are Kirk's or Dr. Bronner's, but there are other varieties out there. It can be found in bar or liquid form. It is 100% natural and not tested on animals.

Tea Tree Oil & Grapefruit Seed Extract
Many people do not think of essential oils as a cleaning agent, but some are. Tea tree oil is an excellent natural fungicide that is very antiseptic. Grapefruit seed extract, is as well. Use one teaspoon of essential oil to 2 cups of water in a spray bottle (make sure to avoid eyes). A grapefruit seed extract spray can be made by adding 20 drops of extract to a quart of water.

Borax is another natural cleaning agent that many do not realize is, in fact, natural. Borax can be used in the laundry (safe for cloth diapers too), on stains, in the dishwasher and more.

Oxyclean
Many do not realize that Oxyclean is solidified hydrogen peroxide. Like Borax, Oxyclean has endless possibilities.

Cleaning recipes:

*Make sure to label all your homemade cleaning products, and keep them away from pets and children.

Creamy Soft Scrubber
Simply pour about 1/2 cup of baking soda into a bowl, and add enough lemon juice to make a paste. Scoop the mixture onto a sponge or use your hand, and scrub the surface. Leave for aout 5 minutes to let the acid in the lemon juice do its job then rinse off. This is the perfect recipe for cleaning the bathtub because it rinses easily and doesn’t leave grit.

Window Cleaner
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon liquid detergent
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups water
spray bottle

Put all the ingredients into a spray bottle, shake it up a bit, and use as you would a commercial brand. The soap in this recipe is important. It cuts the wax residue from the commercial brands you might have used in the past.

Oven Cleaner
1 cup or more baking soda
water
a squirt or two of liquid detergent

Sprinkle water generously over the bottom of the oven, then cover the grime with enough baking soda that the surface it totally white. Sprinkle some more water over the top. Let the mixture set overnight. You can easily wipe up the grease the next morning because the grime will have loosened. When you have cleaned up the worst of the mess, dab a bit of liquid detergent or soap on a sponge, and wash the remaining residue from the oven. If this recipe doesn’t work for you it is probably because you didn’t use enough baking soda and/or water.

All-Purpose Spray Cleaner
1/2 tsp. washing soda
a dab of liquid soap
2 cups hot tap water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake until the washing soda has dissolved. Apply and wipe off with a sponge or rag.

(Another) All-Purpose Spray Cleaner
1/2 c. White Vinegar
1 tsp. Tea Tree Oil
Large spray bottle (Windex-sized)
Water

Combine vinegar and tea tree oil in spray bottle and add enough water to fill it. This solution can be used on glass, wood, floors, tile, granite, and more. This is the only cleaning solution I, personally, use.

Furniture Polish
1/2 teaspoon oil, such as olive (or jojoba, a liquid wax)
1/4 cup vinegar or fresh lemon juice
Mix the ingredients in a glass jar. Dab a soft rag into the solution and wipe onto wood surfaces. Cover the glass jar and store indefinitely.

Vinegar Deoderizer
Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5 percent vinegar in your kitchen near your cutting board, and in your bathroom, and use them for cleaning. I often spray the vinegar on our cutting board before going to bed at night, and don't even rinse, but let it set overnight. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straight vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on and wipe off.

Mold Killers
Tea Tree Treaure
Nothing natural works for mold and mildew as well as this spray. It can be used successfully on a moldy ceiling from a leaking roof, on a musty bureau, a musty rug, and a moldy shower curtain.

Tea tree oil is expensive, but a little goes a very long way. Note that the smell of tea tree oil is very strong, but it will dissipate in a few days.

2 teaspoons tea tree oil
2 cups water
Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on problem areas. Do not rinse.
Makes 2 cups
Preparation Time: Under a minute
Shelf Life: Indefinite
Storage: Leave in the spray bottle

Vinegar Spray
Straight vinegar reportedly kills 82 percent of mold. Pour some white distilled vinegar straight into a spray bottle, spray on the moldy area, and let set without rinsing if you can put up with the smell. It will dissipate in a few hours.

Homemade Febreeze
Fill a spray bottle with 1/2 water, 1/2 rubbing alcohol and 1 tbsp vanilla oil (or any essential oil you prefer).

Homemade Oxyclean:
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

Mix ingredients. To use on clothes, soak the clothing in it for 20 minutes to overnight; then wash as usual. makes 2 cups.

Homemade Dishwashing Detergent
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
20 Mule Team Borax
Distilled White Vinegar

Step 1: Add one tablespoon of Super Washing Soda to the dishwasher dispenser
Step 2: Add one tablespoon of 20 Mule Team Borax to the dishwasher dispenser

Removing Spots from Dishes
Pour distilled white vinegar into the dispenser for the clear rinse gel.

Once you've run your dishwasher, be sure to hold your glasses up to the light and inspect them thoroughly. You'll find that the homemade detergent cleans as well if not better than the store bought detergent.

Homemade Laundry Soap
1 Bar Castile Soap
1 Cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
1 Cup of Borax

Use a food processor or blender to make "soap beads" of the bar of soap. Combine soap, washing soda, and borax in glass jar. Use 2-4 Tbsp. per load, depending on how grimy your clothes are. Do not use this laundry soap on cloth diapers as the soap will cause them to repell. I listed a cloth diaper detergent below.

*I have also substituted the bar of castile for the liquid. Combine the soda and borax as usual, but use a squirt or two of liquid castile along with 1-2 Tbsp. of the dry ingredients.

Cloth Diaper Detergent
Borax
Washing Soda
Oxyclean

I didn't list measurements because this recipe only calls for equal parts of each. Make as little or as much as you want then use 1-4 Tbsp. per load, depending on size.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to be an expert. I have not tried all of the recipes and do not hold to how well they all work or if they will ruin anything. I am not to be held responsible if anything happens from use of these homemade solutions.

Ways to be Green

Enough about cloth diapers (for now anyway). Let's discuss some ways to be green. Most are pretty simple, but some take a little extra work.

• Get reuseable grocery bags for the store. Plastic bags use a ton of energy, crude oil, and produce a ton of waste. Bad on every level.
• Don't get receipts at the ATM, gas station, etc. If everyone stopped doing this, we would save a ton of trees.
• Turn off lights and appliances when not in use. Lots of appliances, like VCRs, DVD players, etc., go on standby instead of turning all the way off, so watch for that. Our DVD player and stereo have off buttons that turn them off standby too.
• Try to buy items that are free of a lot of excess packaging. For example, buy sliced cheese that is not individually wrapped. Try to avoid any "single serving" or individually wrapped things.
• Clean with vinegar, tea tree oil, lemon juice and other all natural items.
• Buy as much organic as you can afford.
• Shop at your local farmers market to help reduce packaging and transportation. Or grow your own veggies in the summer.
• Shop locally.
• Limit the amount of things you buy on the internet (transportation and packaging).
• Compost.
• Grasscycle (leaving grass on your lawn as you mow).
• Consume less meat and dairy.
• Use natural means of keeping pests out of your garden/lawn.
• Consider reducing the amount of lawn you have or planting native grasses.
• Use a Diva Cup or the like and cloth pads.
• Use cloth rags for cleaning the kitchen counters/wiping off your hands after eating instead of paper towels.
• Try using old baby wash cloths as toilet paper for pee only. You'd be amazed at how nice it feels "down there" and how much you save on toilet paper.
• Buy energy efficient appliances.
• Replace old light bulbs with florescent.

If you have more tips you'd like to add, feel free to reply and I will add them!

What's the deal with wool? What about fleece?

In the cloth diapering world, you will hear many people refer to their wool or fleece soakers, longies, and shorties. These are covers that are used in place of a PUL cover over prefolds, fitteds, an contours. Here is why people use them.

Wool is breathable, so it helps prevent diaper rash, and not scratchy at all, like many think. It is naturally anti-microbial, so it doesn't need to be washed after each use and doesn't breed bacteria or stink. Generally, it is washed bi-monthly to monthly, depending on how often it's used. Wool absorbs 30% of it's weight in water before feeling wet, so it helps wick the moisture away from the baby, yet doesn't get damp on the outside. Wool takes a little extra care, but it really only sounds scary and difficult. I used this site for learning how to care for my wool. If you would like to learn more about wool, check out this great article.

Fleece is naturally water resistant, so it is another great alternative to PUL. Fleece can also be washed with your other diapers or regular laundry, so it is easier to care for, which is appealing to many. It is still very breathable and soft, which are two of the main selling points.

Many people use wool and fleece as an alternative to PUL because PUL is still a form of plastic. Plastic contains chemicals that many try to keep their family free of. That's for you to decide though.