By Elise Jones, blog editor
I live to clean… ok, not really. I really have a bit of OCD about various parts of my home: mainly the kitchen, bathrooms and floors. For some reason the rest of the house can look like a bomb went off but if these rooms are sparkling my sanity is saved.
These rooms also happen to be the rooms that get the dirtiest during the day. So naturally they are the ones used the most and have the chance of little people’s fingers, feet and such touching as many surfaces as possible. Of course, this made me realize two things: boy, are they a messy bunch and just think of all the things that go into their mouths!
I needed to find a remedy to lessening the cleaning chemicals I was putting on these surfaces and also find something that was super easy (read quick and accessible). Here are the products I ended up investing in to clean my countertops, floors, sinks, tub and bathroom.
– Vinegar and water:This is by far the BEST solution EVER. Half white distilled vinegar and half water solution in a squirt bottle is used all the time in my kitchen, on my floors and in my bathroom. I really use it everywhere. Beyond being incredibly cost-efficient, it is incredibly effective as a sanitizer, mildew remover, grease cutter and light stain remover. Check out all of the versatile ways vinegar can be used in the home.
– Microfiber clothes: Are great for using in leu of paper towels, sponges or rags. The clothes are meant to grab and trap dirt into the cloth which makes for quicker cleaning. Additionally these guys can last you years! Here are some really affordable ones online.
– Lemon: Just cut a lemon in half and rub it across surfaces you want to disinfect and voila: yummy smell & disinfected surface! It may be a bit sticky afterwards so just squirt it down with your handy vinegar & water solution 😉
– Dishwashing soap: The key here is to either buy a green alternative or just use a good hand soap to scrub your dishes. For tougher stains, you guessed it, let them soak in vinegar (a trick I learned from a friend in the Army as that was how they always got their pots/pans sparkling clean).
– Bathroom cleaning: Baking soda is your friend in the bathroom. Mix 1/4 cup of baking soda and 1 cup vinegar to clean your toilets. Just apply baking soda directly to your shower, bath and sinks then scrub a bit and wipe. If you need to break down tough stains, vinegar can be used lightly on the bath, shower & sinks to break down the soap scum and then you can scrub with baking soda.
– Floors: I use a good old fashioned broom on almost everything in my house. That and dust pan do wonders for daily tidying up. If I need to spot clean, I just spray the vinegar/water solution on a spot and wipe it up. If more serious matters are needed on my kitchen floors, 1 cup of vinegar to 1 cup of water works wonders with a mop.
PS- If you don’t like the way vinegar smells at first you can drop a couple of drops of a scented oil into them (like lavender) and it will help. But rest assured, the smell goes away quite easily.
Hope this helps you see that once you’ve used up that last Clorox bottle, no need to replace it. Just buy a huge container of white distilled vinegar and a couple boxes of baking soda and you are all set.
Have any suggestions or questions for our Green Parenting blog? Email [email protected].
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Like what you see? Here are some more Green Parenting columns:
- New Year; New (chemical) Rug
- Poisonous Apple & Grape Juice
- Genetically Engineered Food- To Label or Not to Label
- What’s Up With Green Laundry Detergent?
- The Peanut Butter Jar
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