Dangerous Chemicals
You have to stay away and avoid cleaning products that have chemicals in them. A very dangerous one is chlorine. You want to read the labels and make sure your products are chlorine-free. Chlorine has a byproduct called dioxin which is a known carcinogen so this is a call to action folks. Let’s just read the planet once and for all of all these dangerous household cleaners, including your paper goods. So check your coffee filters. Make sure you buy brown ones with no chlorine and your paper goods as well. Avoid using styrofoam containers, they’re really popular and will be on the planet forever. When you go to take it out, bring your containers, you know you’re going to take it out so bring your containers. This way we don’t have to keep producing these styrofoam containers that are not biodegradable.
Natural Cleaners
Here are some ideas for natural cleaners that you can pick at the store. Liquid castile soap is wonderful. You can use this to clean many things. Baking soda is a good scrub for your kitchen sinks and the tiles in the bathroom. Vinegar has been used for decades as a natural cleaner and when it dries, the odor goes away so you don’t have to worry about that. When you’re picking your laundry detergent, make sure you check the label. Some of the laundry detergents are plant-based, which is great. They contain lavender oil, the essential oil, which is good for your body and good for the environment. Check the container if it’s got that little recycle squiggly, that’s great to recycle and it’s one hundred percent biodegradable.
Eco-Friendly Household Cleaner
It’s so easy and simple to make a natural, eco-friendly household cleaner. It’s good for the environment, good for your body and your health. The first choice you can use is just plain old vinegar. Use one part vinegar to one part water, put it in a spray bottle and you’re good to go. You can use this on almost anything, your tiles, your countertops, almost anything except your wood and your furniture. So, that’s a really simple one using vinegar. If you want to get more advanced, add to this formula a couple of things.
1) One hundred percent pure essential oil of cinnamon. It has antibacterial properties, cleans well, and disinfects and it smells so wonderful. Just put about twenty drops, and you’re good to go. That works fine!
2) If you want to find even more and disinfect against germs, add some tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is excellent against a lot of bacteria and germs. You can add anywhere from ten to twenty drops of tea tree oil to your formula. And there you have it.
Floor & Carpet Care
Did you know that lemon oil can remove stains from your carpet and it’s also a great oil to clean hardwood floors? Just put some water in a bottle and about twenty drops of one hundred percent pure lemon oil, shake it up, spray it on your floors or a carpet stain and it works amazing and it smells so good. As an option, you can add a little vinegar in there too and that’s how you can make an easy, eco-friendly carpet and floor cleaner.
Label Bottles
Now be sure that you label this with a marker so you know exactly what you put in each bottle. So if you have a basic formula vinegar and water, mark it as V/W. Your bottle with the essential oil of cinnamon is marked as V/W/C. Bottle with the full formula including tea tree oil, mark as V/W/C/T. Bottle with the water and lemon oil, and mark as W/L. Place them nicely inside the kitchen or bathroom cabinet under the sink. So you know always where to find them.
Softeners & Fresheners
Instead of using fabric softeners and fresheners that have artificial perfumes and dyes, use a natural formula of lavender flowers. This is wonderful, you’re going to love it. Just get some dry lavender flowers, put about four tablespoons of it in a muslin bag tie it tight and then what you want to do is throw this in the dryer with your clothing that’s going to smell delicious and wonderful and it’s good for your skin. It’s good for people who have skin sensitivity and allergies. You won’t have any of those problems when you use natural eco-friendly herbs and flowers.