Spring Cleaning- 10 Best Natural Non-Toxic Cleaning Products That Really Work

Spring Cleaning- 10 Best Natural Non-Toxic Products That Really Work

Saturdays are cleaning day, at my house.  It’s the day when I scrub, scour and shine everything in sight.   It’s the one day when my house is as clean as I want it to be. 

I used to use big name products, because of convenience, mainly.  I knew they weren’t the safest products; but, I really didn’t have the time or money to waste, finding and using more natural products.  Everything was Febreezed and Swiffered to a fresh smelling glimmer.

Then I adopted Boho.  Every Saturday, after I finished cleaning, she would vomit.  All of the cleaning products were making her sick!  I had to make a change.

I researched DIY natural cleaners; and, set about trying them out.  I also researched some of the non-toxic, eco-friendly brands on the market.  I tried some of those out as well.  Anything that made Boho ill, was out.

The following are the 10 Best readymade and DIY products, I have found to be effective:

1.  Baking Soda - I use baking soda for so many things.  I actually have jars of it, scattered around my house, for baking soda emergencies.  It’s great for cleaning sinks, showers, toilets, and greasy pans.  I sprinkle a little baking soda on the surface I want to clean.  Then, I spray on some vinegar, which makes it foam up.  Apply a bit of elbow grease, with a sponge and, ta-da, clean.  It’s also great for freshening carpets and garbage cans.

2.  White Vinegar and Apple Cider Vinegar-  These are great as all purpose and glass cleaners.  This diy citrus cleaner is easy to make with white vinegar and orange peels.  It works great on stainless steel.  I also mix them with essential oils to make different scented cleaners.  Mixing vinegar with tea tree oil is a great mold deterrent.

3.  Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile Soap-  I add this to some of my DIY cleaner recipes for extra cleaning power.  I also use this to clean my dishes sometimes.

4. Melaleuca Products-  Melaleuca is a factory direct, online company who makes non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaning , personal care, and nutritional products.  I’m a preferred member, which helps me save money.  I simply place my order every month for the products I need.  And, their cleaning products are phenomenal.  I use almost all of their cleaning products.

5.  Grab Green Automatic Dishwashing Detergent-  I like the red pear scented ones.  Many of the natural dishwasher tablets I have tried, do not work.  I’ve even tried to make my own and ended up with a chalky film over my dishes.  This is the only one I’ve found that is effective.

6.  Seventh Generation Stainless Steel Cleaner-  This is the best natural, non-toxic, stainless steel cleaner I have tried.  None of the others I tried, did the job as well.

7.  Method and Seventh Generation products (general)- These are two companies I trust not to poison me and my family.  Although I’m not currently using any Method products, I have used a few in the past and found them to be effective.  Seventh Generation has been a favorite at my house for many years.  I love their paper products, especially.

8. Earth Friendly Products Ecos Laundry Detergent -  This is another product I’ve used for many years.  I love the Magnolia scented formula!  They also make a Pet’s Formula to wash your pet’s toys and bedding, safely.

9.  Essential Oils-  I mainly add Lemon, Thyme, Tea Tree (Melaleuca), Clove, Lavender, and eucalypsus to my vinegar or castile soap mixtures.  I also use them to scent my home by adding about 20 drops to a Small spray bottle filled with distilled water and a couple of drops of vitamin e oil.

10.  Fruit peelings-  I clean hard water stains with banana and lemon peels.  I use apple peels to scent my home by boiling them in a pot of water with spices.  And, of course, I make my all purpose cleaner with orange peels.

These are the products I use every Saturday.

 For more DIY cleaning recipes, check out my Pinterest board, Green Cleaning.

Happy Cleaning and God Bless!

Resources:

#naturalcleaners #diyrecipes #greencleaning

Getting Ready For Spring- Seed Planting, Closet Cleaning, and Reminiscing

Yesterday, April 1st, my husband and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary.  Yes, we chose April Fools Day on purpose.  It seemed to fit in perfectly with our shared sense of humor; and, it helped us to remember the date, since we're both so bad with remembering dates.  Aah, 14 years of wedded bliss.

Anyway, this post is not about my anniversary.  I just felt I should mention it.  This post is about preparing for spring.  I do feel weird calling it spring, since it was 34 degrees outside, when I woke up this morning.  But, the calender tells me, it is indeed spring.

This year, I've decided to plant my very own organic garden.  I have planted herbs, indoors, for years.  But, I haven't had a vegetable garden in over 20 years.  I'm just hoping I remember how to do everything.  Thank God for the internet.  I have all of the information I need, right at my fingertips.  

So, on Saturday, I planted all of my vegetable and herb seeds.  I planted organic cucumbers, zucchini, three varieties of lettuce, carrots, chamomile, lavender, mint, cabbage, broccoli, basil, green onions, and spinach.  Now, I'm just waiting for them to sprout.  I'm going to plant them all in containers, when they're ready.  I decided to do container plantings because of my lack of space and optimal weather. This way, I can pull all of the containers into my three season room, when the weather gets chilly.  I'm thinking we're going to have a short summer in Illinois this year.  I want to try to grow my garden year round.  It's quite the undertaking, I know. However, I'm tired of paying the high price of organic vegetables at the grocery store.  Unfortunately, we don't have year round farmers' markets nearby.

Boho is completely enamored by the seed planting process.  She has tried to help from the beginning.  At one point, I looked up to find her face completely covered in Organic Potting Soil.  Of course, I had just given her a bath the night before!  Now, she's appointed herself "Seed Guardian".

Stay tuned for updates on my gardening progress.  I'll be posting as I go along, with what works, and what doesn't.

The next project on my spring prep, was to clean out my closet; and, change out my fall/winter clothes for my spring/summer clothes.  I know not everyone does this.  But, I highly suggest doing this.  One, you can save space in your closet.  And, two, you can get rid of clothes you haven't worn in awhile, need repair, or simply don't fit anymore.

To do a season clean-out, simply pull out all clothes that you will not be wearing for the next two seasons ( I find it easiest to go spring/summer, fall/winter), try on everything you've pulled out, if it fits, place it in a Space Saver Bag for storage, if it doesn't fit, toss it in a bag for donation.  Same goes for anything worn, frayed, or in need of repair ( unless you're going to repair it within the next hour; any longer, you probably won't get to it).  Then, put all of your Space Saver Bag into storage (under your bed, in a storage room, attic, garage).  When, the season changes to your stored clothing, repeat process.  Twice a year, it's like I get a closet full of new clothes!  

 Boho buried under piles of fall/winter clothes

My closet SPRINGS to life!

And, yes, my clothes are organized into item (jackets, skirts, dresses, shirts, pants), and then, divided into subgroups (example: camis, then sleeveless, then short sleeve, then long sleeve), and then, sorted by color.  I'm a little OCD about my closet.  Who am I kidding?  I'm a little OCD about everything!  And, that's okay!

I hope this post helps get you in the mood for your own spring prep, if you haven't done it already. Next post, I'll be giving tips on natural spring cleaning.  I will include lots of great recipes for diy cleaners and brands you can trust not to poison your family.

Until then, God Bless!

Resources

Great gardening info and heirloom/organic seeds

My Pinterest Gardening Board

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