Eco-Friendly Alternatives

Hello ladies! As stated originally...I am on the quest to switch to natural, eco friendly, organic ONLY products. Many things in my home have been changed...and here is where you will find alternatives to things you use on a daily basis! You will be helping the environment, keeping things safe for your children...and saving LOTS of money!

Baking Soda/Vinegar! ***Vinegar is about $3 for a LARGE jug...and has many uses! Compared to the standard $3-$5 for each cleaning product used in your home...and the savings add up quickly!***

To clean your oven- Take a small oven safe container and pour in about 1 c. of vinegar.   Preheat oven to 325 and then put container into oven.  Allow to sit until vinegar boils.  Turn oven off and remove vinegar from oven.   Allow oven to cool.  When oven is cooled off...dip a large scrub brush in the vinegar and then sprinkle baking soda on the hard to clean spots.  It shouldn't take much elbow grease to remove the yuck!  Wipe clean with wet rag.

To clean your microwave- Heat 1 c. of vinegar until boiling in the microwave.  Remove and wipe microwave clean.  If you do this atleast once a week...it will be extremely easy to remove the gunk.  However, if its been a while since you tackled your microwave...you will need to go ahead and dip the scrub brush in the vinegar and then coat with a small amount of baking soda and scrub clean.  Wipe clean with wet rag.

To clean your windows- In a spray bottle combine 1/4 c. vinegar, 1/2 tsp of dish soap, and 2 c. water in a spray bottle.  Shake to blend and spray on windows.  Wipe clean with newspaper (this will eliminate the little white "fuzzies" that many times are left behind.  This is the recipe for first time use with vinegar.  After cleaning your windows initially...you can leave out the dish soap.  Unfortunately, commercial products leave a waxy build up on your windows that is hard to eliminate....that's where the dish soap comes in!

To clean your floors- Again, commercial products leave a waxy build up...which in turn traps dirt and germs on your floor...

1/8 cup liquid soap or detergent
1/4 to 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup fragrant herb tea (peppermint is great as it adds antibacterial qualities)
Combine ingredients in a pail or bucket.  Fill with water. Swirl the water around until it is sudsy. Proceed as normal.
***One of my purchases I am saving up for is a steam mop...which uses ONLY water!   You can check out various steam mops on Amazon.com!***

Cleaning your toilets, sinks, and tub- Pour vinegar alone into a spray bottle and use to clean your toilet rim, base, sinks, countertops and tubs.  Vinegar has antibacterial properties and also cuts through soap scum, dirt, grime, etc!

Homemade Dusting Spray Recipe

1 cup white vinegar
1/2 tsp olive oil

shake well in spray bottle (you can use an old cleaning product bottle or purchase spray bottles at walmart for around $1)...you can also increase the recipe if you want!

spray on furniture and wipe with a rag. :)