Natural Household Remedies

Via: USATODAY.com

Is it possible to clean green? Is it necessary to give up Mr. Clean to be green?

If you’re not sure, that may explain the surge in books, magazine articles and websites explaining how you can clean and “detox” your home without chemicals found in familiar cleaning products such as Mr. Clean.

But the bald-headed guy with the big biceps and the white T-shirt is not giving up his market share so easily. He’s, well, cleaning himself up, or at least trying to smell nicer, as more sweeter-fragranced “green” cleaners challenge industry leaders — Big Soap — for space on store shelves.

Meanwhile, the retro cleaning movement is urging more consumers away from cleaners altogether, touting the cleaning (and cost-effective) properties of such familiar household items as vinegar, lemon juice and baking soda.

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Three eco-friendly cleaner recipes to try out at your next “green party”:

Furniture polish: Combine 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice for fragrance (optional). Shake well. Dip a clean, dry cloth into the polish and rub wood in the direction of the grain. Refrigerate if you add lemon juice.

Toilet bowl cleaner: Sprinkle toilet bowl with baking soda, drizzle with white distilled vinegar. Let soak for at least 30 minutes and scrub with toilet brush. For persistent stains, let ingredients soak overnight.

All-purpose cleaner: Combine 2 cups white distilled vinegar and 2 cups water. To reduce the smell of vinegar, add 20 to 30 drops of lemon or lavender oil, available at specialty grocery stores or health food stores. Use on countertops, kitchen floors, windows, mirrors and other hard surfaces. For tough jobs, warm cleaner in the microwave until barely hot.

Source: Women’s Voices for the Earth (womenandenvironment.org)

Via: St. Petersburg Times

The party favors are boxes of baking soda, recipe cards and spray bottles.

The theme is green.

Green cleaning parties have sprouted nationwide as a fun, easy way to rid homes of toxic chemicals found in common household cleaners.

Women’s Voices for the Earth, an environmental group in Montana, started the parties in March to offer people homemade alternatives to hazardous cleaners found under most kitchen sinks. Hostesses provide the recipes and ingredients; the guests whip them up.

Laura Daniels hosted a party this week at her New Tampa home for about a dozen friends and neighbors. On the menu: wine, hors d’oeuvres and furniture polish made from olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice.

“We all say we want to do something to protect the environment, but we don’t do anything,” said Daniels, 59. “This just made sense.”

The $15 party kit comes with recipe cards, a supply list, container labels, fact sheets and a video to show during the party. The video talks about the link between toxic chemicals in household cleaners and asthma and reproductive problems. It also calls on government leaders to require companies to list ingredients on product labels as they do for food.

There’s no sales pitch.

The parties promote all-natural cleaners used long before Easy Off, Formula 409 and other products became mainstream. “Ask your grandma what works,” touts the video.

Recipes cover an assortment of cleaners, from a toilet bowl cleaner to a creamy soft scrub for counters, stoves and bathroom sinks. The ingredients are cheap and typically found in most homes.

Guests take the products home with the mandate to use them and spread the word to friends and family. So far, 400 people have registered to host parties worldwide.

“I really thought they were going to have some secret ingredients,” Marti Woznicki said. “I think I’ll give them a try.”

Works great for stove tops and refrigerators if s[prayed generously on the appliance and wiped off with a damp sponge or cloth, and then wiped dry with another cloth.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp liquid castile soap
• 1/8 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cups water
• 6 drops citrus seed extract
• 4 drops lemon, lime, orange or eucalyptus essential oil
• 1 tsp borax

Combine all ingredients in a plastic spray bottle.  Shake well before every use.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 5 drops essential oil of your choice
• juice of half a lemon

Sprinkle baking soda on the stain, then add drops of essential oil and sprinkle with lemon juice. Let sit over night or several hours. Wipe baking soda away and then rinse well.

If the stain is on the side of the sink, make a thick paste from the ingredients, using more baking soda if necessary. Make sure the paste sticks to the side of the sink.