Copyright: Five Seed
Finding the safest green cleaning supplies can be confusing and expensive. Why not skip the label-reading and budget-crunching? Believe it or not, five inexpensive ingredients will meet the majority of your household cleaning needs:
1. Hydrogen peroxide
2. Water
3. Essential oil(s) of your choice
4. Vinegar
5. Baking soda
Vinegar
A 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water is perfect for cleaning mirrors, windows, or other glass. It leaves no streaks, and works better than the ammonia-based commercial glass cleaners. This mixture can also be used as a carpet stain remover. Even your laundry can benefit from this multifaceted product – one cup of undiluted vinegar in the rinse cycle will soften your clothing.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is a wonderful air freshener. Keep it in a bowl on your counter, or anywhere else that may need some freshening. It can also be sprinkled into carpets before vacuuming to absorb odors.
Baking Soda & Vinegar
When combined, these two ingredients make a powerful scouring agent. Simply sprinkle baking soda into the sink, toilet, bathtub and anywhere else that needs a good scrub, then spray vinegar over it, and scrub away. You can also pre-mix these ingredients into a paste, if you prefer, just before you are ready to use it. Pouring baking soda followed by vinegar into your drain can help it stay clean and unclogged.
Hydrogen Peroxide
For a natural mold-killer, fill a spray bottle with hydrogen peroxide. Spray this onto shower tiles and let it sit for an hour or more. Further, one cup of hydrogen peroxide added to the rinse cycle can get your whites whiter! If you want to disinfect your counters, use a 1:1 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water with some antibacterial essential oils (tea tree, for example).
Don’t spend another minute trying to find toxin-free, inexpensive household cleaning products. Keep it simple and natural with these five easy-to-find items.
This was reprinted and updated from my article over at Examiner.
