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Cleaning.
We all have to do it and if you think about it, this is a constant activity in our lives. Whether we are personally the ones cleaning our homes or someone else is, the fact is, you have to use cleaners.
Unfortunately, the cleaners most people have in their home are extremely toxic and dangerous to our health. If you think about how often cleaners are used in our home, you can get a good picture of how many chemicals you have floating around, embedded in the carpet, bedding, towels and clothes.
Our homes are letting off chemical vapors every second of the day. For instance, chemicals from paint, new carpet, furniture and all the cleaning products, air fresheners and perfumes we use – just to name a few.
That’s a lot of foreign substance going into our body every single day. Thankfully our bodies were wonderfully created to be able to keep us from being badly affected by these kinds of toxins. Unfortunately, we are in a state of toxic overload in this generation and our bodies are having a harder time keeping these chemicals from harming us.
Research shows how these chemical-laden products can cause issues in the central nervous system, in the lungs, neurologically and so much more. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any part of my body harmed by the stuff I clean with.
One of the best ways we can lessen the impact of toxic chemical exposure is by making your own cleaning products. It’s easy, simple and extremely inexpensive. Recipes bombard the Google search pages and so many contain 5 ingredients or less.
Our home has been commercial cleaning product free for about 8 years now and I’ll never go back to using that toxic stuff. My house gets just as clean, if not cleaner, by using simple, homemade cleaners using ingredients such as baking soda, borax, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, liquid soap and essential oils. The recipe I am sharing today is for an all purpose cleaner and it might be one of the simplest recipes to make. It uses white vinegar and grapefruit (with some added oranges, lemons and limes if I have any). That’s it. I appreciate that the natural elements of the grapefruit contain wonderful cleaning and sanitizing agents. The citrus scent also beats any commercial product out there! There is probably a lingering scent of the vinegar, although I’m so use to using it, i don’t notice it. If so, and you don’t like that, you can add a high quality grade essential oil that will help with the scent as well as the antimicrobial properties of the cleanser.
All Purpose Citrus Cleaner:
What You Need:
- 2 organic grapefruits (and any organic oranges or lemons peels/flesh you may have)
- white vinegar (approximately 3+ cups)
- you can also just use the peels so you don’t have to waste those every time you eat citrus fruit
What You Do:
- Slice the grapefruit or oranges.
- Place all of them in a 1 quart glass jar. If you’re like me and want bulk, use a larger jar, fill it with the citrus fruits then fill with vinegar.
- Fill the jar with white vinegar, leaving about 1” at the top.
- Set jar in a windowsill for at least 2 weeks to allow the vinegar to pull out all the good stuff from the citrus fruit. If you are using just the peels, allow it to steep a week or two longer.
- Once it’s ready, strain the vinegar and then squeeze the grapefruit (while in the strainer) to get all the juice out.
- Use as a concentrate. I like to use a 1:2 ratio water to citrus liquid. Pour into a spray bottle and store any extra in a glass jar in a cool, dark place.
- Use as an all purpose cleaner on counter tops, porcelain fixtures in the bathroom, tile, walls, etc. If you are unsure about finish on your walls or furniture, test a small area first before using. I do not use it on mirrors – the oils in it will cause streaking.
- Breathe in. Ahhhhh.
There you have it. A simple, easy, yummy-smelling citrus all purpose cleaner! I promise you – once you switch over to making your own products, you’ll love the results. Not only in your home, but in your pocketbook as well! The best benefit will be the fact that you aren’t harming your family’s health every time you clean. It makes cleaning worth while!
Do you make your own safe cleaning products? What is your favorite?
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It’s a new year, which means new goals right?
Well, a HUGE goal I’ve had for a while now was to clean my oven. Boy or boy was it yucky and I have been using it almost a year without cleaning it, yes– I did just confess that.
You see, we bought our first house, a Log-home and moved in (in January of last year), got mostly unpacked, had a homebirth, started a new school year and got on with life. Time passed and I kept telling myself I’ll do it later. Later came and went but while my parents were visiting for Christmas, my mom got it started.
I am pretty sure the oven hadn’t been cleaned in years, if not decades.
With a little elbow grease and this natural recipe, we got our oven to look (almost) as good as new, considering it is a 20 year old oven.
Natural Oven Cleaner
- baking soda
- vinegar
- *optional: lemon essential oil
- Gather ingredients, remove racks
- Before your ready to start cleaning, make a paste using 2 parts baking soda, 1 part vinegar, adding in about 10 drops of lemon essential oil if you'd like to, set aside
- Spread paste all over turn oven. Turn oven on high for about 30-40 seconds, then turn off, let sit for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight
- Get a washcloth or scrubber and begin scrubbing all over, residue should begin to come off
- Rinse washcloth or scrubber as needed, scrub and repeat using paste
- Once finished, wet a wash cloth and wipe out all remaining paste, and you should have a shiny clean oven
We got started using the recipe above. Since it’s non-toxic and all natural, I felt safe letting my kids help, after all this helps with teaching them that everyone needs to share the workload as well as teaches them responsibility. You probably can see a spot in the middle, well, we scrubbed and scrubbed but couldn’t get the 20 years of baked on residue in the middle but maybe next time, it’ll come off.
As I noted in the recipe, the Lemon essential oil is not a mandatory ingredient but I recommend it because not only does it help make your cleaning area smell wonderful, it helps to break down the grease and helps to make the surface area sparkle! 
How do you keep your oven clean?
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