Green cleaners...a safer, gentler way to clean your home.

It was a beautiful spring day and I had the urge to clean up my place. Since I didn’t have many supplies available, I took a look around and remembered my mother using some of the most basic products (I think they were on to something back than!)- vinegar, baking soda, lemons and yes even onions (for odors).

When you switch to natural everyday staples for housekeeping, you will have a healthier home environment. Vinegar, baking soda and lemons are clean-up champions and they are inexpensive!

Distilled white vinegar tackles chores all around the home:

• For sparkling windows, (yup that’s right windows), mix ¼ cup vinegar and two cups water in a spray bottle, spritz and wipe with a sheet of newspaper.
• Clean drains by pouring vinegar down them. After 30 minutes, flush with cold water.
• Add ¼ vinegar to a bucket of warm water to mop almost any type of floor except wood or marble.
• For moldy walls, spray vinegar on the affected area. After 15 minutes, rinse and let dry thoroughly.

I wasn’t kidding when I said all around the home. Vinegar, while not the most odor friendly, is home’s best friend.

Baking soda is great with cleaning grease and stains, with no scratching, on everything from countertops to the kitchen sink. Lemons are a great tool for those odor problems in your garbage disposal. It leaves it smelling great, run hot water and lemon peels through it. To banish grout stains, add lemon juice to a teaspoon or two of cream of tartar to make a paste. Apply with a toothbrush, then rinse. Even Mr. Clean himself would be proud of how great your sink will look and smell once you’re done.

Onions are great odor absorbers! I will never forget when we had a rental home and the tenants were heavy smokers. Someone had mentioned to put an onion in a bowl (cut up) throughout the home. Sure enough the onion absorbed the smells!

More natural cleaners to know about are borax, table salt and fizzy club soda. Dissolve 2 cups borax in one gallon hot water and pour the solution into a spray bottle. Spritz generously on baseboards and walls, wipe down with a damp cloth, and let dry. To polish a stainless steel sink, buff it with a cloth dampened with club soda, then wipe dry with another clean cloth. You’ll be amazed at the difference.

What about the store bought cleaners you purchase now and then? Well, many of them are going green, too. If you want to try some, check the labels for the eco-friendly language such as, biodegradable, nontoxic, and plant-based.

Along with fumes that regular cleaning products produce, dust, mold, pet dander and smoke contribute to an unhealthful home environment. Every so often it is nice to just open up the windows to let the fresh air into your home. Ventilation cuts indoor pollution.

So, enjoy these inexpensive and natural remedies—here’s to being green and healthy!!