Green Cleaning

Here are some recipes for cleaning green in your home.

GENERAL CLEANERS

Household Cleaner

Mix together:
1 tsp. liquid soap (castile, peppermint)
1 tsp. borax
Squeeze of lemon
1 qt. warm water
OR
¼ c. baking soda
½ c. borax
½ c. vinegar
1 gal. water

For surfaces that need scouring, try moist salt or baking soda and a green scouring pad.

Window Cleaner

Mix together:
2 tsp. vinegar
1 qt. warm water
OR
2 tbsp. borax
3 c. water

Rub dry with newspaper to avoid streaking.

Disinfectant

Mix together:
¼ c. borax
½ gal. hot water

EASY ALL-PURPOSE CLEANER
For a solution that will wipe up messy spots, mix two cups of white vinegar with equal parts water (plus a little essential oil, like tea tree, rosemary or lavender, to add a fragrance, if you want one). To boost its cleaning power, warm it in the microwave in a glass container.
CREAMY SOFT SCRUB
Do your bathroom or kitchen tiles need a good scrubbing? Mix two cups baking soda, 1/2-cup liquid castile soap, four teaspoons vegetable glycerin, and five drops of an antibacterial essential oil, such as cinnamon bark, lemongrass and thyme oils, for fragrance. Then, tackle those tiles! And once you are done, you can store the scrub in a glass jar for two years.
FURNITURE POLISH
Shine up your favorite furniture by wiping it down with a mix of 1/4-cup olive oil with four tablespoons white distilled vinegar and 20 to 30 drops of lemon essential oil. Don’t have the latter? Swap it for two teaspoons of lemon juice and store the polish in the fridge after you have cleaned, to keep it fresh.
LAUNDRY DETERGENT
This detergent gets your clothes clean without the extra chemicals. First, make soap flakes by grating a pure vegetable soap bar with a cheese grater. Then, mix one cup of the flakes with 1/2-cup of washing soda (found in the laundry aisle) and 1/2-cup of borax, a powder or crystalline salt water softener and disinfectant. Use one to two tablespoons of the detergent per load of laundry.
DRAIN OPENER
Who knew vinegar works wonders on clogged drains, too? Pour 1/2-cup of baking soda into the drain, and then follow that with a cup of vinegar. After about 30 minutes, flush the train with boiling water.