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Chances are, there's no need to travel beyond the convenience of your kitchen to search out most of the ingredients you need to make some household staples.
by Rebecca Klein
This isn’t about easy-to-fix family meals.
This is a different kind of solution — one that’s green, easy to make and can tackle your floors, counters, windows and more. We’re talking about homemade, green cleaning products.
We turned to Lisa Beres, founder of the California based, online company, GreenNest.com, for some advice. Beres, who has shared her green-pertise on the Today show and is a certified Green Building Professional, offers consultations and a wide range of green products.
Beres reports that many of the green cleaning products on the market have similar ingredients to the ones you can make at home.
“Most of the recipes only take between one and three ingredients to create the cleaning product,” explains Beres, who adds, “This is the way cleaning used to be done. We’re going back to good old-fashioned cleaners that always work.” As an added benefit, you’ll save money and regular runs to the cleaning aisle.
Beres provided us with the following chemical-free recipes for make-it-yourself cleaning products.
Soft scrubber: Add enough dishwashing liquid (dye-free, fragrance-free if possible) to ½ cup baking soda to make a paste the consistency of frosting.
Soft scrubber: Add enough dishwashing liquid (dye-free, fragrance-free if possible) to ½ cup baking soda to make a paste the consistency of frosting.
Fabric softener: Pour ¼ cup white vinegar or borax into the final rinse cycle. Caution: Do not use vinegar if you use bleach.
Glass cleaner: Add 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice to ¼ cup white vinegar; or use plain club soda by
itself; or add ¼ teaspoon dishwashing liquid and 3 tablespoons white vinegar to 2 cups water in a
spray bottle.
Toilet cleaner: Add ¼ cup white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup borax.
Oven cleaner: Sprinkle water on the bottom of your oven, then cover with a layer of baking soda. Sprinkle water on top of the baking soda, then let sit overnight. Wipe the oven, then scrub any
remaining grime with a dab of liquid detergent on a sponge.
All-purpose spray cleaner: Combine ½ teaspoon washing soda (sodium carbonate), a dab of liquid soap and 2 cups hot
water in a spray bottle, then shake.
Furniture polish: Mix ½ teaspoon oil, such as olive or jojoba, with ¼ cup white vinegar or lemon juice
in a glass jar. Dab a rag into the solution and wipe wood surfaces.
Mold killer: Add 2 teaspoons tea tree oil to 2 cups water in a spray bottle, then shake.
Air fresheners: For unpleasant kitchen odors, boil cinnamon and cloves in a pan of water; boil cut-up
lemons in water; or open windows and doors, then scatter partially-filled dishes of vinegar around the
room. Sprinkle ½ cup borax on the bottom of garbage or diaper pails to inhibit odor-causing mold and
bacteria.
Disinfectants: Mix ½ cup borax with 1 gallon of hot water; or add 1 teaspoon of essential oil, such as
lavender, clove or tea tree, to 2 cups of water in a spray bottle; or add 20 drops of grapefruit seed
extract to 1 quart water.
Drain cleaner: To open clogs, pour ½ cup baking soda down drain, then pour ½ cup white vinegar
and cover the drain. Caution: Do not use this method after trying a commercial drain opener.
Floor cleaners and polishers: Add a few drops of white vinegar to cleaning water. For vinyl or linoleum, add a capful of baby oil to the cleaning water. For wood floors, apply a thin coat of oil and vinegar, in equal amounts, and rub well. For painted wood floors, mix 1 teaspoon washing soda into 1 gallon hot water. For brick and stone tiles, add 1 cup white vinegar to 1 gallon water and rinse with clear water.
