My family came to join in the fun.

This batch will probably end up as hard cider, fermenting in our basement this winter. So it wasn’t completely off-base for me to choose the Punch Brothers’ song “Rye Whiskey” as the tune for this little video:

Our recipe today is for an all-purpose multi-surface cleaner:

Ingredients {makes a 1/2 gallon}:

1/2 cup white vinegar {not the apple-cider kind that is used for cooking}

1/4 cup baking soda {or 2 teaspoons borax}

1/2 gallon {2 liters} water

Steps:

Mix all three ingredients together and use for cleaning windows, mirrors, counter-tops, shower walls/floor, etc. {If using on natural surfaces such as wood, test on a small hidden area first!}

{Note: in the video I shortened the ingredients a little, to make 1 quart instead of 1/2 gallon, so that it would fit in the spray bottle I had on hand.}

Long term health concerns for humans, and major environmental pollution, are caused by the manufacture and disposal of commercial cleaning supplies, so if you have not purged your home of toxic cleaning products yet…well, whatcha waitin’ for?  Let’s vow to stop buying these products!!  It’s so easy to do when there are so many alternatives…

And yes, there are so many alternatives that I never knew about before! While doing my research for this post, I found the following list of ingredients that can be used in place of commercial cleaning products {they’re environmentally safe, but some of them can still cause skin/eye irritation and can be harmful if swallowed, so please handle them carefully and keep out of reach of children}:

• Baking Soda – cleans, deodorizes, softens water, scours.
• Soap – unscented soap in liquid form, flakes, powders or bars is biodegradable and will clean just about anything. Avoid using soaps which contain petroleum distillates.
• Lemon – one of the strongest food-acids, effective against most household bacteria.
• Borax – {sodium borate} cleans, deodorizes, disinfects, softens water, cleans wallpaper, painted walls and floors.
• White Vinegar – cuts grease, removes mildew, odors, some stains and wax build-up.
• Washing Soda – or SAL Soda is sodium carbonate decahydrate, a mineral. Washing soda cuts grease, removes stains, softens water, cleans wall, tiles, sinks and tubs.  Do not use on aluminum.
• 100 Proof Alcohol – an excellent disinfectant. Use in a solution with water.
• Cornstarch – can be used to clean windows, polish furniture, shampoo carpets and rugs.
• Citrus Solvent – cleans paint brushes, oil and grease, some stains.

Do you have any recipes for earth friendly household cleaning solutions?  Please share them in the comments, I’d love to try making some more!

This is such a great thing to do, the main reason being because store-bought laundry detergents have scary ingredients, including quaternary ammonium sodium carbonate, sodium alkyl benzene sulfonate, sodium silicate, bleach, and some phosphates.  {The fact that my spell-checker thinks that half of those are not real words tells me that they certainly shouldn’t be going into our ground water by the gallons day after day.}  And buying the eco-friendly detergents is really expensive…so, let’s get right to it, shall we!

Ingredients:

2 cups finely grated soap {preferably Ivory or Ivory Snow}
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax

Steps:

1. Mix well and store in an airtight container.

2. Use a 1/2 cup for a full load, less for smaller loads.

{Regarding High Efficiency (HE) and Front-Load Washers:  You may have been told you need to use “special soap” for your HE or front-load washing machine.  This is because they use less water, so they require soap that is less sudsy. The good news is, the homemade detergent in this recipe is VERY low suds. Just make sure you use the recommended amount of detergent.}