Posts Tagged ‘how to make your own cleaning products’

Reuse Tues: Puppy Dogs, Paper Bags & Plastic Bottles

Posted on November 23rd, 2010 by Tonia 3 Comments

It looks more like Christmas than Thanksgiving outside my window right now.  We got totally dumped on with snow last night…the light, fluffy, sparkly, fun-to-play-in kind.

And since there was a request for more long-and-low-puppy photos, here is Charlie Brown {who has been forced into this new farm-dog life by his subsistence-farming-obsessed humans…poor thing.  He’s trying to have a good attitude about it for our sake, but it’s clear he misses the Duluth house he grew up in with its carpeted floors and the sunny spots that hit at exactly 10 and 1 in the middle of the living room every day.  But he agrees that the new-found hobby of staring at the wood pile for hours waiting for a chipmunk to show its face makes up for everything}:

"What is the new white world?"

Interesting smells and sounds everywhere...

Someone's starting to get cold...

Let me back inside!!

With all this new snow, I am definitely feeling the holiday spirit…so today’s Reuse Tues post is featuring a fun little project for the kiddos, just in time for Thanksgiving:

What a cool way to use a couple paper grocery bags that are probably haunting your pantry right now!!  Step by step instructions for this project right here.

Also, LowImpactBetty tweeted me a great #ReuseTues idea: “Save your bottles from cleaning products & fill them up with your new DIY cleaning supplies!”  And she provided a link to all the DIY cleaning supply recipes on her blog.  All her recipes are natural and non-toxic so I am a big fan, of course.  Can’t wait to make the wood cleaner in particular, now that we live in a home with wood floors!  But the main point here is that reusing the plastic bottles that cleaning supplies come in from the store is an excellent way to reduce the waste expelled from our households.

Mike and I are off to Chicago for some turkey eating with the family and a wedding, so most likely the blog will be quiet until we return.  But don’t despair…big-fun-farmy-posts are in the works so check back soon!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Homemade Cleaning Solutions

Posted on May 11th, 2010 by Tonia 8 Comments

We’re whittling away at Cheri’s list. Today we’re going to make our own earth friendly cleaning solution, because commercial cleaners are heavy on toxic chemicals, and consistently buying the eco-friendly brands is really darn expensive.

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!