Before I started researching ways to clean my house in an Eco friendly manner, I thought for sure that this was going to be quite the chore. I never really entertained the idea of
"going green" when it came to housework. I thought that not only would it be harder and more time consuming (which I couldn't stand the thought of giving up even more of my precious play time with the kids!) but I also thought "you can't possibly have a clean house without chemicals!". I mean, how do you know that it is clean without knowing that all of those toxic chemicals have stripped every last contaminant off of that surface? Well, needless to say I was in for quite the surprise. I headed to the grocery store and picked up a few times that I would need to clean my house and not use a single chemical (I started to think how all of these chemicals could affect my family and I didn't like the thought that the chemicals could be hurting instead of helping). I found a few recipes on Pinterest and quickly went to work. I started with my dishwasher, it was in desperate need of help. I read online that you could clean your dishwasher with a simple packet of lemonade (yeah right!). So with only 15 cents and an hour of wash time to loose (since I had to clean the dishwasher already, if it didn't work I wasn't really worried). Jasmine watched as I dumped it in and laughed that this was how I was going to clean it, but then she thought it could work. After the cycle finished we popped open the door together and were shocked, it actually worked! My dishwasher was spotless! Needless to say, this started a chain affect and we became believers, so the next stop was the washing machine. The method I used was a little more time consuming but it was more waiting then anything. We filled the washer up with the hottest water it would allow and poured in two cups of white vinegar and let it set for an hour. After it had soaked we let it finish the cycle and filled it up again, this time adding two cups of Borax (an all natural bleach alternative that I couldn't survive a day without). We let it set for another hour and then put it through the normal cycle. It made most of my washer sparkly white, but there were still a few spots that I thought I would have to scrub, so I went and got my sponge and to my surprise (again lol) they wiped right out! I think that the results certainly speak for themselves. Since our day of experimenting we have happily traded in our chemical filled wipes and bottles for 4 simple cleaning supplies (aside from my laundry soap) that clean anything and everything. We have a box of Borax, s spray bottle of vinegar, a box of baking soda and home made dish detergent. Not only am I limiting the amount of chemicals we are being exposed to daily, we are saving a lot of money and it has actually made my cleaning routine easier. All of my green products clean better then any chemical I used to use and I uncluttered under my sink, finally! Here is a list of DIY cleaning supplies and the site that I found it on (always give credit where credit is due). I hope this helps to save others money, time and a few nose hairs. =D
To clean your washing machine:
Fill with hot water and add 2 cups of vinegar. Let it set for one hour and then run it through the rest of the cycle. Fill it with hot water again and add 2 cups of bleach. *I use Borax because it is a natural bleach alternative, but you can use regular bleach if you would rather* Let it set for one hour and then run it through the rest of the cycle. If there is still build up in the washer, it usually wipes out pretty easily with a sponge. Here is the site that I found it on, she has some other great tips on there too! (Like how to clan your bath tub with a baking soda paste, and it actually works). http://www.somewhatsimple.com/how-to-clean-your-washing-machine/
To clean your dishwasher:
Make sure that your washer is empty and put a packet of Lemonade Kool-aid *the generic works just the same, but this is the only flavor that will work* in the soap dispenser cup and run the cycle as usual. When it is all done it will be nice and sparkly clean and anything that is left on the bottom easily wipes out.
Homemade dishwasher detergent recipe:
1 Cup "Washing Soda" *Such as Arm and Hammer* or Baking Soda
1 Cup Borax (It does everything! LOL)
1/4 Cup Kosher Salt
1/4 cup
citric acid (available at brewing places or Amazon.com. Or as an alternative you can use the same amount of
Fruit Fresh or two packets of
Lemonade-Flavored Kool-Aid, ONLY lemon and ONLY unsweetened!)
3 Drops and ONLY 3 DROPS of liquid dish soap (any more than that will cause the dishwasher to overflow). *Add to each load, not to the mixture above*
Then splash 1/2 Cup of Vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher and start the cycle. This will help the dishes to shine.
Use 1-2 tablespoons of the above mix with each load in your soap tray.
This will save a ton of money and works great!
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/02/homemade-dishwasher-detergent-revised.html
Tips for cleaning with vinegar:
http://www.vinegartips.com/scripts/pageViewSec.asp?id=7
I hope that this helps (sorry if it is kind of long and overwhelming LOL). Enjoy!
~Susan
