In the last year I have made some BIG changes in the products I use in my home. This was one of my New Year's goals a few years back and I'm happy to say that I actually accomplished that one. Praise Jesus, it's a miracle!
That means that the majority of the toxic crap has officially left the building. While I had made some pretty decent headway in years past, last year brought about a whole new CLEAN product revolution. Everything has seen a face lift to products that are more earth friendly and better for my family's health. I seriously don't know why I didn't do this sooner but perhaps the mountain was just too overwhelming mmkay. So to make it easier for all of you to embark on your own clean product REVOLUTION, I'm going to list for you all the products I currently use. Many of these are homemade and some are not. I've tested my fair share and these are the products that work time and time again.
It might be helpful for you all to know that my home is GROSS. Ok, maybe that's too harsh of a word. But my house was built in the early 1980's and still has the originally flooring. Let's just stop and think on that one for a minute all right? Ick. The dust is out of control. I can dust EVERYTHING and literally 5 minutes later, it's like it never happened. In addition, we have the Buddy Boy who enjoys running outside in the mud and then tracking it over the entire contents of my home. Add in the boy child who seems to be oblivious to anything dirt related and you've got a recipe for disaster. Ugh.
My point here is that I've got my work cut out for me. I want my home to freakin' SPARKLE and I want it to LOOK and SMELL clean. Not like dirt and dog and dust and boy and grossness. So my cleaning products simply MUST live up to the hype. And y'all- they totally do!
I'm breaking it down room for room, so get out your notepad and let's do this!
Living Area:
- All purpose cleaner. This stuff is a staple throughout the entire house, it works in ALL THE PLACES. I stash a bottle of this in every location I can- you should too! This one is homemade, here's how you do it. Combine 3 tablespoons rubbing alcohol, 3 tablespoons liquid castile soap (I use Dr. Bronners) and 30 drops of essential oils (I use the cleaning blend found here) into a spray bottle. Fill the rest of the way with water. And that is it!
- Glass cleaner. I am still mourning the loss of my SprayWay Glass Cleaner- you know, the blessing from above in a blue bottle. Out of everything, this has been the hardest for me to find a suitable replacement. I am currently using Mrs Meyer's glass cleaner and while it gets the job done, it's no Sprayway. The lemon verbena scent is nice and it's available in almost all the products, so to keep the "smell continuity" throughout my home, I only use this scent. Plus the lavender smells like old lady perfume. Sorry but it's true.
- Carpet cleaner. Pets and children means you clean your carpets on the regular and I am clearly no exception. For spot cleaning, I simply spray FULL STRENGTH white vinegar directly onto the spot and allow it to soak in. Then rub it out with a rag. I have also been known to sprinkle my carpets with baking soda and then vacuum up.
- Hard floor/tile cleaner. One to two small drops of liquid castille soap in a bowl of warm water and that's all you need for the "hard surface" floor cleaners. One word on this- do a little test run on a small area to make sure it won't ruin your floors. It shouldn't but it's always better to be safe than sorry!
- Essential oils. I bet you're wondering why this is even here on the list? Well I keep a diffuser in my living room and it adds an amazing clean, fresh smell. Plus it has the added benefit of releasing GOOD THINGS for your health directly into the air you are breathing. Now who wouldn't want this? If you are currently using ANYTHING Glade or plug-in or Fabreeze scented, stop it right now. Just stop. Instead, reach for your essential oils. Psst- here's a link to the diffusers I use. I can NOT recommend these enough! I have 2 currently and just purchased the newest model for the kiddo's bedroom.
- Dish soap. I keep this Mrs. Meyer's dish soap in my NEW automatic soap dispenser sitting on my kitchen counter at all times. This is the soap we wash our dishes with and the soap we wash our hands with- I do not have 2 separate soaps. This soap smells great and FEELS clean, leaving no yucky residue. It doesn't produce as many suds but it still gets the job done and no, I do not have to use extra soap. It works just like my old Palmolive but it's better for you.
- Dishwasher detergent. Again, I find myself reaching for the Mrs. Meyer's products. I tried a few others and they simply couldn't get all the bits and pieces off. For the longest time I could NOT find anything that compared to my previous detergent. But then....HALLELUJAH! I found the mother load in this soap. NO residue and it removed every single food yucky off my dishes in my jam packed dishwasher. Yay!
- All purpose cleaner. Again, with this stuff! Gah, it's so good! I clean ALL THE THINGS in my kitchen with this cleaner. The floor, the cabinets, the counter, the stove- everything!
- Laundry soap. I make my own you guys! In a pinch, I keep a bottle of Seven Generation laundry soap but I MUCH prefer this homemade version. It is super simple to make and pretty darn cost effective. One word on this- I prefer to make a powder version because I simply do not have space to store gallons of liquid. And in my cramped laundry area, space is at a premium. Here's how you make your own- combine 1 bar of grated (use a cheese grater or your food processor) castile bar soap, 1 cup borax and 1 cup washing soda. Then to use, simply add 1 tablespoon to a small load of laundry or 2-3 tablespoons for a large load. So easy!
Homemade laundry soap lasts forever! - Bleach. Yes, I am still using bleach. I would really love to find a better alternative because as I told the husband recently bleach is a corrosive, toxic, bacteria killing CHEMICAL and can cause all sorts of health issues like respiratory concerns, skin irritation, migraines, damage to the nervous system, vomiting and more. Not to mention that it releases dioxin that has been proven to contribute cancer and that's not even discussing the pollution it releases into our water supply. So yeah- I'm working on this one too.
- Stain fighters. Homemade is nice and all but can it really get out BOY and HUSBAND stains?!? Well, actually....it does a pretty good job. But when I've got some really tough stains I always reach for my bar of Fels Naptha. Wet the stain area with just a bit of water from your wash and then rub the bar over the stain. That's it. And a bar of this stuff is around $2 and lasts OVER A YEAR. I'm sorry- what?!? When was the last time you spent $2 for a year's worth of stain fighter/remover? Exactly.
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| Around $2 a bar!!!! |
- Smell/stain fighter. Another trick up my sleeve is the spray bottle of full strength white vinegar that I keep on my laundry shelf. I reach for this for more minor stains (so regular dirt, normal food stains, dirty sleeves etc) and also use it to remove smells. Because the reality in my house is that the dog barfs or poops or pees at least once per month and the rags are DISGUSTING. So I spray them down with the white vinegar before adding them to the wash. Cheap, easy and it works!
- Toilet bowl cleaner. I used to reach for the Clorox bleach toilet bowl cleaner but now I opt for this great stuff from Mrs. Meyers. It does a pretty decent job and I personally really enjoy the Lemon Verbena scent. You can also use your all purpose cleaner here as well.
- Counters/sink/shower/bathtub cleaner. Is anyone really surprised that I use the all purpose homemade cleaner here as well? For the nasty pink soap scum, I spray a little extra and simply allow it a few minutes to really set in. Then grab a scrub brush and go to town! It does a really great job and I love that I'm using a homemade, natural product!
I think you can guess that pretty much everything else in my house is cleaned using the all purpose cleaner. There's truthfully not much that it won't clean. You can also opt for different essential oils in the cleaner to make something with even more disinfectant properties. This stuff simply makes my house smell CLEAN and I love that!
My favorite essential oil to use in the all purpose cleaner is the one aptly called, Cleaning by Eden's Garden. It is a blend of lavender, lemongrass, tea tree and rosemary and smells WAY better than it sounds! I buy it off Amazon and so far it has lasted a very long time, highly recommend!
General dusting is done with a duster or wet rags (no cleaner/sprays/products) that get run through the wash.
I do not use wood polish.
My kitchen table is cleaned with a damp sponge. NOTHING else.
I use my diffuser every night in our master bedroom and I'm super excited to try these new blends that I just purchased.
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| $24.95 on Amazon! |
I also run one daily downstairs in our living area. My favorites for nighttime are thieves and lavender and for daytime, thieves and orange or lemon. I also switch out the essential oils depending on the season and our health. So typically I diffuse a LOT of thieves in fall/winter as we try to combat the cold and flu season and I firmly believe it has helped to keep us healthy!Well there you go! This is my current arsenal of more natural cleaning products and I do hope that it has provided some helpful guidance and encouragement to you! It's possible to keep your home looking and smelling clean and use products that will keep your family and the environment healthy. If I can do this, YOU can do this!
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