Resourceful Living - DIY Homemade "Green Cleaning" Kit

DIY "GREEN CLEANING" KIT

We live in a world where we come into daily contact with chemicals. Many commercially made cleaners contain a cocktail of chemicals that leave a residue on our bodies, bench-tops, cooking utensils, furniture, etc and it is one of the reasons that I personally try to use as few chemical-based products as I possibly can.

You might think that its all too hard and takes too much effort to make your own "Green Cleaning" products, because you are so used to the commercially made chemically enhanced supermarket cleansers working first time, every time.

Don't be discouraged, try and stick with your "green cleaning" products and cleaning regime remembering that you will not get that instant chemical blitz that a shop-bought product will give you but knowing that your time and efforts are helping to reduce the use of dangerous toxins and thereby helping the earth to recover from man's industrial revolution.

Make up three separate "green cleaning" kits – one for the kitchen, one for the bathroom and one for general all-purpose cleaning.

You may like to colour code each "green cleaning" kit by buying different coloured buckets and using the same coloured cloth/s that match the bucket colour.

You may also like to include a smaller size bucket (ie. 4 litre bucket) or an old ice cream container, rubber gloves (if you use them) and microfibre, terry-towelling or cotton cloths for cleaning, drying and polishing in with your "green cleaning" kit/s.

Making our own cleaning products is not only easy, it is also much less expensive than purchasing pre-made products from the store.

To get started, you need just a few key ingredients which you will be able to source from your Local Supermarket :

Bicarb/Baking Soda

The same stuff that deodorizes your fridge can help in lots of cleaning applications too!

An excellent Bathroom Cleaner (just add Tea Tree Oil and Water).

Bicarb is used for abrasive/scouring cleaning, stain removal, deodorizing and water softening.

Washing Soda

Washing Soda cuts grease, cleans petroleum oil, removes wax or lipstick and neutralizes odours in the same way that baking soda does.

Do not use it on fibreglass, aluminum or waxed floors — unless you intend to remove the wax.

You can get it in most stores by the name “Soda Crystals”. Washing Soda/Crystals is also used to soften Hard Water.

Borax (use sparingly)

Is usually found in a white powder form and acts as an abrasive cleaner. Most common applications are for scrubbing sinks and bathtubs.

Useful as a Stain Remover, Disinfectant and it also boosts the cleaning power of Detergent Mixes.

Cloudy Ammonia (use sparingly)

Useful for heavy grease and dirt cutting extra stain removal jobs.

Pure Laundry Soap/Soap Flakes or Homemade Soap

Plain and Unscented works best. Grate and melt into all-purpose washing detergents (as I have mentioned in my hub - Take One Bar of Soap).

Use it to hand-scrub hard to shift stains before putting into the washing machine.

White Vinegar

Normal, everyday vinegar is a great grease-cutting acid.

Use it either diluted or neat when disinfecting, deodorizing, whitening and for general cleaning. (Use Vinegar as a replacement for Ammonia and/or Bleach).

Tea Tree Oil

A natural Mould/Mold and Mildew remover.

All-purpose cleaner, especially in the Bathroom and/or Toilet.

Eucalyptus Oil

Fabulous Disinfectant and Room Deodoriser (especially when coughs and colds are about).

Also a very useful stain/tacky glue remover and general cleaner.

Olive Oil

Usually Olive Oil is used in cleaning for polishing wood floors or wooden furniture.

Lemon Juice

Fabulous all-rounder it is also a great grease cutter which can add a natural fragrance to your cleaning mix.

Use for disinfecting, deodorizing, whitening and as a mild bleach. (Use as a replacement for Ammonia/Bleach).

Water

Is used to dissolve solid cleaning substances or to dilute solutions.

Elbow grease

Is the most important ingredient for all "green cleaning", especially at home.

Chemicals have been doing the work for most people for a long time and making us sick in the process of getting the job done quickly.

Get rid of the spray and wipe mentality which the television marketers/advertisers have spent millions of dollars drumming into us by saturating our television screens day and night that all it takes is a spray here, a spray there and a once wipe over ... problem solved - no more dirt/grime/bugs/germs/nasties etc.

It sounds great but what about the CHEMICAL RESIDUE that is being left behind - surely this is possibly more harmful than the dirt/grime/bugs/germs/nasties etc that you have just cleaned up???

I will list "Green Cleaning" recipes on separate Hubpages so look out for them and get on with "green cleaning" your homes and our planet! :-)

Click on the highlighted link below to check out UrsulaRose's blog ... you just might learn something new about Green Cleaning and Resourceful Living.

Resourceful Rosee by Homeworker Rose/Resourceful Rosee 2010

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