Green Cleaning

The costs of keeping a house clean can very quickly add up. Did you know that the average family in America can spend upwards of $800 per year on miscellaneous sprays to sanitize their homes and keep it smelling fresh?! Craziness...

Not only are the cleaners sold in stores expensive, they're also full of lots of harsh chemicals. Chemicals that kill 99.9% of all germs, but these chemicals can cause the same problem as overuse of antibiotics... superbug overgrowth. Basically, the germs become immune to the cleaner and morph into SUPER GERMS. So, in your attempt to keep your kids from getting sick you're actually causing them to get sicker.

Now, think about all of the bottles you throw away or (hopefully) recycle every month. How many of those empty bottles are from your cleaning products. A lot, right?!

This is a tutorial on how to make your own Antibacterial Surface Cleaner for about $10... per year! And the best part? It's all NATURAL!

First, get yourself a spray bottle. I had an empty "Method" spray cleaner bottle that I washed out.




























Next, get yourself some Essential Oils. I chose Lavender and Lemon essential oils because they smell wonderful together. Here is a list of Essential Oils that work best for Antibacterial Cleaning:

• Cinnamon
• Clove
• Lavender
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Balsam pine

I bought my oils at Whole Foods for $10 total.

Now, take 2 cups of purified or distilled water and put it into your spray bottle. I then added 20 drops of Lavender Oil and 10 drops of the Lemon Oil. 

DONE!

Now, don't forget the power of hot water and soap for cleaning. I usually wipe all of my surfaces with a hot, soapy rag to remove all of the sticky stuff and THEN I use my Essential Oil cleaner afterwards. Make sure to let the cleaner sit for a few minutes before wiping clean. That gives it time to work it's magic. And remember to shake up your cleaner each time you use it.


That was easy, right?! Those bottles of oil should last about a year if not longer.

Not only is this WAY cheaper, it's also WAY more sustainable. It's better for you and your family AND the environment. Everyone wins!

Now, go clean something... and feel good about it!

Paper Towels SUCK!

Okay, they don't really SUCK. They are amazingly handy, great for cleaning glass and an excellent option for napkins.

BUT... they are wasteful and expensive. With over 90% of US households taking advantage of the convenience of paper towels we produce over 3,000 tons of waste each day. That is a shocking statistic. One that doesn't sit well with the ever evolving environmentalist that I've become. So, I gave them up about a month and a half ago. And it has been a painful experience to say the least.

I've got a stash of cleaning rags that I wash when dirty.  Just by using the rags to clean for this last month and a half, I have saved roughly $25. Not a tremendous amount, but over the course of a year I will save over $200.

Linen is an excellent option for cleaning glass, as it's finished product is lint free. They also make lint free rags that you can purchase from big box stores in your area.

My next goal is to make some napkins to use and re-use. I love these napkins at Anthropologie... but there is no way I'm paying $32 when my fabric stash is overflowing.

Well, I'm off to start some sewing. Saving the world, one napkin at a time!