Go green and save green
Heidi Watson
| 3 min read
I have made a couple New Year’s goals for myself this year. Resolution seems like such a strong word; but goal seems a little less scary, and if met, I will still be proud of myself. Two of my goals this year are to save money and be more green. One way I am attempting this feat is to kill two birds with one stone – make my own environmentally friendly cleaning products.
Thanks to the wonderful invention of Pinterest I have found that you can pretty much make any type of cleaner you want. I have started with the basics: tub and shower cleaner, window cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner and an all-purpose cleaner. In my research I learned that basically it comes down to two main ingredients- white vinegar and baking soda. If you have them, you can clean anything! When I was testing these out, I was kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Seriously, it’s so easy and I know I am saving a ton of money.
If you want to try it, here’s what I’ve found to work.
Window Cleaner:
- Fill a clean, empty spray bottle with half water and half vinegar. Shake. That’s all there is too it. Spray on window glass, mirrors and voilà, good as new! I use newspaper but a dry cloth works well too.
Toilet Bowl Cleaner:
- It doesn’t get much simpler than this. Pour 1 cup vinegar in the bowl, let sit for 30 minutes. Sprinkle baking soda into the bowl and onto the toilet bowl brush and scrub around bowl and rim. Flush a few times.
All- Purpose Cleaner:
- This might be my favorite. Take peels from two oranges and line the inside of a 16 oz. mason jar, fill jar with vinegar to cover peels. Close the jar tightly and let it sit for two weeks and then add to a clean empty spray bottle. Now you have a great orange zesty all purpose cleaner.
The true test for me was the tub and shower cleaner. I had so much soap build up on the door I thought I could scrape it off (which I tried) and it still wouldn’t budge. I tried every product on the market. I don’t even want to think about the money I wasted on trying to get this shower clean. I told my husband several times “let’s just take a sledge hammer to it and start over.”
I found this post and tried blue Dawn dish soap and vinegar. Cue the music and the heavens open up – this stuff rocks.
What to do: I used ½ cup of vinegar and ½ cup of Dawn. Heat the vinegar in the microwave until hot(but not boiling) add to a spray bottle. Add the Dawn and shake well. Spray it on, scrub and rinse away the scumminess. I found letting it sit on the soap scum and tough build up works better. I usually let mine sit for 45 minutes or so.
I will be continuing to add to my homemade products, so please share your recipes/tips with me!
Photo Credit: go_greener_oz
