As most of you are aware, I am very active in ridding my house of as many toxins as possible. In this day and age, this quest is proving to be daunting to say the least, but a quest worth endeavoring upon. One of the ways I have chosen to prevent my house from becoming a dangerous toxic waste dump is to thin out my cleaning supplies.
Not only do I believe it is good for safety, (as most of the cleaning supplies I use are benign and would not harm my son if he were to ingest them) I also believe it is health promoting to limit the use of toxic chemicals as much as possible in day to day cleaning.
Much of the toxins we have in our bodies have been absorbed by our skin by simply touching surfaces, believe it or not. When you wipe off that Windex or Comet, it does not magically disappear. It is still on the surface and being abosorbed by your (or your children's) body upon contact. Scary...
Below is a list of cleaning supplies I keep on hand for day to day use:
Borax
Washing Soda (baking soda that has not been finely processed for consumption)
White Vinegar
Lemon juice
Olive Oil
Castille Soap
Tea Tree oil
I use a mixture of 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar to clean most kitchen and dining room surfaces and appliances (including the floor) as well as clean my windows, mirrors and other glass surfaces.
For a "disinfectant" cleaning for the bathroom surfaces and kitchen surfaces when needed, I use a combination of water, castille soap and tea tree oil. This also cleans polished brass and blinds or shutters.
For dusting my wood furniture I use olive oil I have scented with lemon essential oil (the essential oil is not necessary, it just makes it smell good).
For my bathtub, shower, kitchen and bathroom sinks, to shine my stainless steel pots and pans and to rid my coffee cups of stains I use Borax and/or washing soda.
For laundry detergent, a mixture of a shredded bar of Fels Naptha soap, water and Borax can be used. This will make about 5 gallons of laundry detergent for under $3.00.
Borax can also be substituted for 1/2 of your laundry detergent to minimize cost.
Borax can also be substituted for 1/2 of your laundry detergent to minimize cost.
I use white vinegar in the rinse cycle of my washing machine for fabric softener. No, my clothes do not smell like vinegar, the smell dissipates once your clothes are dry. : P
It is not to be said that I do not use harsh chemicals on rare occasions. When we moved into this house it needed some SERIOUS scrubbing attention and we found ourselves resorting to the more harsh cleansers. However, once we dropped the chemical bomb (this statement used in jest) on our home to 'deep clean' we have maintained as much as possible the non-toxic cleaning route.
It's not only safer and healthier, it is also MUCH cheaper than purchasing the other cleaners and I can use one cleaner for multiple things.
It's not for everyone, I know. But you could always pick one and give it a try. In my opinion...it is worth the peace of mind to know that if my son got into my cleaning cabinet, a trip to the emergency room would not be necessary.
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1 comments:
I use the vinegar/water to clean most things also. You can add some essential oil to it to help with the smell.. although even when I do that the kids still say "ew" whats that smell? Haha.. but if I don't make my own, I go and buy less toxic cleaners at Whole Foods etc. What exactly do you do with the Borax? Just use it dry?
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