I was inspired to write this post by Auntie Dorcas and now that I'm finishing it, it's Earth Day! (Let's keep Earth Day every day, ok? Like Mother's Day - honor the mothers and all the parents every day).
I also refill my laundry jugs at the same store with Ecos unscented laundry detergent. The clothes are scented by fresh air from the laundry line!
I refill these bottles because I have read that reuse is better than recycling.
For our wood floors, we use Bona spray and a cloth as we see spots and over the whole floor rather, uh, infrequently.
To wash the tile floors and walls in the bathroom, I keep Dr. Bronner's castile soap on hand just because it smells so nice and I like the ethos of the company. I do have Murphy's Oil Soap for when we wash down the unpainted main wooden steps, but that is rare.
I have some kind of wood polish or lotion or something for Grandma's rocking chair, the vintage buffet, and the vintage piano - a good job for a child who wants to earn some cash, so that task happens on whim.
For the rest of the surfaces, I mix up cleaners from vinegar and Sal Suds. For general cleaning, I put 2 Tbsp. white vinegar, 2 Tbsp. Sal Suds in a spray bottle and fill up with water. For toilet bowl cleaning, I use equal parts vinegar and Sal Suds and just squirt 1-2 Tbsp. in the toilet bowl before scrubbing and letting it stand.
Before I detailed all of this, I thought I was just cleaning with Sal Suds and vinegar. Huh. I still am pleased with my current system and think it's reasonably earth-friendly.
We use rags and elbow grease to clean (explaining elbow grease to kids is super-fun!). I have some paper towels way at the back of a closet, but in general, we avoid disposables and I have rags in almost every load of laundry which is just fine with me (also, am I the only one who will suddenly swipe off dust with an item of clothing headed for the dirty laundry hamper anyway?).
I'm interested in your cleaners and methods and thoughts.
15 comments:
You are not the only person who suddenly dusts with an item of clothing headed for the laundry hamper.
I use a lot of vinegar and hit up the refill stores for various supplies. I think I'm drowning in rags - I recently tried to throw out a very tired flannel pillowcase that my husband pulled out of the trash because 'it still has life in it'. Sigh. I'll probably patch his jeans with it or something.
Don't you just love Auntie Dorcas! She is actually my friend IRL, and my son installed her Internet. I do love her.
We are also over-supplied with rags! What the heck?!
I do love her! I find so much wisdom and humor in her writing. I have read all her books and I follow her blog :) You are blessed indeed to have her as a friend.
I mainly use half and half vinegar and water in the bathroom, and in the kitchen, two cups water, one of vinegar and two T. baking soda in spray bottle - it doesn't smell, but does need to be rinsed off, as the baking soda leaves a whitish film. I also clean mirrors with water and a wipe with a towel. I just heard today that you can clean table tops and legs with half white vinegar and half olive oil and I'm going to try it.
Something I would really like to know - our kitchen floor is from the 1980s and has some dirt that's hard to remove. I know ammonia would do it, but I don't want to be passing out from using it, and I don't want our cats to be subject to fumes. I tried just leaving puddles of soapy water on some areas, adding baking soda for some abrasiveness and scrubbing. It worked some, but I guess I'm wondering if there's any magic formula to soak it off. I saw a recipe for hydrogen peroxide and b. soda to leave on 20 to 30 minutes, but the cats came along and I don't want them drinking it! One of them could be closed in a room, but not the other. A dilemma.
Lisa, that is tricky with the curious cats! I have a Magic Eraser that I use sometimes for spots on hard surfaces that will not yield to elbow grease and vinegar cleaners. I don't think that would be toxic to the cats because there's no soaking and any residue from the rubbing can be wiped off immediately. Now, if your kitchen floor is wood, the Eraser would probably leave a mark behind, but if it's linoleum, I would definitely try.
We have hard well water with iron so it is a challenge to keep bathroom fixtures clean. Our go to is the old fashioned Bon Ami for sinks and tubs. We still have not found anything to keep the toilets pristine with out using toxic cleaners.
I do love Bon Ami for soap scum in our showers and deep cleaning the sinks. I know we have hard water, but so far a vinegar soak in the toilets keeps the mineral build up at bay.
I LOVE Sal Suds for kitchen duty & pretty much everything else, too. Like you, I would dilute, mix in some vinegar and go to town. But recently I read an article stating the vinegar and Sal Suds (or Castile) is actually working at cross purposes and encourages a rinse of vinegar/water after the soap & scrubbing. So... now I'm rethinking things. I am very happy to be reminded of Dorcus'
blog too. Thank you-- and if you are interested, the article that is causing me to rethink the vinegar mix: https://www.lisabronner.com/a-word-of-caution-about-vinegar-and-castile-soap/
Great info! Never heard of Sal Suds, will check out.
I will - thank you, Margo!
Thank you for this! I will check it out.
There is a lot of helpful information on Lisa Bronner's website! I am going to change how I clean my toilets and how I formulate my all-purpose cleaner - thank you again for this info.
Excellent Earth-Day-Every-Day post, Margo!
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