I love having books recommended to me. It doesn’t mean that I always like the recommended book, but it usually takes the work out of trying to decide what book to read next.
The other day I had the pleasure of being introduced to a ‘green-themed’ book titled, Clean House, Clean Planet by Karen Logan. It was a simple book about making your own natural cleaning recipes without the use of toxins, commonly found in everyday store-bought products.
Not being the most obsessive cleaner in the world (just ask my mom), I was surprised how much it appealed to me. Cleaners that I could make at home using a few simple and cheap ingredients? It sounded like a no-brainer.
So, after purchasing the book at my local Half Price Books, I read the book cover to cover and deducted that there was a plethora of useful recipes and information worth sharing.
So here’s a few of Logan’s best! (Quoted or paraphrased directly from her book)
Odor Absorber
White Distilled Vinegar (Logan recommends Heinz)
Pure Essential Oil (Logan recommends peppermint)
8 oz. fine-mist spray bottle
Directions:
Fill the bottle with vinegar and add 10-20 drops of essential oil. Shake before using. Spray to absorb unpleasant odors. Great for the bathroom and kitchen. Unlike commercial air fresheners, this air freshener is meant to absorb the odor and is not meant to be inhaled as a sweet smell. The odor will be gone in minutes.
Caution: Do not put your face into the mist and sniff the spray. Vinegar is a mild eye irritant, so be careful not to spray into eyes or let your kids get hold of it and spray into theirs. 90% effective.
Club Clean™, glass cleaner
Club Soda
8-16 oz. spray bottle
Directions:
Fill the bottle with club soda. Spray and wipe. All glass cleaners work best with a lint-free cloth. Logan find that a soft terry-cloth rag works best. Great for mirrors, windows, glass tables, eyeglasses, even the photocopier machine. For the absolutely best results, use two lint-free rags: one rag for the first wet-wipe and one for the dry-wipe. This method eliminates the streaking. Club soda doesn’t dry as quickly as commercial cleaners, but I guarantee you that when it dries, the glass will be sparkling clean. What’s the magic ingredient? Sodium citrate. The sodium citrate softens the water and helps to clean. If your windows are extra dirty, wet your rag with the club soda, add a teeny-tiny sprinkle of baking soda or a bit of hand dish-washing liquid, then wet your rag again. Rub the glass, spray well, and wipe: the grime is gone. 95% effective.
Other uses:
Stains on clothing. Use a couple good squirts and a quick rub with a hand dishwashing liquid, then let it sit and rinse.
Stains on carpet. Blot up spill with a paper towel, working from outside in. Pour a small amount of club soda and blot again. Next, try using a little spray of soap and water to finish picking up the rest of the stain.
Plant cleaner. Spray the plant all over with club soda, then gently wipe the dirt and dust off the leaves.
Chrome shiner. Spray on and wipe off. Add a drop or two of oil to your rag for shine and to prevent water spots.
Alice’s Wonder Spray™, all-purpose household cleaner
Liquid soap or detergent
White distilled vinegar
Borax
Purified water
Pure Essential Oil (Logan recommends lavender and lemon together)
16 oz. spray bottle
Caution: This recipe has a little bit of mildly toxic borax in it. Although technically not a disinfectant, borax is reputed to have antifungal and antiseptic properties. Borax is toxic to ingest, so please be sure to label the bottle with the ingredients, and keep out of the reach of children. Do not use if you have open cuts on your hands and skin
Directions:
Mix 2 tbsp of vinegar with 1 tsp. borax. Fill the rest of the bottle with very hot water. Shake until borax is dissolved. Add ¼ cup of liquid soap or 1/8 cup of liquid detergent LAST. To scent, add 10-15 drops of an essential oil. Because minerals in the water inhibit cleaning, it’s best to use purified or distilled water, especially for this recipe.
Please follow the order of the recipe by mixing the vinegar, borax and water first and adding the soap last.
Use as you would any other household cleaner. Logan uses it on her refrigerator, walls, tiles, shower and toilet. It’s also great at removing fingerprints on walls, doors, cabinets and drawers. If you need it, use a little sprinkle of baking soda on your rag for extra cleaning power. It’s not as chemically powerful as commercial cleaners, but if you give it more time, it works just as well. 70-80% effective.
While I’ve only shared a couple key recipes, the author provides over 80 more for all types of cleaning situations; every single one tested by her, as well as her cleaning friends. She also breaks down the price (for all of us penny-pinchers out there) and compares it to the brand name sold for the same purpose.
While most of us want to be green and try to change our habits to better the environment, sometimes it’s difficult to be picky when it comes to our cleaning products. I tend to stick with what works! However, Logan goes through all the chemicals typically found in our every day cleaning products and lists their potential dangers as well as the risks to the environment. Many of the chemicals found in cleaning products are excessively dangerous and often unnecessary. In many cases, companies are not even required to print all the ingredients on their packaging!
So, I decided to try a more natural approach. It’s better for me and better for the environment. And for anyone that has kids, these recipes are safer than the chemical alternatives.
Go ahead, see for yourself…and you may find that you want to try all of Logan’s recipes!