Day 34: Clean Green

Gotta get ready for Thanksgiving, which means cleaning the house for company, for us today. Before I decided to clean this afternoon I took a look to see if it would be hard to make my own green cleaners.... it's not! There are tons of recipes online that have very few ingredients and are suppose to get the job done just as well. Today for my Good Human Act I cleaned green! I needed an all purpose cleaner today so I looked at some cleaning recipes and combined a couple to make a Green Clean for my house.

I put 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/8 cup baking soda, 6 drops of 100% natural lemon oil and 6 drops 100% natural melaleuca (or tea tree) oil into a 27oz bottle and filled the rest with water. Then I shook it really good and cleaned my kitchen and bathroom. It seemed to work really well, it cut through the three boy build up really quickly, but it did leave a bit of a streaking behind, which I am sure is from the baking soda, (next time I may make it without the soda), though following up with a damp cloth took it away easily enough. It also didn't smell all vinegary like I feared it would. Plus, it was fun watching the vinegar and baking soda bubble up before I added the oils, I felt a little like a mad scientist.

The reason for using these natural ingredients is: vinegar, because of its acidity, kills most molds, bacteria and germs, baking soda is non toxic, it absorbs odors and adds a little bit of abrasion to the mix, lemon is a natural disinfectant plus it adds a nice smell and melaleuca has been known for it's penetrating and solvent powers.

There are lots of other recipes that you can make at home for numerous other cleaning jobs, here is a reason why to Clean Green from a website called Earth Easy, you can also click on the link to get lots more recipes for  making cleaning products.


The cost of commercial, chemical-based products can be high -- long term health concerns for the family, and environmental pollution caused by their manufacture and disposal. In the US, for example, 1 in 3 people suffer from allergies, asthma, sinusitis or bronchitis (US National Center for Health Statistics). Treatment for these conditions should include reducing synthetic chemicals in the home environment. 

For many home-cleaning chores, you can make your own cleaning products using the formulas listed below.

A growing number of commercial non-toxic home cleaning products are also available, as healthier and environmentally responsible alternatives. Your use of these products helps promote the growth of green businesses which are contributing to a sustainable economy.

My Green Clean