Tag Archives: household

21 days to a more natural home series part 4 — all purpose cleaner


all natural home seriesIn day 4 of our series we are going to make the product you will probably use most of the time.  Your all natural all-purpose cleaner.

This is a very simple and plain product that is easy to make.   It is very inexpensive and will work just as well as your bottle of store disinfectant.

I use this for cleaning my bathrooms, kitchens, and floors.  It has many uses and works great. I no longer have to worry that my baby can’t touch something I have just wiped because he might get chemicals on his hands.  It is natural and safe.  I love it!

As with every new change in your life, this has some things that you will notice differently than your “name brand store cleaners.”  At first spray it smells like vinegar but will dissipate and leave behind your essential oil smell.  Also if you wipe it and it leaves streaks know that they will evaporate and leave nothing behind.  The only flaws I notice.

Ready to make some???

Grab your spray bottle and items you purchased yesterday to make this cleaner.  I make mine directly into the spray bottle, no need to make a mess.

Pour the following into the spray bottle in the order given:

  • 4 cups of hot tap water
  • 2 teaspoons of Dr.Bronners castile soap
  • 2 teaspoons of borax
  • 1 teaspoons of baking soda
  • 15 drops of essential oils–I like to use orange or peppermint for this
  • 1/4 teaspoon of tea tree oil

Next you carefully are going to add 5 Tablespoons of vinegar to the bottle.  Add it slowly as it will fizz up.  Continue adding until done, then fill the rest of the bottle with warm water.

Give the bottle a couple of turns and shakes and you are ready to use your product.

 

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next up scouring powder

21 days to a more natural home series part 3 – things to purchase

all natural home series

 

On day three of our challenge to make our homes more natural our next step is actually buying the products you need.

This is where you will have a small expense in the beginning but it will even out over time.  Most of these items you can buy at your local grocery store.  Some you my have problems finding and will have to order online but find a place that does free shipping and then it doesn’t cost much.

 

Things to buy

  • borax
  • baking soda
  • washing soda
  • vinegar
  • alcohol
  • peroxide
  • fels naptha bar soap
  • Dr Bronners soap
  • essential oils—I have peppermint and orange
  • tea tree oil
  • 3 good spray bottles – try and get 3 different colored ones

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Most all I purchased at Walmart.  Make sure to buy the more costly spray bottles ($3) as they will last longer than a cheaper one.  The only thing I bought online was the essential oils and Dr Bronners soap.  I got mine from vitaminshoppe.com but check the prices at amazon as well.

Once you gather all your ingredients we will begin by making your all-purpose household cleaner.

 

21 days to a more natural home series part 2 –why make the switch

all natural home seriesThere are literally thousands of house cleaning products on the market today, all claiming to kill 99.9% of germs or bacteria. In theory, this is great; however in reality, these products do more harm to our bodies than good.

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But while the chemicals in cleaners foam, bleach, and disinfect to make our dishes, bathtubs and counter tops gleaming and germ-free, many also contribute to indoor air pollution, are poisonous if ingested, and can be harmful if inhaled or touched. In fact, some cleaners are among the most toxic products found in the home.

Did you know that nearly 80% of the chemicals found in everyday cleaning products have not been tested for long-term effects? By using these products, you may very well have a clean house today, and possible cancer in the future.  (Insert cancer page.
The Cancer Prevention Coalition lists hundreds of toxic and deadly chemicals that are in household cleaners.

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 The toxic fumes that you breath in from these products could be one of the main reasons for the headaches, fatigue, body aches, soreness, tiredness, and a number of other common ailments that most all of us experience.  Take a walk down the cleaning isle in the grocery store, do you instantly sneeze?  Use toilet bowl cleaner to remove rust and get some on your hands, it will burn until you rinse off!  Clean a bathroom without proper ventilation, you will see right away that it isn’t safe.
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When it comes to cleaners, the consumer has little to go on beyond the warning labels that manufacturers are required to put on their products. The labels DANGER, WARNING and POISON give only a very general idea about the seriousness of the unknown substances a product contains.

 No law requires manufacturers of cleaning products to list ingredients on their labels or to test their products for safety. It’s up to you to make sure your home is not only clean, but also nontoxic. Unfortunately, it isn’t easy to identify which products contain these hazardous ingredients.

While cleaners are the only household products regulated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission under the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act, their sellers aren’t required to reveal these products’ ingredients. These ingredients are considered “trade secrets,” so government regulations are actually designed to protect this proprietary information, not to protect human health or the environment.

We can’t just blindly believe  that products are safe just because they are widely available and for sale. Cigarettes are sold and yet we know the effects they have on the body. They are proven cancer causers.

Just because something is labeled as natural does not mean that it is safe. Let me remind you that arsenic is a naturally occurring substance and yet, it kills. There is no law or set of guidelines to instruct companies as to how they can or can’t label products with use of the word “natural”. Don’t let that word persuade you at all. It means nothing on a commercial product.

OK if that isn’t enough to convince you to want to make the switch, how about do it for the money.  Making your own all natural cleaners is very frugal and cheap.  Plus you know each and every ingredient in the bottle

 

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 part 3 items to purchase

 

21 days to a more natural home cleaning series part 1

This  series is to help you slowly make the transition to a more natural home.

Take it in steps as with everything that you do with your life.

all natural home series

If anyone had noticed my cleaning supplies 6 months ago, they would see all the dangerous chemicals that I had.  I think it is safe to say that most people carry them in their homes and never really think much about the dangerous that may lurk in them.  Even though every bottle has a huge warning that this is poisonous!!

One walk down the grocery store isle and you can see the  hundreds of products out there with all their pretty little packaging..  The smell might over take you, probably make you sneeze.  That can’t be good.  What is in all that stuff? and why are we putting it onto the floors where our babies crawl on?  The  media is screaming with ads of cleaners that promise to do this and do that. We will continue to be lured into their marketing schemes to buy the newest and greatest cleaner out there.  And let our pocket books get more and more broke each month.  So why do we do this?

I am human, I get lapsed in my duties just like everyone else. Would you believe 6 years ago I used to sell all natural cleaners and laundry soap? Then I had baby after baby, and I got lapsed. Seems it was easier to waste the income my husband worked for plus I was so programmed from society to believe that everything had to smell like bleach or it wasn’t clean. But no more, the reason for writing this blog is for me to be accountable in my actions. I try and make wholesome foods for my family, but then I forget that what they are breathing in everyday is just as important.

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We spend more time in our homes than we do anywhere else. Our homes are where we eat, sleep, and spend time with our family. This is why it is so important to keep our homes clean and free of germs and bacteria that can make us sick but in a natural, non caustic way.  And do you know we can do it inexpensively?  Especially over time and probably help cut down on some respiratory illnesses due to breathing in all that stuff?

So why 21 days? Research has shown that it takes 21 days to break a habit. The best way is day by day, baby steps. Ever hear the expression,“How do you eat an elephant? “Answer—one part at a time. Going all natural in your home is a good habit to get started on. Over the next 3 weeks we will implement something in your life that will help you live chemical free one bite at a time. Let’s get started.

Taking the time with your children



When I first became a mother I had an older wiser woman tell me to get down on my child’s level often. But as a mom of many I realize the reality of much to do in a days time. It is very easy to forget what my most important jobs are.

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If you want to connect, really connect with your child, get down on their level. While talking to them look into their eyes so that they know all your attention is on them. Listen to what they have to say. If it is a crawling baby, get down and crawl around with your baby, nothing worse than seeing mom walk off to no mans land and not being able to catch her.

When walking with your child, if not absolutely necessary, don’t keep their arms pulled up into the air for long periods of time. I think that if I had to constantly look up or keep my arm extended up while holding someone else’s hand, it would become tiresome.

 

Do something out of the ordinary to surprise your small children, throw on some music and start dancing for half an hour with them. Grab a piece of paper and draw a picture for them–you don’t have to be an artist, make it fun.

If you have a fussing baby, walk them outside for a moment, just a change of scenery will brighten their day.

When my children goto bed each night, I want them to lay in bed thinking about the fun they had that day. I don’t want them to remember all of mom’s crabby moods. I want them to think about the picture I drew, or the flower we picked, or the bug we looked at.

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As always remember this little life has been handed to you, it is your job to nurture and help it grow. Take the time to stop and enjoy with them just being a child. See the blessings that the Lord will bring forth by
taking those few extra moments with them.

John 15:12
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.