I used the recipe in Clean House, Clean Planet to make an all purpose cleaner, I did a video of it, but I’ll write it out too for those who prefer to skip videos. The cleaner is so simple to make! Karen Logan warns us that the ingredients need to be added in exact order that she lists, and exactly as she describes, to prevent any of the ingredients from neutralizing eachother (it’s a science lesson too!).
All Purpose Cleaner:
In a 16-ounce spray bottle
Mix 2 tablespoons vinegar with 1 teaspoon borax, put in the spray bottle
Fill the rest of the way with hot filtered water (or distilled water if yours is very hard)
Mix well; the borax has to dissolve in this step or it will clog the nozzle
Next, add 1/4 cup liquid dish soap and 15 drops of essential oil (I used tangerine)
And it works. The day I made it, I used this all purpose cleaner for all these things, which it excelled at:
Removing dried kefir smoothie from the wall in the dining room (keeping it honest….)
Cleaning dirty prints off the wall, about 2-1/2 feet up around every.single.door.in.our.house.
Cleaning the dining table after eating eggs, liver, and smoothie.
Cleaning the smooth top stove.
Cleaning the tub, toilet, sink in the bathroom.
I decided I should do more videos because they’re a nice push out of my comfort zone Hopefully they’ll improve! I have no idea why I’m more comfortable writing to you all than I am talking to you, but that’s just how it is right now, and I’d like it to change… so I’ll practice. Here’s my YouTube video. You can see my sourdough starter on the counter too, it’s under the napkin, and my kefir is up there doing it’s thing too. You can hear my little guy who’s just learning to talk. He loves to play with water, so that’s what he’s saying, ‘water. water. water.’
As I have been replacing my conventional cleaners with nontoxic alternatives, I was curious to see how Tropical Traditions’ cleaners stacked up. They sent me three for review; the oxygen bleach, laundry detergent, and all purpose cleaner, all of which I’ve been using for the past week and a half.
Oxygen bleach: I wish I hadn’t waited so long to try using this oxygen bleach! I stopped using chlorine bleach for my whites about 5 years ago, and they’ve been getting a little dingy since then. I tried big-box-store oxygen bleach once, but couldn’t handle the perfume in it so I didn’t buy it again. Thankfully Tropical Traditions’ is unscented. I noticed a big improvement with my whites after just one wash cycle with Tropical Traditions oxygen bleach, which I was excited about (I know, really… I can’t believe I’m excited about laundry!). I’ll continue adding a scoop to just our lights, I like how our socks and dish towels are brighter again! It’s not like chlorine bleach, but it’s also not going to wear out our clothes fast like chlorine bleach does.
Laundry detergent: Works great! My husband is baffled by my soapnuts, so he’s glad we have ‘regular detergent with a scoop’ in the house again. Unscented, which is what I like.
All purpose cleaner: Love it! I used it every day on the kitchen table and chairs. With two little ones who eat real food (kefir smoothies, sticky fruit, eggs), I need something that works well for food messes, and this cleaner did the job. A bonus: The spray nozzle is too hard for my 1-1/2 year old to turn. This is a good thing. Again, unscented, which is my preference now. If I want scented, I just add my own essential oils.
If you’re a first time customer of Tropical Traditions (they have coconut oil and coconut flour that I keep on hand all the time), you can use my referral code#5682145 and you get a free book on the benefits of coconut oil with your order!
Giveaway: I’m giving away each of the three things I tried from Tropical Traditions plus I’m giving away a set of three 100% cotton hand knitted dish cloths (that I talked about back here), so there will be four winners this time, what fun I’ll randomly select who gets what and email the winners with the details.
To Enter:
First, sign up for their newsletter here if you haven’t already. You have to do this step to be entered.
And post a comment to let me know you did.
For extra entries:
~please post a separate comment for each one, and if you’re already doing them you can count them too (make sense?)
Giveaway ends 8/4/10 and I’ll pick the winners from random.org
Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.
All purpose cleaner, homemade: Table, chairs, sink if it gets yucky, glasstop stove, counters, (okay, I have kids… we can include the walls as well). I’ll show you how to make all purpose cleaner later this week, it totally rocks!
Cotton knitted dish cloths: I wipe off everything a handmade dish cloth, these are great. There are some for sale on Etsy here, or just search knitted dish cloths on Etsy.com. If you knit at all, they are fun to knit, and yes they get hard use, but they get *used* which is what I want for my knitting. Instructions here.
Liquid Dish Soap: I use Seventh Generation (Target has it too), usually in unscented with my own essential oils added in (15 drops). I’m on a tangerine-peppermint kick right now.
Liquid Dishwasher Detergent: I just started using Biokleen at the recommendation of Katie of Kitchen Stewardship, until this week I was using Cascade ultra toxic. Because it worked and I didn’t want to risk having to hand wash dishes. Ahem. So far the Biokleen has worked well, I’ll let you know how it goes as time goes on.
Bathroom
All purpose cleaner: I have Tropical Traditions all purpose cleaner, which I have a giveaway for going up tomorrow, in my bathroom. I use this for the sink, tub, and toilet.
Vinegar: I use vinegar for the mirror, and to make the faucet sparkle. I just learned in Clean House Clean Planet that just adding 15 drops of peppermint oil nearly completely covers up the vinegar and it works really well! I don’t love the smell of vinegar,
Bathroom cleaning: I love it that I actually manage to accomplish this efficiently, so I’ll share my bathroom cleaning routine (cleaning/organizing are not my strengths!). While my children are in the tub, I take the hand towel (I figure that if the sink needs to be cleaned, the hand towel likely does too) and spray vinegar on the mirror. Wipe off the mirror quickly, then spray down the counter top and sink. Start with the faucet; the vinegar on your rag makes it all shiny, and finish with the sink (the dirtiest part). The tub is next, then the toilet is last, I use the all purpose cleaner for everything but the mirror. I use a different rag if I have to do the floor as well; honestly, I usually just use the bath towel I threw down after someone perhaps dumped/splashed/dripped water outside of the tub while they were taking a bath. And it’s done!
Laundry
Soapnuts: Still loving these! I bought $30 worth about 3 months ago, and the bag is still going strong. I’m guessing it will last me an entire year.
Oxygen bleach: I just started using this, and I think it’s a worthwhile addition to my ‘lights’ loads.
Powdered detergent: In case I missplaced my little bags of soapnuts, or for when my husband does laundry.
I’ll be back to food soon, last week was a ‘body care’ type week (posture information, workout information, and natural cosmetics), this week is about nontoxic home care (Homemade cleaner book review, purchasable nontoxic cleaner review, and I’m posting about making homemade all purpose cleaner next). I have one more non-food item; homemade all purpose salve, but I’ll do that after I post on natural sourdough starter out of sprouted flour, healthy milkshakes, and kimchi. I was just on a mission to get rid of my toxic cleaners; spring cleaning must have set in late in this household!
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Hopefully they’ll improve! I have no idea why I’m more comfortable writing to you all than I am talking to you, but that’s just how it is right now, and I’d like it to change… so I’ll practice. Here’s my YouTube video. You can see my sourdough starter on the counter too, it’s under the napkin, and my kefir is up there doing it’s thing too. You can hear my little guy who’s just learning to talk. He loves to play with water, so that’s what he’s saying, ‘water. water. water.’
I’ll randomly select who gets what and email the winners with the details.
