Cleaning Green on a Budget

I haven't posted in a while. I think it has something to do with the weather...that and every time I head to the computer, I trip over a kid.

We are all well. Noah is our first normal sized baby, so to us he looks tubby. Four months old this week. Quick to smile and catch your eye, he is our simpliest one yet. Praise the Lord!

Anyway, on to the reason for my post...

Like many of you, we have grown concerned over the mysterious list of ingredients in our shampoo, soap, dish detergent, etc. We wonder how these things are affecting our family and the environment. We recently begun researching more natural ways to clean ourselves and our home and found some simple, cheap solutions. I wanted to spread the word, since I am often discouraged that natural/organic prodects are so expensive. Not only will these recipes save our skin and the environment, but our money as well.

We have discovered a wonder product that I wish we knew about sooner: Dr Bronners Castile Soap. It is an ingredient in most of these homemeade cleaners. Read all about it here. It is everything good except God himself: natural ingredients, bio-degradable, gentle, fair trade, etc. Some Target stores carry it, most natural food stores do, and you can order it on line as well. It might seem expensive, but it is super concentrated, so it lasts a long time. In short summary, you can use this stuff for everything except brushing your teeth.

Here are the best and most simplest (in my opinion) recipies I have found for various cleaning tasks:

Shampoo:
¼ c castile soap
¼ c distilled water
1 t olive oil
1 t glycerin
Essential oil, opt.

Mix and use like normal shampoo. For a natural conditioner I am experimenting with apple cider vinegar rinse: 1 T to 1 cup warm water. Pour over washed hair and rinse. I have found that my hair is going through "detox"...very greasy now, but the rinse really helps. I'll let you know how it is in a few weeks.

Hand, Shaving, Face and Dishes:
½ c castile soap
2 c water
20 drops essential oil, opt.

Works great!

Dishwasher:
Combine and store in squirt bottle. 2 T per load. Shake before use.
½ c castile soap
½ c water
1 t lemon juice
3 drops tea tree oil
½ c white vinegar

Haven't tried this yet. Read it works well. Even if you stick to conventional dish detergent, replace your Jet Dry with vinegar. Works just as well and costs pennies.

Deodorant:
Combine in spray bottle
2 oz witch hazel
5 or more drops essential oil

Works great on normal days...not so well on hot ones.

Toothpaste:
6 t baking soda
1/3 t salt
4 t glycerin
Peppermint or wintergreen food grade extract

Haven't tried this, yet. I think we are going to take our savings and use Tom's toothpaste, as this one requires kids participation and might be a bit too much of a change for them. Let me know if you try it!

Household cleaner:
¼ c castile soap
¼ c vinegar
Qt water
4 drops tea tree oil

Works great!

Laundry:
1 Ivory soap bar
¾ c Arm & hammer washing soda
¾ c Borax

Grate soap bar in stock pot. Add 6 c water and melt over med low heat. Add ¾ c. soda and borax. Heat and stir to dissolve. Put 4 cups hot water in 3 gallon bucket. Add soap mixture and 1 ½ gallons tap water to bucket. Use ½ c per load.

Add 1 c vinegar to rinse cycle for fabric softener

If my abbreviated instructions are confusing, watch this sweet video on how to make it. My friend uses this with great success. Costs less than $1 to make approx. 3 gallons. Lasts a family of three 3 months. I'm making it when my stock of Tide runs out. I'll let you know how it works and how long it lasts.

Happy Washing!