10 Easy Ways to Green Clean Your Home!
In my household, we’re trying to do better by Mother Nature. My family has switched to reusable straws, silcone sandwich bags and green cleaning solutions for our washer and dishwasher and throughout the house—in some cases many years ago. We’re composters, clothing consignors and really trying in all areas of life to extend the term recycle beyond the bins on our kitchen floor!
Part of this is just who I am. I grew up in Northern California during a massive drought, and things like shortened showers, saved flushes and recycling to conserve water and waste was all just a part of growing up.
Another part is the immigrant story. Post-war, my grandparents saved and reused everything and found ways to make every day items stretch…as if their lives depended on it.
I am honored to do a segment for Live with Kelly & Ryan on the topic of non-toxic green cleaning for the home, sharing a number of techniques I’ve used for years to make our home sparkle minus the toxic ingredients.
One note for everything below: let these natural solutions sit and soak! Unlike some store bought cleaners that have chemical-agents to speed up the process and deliver fast results, these natural ones simply require a little time to do the exact same, brilliant work!
Make your windows…fingerprint free!
Make this all-purpose general surface cleaner using equal parts distilled white vinegar and water in a re-useable spray bottle. Spray on windows, mirrors and countertops and use a microfiber cloth or recycled paper towels (e.g. made of recycled fibers and free of bleaches, dyes, fragrance) to dry.
Caution! While vinegar is a great natural, non-toxic cleaner for nearly everything, do NOT use on wood or natural stones like marble as the acidity may cause damage.
Using the reusable spray bottle to demo green-cleaning your windows, mirrors and surface countertops.
Un-mildew your grout!
To newly formed black mildew spots on grout, a quick fix is to pour a small amount of hydrogen peroxide into a bowl and apply generously to the spot in question with a cleaning brush: I like repurposing an old toothbrush! Let the solution sit and then get scrubbing with the brush. Rinse with warm water. Repeat if stain persists.
If you have a stubborn stain, try a paste mixture of hydrogen peroxide with baking soda and repeat steps above: apply to stain, let sit, scrub with cleaning brush, rinse with warm water.
Tip: I find this most effective to fade newly formed black mildew. Old mildew is particularly stubborn, and may need re-grouting.
Make a spotless microwave.
For all the times we accidentally explode something in the microwave—butter, pasta sauce, soup and the like—this is a brilliant, all-natural solution I’ve used for years that smells fantastic!
Place a small bowl of water with the juice of ½ a lemon juice and remaining lemon rinds sliced up in bowl. Turn on microwave for 2-3 minutes or until a steam arises. (Microwaves truly vary in temperature, so you be the judge!) Do not open: let microwave sit as steam loosens interior debris. Use the condensation of the astringent lemon water to help wipe down with a soft cloth or natural paper towel the now-softened crusty microwave gunk from its walls, while the citric acid of the lemon helps to cleanse while creating a refreshing scent.
Place juice of half a lemon and remaining lemon slices in a bowl of water…
Make your own, natural dryer sheet!
As Americans we’re obsessed with fragrance and this extends to our clothing smelling fresh when it emerges from the dryer. Using a clean facial towel designated for the purpose, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil like rose, lavender, lemongrass, spruce—or more than a few drops if you really like a fragrant load! Toss in the dryer to make your clothes and linens smell phenomenal post-dryer cycle—not to mention your laundry room like a spa!
Green-clean communal toys!
As we enter cold and flu season, think of the communal toys your kids play with and cough and sneeze on the most, and use this easy cleaning solution to keep ‘em clean!
Set your Legos in a sink or glass baking Pyrex with hot water along with squirts of your favorite natural dish soap to create a light suds. Add ½ cup baking soda and ½ cup of vinegar, which will effervescently fizz up. Keep water hot with pours of hot water to continually disintegrate the baking soda which works to soften the water, the vinegar to cleanse. Stir Legos and soak.
Rinse the Legos with fresh water to cleanse off remaining dirt and debris. Lay out to dry.
Note: separate any pieces with decorative stickers--or in the case of other toys like cars, marbles, etc.--hand-painted motifs or appliqués--that might peel off.
Get pen marks out of clothing!
As a writer, I know all too well the folly of having a pen mark on my shirt! As a matter of fact, for an inexplicable reason, I ended up with a pen mark on the middle console of my car! Bah!
For ballpoint and gel pen marks, first place a towel behind the pen stain. Use rubbing alcohol or liquid glycerin (a solvent derivative of alcohol) on a cotton ball and blot in small amounts on the pen line. Let set. Use a paper towel to blot dry and pick up ink. The ink line will first bleed and then start to transfer to the paper towel. Launder in warm water with your favorite natural laundry detergent.
Tip: Don’t be discouraged if a faint pen line remains. The laundering process should do the rest of the work to remove the line!
Note: I’ve used this technique for years, but I just did a triple test on ballpoint, gel and permanent marker ink. The only one that I couldn't fully remove after following all steps was the permanent marker, so named for a reason!
Banish berry stains!
With my kids, berry stains seem par the course as we eat them often for the high fiber, antioxidants and flavor! This method, whether you do it right after the stain happens or at the end of the day, has steadily worked for me! Pour a kettle’s worth of boiling water in a thin, constant stream on the berry stain. Continuously pour until the stain lifts and dissipates. If it doesn’t immediately lift, boil another pot of water and repeat. Then launder per usual.
Tip: Do not attempt on clothing that requires dry clean only or any fabric that cannot sustain hot water.
Shine your stainless steel pots.
Have a spot left in your stainless steel pots from burnt-on foods? As the holidays approach, we want our pans looking nice! Try generously sprinkling baking soda on the spot and boiling with hot water. Let soak. Then sponge wash. Use additional shakes of baking soda and water directly to form a paste and work as a non-abrasive cleaner on burnt spots if staining persists.
A natural wood furniture polish
I’m frankly lazy about polishing wood because the standard cleaners are loaded with chemicals, and smell it! Try a 2:1 ratio of olive oil to pure lemon juice. I like mixing this up fresh, each time, and work into wood furniture with a microfiber cloth to create shine (olive oil), lightly cleanse (lemon juice) and help buff light scratches.
Compost!
We have composted for years, and it’s super easy to do! We purchased a simple black composter that sits on our land and here are some guidelines on what to do.
What to compost:
Veggie and garden scraps
Coffee grounds
Egg shells
Grass clippings
Dry leaves
What NOT to compost:
Meat products and byproduct: fat, oil, grease
Dairy
Feces
Weeds
How to do it:
2:1 ratio of nitrogen green (fruit/veggie peelings, green garden waste) to carbon brown items (dry leaves paper straw), layer in the compost pile, lightly water occasionally to keep things damp and stir with a pitch fork (it’s far easier than a shovel!) to help compost pile to decompose and breathe. Get the kids involved! The result? “Black gold” an ultra vitamin and mineral rich soil that is ready to spread in your garden or potted plants!
Tip: composting doesn't smell! If you do it properly, your compost will attract the right kind of decomposing bugs, and the result is a relatively, non-fragrant amalgam. Time to getting a batch of Black Gold varies, from as little as one month to three. During our Eastern winter we still compost, but the decomposition rate is slower!
To see these green clean ideas in action, check out the segment with Kelly & Ryan!