I watched my brothers do this once at my mom’s house, and was fascinated. (We’re all geeks so it doesn’t take much). As an example, I’m using a piece of sterling silver flatware from my grandmother’s collection. This works for Jewelry as well as silverware however.

Materials:
1 aluminum pie plate, pan or aluminum foil (this is important!)
1-2 tbsps of baking soda
1-2 tbsps of salt.
2 cups of hot water (not quite boiling)

Windex (the blue kind) includes two toxic ingredients. Ethylene glycol and isopropanol. I found out that Ethylene glycol is highly poisonous, and has a syrupy sweet taste (a problem if you have children who like to put their mouths on everything). Isopropanol is a type of alcohol that is less harmful when used properly, but highly flammable and is used in certain explosives. Johnson and Johnson must have also realized this, because they came out with Windex Natures’ Source recently, and it doesn’t include either ingredient. (Congrats to J&J for cleaning up the product!)

There are a plethora of glass-cleaner recipes on the web, and I tried a few and came up with this one. I use this all the time around the house, with either a microfiber towel, newspaper or brown paper. My mirrors shine, and it cuts right through soap scum on out shower door. I also use it on chrome and the car windows. And the cost? Pennies.

Furniture cleaners that are made for wood may contain petroleum distillates and other chemicals that may irritate your skin, eyes, and respiratory tract (that is your throat, lungs and windpipe). If ingested, furniture polish can aggravate asthma,  and may cause nausea and vomiting. So after some web searching, I cobbled together this recipe which works well on our SEALED wood after dry dusting. Oh and the best part? It’s CHEAP!

Furniture Dusting Spray for Wood Furniture
Ingredients:

1/4 cup apricot kernel oil
1/4 Lemon Oil (NOT essential oil, this the kind that they sell in the hardware store as furniture polish)
3 tablespoons of liquid Castile soap
1 cup distilled water
15 drops lemongrass essential oil
10 drops clary sage essential oil (cedar essential oil smells great too!)

Directions:

Pour all of the above into a spray bottle and shake. Spray onto a microfiber or other soft cloth and then wipe onto furniture.

Here’s a few quick, cheap recipes that I use in our house. These are better for the environment as well as your health than aerosol sprays and they can be made in smaller quantities to take with you on trips! (I’m a little weird about how hotel rooms smell, and don’t get me started about those sheets! LOL).

Orange Bathroom Spray

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unflavored vodka (or other high proof liquor)*
• 20 drops sweet orange essential oil
• 10 drops lemon essential oil
• 3 cups water
• spray bottle

Directions:
Put the liquor and oils in the spray bottle first and shake vigorously to mix. Then fill the rest of the bottle with water and shake again. This one is great for the bathroom. This one really does work well on stinky odors. Shake well before each use.

Here’s a recipe that I found on tipnut for a cleaner that I use to clean my granite countertops in the kitchen. It works great, and disinfects well!

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tsp pure castille soap (peppermint, etc.)
3/4 cup hydrogen peroxide
20 drops tea tree oil
20 drops lemongrass essential oil

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a 32-ounce plastic spray bottle.

Check out the original link below
http://tipnut.com/granite-marble-cleaner/

Store bought fabric softeners are designed to reduce static in synthetic fabrics. They serve no purpose with natural fabrics. Fabric softeners work by leaving a residue on the fabric which never completely washes out. It can cause allergic reactions through skin contact and inhalation. Fabric softeners may also contain carcinogenic coal-tar dyes, ammonia and very strong scents. When fabric softeners are exposed to hot water, heat from dryers or ironing, vapors may be emitted which can be deeply inhaled, increasing their impact.- Guide to Less Toxic Products

When I stopped using fabric softener, this strange rash I used to get on my leg went away, and Sexy’s nighttime nosebleeds subsided. I tell anyone with excema or asthma to stop using store brand fabric softener immediately, since it’s known to aggravate both ailments. It’s incredibly easy to make your own fabric softener, and much healthier too! Here’s few versions that I’ve tried.

Basic DIY Fabric Softener

• add 1/2 cup of white vinegar at the START of the rinse cycle when washing clothes

Lavender Fresh Fabric Softener

1. add 20 drops of lavender essential oil to 1 gallon of white vinegar
2. add 1/2 cup at the START of the rinse cycle when washing clothes

Lemony Fabric Softener* (this one makes your clothes really soft)

• 6 cups of white vinegar
• 1 cup of baking soda
• 1 cup water
• 15 drops of lemongrass essential oil (optional)
• bottle or container with screw top to hold mixture

1. Get a large pot or mixing bowl and pour the vinegar and water in.
2. Next add the baking soda a little at a time, (because it’s going to bubble up like a 5th grade paper-maché volcano).
3. When all of the baking soda is added to the vinegar and has settled, stir it a bit so that the majority of the baking soda dissolves.
4. Then pour the vinegar into the container and add the essential oil
5. Shake before use
6. Add 1/2 cup at the START of the rinse cycle when washing clothes

DO NOT use Apple cider Vinegar in any of the above recipes, it will stain your clothes! (save it for your hair, I’ll explain in another post)

Note: The clothes will smell really lemony when they come out of the washer, but after they dry, either in the dryer or on the line, the scent fades a bit.

*This recipe is from The Naturally Clean Home, by Karyn Siegel-Maier

The #1 question I get from families, friends and aquaintances is “How do you whiten your clothes without bleach?”

It’s easy.

Now the number one tip I can give for getting and keeping white clothes really white is pre-soaking them in a sink full of water with 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide.

Another great way to get your clothes white is to add 1/4 cup of lemon juice to your load and line dry OUTSIDE. *

That being said, I rarely remember to pre-wash, and it’s winter, so I’m not line drying my clothes outside. So here’s what I do:

What you’ll need:
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide or 2 tbsps of Ecover Powder Bleach alternative (or 1/4 cup Ecover Liquid Bleach alternative
3 tbsps Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent
2 scoops Oxo Brite dissolved in warm water (I have a 3.5 lb container that lasts for months, but you can find it smaller here.)

Top-load washer instructions:
Pour all ingredients in and let washer fill with warm water. Then add clothes and pause cycle to let the clothes soak for 30 mins. After 30mins I continue washing and drying as usual. (I usually wash warm and rinse cold to save on my hot water bill!)

Front-load washer instructions:
If you have a front loader (like me), add your dingiest clothes first, (in our house that’s socks usually) then fill the washer partway with water, then stop the cycle and add the rest of your white clothes. Start the cycle again and when it beings to churn

Sexy (my hubby) pre-treats his collars buy spraying hydrogen peroxide directly on them and rubbing them together before throwing them in the laundry. If when I go to wash, they still seem dingy, I’ll make a paste of peroxide and baking soda and rub it on the stain. This works well for underarm stains as well! I only use Hydrogen peroxide on whites and light colored clothing. (It won’t leave those ugly bleach spots either). Oxo Brite I use on my colored wash too.

*Note: Do NOT mix lemon juice and peroxide together in your washer. It will eat holes in your clothes!

How do you get YOUR clothes white without bleach?

Here’s one that will save you tons of money and it’s better for you, your home, the environment, your clothes AND your washing machine. (Even if it’s one of those new fangled HE ones).

• 1 cup Borax
• 1 cup Washing Soda (This is NOT baking soda, it’s found in the laundry aisle)
• 1 bar of Soap – I like Octagon, Fels Naptha laundry soap, or Dr.Bronners, some people even use good-old fashioned Ivory
• Box Grater
• essential oil (optional)
• 1 wide mouth container
• 1 tablespoon or small tbsp scoop

Directions:

1. Grate the soap. I use the medium grade side.You can use the smallest grade if you want, but it takes longer. (I usually do this while watching TV or simmering dinner or even on the phone.)

How to use:

• Small loads – use 1 tablespoon of powder per loads
• Normal loads –  2 tbsps
• Heavy loads – 3 tbsps

Yep. I said it. Kool Aid…Those of you who know me know that I like to make my own stuff, and I happen to make my own dishwashing detergent. Why, you ask? Well have you ever checked the ingredients list on that box of Cascade? Check it out. Most of that unpronounceable stuff includes phosphates, petroleum, bleach and/or chlorine. Why Kool Aid? Well the number 1 ingredient in those little packets of Kool Aid is citric acid, which is a natural preservative, and excellent for cleaning dishes. Lemon works best because it’s practically colorless. (DON’T use cherry or grape KoolAid for this, because you’ll end up with pink or purple dishes).

4-6 packets of Lemon flavored Kool Aid (NOT the Sugar Free kind that comes in a container, you want the “old school” kind)

Instead of using Ajax or Commet use one of the following mixtures to safely scrub your kitchen sink.

- Sprinkle baking soda with a capful of lemon juice and scrub

OR

- Sprinkle baking soda with plain water and scrub

OR

- Sprinkle baking soda withvinegar, let bubble and then scrub

Rinse thoroughly and you’re done!

I use a pastry shaker like this one to hold my “sinkside” Baking Soda.