Chemical Free Cleaning Products

One of the first things that I was motivated to change when we started ridding our house of chemicals was swapping out my cleaning products. I absolutely dreaded cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen because I knew that all of those fumes I was inhaling were horribly toxic! Now I clean one of my bathrooms while my daughters are taking their bath in the same room. That’s how comfortable and confident I am with these cleaning products. I’ll bet if you asked your grandmother about the cleaning products that I’m going to tell you about, she’d say that she grew up with them herself or still uses them today.
There are multiple benefits to clearing out your toxic cleaning chemicals.
1. Your health of course…and the health of your family!
2. CO$T! They’ve got products for everything, toilets, showers, baths, sinks, stainless steel, windows, furniture, floors, etc. You name it…they’ve got it!
3. You can clear out that cabinet full of at least 5-15 dangerous cleaning products!
Are you ready for my secret? For my top 5 cleaning products? I’ll bet you already have at least 4 of them in your house RIGHT NOW!

1. Vinegar (white)

2. Baking Soda

3. Olive Oil

4. Lemon Juice

5. Tea Tree Oil

You don’t need anything else! I’m not kidding. I use one or a few of these 5 items to clean EVERYTHING in my house, and I’ve been using the same $3 Costco size baking soda bag for the last 3 years!
For Windows, surfaces, stainless steel appliances, or anything else you want disinfected-
Get a spray bottle and make a 1/1 mixture of White Vinegar and purified water. Add 10-12 drops of Tea Tree Oil. Use just as you would use Windex or any other surface cleaners. The Tea Tree Oil makes the mixture antibacterial, so anything you clean with be…clean!
*Rest assured…the vinegar smell will disappear when the surfaces dry.
For Sinks, toilets, baths, or showers-
Get the surface wet by splashing water with your hand inside the sink, flushing the toilet, splashing water in the bath, etc. Sprinkle a handful of baking soda around the surface to be cleaned. Take your bottled vinegar concoction and spray it all around on the baking soda. It will make that cool bubbling sound/effect like when you used to make volcanoes in science classes in school. (Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about ) Then I take a toothbrush (for my sink), toilet bowl brush (self explanatory), or bigger hand brush (for the bath/shower) and scrub scrub scrub. The baking soda is a gentle abrasive so it won’t harm your coatings, but leaves everything nice and beautiful. Once you’ve scrubbed everything, use your hand to splash the surface down with water until you don’t feel the baking soda powder any longer. The Tea Tree Oil will kill the germs and the vinegar will also help deodorize and disinfect.
For Furniture polish-
Mix a few tablespoons of water with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add the juice of one lemon and that’s it! Make sure to mix really well obviously before use.
For Floors-
This one is easy. Fill your sink, or whatever you fill with hot water. Dump a big swig of vinegar in and…that’s it! You could add some Washing Soda if you have got a really messy floor. You would just find that in the laundry aisle. It’s Arm & Hammer brand.
Finally, for Laundry-
  Forget expensive fabric softeners. You want soft deodorized clothes? I use vinegar. Exactly how you’d add fabric softener…on it’s vinegar. Don’t worry…your clothes will not come out smelling like vinegar. Trust me, I’ve been using it for almost 4 years. Also…I haven’t used dryer sheets in…nearly 4 years either. “Oh…but they smell good.” you say? Well, just as with laundry detergents and fabric softeners…all you are smelling is…chemicals. It’s been so long since we’ve used them that when I do get a whiff nowadays whether it’s at someone’s home or at the store…it burns my throat. We just don’t realize how many chemicals are in our homes that our body doesn’t even send warning signals to us about because we’re so used to them…until you stop using them.
*Stay tuned for my homemade laundry detergent recipe. Pennies a load. Pretty sweet deal!
Hope this is helpful!