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DIY NATURAL CLEANING Crash CourseDIY NATURAL CLEANING Crash Course

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DIY NATURAL CLEANING Crash Course

My Natural Cleaning

Story

In 2008, Dustin and I made a decision to change our eating habits.

Our goal was to eat less processed food and enjoy more “real food,” a word that I learned from reading Michael Pollan’s books. This goal took us down many different roads: veganism, vegetarianism, and finally the discovery of something called pastured bacon (hallelujah!!). To be fully honest, at the time I thought our decision was one that would simply change our meals, nothing more. I never thought for one single second that our decision to eat real food (the stuff that actually comes from the ground or an animal, not altered substances) would change the way we clean, what we use on our skin, and even the way we do laundry.

Oh how I was wrong!

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That one decision resulted in a total lifestyle change for our young family.

After a couple of years of eating real food, I began to question not only the products we called “food,” but also the products being used on our skin and in our home. This questioning

led to a quest to “green” our products. Soon I found myself making friends with castile soap and spray bottles, learning how to use vinegar for more than just salad dressing, and loving the simplicity and cleaning power of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.

Today, our lifestyle is radically different than it was back in 2008. Our family is larger and noisier (hey kiddos!), our food is made with real ingredients, and we are more informed about the products we buy and/or make.

My goal for this crash course is to teach you how easy it is to make effective cleaning products at home, with ingredients you can actually pronounce. In this crash course, I share a checklist of common cleaning ingredients you can use to clean your entire home, along with a list of common cleaning tools (and tools for making homemade cleaners). I also teach you how to make three basic cleaners using common ingredients: castile soap all-purpose cleaner, glass and mirror cleaner, and a vinegar-based floor cleaner.

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Common Cleaning Tools:

а scrub brushes а cotton towels а microfiber cloths а spray bottles а storage containers а sponges а dusting wand а broom and dustpan а labels а gloves а toilet bowl brush а vacuum а mop and bucket or swiffer а funnel а cleaning caddy or box а measuring cups and spoons а mixing bowl or bucket (for mixing ingredients)

* Ingredients used in this crash course.

Common Cleaning Ingredients:

а baking soda а washing soda а white vinegar* а liquid castile soap* а bar castile soap а Sal Suds а fresh citrus а essential oils* а borax а hydrogen peroxide а alcohol (vodka and/or rubbing alcohol)*

а kosher or sea salt

DIY Natural Cleaning

Checklist

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Ingredients You’ll Need:

Liquid Castile Soap, White Vinegar,

Rubbing Alcohol, Water, Essential Oil(s)

to make:

CASTILE SOAP ALL-PURPOSE SPRAY

GLASS AND MIRROR CLEANER

VINEGAR FLOOR CLEANER

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Vinegar: Vinegar is 5% acetic acid. This acid fights against bacteria and other yuckies you don’t want living in your home. Vinegar can’t be used on every surface (like marble and granite), but even with its limitations, vinegar is an extremely versatile product to keep in your natural cleaning toolkit.

Castile Soap: Castile soap is a vegetable-based soap with ingredients you can actually pronounce! This soap is both gentle on the skin and effective in the fight against dirt, grease, and unwanted germs. Dr. Bronner’s is a very a popular brand of castile soap.

The world is just a better place with castile soap, really! Castile soap can be used to clean just about anything and everything: your face, your laundry, and even your stinky dog! Pretty amazing stuff.

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Alcohol (Vodka and/or Rubbing Alcohol): The guy at the liquor store knows me well and it’s not because I’m a lover of alcohol beverages. I’m still trying to convince him that my large vodka purchases are due to my love of homemade vanilla extract and cleaners, not well, you get the point.

Vodka’s high alcohol content is perfect for killing germs and even mildew. You can also use alcohol to help shine chrome and glass. Simply wipe a surface with a cloth that’s been sprayed with half vodka and half distilled water, and voila–squeaky clean! Vodka may also be used to kill odors and freshen-up fabrics. That’s right. Kiss the Febreze good-bye.

Rubbing alcohol, also known as isopropyl alcohol, is considered an antiseptic and sold as such in grocery stores. Rubbing alcohol, similar to vodka, is used in homemade cleaners to kill germs.

I know some people in the natural community avoid rubbing alcohol for cleaning purposes. Vodka may be safely substituted for rubbing alcohol in cleaning recipes.

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Essential Oils: Essential oils are very popular today, but the truth is before the popular oil brands marketed online and bloggers started filling Pinterest with essential oil recipes, essential oils were being used by generations before us.

Essential oils are basically concentrated oils derived from

plants. For those wanting a more scientific definition, here’s how Retha, a certified aromatherapist from Plant Therapy, defines an essential oil, “An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation, often by using steam.”

Essential oils not only provide a pretty, natural fragrance to homemade cleaners, but also beneficial properties. A few of my favorite essential oils for cleaning include: lemon, tea tree, peppermint, lavender, grapefruit, and orange.

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Safety and Usage While homemade cleaning products are family-friendly and safe to use in a home, there are a few precautions that need to be taken when combining ingredients and using a homemade cleaner. Just because ingredients are natural doesn’t mean they can or should be used on every surface in your home, or can be mixed with other homemade cleaners or ingredients. Let’s take a look at a few of the precautions I recommend taking when making homemade cleaners:

1)Water Safety: Distilled (sold in stores) or boiled and cooled water is best to use for long-term products. This process removes contaminants. Tap water should be boiled for 15 minutes. Clean tap water is okay for short-term use products. The recipes in this book simply call for “water” in the ingredient listings. Please use your discretion and think about how long you’ll be storing a cleaner before adding the water to a recipe.

2) Use Your Senses: If you ever notice a slime or an unusual odor in a bottle filled with homemade cleaner (or any product, whether homemade

or store-bought) toss the cleaner and make a new batch.

3) Label Products: Always label a product that you plan to store for later with the product name and date. A simple label can be made with tape, or use a permanent marker directly on glass spray bottles and containers.

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4) Use Clean Tools: Always use clean spray bottles, containers, and/or mixing tools when making homemade cleaners. Bacteria is usually introduced into homemade products when the handling materials haven’t been properly cleaned.

5) Always Spot Test: With any cleaner that’s applied to a special surface, always spot test. This applies to both store-bought cleaners and homemade solutions. For cleaners that are used on special surfaces, like floors, wood, or counter-tops, I recommend first spot testing in a small, inconspicuous area.

6)Avoid Mixing Certain Natural Ingredients: Even though the ingredients used to make homemade cleaning products are safe, there are a few ingredients that shouldn’t be mixed together due to chemical reactions. There are three notorious natural combos, using four different products (baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and castile soap) that should be avoided.

I’ve included storage suggestions for each recipe in this book. The storage suggestions are based on my personal experience, using distilled water, with the recipes. Please use your discretion when it comes to storing your homemade products.

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CASTILE SOAP ALL-PURPOSE SPRAY

• Ingredients • • 2 cups water • 2 tablespoons liquid castile soap Note: 2 tablespoons is recommended by Dr. Bronner’s. If you feel you need more cleaning power, add up to 4 tablespoons.

• 15 drops cleaning essential oil, such as: lavender, lemon, orange, tea tree, peppermint, or grapefruit.

• To Make •1. Pour the ingredients into a spray bottle.

Gently shake the bottle to combine the ingredients.

To Use

Shake the cleaner before each use. Spray the cleaner on a dirty surface. Wipe the surface with a damp cloth..

The cleaner may leave a soapy residue on a surface if the surface isn’t thoroughly rinsed. If this occurs, just wipe the surface again with a damp cloth.

Storage

Store up to 2 months.

Makes about 16 ounces.

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GLASS AND MIRROR CLEANER

• Ingredients • • 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol • 1/3 cup white vinegar • water

• To Make •1. Add the alcohol and vinegar to a 16oz.

spray bottle. Add the water until the bottle is full. If you don’t care for a vinegar scent, although it goes away once the surface dries, add a few drops of your favorite cleaning essential oil.

To Use

Spray the cleaner on a glass surface or mirror, then wipe the surface with a microfiber cloth.

Storage

Store up to 3 months. Makes 16 ounces.

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VINEGAR FLOOR CLEANER

• Ingredients • • 2 gallons hot water • 1/2 cup white vinegar • 5 drops cleaning essential oil, such as: lavender, lemon, orange, tea tree, peppermint, or grapefruit.

• To Make •1. Add the hot water, vinegar, and essential

oil to a bucket. Gently stir the ingredients together.

Note: Some people claim that vinegar works wonders on their sealed wood floors (like my mom), while others avoid it. The pH of vinegar is around 2.2 (a pH of 7 is neutral) . Always spot test first!

To Use

Dip a mop into the solution, then mop the floor. Do not saturate the floor while mopping.

Storage

This is a one-time use solution.

Makes 1 application.

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TAKE YOUR LIFESTYLETO THE NEXT LEVEL!

I invite you to take the DIY Natural Cleaning Challenge. This eBook includes 50+ natural recipes and tips to clean your home.

I’ll teach you how to create a natural (cleaning) lifestyle that works for every family and home.

I can’t wait for you to join me!

When you are ready use this gift code for 25% off: ChallengeAccepted

SIMPLICITY, LOVE, & NATURAL LIVING,

Kristin

I would love to share more via video.

http://livesimply.me/diy-natural-cleaning/

http://livesimply.me/diy-natural-cleaning/#video

diy natural crash course cleaning crash coursediy natural · 2 diy natural cleaning crash course...

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