Clean And Green

Many cleaning tasks that we take for granted, such as washing the dishes, doing the laundry, cleaning the windows or polishing the furniture often involve harsh chemicals. These are bad for both the environment as a whole and for your personal environment - your home. Toxic chemicals can cause health problems for humans and pets. When you wash them down the drain or throw them outside, they become part of our land and water. Here are some green cleaning tips to help make your cleaning jobs more eco-friendly.

** Baking soda makes a great natural and inexpensive cleaning product. You can
clean floors, walls, refrigerators and counter tops with a warm, damp rag and
some baking soda.

** Want to make your house smell nicer without harsh air fresheners? Try
aromatherapy. Essential oils can be diffused into a room. The great thing about
this is that you have a vast selection of scents to choose from. Each has its own
particular effects on mood. Of course, you don't have to follow an aromatherapy
guide, you can simply follow your nose and use what pleases you. You can try
rose, various citrus blends, peppermint, lavender, and eucalyptus for starters.

** Another good household cleaning product is borax. This is very effective for
cleaning carpets. You can mix it with essential oils to create a nicely scented,
natural carpet cleaner that you can apply to the rug before vacuuming.

** For a natural window cleaner, mix two tablespoons of white vinegar with a gallon
of water and clean your windows using newspapers. This simple and cheap
solution works at least as well as your typical commercial mix that has strong
chemicals in it.

** To clean wood floors, you can use another common household item --tea! Just
boil up two teabags in hot water and mop up the floor.

Some other household cleaners you can use for many cleaning tasks are lemon juice and club soda. Both of these remove stains from most surfaces.

Of course, in addition to these suggestions you can go to your health food store and find a wide variety of organic and natural cleaning product for every purpose. These tend to be more expensive than commercial brands, but many are also highly concentrated.

You can do just as well with the DIY (do it yourself) type green cleaning tips included above. Either way, remember that you can always make a greener choice when you have something that needs cleaning!