|
Articles and Information
Green Ways to Make Your Home Shine This Spring
by Brenda Stokes
Most people loathe the day when they have to start their spring cleaning for the year. Tidying up is one thing, but cleaning over, under and behind everything in your home can be daunting at best. And those harsh, chemical sprays and cleansers do a number on your health, leaving your home smelling like a toxic dump rather than “lemony fresh” as many manufacturers claim.
That’s why this spring you should take your cleaning ritual to the next level with natural and safe cleaning products. Not only will your nose thank you, but also you’ll be bringing a bit of the fresh spring air into your newly cleaned home!
According to Annie Berthold-Bond, author of Clean & Green: The Complete Guide to Nontoxic and Environmentally Safe Housekeeping (Ceres Press, www.HealthyHighways.com, $9.95), you can concoct home-made cleaners from all-natural substances that remove dirt and grime just as well as store bought products containing bleach and other harsh chemicals. Berthold-Bond suggests the following “recipes” to make your home sparkle this spring with a natural glow:
Walnut Oil and Lemon Furniture Polish
You will need:
1/8 cup walnut oil
1/8 cup lemon juice
Preparation: Mix the ingredients in a jar and shake well. Use a cotton cloth to rub the mixture on furniture. Polish to your desired sheen.
Borax-And-Vinegar Spray for Appliances
You will need:
1-teaspoon borax
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups hot water
Preparation: Mix ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake it up until the borax dissolves and then spray onto appliances. Use a sponge to wipe up the grease and grim!
Annie’s Favorite Wood-Floor Soap
You will need:
1/8-cup vegetable-oil-based liquid soap
1/4 to 1/2 cup vinegar or lemon juice
1/2-cup fragrant herb tea
2 gallons warm water
Preparation: Combine all of the ingredients in a bucket. Swirl the water until you see suds and then mop those dingy floors clean!
Shower-Curtain Vinaigrette
You will need:
A sponge
Vinegar
Preparation: Saturate a sponge in vinegar and rub your shower curtain thoroughly. That soap build-up, mold and mildew should be history.
Now most of all, try to have a little bit of fun this year as you give the house the once over. Enjoy looking through old things that have been buried beneath the rubble all winter, and take a deep breath as you scrub your floors. Enjoy the fresh lemon scent and non-hazardous materials you’ll be using.
You can even get the kids involved. Let them help mix the cleansers and wash your countertops together. You won’t have to worry about your child accidentally ingesting something harmful, and you’ll have more fun watching the little one get soap everywhere than you would by yourself.
On a final note, be sure to open a window—not to ensure you can breathe over the chemicals—but so you can enjoy the fresh spring breeze for the first time this year. There’s nothing like the first blossoms that appear after the winter freeze. Go ahead and enjoy it while it lasts!
Brenda Stokes is a freelance writer and college student based in Southern
California. She has work accepted by ePregnancy, Woman This Month, N2Arts
and others. She can be reached at brenda@ph-x.com or www.ph-x.com
| |
Sponsors:
|
