Green Clean

On Wednesdays I usually focus on getting the house clean. Mopping, laundry, vacuuming, scrubbing down the bathroom.

A few weeks ago Oprah did a show on how to be more green. You know, show love to Mother Earth by not trashing her. One of the segments was on green cleaning products. Products that don’t pollute the environment with harsh or toxic chemicals. I have never used any of the recommended products because I am far too cheap to buy them.

Let me tell you about two so-cheap-they-are-nearly-free cleansers that you probably already have.

Vinegar and Baking Soda

These two products are completely non-toxic and non-polluting. In fact, they are so safe that we even eat them. But, they also eradicate smells and germs and get stuff surprisingly clean.

I always use vinegar to mop my floors. I’m lazy so I don’t even mix it with water. I just dump some on the floor and spread it around and then mop it all up with towels. I threw out the mop when I got sick of hurting my back and touching the disgusting thing to wring it out. I just scoot all over the floor with a bath towel under my feet. Gets the floor spotless and then I just pick up the towel and throw it into the washer.

Vinegar has a peculiar smell for sure. I like it, but I understand that some don’t. However, it also eradicates odor. If you have left the wash in the machine until it spoiled you won’t be able to really get rid of the smell with regular laundry detergent. Even after it comes out of the dryer it will still faintly smell of spoiled towel. Just dump a cup of vinegar in the spoiled wash and rewash and the vinegar will kill any lingering spoiled odor. Handy huh?

It will also get smells of baby or animal pee or poop out of carpet. Just spray a little vinegar on the spot, rub a little and the smell will vamoose.

Other green cleaning uses for vinegar include washing glass, including televisions and computer monitors, mirrors and windows. It is also a very cheap replacement for windshield wiper fluid and works just as well or better.

My other secret Susie Homemaker trick is baking soda. Of course, you probably have some in your fridge or freezer to help with the smell in there. But, have you ever run out of laundry detergent and thrown a cup of baking soda in as a substitute? It works great as a substitute for Oxyclean or a stain remover as well. Just make a paste and put it on the stain and maybe scrub with a toothbrush.

I also use it for scrubbing toilets, sinks, shower walls, washing the car, even scrubbing the rims of tires (okay, I only did this once when I was super-grateful to my husband for getting a vasectomy, but the rims totally gleamed). It takes the black marks off white shoes. It also works to get rid of rust stains or burns on pots and pans and makes for a good dishwashing detergent if you need it to.