Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Natural Household Cleaning Recipes

Well, I have been trying to sleep for the past hour or two, but between the hiccups in my stomach (the baby) and my brain going one hundred miles per minute, I can't sleep! I keep thinking about all of the things that I want to get done tomorrow.

This afternoon a neighbor brought over a few cucumbers, so I may try pickling. Just after he left, another neighbor brought over a TON of tomatoes. I will have to cook them down tomorrow and can them. He left me with a lot of roma tomatoes. These make great thick paste and thick sauces. I think pizza sauce is the way to go for these. I know we will use all of it. I will make some fresh bread and bring that over to each neighbor (with homemade jam).

I also have some eggplant to use. I dont know if I should make eggplant parmsean and freeze it or if I should make something else. I need to do that tomorrow.

Oh, I am attempting to get enough food storage for the winter. Wow - I have all of the basics for a family of 6 for 6 months(wheat, oats, dried beans, salt, etc). However, I am also attempting to get fruits and veggies canned. Am I nesting?

On top of that, I really got behind on laundry and know that I need to get cleaned and then hung outside to dry. I will also move and stack the last of the kindling. I would really like to have that done before J comes home on Friday. I know, I know, I am 8+ months pregnant. I should really take it easy, but I hae sucha hard time doing so. I should make a list. That usually helps!

Yes, I think I am nesting!
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I was asked for some good cleaning recipes. You can find some great recipes at http://www.care2.com/healthyliving/.

What I like to use are a combination of vinegar, castille soap, borax, baking soda, and essential oils. These 5 items make up the majority of my cleaning supplies. I relaly like to use essential oils - as they hide the vinegar smell, they smell great, they also have some antibacterial/antimicrobial properties. I like to switch scents for seasons. Right now lemon and orange and favorites. I know that once the season changes a little more, I will want to use more cypress, cedar, pine, rosemary, etc.

I have found that vinegar and a few drops of oil of choice is great in the laundry rinse. It works as a softener!

Bathroom disinfectent (need a lot of it with 4 kids): 2 cups water, 2 tsp borax, 8 drops pine essential oil, 4 drops cedar essential oil. Mix into a spray bottle, shake before use!

Sink cleansers: 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup vinegar, oil of choice. Scrub with cloth and rinse.

Toilet Bowl: This is my favorite - an overnight bomb! 1 cup borax, 1 cup vinegar, 10 drops pine, 5 drops lemon. Let sit overnight and flush in the morning.

Another: 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup vinegar, tea tree oil - place all into toilet bowl, swish and done!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the ideas! I am going to try to get some of these out of the way before our party tomorrow night.

Anonymous said...

This seems like a book you and Jonathan might enjoy:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157223394X/ref=pd_cp_b_title/104-7053904-1367906?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

It's going on my to-read list.

Anonymous said...

Forgive my ignorance but how do you get the "oils" you are refering to?

By the way, great blog.

Wanda L

simplyG said...

I'm curious what you use for laundry stain remover. I currently use Clorox 2 and Spray & Wash on the kids clothes because I like to hand them down if possible, but would LOVE to find something environmentally friendly.

Emme said...

I find essential oils at our local co-op. ...

Emme said...

Paul, I have a few good laundry recipes which include Baking soda, Washing soda, and soap flakes.

We don't have a grey water system - yet. Hopefully sometime soon! I do use water multiple times (I use the water from our dehumidifier to water plants or to mop the floor and then water plants)...

btw, I love your blog!

Emme said...

This site has some good information about stain removal:
http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/388

if you go down the page there are links to removing grass stains, and other great recipes.

good luck!

Anonymous said...

With child no. 5 on the way and still working, according to the MONEY article, how do you have time for all of this? Do you mix large quantities of these cleaners and have them on hand?

Also, if you guys are saving so much money, why not use some for a charity instead of just your family? Do you really want to completely fund your children's college or let them learn to start providing more for themselves as your husband learned to do. (My husband and I had to pay for college ourselves and are very grateful for the experience.)

bkerekes@gmail.com

Emme said...

Well, during the summer, I do not work out of the house.... I always have the ingredients on hand. It is easy enough to put together. So, I have some bottles of cleansers that I have premixed, but it really takes moments to put together hte ingredients.

We do have some donations for breast cancer research.

We don't intend to fully pay for the children's education, but hope to as much as possible. I agree that having the children learn to pay for it can be very good for them. We have NOTHING set aside for the kids or our future as of now. The way that prices are rising, we don't know if we could save enough. We have very little retirement, so that is a major focus right now (as well as paying off the mortgage). We also try to make environmentally friendly improvements- save for solar panels, etc.

This is the first time that we both work. We have, until this time, been a one income family (with J in school). So, we really are in new territory!

Anonymous said...

hi- just stumbled on this site and I know I'll be back! To answer Paul's laundry question- maybe this will help: I prefer to use Dr. Bronner's Castile soap as my laundry "detergent". I buy it in bulk in the large gallon size and 2 tiny cap fulls get the job done, but 2-3 squirts from any of the other size bottles would work, just as well. One gallon lasts quite a long time and I love the way the clothes smell and feel. If I need to cut a stain before washing, I use a spray on mixture of; 1/4C Ivory Detergent, 1/4C glycerine and 1 1/2C water. There is virtually no stain this spray can't beat, especially if sprayed on the stain for an hour before washing. Happy laundering!

Emme said...

Thanks for the laundry hints! I have castille soap on my list for my next bulk order! :)

I am glad that you visited!

PaganAngel said...

When they say "castile soap," is Dr. Bronner's-type what is meant? If not, is it something I'll find at a grocery store?

Emme said...

Yes, Dr. Bronner's is what I use....

Anonymous said...

Your toilet bowl cleaner seems acidic, I am sure it cleans the toilet well, but does it damage the plumbing? It will probably, be safe on plastic pipes, but in some homes waste pipe is made of copper or cast iron...

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