Clean 'n Green 'n Easy: Week 7-8

[amileegirl]

WEEK 7

Armed and Dangerous...



Let's Freshen Up!

First a Recap  of your Prepared Arsenal:

1. Baking soda and 50% Vinegar in all bathrooms and the kitchen
2. Baking soda, vinegar, washing soda, and sodium percarbonate in the laundry room
3. All Purpose Cleaner
4. Bathroom Disinfectant Cleaner
5. Dishwashing Mix
6. Carpet Deodorizer
7. Furniture Polish 
8. Furniture Duster/Cleaner

Purchased Detergents/Soaps

1.  Earth friendly laundry detergent
2.  Earth friendly dish soap
3.  Earth friendly regular soap

What's Next?

1.  Replace your toothpaste with a SLS free kind
     or with a mix of equal parts baking soda/salt and xylitol to taste if desired
2.  Replace your shampoo with detergent free 
     or baking soda and vinegar
3.  Get rid of all commercial air fresheners


Stove Top Air Freshener

In a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water heat until hot cinnamon sticks, cloves, all spice, or nutmeg in any single spice or combination desired.   Once hot, turn off and the house will smell of spice.


Recipe:  Ginger Spice Spray Air Freshener

1 cup water (or 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup vinegar)
1-3 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Mix well in a small spray bottle and spray wherever desired.


Recipe:  Scent Essence Air Freshener

1 cup water (or 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup vinegar)

Your Choice:
Lemon Extract (or lemon juice/zest)
Lime Extract (or lemon juice/zest)
Vanilla Extract (or vanilla bean)
Almond Extract

Mix well in the concentration desired in a small spray bottle and spray wherever desired. 



Recipe (Advanced):  Closet and Drawer Freshener Pomander Ball

What you need:

1.  An orange (something with thin skin not thick!) or another citrus fruit.
     Apples also work nicely.
2.  Whole cloves
3.  2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
4.  2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
5.  2 teaspoons allspice
6.  2 teaspoons orris root powder OR sandalwood oil  (essential)
7.  A nail or embroidery needle about the width of the clove stems

** you may use any spice pre-mixture you want.  Apple Pie Spice, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Garam Masala, etc.**

Prick holes in the fruit in a desired pattern.  The most common is up and down rows, but you can get fancy.   Insert cloves into the holes about 1/8 of an inch apart.     Mix the spices in a bowl and roll the fruit in it until it is completely covered (use the leftovers to make more pomanders).   Put the fruit into a paper bag and keep in a cool, dry, dark place for three weeks to six weeks so that it can shrink and harden (it won't mold because of the orris root powder).    When cured properly it will be light and sound hollow if tapped on a surface.   If you use sandalwood oil paint the fruit with the oil (you don't need a lot) then roll into the spices.

Toss into a drawer or attach a pretty ribbon with pins to the dried pomander and hang in a closet or wherever you want a nice scent.   You can also affix a ribbon or string to the top of the fruit first and then put in the cloves.   If you want to wrap the ribbon around the fuit, use masking tape the width of the desired ribbon to mask off an area before studding with cloves.  Pomanders keep indefinitely.   To freshen the smell of a very old pomander, brushing it with orange oil or clove oil will keep it going. 

Orange:       
Lime:      Lemon:     Apple:

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WEEK 8

You've Come A Long Way Baby!

   


You Can Consider Yourself a Tree Hugger!

So you should be at intermediate level now and you are well on your way to making more green changes in the weeks to come.   Here are a few more recipes for you to add to your arsenal.   These are the last friends you will meet in this series:  Aloe and Witch Hazel

   and



Recipe:  On the Go Lemony Fresh Sanitizing Handwipes

1/4 cup alcohol (or substitute with one or two drops of tea tree oil)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup aloe juice (optional)
1/2 lemon juiced
Paper Towels cut to size and folded, or reusable flannel/cotton cloth
Sealable ziptop plastic bag or small flat tupperware

Mix all the ingredients and paper towels/cloths and seal in a flat tupperware container or a small jar.  Your container should be small enough to be easily portable and stored in a purse, diaper bag, or glove compartment.  This is meant for travel cleaning on the go.       Paper towels is a convenience but you can buy recycled ones to compensate, using cloth requires you to take care to have a place to toss the used ones (easy to do, just keep a small toss bag in the car or diaper bag)



Recipe:  Easy Soothing Baby Wipes

2 cups of witch hazel
1 cup aloe vera juice
Paper towels or reusable cotton/flannel cloths

Find a suitable container to your liking (a big one for the home and a small flat one for on the go).    Mix well and use like regular commercial wipes.    (I'll be honest, though the recipe is a good one I prefer plaim water hands down!)



Baking Soda and Vinegar Parting Tips:

To deter ants:   sprinkle baking soda along ant paths outside the home and spray crevices with vinegar.

To kill weeds in cracks and crevices: spray with straight vinegar

To clean tools and pots:  mix baking soda and vinegar into a paste, schmear on your tools and garden pots, rinse clean, and dry thoroughly.

To keep outdoor cushions fresh:   store in bags sprinkled with baking soda before storing for the season.

To freshen the dog:   sprinkle baking soda on fur, leave for a few minutes then brush off (best done outside!)

To remove fleas:   wash dog or cat in a solution of vinegar and water.  Don't rinse -- let air dry.

To freshen pet beds:  Sprinkle with baking soda, let sit for an hour or more and vacuum clean.



COOL TIP:  Put large bay leaves strategically in your cabinets to deter bugs.   I have bay leaf "bits" in open mini preserve containers in the corners of my cabinet labeled  Bug-B-Gone.

GOTO WEEK 1-2 ==>

GOTO WEEK 3-6 ==>