Frugal (read cheap) Green Cleaning & Family Health

Mrs. Mac's Cleaning Arsenal

Since we ditched our anti-bacterial soap/cleaning products several years ago.. the family has had fewer colds and flu .  At one point in my homemaking career .. I tried to eradicate every germ on every surface with an arsenal of highly advertised products .. (liquid soaps .. scrubbing bubbles .. etc.)  Fast forward .. and remove yourself from current society .. just think back on how homes were cleaned a hundred years ago without modern products ... one has only to turn to the kitchen pantry to find alternative (cheap) cleaners.

For windows I use a recycled spray (window cleaner) bottle and fill it with one cup white vinegar with two cups tap water and a small squirt of dish soap (adding a drop or two blue or green food coloring .. so the family will 'think' it's effective;).  This can be used on windows .. stainless steel appliances .. sinks, bathtubs and toilets.

Squeaky Clean Tub .. pic by Mrs. Mac

For cleaning sinks/tubs .. try just a small drop of dish soap and sprinkle with baking soda .. use a soft clean rag and a little water .. rinse.

Toilets .. same as for sinks but use a few extra drops of dish soap.  Any hard water rings can be safely removed with a pumice stone.  Spray your window cleaner on another cloth to wipe down the seat and rim.

Mirrors .. a soft cleaning rag (lint free) and a little window cleaner is all that's needed.

Use caution on marble (any acid such as vinegar or lemon juice may dull the surface if not wiped immediately) .. I find no problem using the window cleaner on sealed granite counter tops .. just wipe well after spraying.

Three products:  Baking Soda, Dish Soap & White Vinegar will clean your home just as well as those expensive products .. saving you a ton of money .. and the environment each year. (2 gallons white vinegar & 13.5 lbs of baking soda cost under $10 and will last a very long time ... purchased in bulk at Costco).

Essential Oils .. a little drop goes a long way!  pic by Mrs. Mac

I often use a small drop of an essential oil on my damp cloth (such as Rosemary or tea tree oil) giving the cleaned areas that refreshing health spa aroma. 


More money saving tips:  Using cotton rags (made from old washcloths, torn up towels, flannel sheets, sweat pants, etc.) works better than paper towels .. if you stop using fabric softener (Downy or Dryer Sheets) .. and instead use 1/2 cup of white vinegar in the wash rinse.  Fabric softeners tend to leave a filmy residue on fabric and may streak mirrors. 

Bar soap .. and 20 seconds of scrubbing = clean!

When using bar soap, invest in a little footed insert for the soap dish .. it keeps the soap elevated and out of any water .. making it stay cleaner and last longer.  A single bar can be cut into four smaller sized pieces .. perfect for hand washing.

Laundry SOAP ;0)... Plain, Simple, Economical

If a chore or project can be done with simple directions and/or ingredients, I'm usually on the bandwagon trying new methods at home.  Laundry is one of those chores that can put a big dent in the budget if you buy store bought detergent, stain remover sprays, fabric softeners, etc.  Here is the recipe I use for making laundry soap at home.  I have a standard washing machine (after my new high efficiency model broke down the second time .. I opted to replace it with an old fashioned one without a computerized brain) ... something similar to what my grandmother used with push pull type dials. 

#4 Powder Laundry Soap

2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (or Ivory soap, Sunlight bar soap, Kirk’s Hardwater Castile,or Zote)
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax

• Grate the soap on a fine cheese grater. 

• Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
• Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

Here is a link to the website I found this soap.  There are all sorts of other recipes .. as well as directions/instructions on adjusting the amount that may be necessary for your type of water.  Tipnut/10 Laundry Soap Recipes

Do some research on your own should you decide to try this at home.  For our laundry, I found that after several months of continual use (and not using any fabric softener) .. our clothes felt clean.  I had come to hate the overpowering smell of fabric softener .. let alone the expense.  My washer was always grimy .. so I concluded that some of that grime was being left behind on my clothes/towels/sheets.  Using the homemade product has virtually cleaned the inside of my machine, I'm happy to say.  The ingredients are very inexpensive to buy and are usually readily available at the grocery store.  Over the course of a year, I've spent about eight dollars on materials ... and still have enough to make a few more batches.   Homemade laundry soap is extremely cheap to make.  I've tried both liquid and powder recipes.  Powder is easier for our family as the liquid often times needs to be stirred before use ... and you know how kids are when they do laundry ;) ... powder is easier for them. 

For stain removal or pre-treating spots, I simple use the Fels-Naptha bar soap, gently rubbing the stain with the soap and some water ... at times I even use my old washboard in my laundry room sink.   To give extra softness and freshness to towels, I use 1/2 cup of white vinegar in the rinse (DO NOT USE WITH BLEACH).  I put it in the fabric softener dispenser (do so at your own risk;) .. or in a fabric softener dispenser ball that you can plop in at the beginning of the wash cycle.  Using the cycle that includes a soak is helpful for extra soiled clothes .. as well as dark fabrics as it allows the powder to completely dissolve and work more efficiently. The savings are worth the effort.  Here's a guy that makes a liquid version ... and has done stain removal and price comparisons.

Hazards of fabric softeners

To dispense static electricity from your clothes in the dryer .. try wadding up a few balls of aluminum foil and dry clothes as normal  (shut the laundry room door because it's a bit noisy;)

Next year I hope to dabble making laundry soap from the soapwart plant growing in my garden :)

Non toxic cleaners .. including a recipe for soapwart laundry soap

This Week At Home

It's a drizzly day in the North Woods.  Mr. Mac and I have a day without the responsibility of children at home ... a day to go to town ... to purchase a sink to set up outside near the garden with a little weatherproof counter space to handle the dirty work of cleaning garden produce.

I have a gift card from last Mother's Day (my kids know me well) that I hope to use on a new clothesline to put up behind the garage.  It should be a more presentable way to hang laundry ... last year we had a rag-tag line poorly strung up ... not too neat or tidy ... a bit reminiscent of tent camping.  Without a fenced yard .. it was a bit hillbillyish;)

One more comment about laundry:  About a year ago we stopped using liquid fabric softener and dryer fabric sheets ... and bleach for whites.  Half of the year we used two tablespoons of concentrated powder laundry soap (from Costco) ... the other half we used a homemade liquid or powder soap.  Both Costco and the homemade soaps performed about the same.  The laundry seemed a bit dingy until we recently began adding 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the washing machine's fabric softener dispenser.  I must admit ... the whites are now as white as when we used bleach ... and after nearly a year without the addition of commercial softeners, our clothes have no residue making them come out of the wash much cleaner than imagined.  Another bonus is how clean the washing machine appears inside ... not all greasy-gray from the Downey softener.  More money in the bank! (For soap recipes ... check the sidebar)

Mr. Mac asked recently what I wanted for my birthday.  I think the requested gift cost a whole $5 ... but the effort he made blessed my heart.  Having a keen fondness for saving zip lock plastic bags for reuse, my counter often has bags drying upside down over various objects.  I present to you my new-fangled heart shaped bag drying rack.  Ta-dah! 

Soap Saver Ideas: The price of liquid hand soap can range from about a buck to twelve dollars a bottle at some higher end bath shops. After using the soap you are left with another plastic or glass bottle to deposit in the landfill or recycle. When I started making bath soap I gave up buying liquid hand soap. I have replaced the fancy store bought products with small guest size home made soaps. One problem with bar soap is that it tends to turn goopy when left sitting in a soap dish. Take a peek at my new method of washing up at the sink. The teacups .. now soap dishes were my husband's grandmother's ... we inherited them (without saucers) when she passed away. They make the perfect soap holders. Teacup saucers work as well. To keep the soap from getting soggy, place a small piece of loofa sponge under the soap. This will allow the water to drain through to the bottom of the dish. About twice a week, I gather up my soap dishes and give them a good cleaning ... washing the loofas with hot water and 'steaming' them in the microwave for about 45 seconds (while still wet) to kill bacteria. When they are cool, a few drops of tea tree oil can be rubbed in to help keep your soap smelling good and act as natural germ killer.

Helpful Hint. My mom gave me this great tip several years ago about getting the most from a steel wool soap pad. After using your soap pad, gently squeeze out the excess water and wrap in a piece of aluminum foil. The pad will be reusable for many more scrubbing chores without turning rusty.

A good gardener's hand soap can be easily made using the following method. The measurements are vague ... because that's the way I operate ;) ...

Take a bar or two of bath soap ... can be home made or store bought. Castile soap sold in some laundry sections of the grocery store is preferred if you don't make your own bath soap bars. Grate soap using a cheese grater (medium to fine shreds ... not the side for hard cheese ... that will take too long. Place the soap gratings ... about two cups (approximate) into a double boiler placed over rolling boiling water. Heat until warm/soft (it shouldn't completely melt. Add about a tablespoon of finely ground egg shells* and a teaspoon of your favorite essential oil. I happen to like tea tree oil ... so that's what I add. Mix with a fork ... it will be stiff. When the soap shavings have been mixed ... carefully take about two tablespoons of it and form a ball (think of making a meatball ;). Press firmly making the soap as round as you can. Let dry for several days or until hard. This soap will really scrub the garden dirt from your fingers and make them soft if you use a good quality soap. Yields approximately 3-4 soap balls.

*ground egg shells: I save my egg shells by washing them, patting them dry, then baking on a cookie sheet for about 3-5 minutes at 350F to kill any bacteria. Then they are ground up in my spare coffee grinder to a fine powder. Wait until you have at least a dozen egg shells so you have enough to make it worth the effort. (These shells are also sprinkled in the garden around the carrots and lettuce when I plant to increase the calcium in my veggies.) I hope you try this easy to make hand milled soap. You don't have to use lye ... because you start with already made bars of soap. Sometimes I even add a teaspoon of finely ground oatmeal and a pinch of finely ground dried lavender.

Ex-chlorine-bleach-queen discovers old method proves efficient.

Being unable to use chlorine bleach products with our septic system, I have resorted to scrub some of our whites with my handy dandy wash board. It's very efficient and convenient as it sits next to my electric washer in a laundry tub sink. There's even a place for my handy-dandy bar of Fels-Naptha laundry treatment soap. This soap works great for removing stains and is part of the ingredients used when I make my home made laundry soap. If we should ever not be able to afford the electric bill in years to come, I can wash the clothes manually and hang them up to dry on my outside line;). Gosh, now I know why our forefathers only had two sets of clothes.

The dreadful job of cleaning a sink. We have eight sinks in my home (including the two laundry sink-tubs). Since I've given up buying chemical cleaners I had to come up with a way to clean all of these watering holes. Five sinks are porcelain, two are some type of white composite, and one is a double stainless steel kitchen sink. Then we have four bath tubs (three are shower combos) made from acrylic ... and one tile shower stall in the master bath. I'll spare you the toilet count for a later post ;) (what was I thinking when I designed my home?) Needless to say, that's a lot of surfaces to keep clean. BTW, I don't have to clean each one daily ... some are cleaned weekly ... some only when we have company using them :)

My tried and true cleaner is ... are you ready? baking soda Just pure unadulterated BS (baking soda). I keep a small covered plastic container in each bathroom with this magic cleaner. It doesn't scratch even the shiniest of acrylic (that being my nice big claw foot bathtub). Simply sprinkle a bit on to a wet sink/tub surface and scrub with a wet cleaning rag ... rinse well. For my stainless steel kitchen sink, I use a light sprinkling of salt along with the BS. The sink comes out stain and spot free.

Furniture spray wax can be replaced with a home made formula to easily clean your wood furniture. By mixing 1/2 teaspoon olive oil with 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (or vinegar) in a glass jar with a lid, you can dab a bit on a soft recycled cleaning rag when you dust (shake well before using). You can find similar recipes by searching the web. Bye-bye dust ... bye-bye expensive store bought products that pollute the air and take up space in the landfill. I like to think of it as 'salad dressing' for your furniture :) It really does work.