The ultimate guide to household cleaners…

Alright my friends, we are in month two of making our home just a tad bit more natural. And let me tell ya, it is a hard transition. We have been on a slow road to changing out certain things in our home for about 9 years now. You would think we would be done by now but that is the exact point I’d like to stress here. This journey is a hard slow journey and I just want you to stop and take a second to acknowledge that.

So many times we get discouraged by the blogs or the social media accounts we follow because they just look like they have it dialed in like a mutha. But really, everyone is on a different part of their journey so just take what they are doing as an inspiration and go at your own pace.

Earlier in the month we swapped out our paper napkins for cloth napkins. How did you do with that transition? Was it easy? Hard? Frustrating because you didn’t do laundry fast enough and didn’t have any clean napkins for dinner time? I get it. But hey, the more you figure out how to make it work the more you will realize that it just works. And soon it will just become second nature.

The comfort of routine and familiarity is what makes us revert back to our old ways.

When you start to feel that feeling creep up….remind yourself why you started this journey in the first place.

To make your home the safest place to be.

And yes, using cloth napkins falls into that concept whether you like it or not!

Okay, so we are rockin’ it with the cloth napkins, now we are going to enter into the territory of…

…household cleaners!

Now, I know what you are going to say, “But Krystal, I cannot live without my cleaners. There is nothing I have found that cleans my toilet the way my cleaner does.”

I get it, you found what works and you will go down fighting for it. But what if I told you those chemical cleaners that you are using are actually doing more harm than good.

Here is a question I asked myself when I used magic erasers, “This is incredible! But what the hell is in this that with one swipe of this eraser, I can remove permanent marker from a wall so easily?” The answer…are you ready?

Magic erasers are made up of Melamine foam. By adding water, the melamine foam is able to easily remove stains with little to no effort. Sounds simple AND incredible right?

But where my mind goes is, “what is Melamine Foam made out of?

The answer…are you ready??

Formaldehyde–melamine-sodium bisulfite copolymer.

I don’t know about you but I can do with a little less formaldehyde in my life. But yet here we are using it on pretty much anything and everything we have a stain on without a worry. I think it is time to worry my friends…..or at least start questioning the products we use in our home.

And more importantly, be open to new ideas and concepts when it comes to what is comforting and familiar to us. Yes, this pertains to those household cleaners that we grew up with and “essentially” cannot live without.

I am here to make it easy for you…I have done the work and research to find the best household cleaners that are free from nasty chemicals that are doing more damage to you and your family than good.

The ultimate guide to household cleaners

 

1. Alternative to glass cleaner:

When it comes to glass cleaner it could not be more simpler. The main ingredient in this cleaner is going to be vinegar. Vinegar my friends can get a window or mirror cleaner than you have ever experienced in your life. The other two ingredients in this cleaner are lemon and water. And making it is faster than you think.

Glass cleaner:

• Get yourself a 16 oz glass spray bottle and fill it half way with distilled white vinegar.
• Add about 30 drops of lemon essential oil.
• Fill the rest up with filtered or distilled water.
• Give it a little shake.

That is it my friends. If you haven’t ventured into the world of essential oils yet, it’s cool. Here is another way to get that lemon in your glass cleaners.

• You’ll need a quart size mason jar and 5-6 lemons.
• Cut lemons in half and squeeze the juice into the mason jar.
• Throw in all the lemon rinds.
• Fill your jar up with distilled white vinegar, cover and let sit for about a week on a sunny window.
• Shake up your jar everyday to keep things fermenting.
• After a week or so, strain out the liquid from the jar.

What you have here is some excellent lemon vinegar that will do the job! To use, just fill your 16 oz spray bottle half with this lemon vinegar mixture and then the rest with filtered or distilled water.

***Are you question why I am suggestion filtered or distilled water? It is because water out of the tap can actually contain bacteria, parasites, and fluoride. All things that you do not want to be spraying around your house.

2. Alternative to simple green or an all purpose cleaner:

When we discovered this cleaner, it was a mutha f-ing game changer. This cleaner is so incredibly powerful that I still can’t believe it and we have been using it for well over two years now. We actually have a post on it and you can see what kind of difference it made on both my stove top and my kitchen floors. It was actually embarrassing that I had been living the way I was before this cleaner. 🤭🤫

All purpose cleaner:

Here is what you’ll need:

• 32 oz spray bottle
• 1/4 cup dish soap of choice
• 6 tablespoons vinegar
• 3 tablespoons borax
• 3 cups hot water

How you make it:

• Heat up your water on the stove just to a low simmer.
• Fill spray bottle with water, vinegar and borax. Do not add the soap just yet.
• Give that bottle a shake.
• Now, go ahead and add the soap and give it a little swirl.

To use, I mean, just spray away! Toilets, yes! Stove tops, go ahead. Showers and tub, yep! Floors, oh for sure! Counter tops, be my guest!

3. Alternative to comet:

Comet was a cleaner that stayed in my cleaning cabinet longer than I’d like to admit. Even after making all these changes to my cleaning products and falling in love with how well they worked, I still could let go of the comet.

Until I found the solution.

Abrasive surface scrub:

What you’ll need:

Washing soda

Borax

Essential oils (optional)

• In a glass shaker jar add half borax and half washing soda.
• If using essential oils use 15-20 drops total

Ummm….that is all you need! I know right, so mutha f-ing simple.

4. Alternative to Lysol:

Disinfectant Spray:

What you’ll need:

Hydrogen Peroxide

Filtered water or distilled water

Thyme essential oil

Glass spray bottle

How to make it:

• Simply mix equal part hydrogen peroxide and filtered water in a glass spray bottle.
• Add 20-30 drops of thyme essential oil.
• Give it a shake.

How to use:

Spray on to counter tops, door handles or whatever else you wish, and allow to air dry.

5. Alternative to air freshener:

There is nothing like finishing off a freshly cleaned room by spraying it with a natural clean scent. Stop spraying your clean house with nasty chemicals, try this room spray instead.

What you’ll need:

Rubbing alcohol

Filtered water or distilled water

Favorite essential oil (Mine would have to be either lavender or geranium)

Glass spray bottle

How to make it:

• In a glass bottle you are going to mix 1 cup of water, 3 tbs of rubbing alcohol and 30-40 drops of lavender, geranium or any other essential oils that just puts your soul at ease.
• Now give it a shake.

How to use it:

Spray what you wish my friend. My favorite way to use this spray is after changing the beds and cleaning the bedrooms. It just gives it that final beautiful touch and lets my family know that all the love I have to offer went into making them a clean, safe place to lay their tired bodies at night.

If you are interested in trying this spray but don’t feel like making it yourself, head on over to our shop. We have lavender and geranium linen spray available. They say linen spray but really, you can spray anything and you won’t be disappointed. 😉

Well my beautiful friends, I hope you see just how simple it is to change out those nasty chemicals you are so used to using. The process takes some getting used to but once it clicks, it is so worth the time and energy to make it all. Which, I gotta say takes no time at all to make.

Until next time…

Happy switching out your cleaning products!