Going Green to Save Some Green

"Going green” is a phrase that we hear a lot lately. Today, you’re not considered a “hippie” for being environmentally conscious, you’re just considered “hip”. There are so many ways to “go green” even the big box stores have jumped on the trend. Long gone are the days where you had to haul yourself to the elusive health food store to find your organic and environmentally friendly products.

But with rising fuel costs, why bother going to the store to find your eco-friendly products? You probably have everything you need to get started right in your kitchen cabinets.

There really are very few things that you need to get started. My basic cleaning arsenal consists of baking soda, vinegar, olive oil, essential oils and Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap. I’m sure that you can find the first 3 ingredients readily available in your home already.

Baking soda is a natural water softener so it’s great to use in your laundry. It’s also a mild abrasive and when you make a paste with the Dr. Bronner’s Soap, it’s fantastic for cleaning the scum out of the bathtub, spots on your kitchen counter, and even the burnt bits on your flat top range.

Vinegar is anti-microbial/anti-bacterial and a very mild bleaching agent. Use 1 cup in the rinse cycle as a fabric softener and when you mix it in a 50/50 solution with water and 2-4 drops of essential oil in a squirt bottle, it makes a fantastic all purpose cleaner. Straight vinegar in a squirt bottle makes a great glass cleaner or natural odor neutralizer.

My husband absolutely cannot stand the smell of vinegar so I use a couple of drops of essential oil in my vinegar solutions to mask the smell. Essential oils are easy to find at your local health food stores, both Mountain Mama’s and Vitamin Cottage carry a wide variety. I have also managed to find a limited supply at The Vitamin Shoppe and GNC. My favorites are lavender and tea tree. Not only do they smell fantastic, but both are anti-microbial/anti-bacterial. They are pricey initially, starting at around $7.00 for a .5 ounce, but that small bottle will last you a very long time. I still have my bottle of lavender oil that I bought over a year ago.

Olive oil is fantastic for polishing furniture. I have found that it works even better than commercial cleaners. All you need is one tablespoon rubbed well into a coffee table to revitalize the wood.

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap is not easy to find and it is not cheap. I bought my Tea Tree scented 16oz bottle at Vitamin Cottage for $7.49. But it’s a fabulous cleaner. I dilute 1 tbsp to a gallon of hot water to mop my floor. I also make a paste with baking soda to scrub my tub and shower clean and I even use it as a face wash and hand soap. Yep, because it’s pure castile soap, it’s safe to use on your skin. The bottle actually says that this soap has at least 18 different uses. And like the essential oils, it will last a long time because you don’t need to use a lot.

So now that you have your basic kit assembled, go forth and clean! Enjoy, for the first time, cleaning without breathing in all of the toxic fumes from traditional cleaners. Enjoy the knowledge that your new cleaning kit is doing something good for you, the planet and your pocket book!

For more ideas on eco-friendly and wallet friendly cleaning, check out the book, “Clean House, Clean Planet” by Karen Logan.