In my last blog I spoke about how I’ve become more “green” since moving to China.  Today I’m going to tell you about the newest way I’ve become “green”.  Over the last couple of months I’ve starting cleaning “green” for several reasons. One of course is that I care about the environment.  Secondly, I live in China and can’t read the labels of cleaning products, besides who can really read the ingredients and know what they are in English either.  We just know that the ingredients are harmful chemicals that we probably don’t really want around our families, which brings me to a third reason.  I have an 10 month old baby that loves to crawl and put everything in his mouth.  Do I really want him crawling on a floor cleaned with harmful chemicals or mouthing furniture dusted with chemicals.

When I decided that I was going to “clean green” there were some things that I already I knew I could do, for example using vinegar to clean glass.  But I also knew that there had to be more ideas.  So like most people I looked on line to find more information.  I was relieved to find that most household cleaning can be done with a few simple ingredients that, if I was in the US, I would have at home.  White vinegar, baking soda, hot water.

Below are several links that I’ve used to find recipes for green cleaning.  Some are more advanced, for example, did you know you can make your own laundry detergent or disinfectant?

Word of caution:  green doesn’t mean “safe”  some cleaning recipes include ingredients like borax that still require caution when being used and must stored away from pets and children.  Even when you make your own cleaning products store them in a safe place and make sure they are clearly labeled.

www.wswmd.org/recipes Has a very comprehensive list of green cleaning recipes and it they are in a very easy layout.

www.thegreenguide.com/home-garden/cleaning/diy-cleaners

www.organizedhome.com/pantry-recipes-homemade-cleaning-products

www.sideroad.com/Budgeting/homemade-cleaners.html

www.cozgroovy.com/ Has a great recipe for making your own laundry detergent.  I haven’t tried this, but it’s looks simple and an option for those of you who want to up your level of green. (FYI:  I’m currently having trouble accessing this website, but I think it’s because I’m in China)

Essentially you can really do all your cleaning using very simple ingredients you probably have in your home.  Everything from dishes, dusting (olive oil and lemon juice), to cleaning your oven. Who doesn’t want oven cleaning to be better, if nothing else the noxious fumes from store bought products could kill you.

If you’re  interested in cleaning green, but don’t feel you have the time, look for someone in your area who will come to your home and clean green or ask your current cleaning person to “green” their cleaning.

HAPPY CLEANING!

Two trends definitely seem to be catching on right now, going green and saving some green — and it’s not that hard to do both at the same time.

Over the next few weeks we’re going to do a series of posts detailing the different and inexpensive ways you can go green.

Did you know that a bottle of distilled white vinegar can practically erase your need for any other household cleaners? This humble bottle can be used to clean counters, microwaves, ovens, dishwashers, mirrors, windows, coffee pots, and carpets. It can be used to get rid of odors and even be used as a fabric softener!

Since there are so many ways to clean with distilled white vinegar, I’m going to highlight some of the super-easy ways I clean with white vinegar and supply links to dozens of other uses for this miracle cleaner.

I regularly use distilled white vinegar to:

1. Clean windows and mirrors. The key to leaving no streaks or trails of paper towel bits is to use newspaper or those brown paper towels supplied at some gas station bathrooms. It’s easiest to put the vinegar into a spray bottle and use as you would any glass cleaner.
2. Clean countertops, stoves, sinks — just about any household surface. Use white vinegar in place of your regular countertop cleaner with paper towel or dish towel. Again, it’s easiest if you put the white vinegar in a spray bottle.
3. Clean tile, linoleum or vinyl floor. Just use as you would your normal floor cleaner.
4. Clean a coffee pot. Pour white vinegar into the water reservoir and run it without coffee. You will need to run it once more with water before making a new pot of coffee.
5. Freshen the air. We left dirty water in our steam cleaner once, and managed to make a lot of mildew. After a deep cleaning of the steam cleaner (and a very thorough drying) we couldn’t get the smell to budge from our closet. I put a bowl of undiluted white vinegar on the floor of the closet and after a few days, the smell was gone!

Here are some links to other suggestions for white vinegar. Some of these are new to me, and I can’t wait to try them out!

· Vinegartips.com — This list is very thorough! I plan to use their suggestion to clean up messes made by our pets. They recommend using a vinegar/water solution instead of straight vinegar. Straight vinegar works fine for me, but if you want to stretch your vinegar or can’t stand the smell, then I suggest mixing it with water.
· 25 Ways to Clean with Vinegar – A lot of her tips have to do with laundry and stains. This is a great resource for those of us who are messy!

And just for fun, you can use a solution of white vinegar and salt to clean pennies. This was very entertaining to me when I was a child. I would put the yuckiest, green and white corroded pennies in the bowl, and they would come out shiny and new looking.