Clean Body, Clean House

I've been trying to clean up my act the past few months, mostly with regards to what I eat, but it's amazing how once you start paying attention to the chemicals and craziness in your food, you also start noticing those chemicals all over your house. 

I am totally okay with a little/ lot of dirt. Kids should have some dirt under their nails from time to time, and the 10 second rule is more like the ten minute rule. If Arlo finds some old Cheerios in a hidden corner, I say go for it. I have always shied away from anti-bacterial products, despite the fact that high school parents frequently gift me with bottles of hand sanitize, but even my lighter duty cleaners are full of crazy stuff I want to get out from under my kitchen sink, especially since Arlo really enjoys getting in there to see what he can find.

I decided to finally make cleaning products, just like I've meant to do for years. I made two different "recipes" and to see which one I liked more. 

Spray #1:

1/2 water

1/2 vinegar

15 drops of lavender oil (it just happened to me the only essential oil I have on hand)

So this one couldn't be easier. At first I made the cleaner without the lavendar oil, and although it worked just fine, I couldn't help but miss the smell of a fresh, cleaned kitchen. I added 15 drops of oil, and viola, my kitchen smelled cleaner, though Gus still isn't a big van of the vinegary residue.

Spray#2

1 tsp borax

1/2 tsp washing soda

1 tsp liquid castille soap (mine was tea tree oil scented)

15 drops lavender oil (I wanted this one to smell good from the get-go)

enough water to fill the bottle

Shake that puppy up and you're go to go.

So spray # 1 was obviously easier to make: no measuring and I already had the ingredients, BUT... even with the essential oil, it smelled like, well, vinegar.

Spray # 2 took a little more work (I ordered everything online), but smelled more like I am accustomed to cleaners smelling. 

Both worked pretty well, and can be used on my butcher block counters (bonus). I will say for certain messes you will need to add a hefty dose of elbow grease, but I bet it helped me burn a few more calories, so I'm going to pretend like that's a good thing.

The verdict: I like # 2 more, and since I now have very large quantities of all the stuff I need to make more, it's going to be my go to. If I run out and don't feel like playing chemist, the vinegar can always stand in. 

The other nice thing about making these is I don't feel guilty putting my kids to work. Though their standards aren't as high as mine (which aren't that high to begin with), I'm trying my best to get them in the habit of helping out.

Do you have any other natural house cleaning tips? I'm all ears.

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