House Cleaning Products Alternatives

We have all heard of the myriad of "green" housecleaning products out there on the market.  Some products I've used and liked are J. R. Watkins (made in Winona MN) and The Good Home Co (made in New York).

J.R. Watkins:



The Good Home Co:

But I find that a lot of these cleaning products are expensive, and am literally dumping money down the drain.  So, what I like even better is making my own cleaning products using some good old fashioned methods of cleaning--vinegar, baking soda, castile soap, and plain hot water.  A google search for cleaning uses of these products will pull up a multitude of different house cleaning recipes.

Often I like adding my own essential oils to my cleaning products.  Some of my favorite essential oils to use for cleaning are Rosemary, Peppermint, Lemon Eucalyptus, Lemon Myrtle, Lemon, and Pine.  Many of these oils are antibacterial, anti-fungal, even anti-staph.  I purchase most of my essential oils from Nature's Gifts.  I highly recommend Marge Clark's informative website to learn about the use and properties of essential oil's http://www.naturesgift.com/descript.htm .  Nature's Gift provides a wealth of information on essential oils uses and properties.  All of Nature's Gift essential oils list the country of origin.

Another distributer of essential oils that I highly recommend is from Aromatics International http://www.aromaticsinternational.com/ .  Aromatics International's Andre Butje has traveled around the world and visited with the small farmers and distillers that create the products they sell.   Every batch of oil they purchase is tested with the Gas Chromatography/ Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS).  I also appreciate that Aromatics International lists the country of origin and the date of distillation.

Another method I use that's really simple and affordable is steeping fresh herbs into hot water and using that "tea" to clean my surfaces.  One of my favorite simple, affordable, cleaning recipes is to gather some fresh Rosemary from the garden, add to the bucket and pour boiling water over it, let it steep.  Once the water cools I'll don some plastic gloves, grab a rag, and wipe down my counters, cabinets, and floors--leaving behind the clean pungent scent of Rosemary.  After I'm done I dump the water and rosemary into the compost or grass.