Green Cleaning Tips: Using Non-Toxic Cleaning Products at Home

Note: This blog post is a sponsored conversation written by Lynn Smythe, the Founder and Chief Blogger for The Creative Cottage lifestyle blog. The opinions, thoughts, ideas and text are all mine.

When it comes to cleaning your home, more and more people are looking for non-toxic, environmentally friendly cleaning supply options. There are far too many chemicals that seep into the air, water, and environment that can be harmful to the Earth and everything that resides on it. Long before chemical filled products were available, people used their own homemade cleaning solutions.

Vinegar, baking soda, borax, essential oils, and lemon juice are among the top all-natural cleaners used in homemade products. If you’re a label reader you might have noticed that some of the commercially available green cleaners actually contain some of these natural ingredients.

Here’s another great green cleaning tip to try. Using a washable, reusable cleaning cloth – such as a microfiber towel – is a good option for getting rid of mold, mildew, bacteria and other nasty things that grow on old mops and sponges.

ingredients to make natural cleaning products

Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Put down the Ajax down and try this natural cleaning method featuring baking soda. All you have to do is pour about 1/4 cup of baking soda into the toilet bowl, swish it around using the toilet brush, scrub, and flush. Baking soda absorbs odor and is mildly abrasive, which makes it perfect for scrubbing away nasty dirt and grime.

Stinky Sinks & Drains

Simply pour about a half cup of baking soda down your kitchen drain pipe. Then follow-up by pouring in about a cup of white vinegar down the drain. Wait about 15 minutes for the foaming action to do its work and then rinse it all away with boiling hot water.

This will eliminate any nasty odor, as well as, pulling any debris and build-up down the drain with it. The combination of vinegar and baking soda is what kids use to make volcanoes for science class and that’s because together the two ingredients make a fabulous foaming agent that is safe and Eco-friendly.

Furniture Polish

This all-natural furniture polish is so easy to make and is suitable to use on all wood surfaces. You can use about ½ cup of olive oil combined with a few drops of lemon essential oil. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle or a bowl and mix well.

If using a spray bottle just spray the solution on a clean rag, or microfiber polishing pad, and apply to the furniture wiping in a circular motion. If using a bowl simply dip the rag into the solution and do the same. The goal is to only use a small amount of the solution, to lightly polish the surface, without turning your furniture into an oily mess.

Showers & Sinks

For your showers and sinks fill a bucket with ½ gallon of water (about 4 cups), then stir in ¼ cup of baking soda and ½ cup of white vinegar. You can substitute 2 teaspoons of borax for the baking soda if you want. Use the solution, along with a microfiber applicator, anytime you need to clean your sinks or showers. This solution will help with hard water deposits and build-up and it will also clean mirrors and drains.

The Air You Breathe

The quality of the air you breathe inside your home should always be a priority. High volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) can contribute to respiratory problems like asthma, headaches and allergy attacks. If creating your own homemade cleaning formulas seems like a time-consuming task, then look for non-toxic, environmentally friendly products made by a company you can trust.

Share Your Green Cleaning Tips

What’ your favorite green cleaning tip? If you’ve had success cleaning your home using a natural, homemade product share your photos with us!

Use any of these hashtags to share your cleaning tips photos with us on social media: #renew, #refresh, #doityourself, #homemade, #lifehack, #cleaningtips, #thecreativecottage