Vinegar is not just for salad dressing - it is an inexpensive, effective and green way to beautify and clean your home and hair! I know it sounds crazy, but bear with me.
* Vinegar as home cleaner: I have a confession to make: I have not purchased all-purpose cleaner in years. Ever since I found my cat licking the pool of cleaner off the spot on the table that I missed, I started to worry that maybe I should be using something a little safer for cat and kids. When my son was born, keeping scary chemicals out of our home became even more important to me. Enter my friend Jennie's recipes for vinegar based cleaner (note: I will blog more about Jennie's wonderful blog soon, and it is a funny coincidence that she happened to blog about her vinegar-based cleaners this week, too!). I admit that it took a little while to become accustomed to the vinegar scent, but I don't notice it anymore. And I love that because it is all natural (and I make it myself), I save money and know that if my cat or kids happen to ingest it, it's totally OK.
-The all-purpose cleaner recipe:
2 cups water, 2 cups white vinegar, 5 drops lavender oil, 10 drops sweet orange oil, 10 drops tea tree oil. I pour into a large spray bottle. One bottle lasts me a good month or so, and can be used on most surfaces (except stone), including stainless steel and glass.
The essential oils will help to degrease and sanitize. Give it a try! One bottle of essential oil lasts me well over a year and a gallon of vinegar is only $3, which is at least what you would pay for a bottle of cleaner on the mass-market.
- The soft-scrub recipe:
Mix ½ cup liquid castile soap (now available at Target! I use the one pictured in the link because I always have it on hand for my kids' baths), 1 & 2/3 cup baking soda, ½ cup water, 2 TBSP white vinegar.
I use this for scrubbing tubs, sinks and when something needs some extra cleaning. I will note that it does a fantastic job of removing crayon from surfaces. I store in one of those glass containers with attached lid and vacuum seal (available for just a few dollars at Target). You only need a little bit of this stuff - it is very effective.
* Vinegar for hair: Once a week, I use an apple-cider vinegar rinse on my hair. It makes my hair shiny and gets rid of any build-up. It's really that simple, too. I keep a plastic container (which held some Chinese takeout won-ton soup we ordered , which I saved from our recycling bin) and the vinegar under my sink. I measure out about 1 TBSP of vinegar into the container and bring it in the shower. After I shampoo & rinse, I fill up the container with warm water from the shower (about a cup) and pour it over my hair. Then rinse through and condition as usual. The result is super shiny hair! I do it just once a week, but you can try more if you want.
What are your tricks for greener products around the home? Stay tuned for future posts on other super cool uses for more household items, like baking soda, sugar, honey and of course good ol' vinegar.
See you swoon,
I use vinegar for cleaning all the time! I love your "recipes" though. I usually just use vinegar and water in a spray bottle-never added essential oils. I use my vinegar/water to clean glass, countertops, and my pergo floors. I am SO excited to make your soft scrub mix though. I still use chemical cleaners for the bathtub, but hate doing it. Yay!
ReplyDeleteOh...and the apple cider rinse! Who knew!