by natalie Wise
Of course, the safety and health of your family does not have a price tag, but it is precious far beyond monetary value. Health care bills, though, from potential ingestion of hazardous materials or lasting effects from chemicals being breathed in, will never be inexpensive. Racing your child or pet to the emergency room late at night because they found the toxic cleaning products is terrifying and unnecessary.
Cleaning has also become a stressor in this day and age. Mainstream cleaning products do nothing to help alleviate this, and in fact, contain ingredients known to affect our hormones and nerves. Natural, organic products have no ill effects and usually contain natural aromatherapeutic elements to bring calm to your cleaning routine.
Can any product be certified organic?
Food or grown/harvested products and their derivatives, fibers, textiles, and animal feed can be certified organic. While you won’t find a certified organic cleaning product per se, you will find organic ingredients in cleaning products. Many of the ingredients used in organic home keeping can be certified organic, such as lemons for cleaning your cutting boards and oranges for making citrus peel vinegar. Many other ingredients, such as diatomaceous earth and baking soda, will not be certified organic, so it’s important to read labels and look for pure, unadulterated products.
Will all of my products and ingredients be organic?
No. Only some of your ingredients will be available as certified organic products (essential oils, cotton products, and citrus in particular). But all of the ingredients in these recipes are natural, earth-friendly, and nontoxic (when used and stored correctly; essential oils can be particularly dangerous if misused). When it comes to supplies, some items may be made from organic fibers.
Where do I find organic products and supplies?
The good news is, you probably have enough supplies in your own cupboards to get started right now with at least a few recipes in this book. The other ingredients can be found at your local hardware store, co-op, natural food store, or even the dollar store. Most, such as rubbing alcohol and castile soap, are readily available these days. Others, such as the essential oils and diatomaceous earth, may require going to a specialty store. Of course, ordering online is always a convenient option these days. Don’t forget to look in the bulk section of your local store. Baking soda and salt should be available here, at the very least, and will be less expensive and more convenient to purchase in bulk. My favorite co-op also has a bulk section in the beauty department, where I can purchase herbs, dried flowers, beeswax pastilles, and bentonite clay in bulk, too. Bring jars with you to avoid using plastic bags and to cut down on waste—plus, you won’t have to transfer the ingredients once you get home.
ORGANIC PRODUCTS AND SUPPLIES
Now it’s time to stock the pantry of your organic home so you have all of the tools and ingredients at hand to mix up air freshener or yoga mat spray whenever you need. Let’s take a look at ingredients first, starting with the basics you can purchase right away and working our way up to more advanced, and less frequently used, ingredients to stock. Then we’ll dive into some of the standard products used for household cleaning that have their own issues. If in doubt, keep in mind: simple is best. Look for the simplest ingredient list, the simplest product, and the simplest packaging.
Ingredient Primer
These are the most common ingredients in modern organic housekeeping. You may see an extra ingredient here or there throughout the book, but these are the standard ingredients every organic home should have on hand. As I mentioned, no need to go stock up on all of them in one fell swoop— grab them as your budget, space, and time allow. Build your pantry, starting with the basics and adding as you go.
Basics
These are inexpensive ingredients, readily available, that you’ll mix into many different combinations for various recipes. Keep them on hand at all times, and in large enough quantities to mix up a few recipes at a time. It just makes sense to make a few recipes at once that use essentially the same ingredients.
Distilled Water: Distilled water is the only water to use in any product that is going into a bottle or package. Because water can introduce bacteria into products that are left to sit out for a long time, choose distilled water to combat this problem. Be absolutely sure the water is labeled distilled, not purified, spring, or “baby.” Distilled water can be a bit tricky to find these days, so look on the lower shelf at a store that carries many brands of bottled water. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a place that has distilled water on tap to fill reusable containers, but that would be ideal. In the meantime, if you can’t find distilled water or prefer not to buy it, you can also approximate it by making your own. To do this, bring water to a full rolling boil for 5 minutes to kill any bacteria. Let the water cool completely before using in any recipe. Feel free to use straight tap water for soaking, sudsing, and rinsing in most of these recipes. I’ll specify where you need to use distilled or boiled and cooled tap water.
Baking soda: Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is a naturally-occurring mineral deposit. Most of our North American baking soda comes from minerals mined in Wyoming. Baking soda is thoroughly safe and mildly abrasive, making it perfect for gently cutting through grime on just about any surface. Baking soda also absorbs odors, making it particularly effective in the bathroom and kitchen. The uses to this ubiquitous ingredient are almost endless, so you’ll see it in every chapter of this book and most recipes.
Salt: Regular old table salt, kosher salt, sea salt . . . any kind of salt will work in most of these recipes, but there’s no need to use anything other than table or kosher for most of them. Salt is more abrasive than baking soda but still gentle. It also has natural deodorizing and cleansing properties, making it excellent in the kitchen in particular.
Vinegar: Like salt, just about any type of vinegar will do (except balsamic vinegar; save that for the salad dressing!). But there’s no need to use a fancy one when plain distilled white vinegar or apple cider will do. You might have some in your cupboard labeled specifically for “pickling”—that will do, too. You can even find “aroma controlled” vinegar made specifically for cleaning that isn’t nearly as strong scented as the real stuff. However, the vinegar scent dissipates so quickly I don’t think it’s worth spending any extra money unless you are particularly sensitive. If the vinegar scent is especially troublesome, try adding 50–75 drops of your favorite essential oil to a gallon of vinegar. Vinegar is nature’s cleaning miracle. It cuts through even the toughest grime with ease, especially when combined with baking soda for extra foaming power. But don’t use vinegar on marble, granite, or any similar surface, as it will eat away at the porous surface’s natural protective coating. I buy vinegar by the gallon.
Essential oils: Essential oils are one of the best parts of natural organic home keeping because they are useful and they add joy to the process. Slowly collect therapeutic-grade essential oils as you go, and build a collection so you can make various scents and utilize their various cleansing properties. I recommend starting with these essential oils:
• Clove: Clove kills mold and fungus and has antiseptic, antioxidant, and “heart-warming” properties. The spicy, warm scent evokes feelings of Christmastime.
• Eucalyptus: Eucalyptus has antimicrobial properties, reduces odors, and has an amazing sinus-opening effect that works wonders if you’ve got a cold.
• Geranium: Geranium is an aromatherapy wonder, as it helps alleviate anxiety and promote calm, generous feelings. It has antibacterial properties and helps cleanse and tone skin, too.
• Lavender: Lavender is well-known for its relaxing, calming properties. As such, it is a great oil for fighting stress and improving sleep, and it also works well in perfumes and beauty products. Bugs don’t like it either, which is helpful for keeping pests at bay.
• Lemon: Lemon essential oil is packed with powerful goodness. Not only does it have a scent that we associate with cleaning, it’s also a natural disinfectant, ki
lls odors, and dissolves grease.
• Lemongrass: Lemongrass essential oil is a bit of a sleeper in the essential oil community, but it’s one of my personal favorites! It has a wonderful woodsy-citrus scent that appeals to almost everyone in the family, making it ideal for shared uses. It is high in antioxidants and minerals, and is a natural deodorizer, detoxifier, and stress reliever.
• Peppermint: Peppermint is another favorite of mine for cleaning, mostly because of its refreshing scent. It is naturally antimicrobial, promotes mental clarity, focus, and alertness, and is a natural bug repellent.
• Tea Tree: Perhaps the best essential oil for natural cleaning is tea tree oil. If you only have one oil, I’d start with this one.
Lemons: Lemons are something I always keep on hand for cleaning. Lemons last nearly forever if you use the fruit and vegetable cleaner on page 39, dry them thoroughly, then store in the refrigerator. When using a half lemon, I like to take a paring knife and cut off the bottom ½ inch or so of rind, which always seems to get in the way. Lemons are also simply cheerful to look at!
Citrus rinds: Citrus rinds have a magical de-gunking property, particularly when they’ve added all of that magic to the vinegar recipe below. They cut through grease like it’s what nature intended their sole job to be.
Hydrogen peroxide (the common 3% solution found in most drugstores): Hydrogen peroxide is well known for its bleaching and disinfecting, germicidal properties.
Rubbing (Isopropyl) Alcohol (70 or 91% are most common): Rubbing alcohol is a surefire disinfectant . . . it’s even used in hospitals, which makes me feel safe using it in my bathroom to kill germs. Seventy percent alcohol is what you’re likely to find on the shelves, but check a few pharmacies and see if you can find 91% or 99%, which is stronger.
Castile soap: Castile soap is a vegetable-based soap that comes in bar or liquid form. For all of the recipes in this book, we’ll be using the liquid form. If you’re extra savvy, you can grate the concentrated bar soap and add distilled water, making your own bulk castile soap for much less than the popular brand Dr. Bronner’s. It is biodegradable and nontoxic, making it a safe and chemical-free addition to your cleaning routine.
Citrus Vinegar: This is an ingredient called for in a few recipes, and it’s one you make yourself. Simply put a handful of orange rinds (from 2–3 oranges) into a quart of white distilled vinegar. Let sit at room temperature in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks. Remove the orange rinds. This is a concentrated cleaner and can be diluted. Also works great for removing sticky labels and residue. Simply saturate a cotton ball with the citrus vinegar and hold it on the label until it begins to peel away. Remove the paper part of the label as best you can, then scrub the rest away with the cotton ball, adding more vinegar if necessary.
Advanced Ingredients
Diatomaceous earth: Diatomaceous earth is a natural, nontoxic powder composed nearly entirely of silica, so it is great at absorbing liquids and odors.
Bentonite Clay: Bentonite clay is used exclusively in the medicine cabinet chapter, because it has so many beneficial health properties. You’ll find this in the health and beauty department. It’s a unique clay because when activated with water it can absorb toxins and chemicals, both on the surface of our bodies and if used internally (but it is not used internally in any recipes in this book). One note of caution: because bentonite clay attracts toxins and heavy metals, do not use metal utensils for it. The clay can absorb the metals.
A wider variety of essential oils: Now that you’re ready to invest in a few more ingredients, it’s time to try some more expensive essential oils. Remember, a little goes a long way with these. Vetiver would be top on my list. Vanilla is another favorite addition to so many cleaning products, particularly in bedrooms, where its sweet aroma lingers. Try sandalwood and patchouli; see if either of these deeper scents work well for you. If you like rose, that can be another great oil to add to your collection, but be sure to get one that isn’t in a carrier oil, or use that only for non-cloth applications where it might stain.
Glycerin: Glycerin is naturally derived from vegetables and helps add moisture to recipes or make them more gel-like with its viscosity. It’s a humectant, a substance that draws moisture to your skin, and whatever active ingredients happen to be in that moisture, which is why it is added to a lot of beauty products. You can find it in the beauty aisle at your local natural foods store, and it isn’t too expensive for a small bottle, which is all you’ll need at first.
Grapefruit Seed Extract: Grapefruit seed extract, or GSE, as its frequently called, has a bit of a bad boy reputation in the natural cleaning community. I feel comfortable using GSE from a company I trust with their standards and purity. You can read up on the research and decide for yourself; it is an optional ingredient in every recipe that calls for it in this book. If you and your family feel comfortable using it, by all means, add it to the recipes.
Sal’s Suds: Sal’s Suds is a specially formulated version of Dr. Bronner’s castile soap, but it isn’t actually a soap. It’s made with plant-based surfactants that make it even more effective at removing grease, and it has the addition of pure pine and spruce essential oils, not a fake fragrance like some commercial pine-scented products.
Oxygen Bleach: This is an optional ingredient whenever it’s listed in this book. This is not the same as common household bleach. Oxygen bleach is actually sodium percarbonate, a compound of natural soda crystals and hydrogen peroxide. When it comes in contact with water, it releases oxygen, which is a powerful cleaning agent. Oxygen bleach is not harmful to the water system, as the only byproduct is soda ash. This product also works on most color-fast fabrics . . . but, of course, always do a test first! Do not use products like OxyClean or L.A.’s Totally Awesome Oxygen Cleaner, because these have plenty of chemical additives. Look for a simple oxygen bleach powder, such as the one from BioKleen or Charlie’s Soap.
Ingredient Cautions
While all of these ingredients are natural, there are still natural chemical reactions that can occur between them that either negate their cleaning power or are potentially hazardous. Keep these in mind when mixing up your own formulas.
Do not ever ingest any of these cleaning ingredients or products. Contact poison control immediately if that happens to you or someone in your household.
Do not ever use these products near eyes. If they accidentally splash in your eyes, contact poison control immediately for instructions.
Do not mix vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. It sounds like a great idea to mix these two powerful cleaners, but doing so causes them to create parecetic acid. While this is likely not a problem in small concentrations such as one-time use cleaners or in well-ventilated areas, it makes sense not to mix the two if possible.
Do not ever add household bleach or ammonia to any of these formulations, especially those with vinegar. You might be tempted to use bleach in addition to these natural formulas, but don’t do it, as you’ll release toxic chlorine gas. In fact, don’t add anything to bleach, ever. It almost always produces a toxic gas.
Do not use castile soap and vinegar together. This one does not create a toxic gas, but rather, they cancel each other out. The vinegar de-saponifies the castile soap, so it doesn’t make sense to use them together. You can follow them one after the other, though.
Please use caution and common sense when using any ingredients to clean anything. And always test formulations on a small area before diving right into a project or homemade beauty product. Discontinue use immediately if you develop a rash from beauty products, or if a cleaning product is staining or taking off color from your furniture.
TIME MANAGEMENT
One thing you might find with organic cleaning is that it does take a smidgen more time. Instead of grabbing one bottle and spraying immediately, you might need to grab a few ingredients to mix up a small batch of a product. Time management is key with any cleaning routine, but a bit more so with an organic home-keeping routine. I like to do my everyda
y home-keeping tasks, well, every day. This allows me to make up a larger batch of products that I’ll use in a relatively short period of time, for things like countertop spray and hand soap. Then, I’ll schedule a weekly deep-cleaning session where I mix up things like the porcelain or stainless steel cleaners, restock any products I need, and take a little extra time to make everything shine.
We are busy, so keep your daily tasks manageable and enlist the help of family members. Older children are quite adept at doing chores (especially if they get a reward for doing so). Everyone lives in the house, so it’s my philosophy that everyone should have a hand in keeping it clean. That just makes good old-fashioned sense, don’t you think?
Daily:
• Make beds
• Unload/reload dishwasher
• Keep the kitchen counters clear of dishes
• Quick wipe down of the sink and faucets
• Quick sweep if necessary