Search This Blog

Friday, April 30, 2010

Vinegar and Baking Soda

Tip of the day-Vinegar and Baking Soda!
Sounds like a science experiment, but really Windex is more of one. I prefer to clean everything with these two ingredients. They fit very well into my principle of buy less things that do a lot for you, like powdered milk. I know this may not be revolutionary to some but if you have been sucked into commercialism then you probably believe the only way to sanitize a counter is with bleach. But anything with a PH of 2.6 or lower will kill germs...vinegar! There are some things like mold that is it not wise or safe to clean with bleach. In truth, if you clean mold with bleach, it bleaches the color but does not kill it, releases toxic gases. Another pro is that Eva can help me clean and I dont have to freak out that she might get some on her hands or mouth, heck, I use the same thing in my food. A side affect of vinegar is that as it dries it deodorizes. So, I freshen up my couch, my mattress', shower curtain and so on with it. I keep a giant bottle in the laundry room as well. Washing diapers, throw a 1/2 cup in the rinse, a Downey ball will release it at the right time and you dont have to wait for it. I now do the same in loads of towels and sheets, they just come out fresher.
Here is what I have going on:
Green top spray bottle with full strength vinegar
Yellow top spray bottle with 4 cups water and 2 tablespoon vinegar
Baking soda in a shaker

I clean most everything with the green. I clean wood or the hard wood floors with the yellow. To clean my toilet or tub I shake baking soda around, spray it with vinegar, and scrub. To kill weeds in the crack of the sidewalk I spray with green top vinegar then sprinkle with salt. My homemade deodorant is made with baking soda, here is the recipe.

Missy's Deodorant
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup baking soda
10- 20 drops tree tree oil
Mix it up and put in a shaker. I usually shower every morning. When I am drying off I dont dry my pits, I powder them with my deodorant. I have friends who love my mix, some do natural deodorant sticks and then my stuff on top for days they feel they might need a little extra help in that department.

Things I want to do:
Use watered down baking soda and vinegar to wash my hair.
Use baking soda to brush my teeth.

I watched No Impact Man the other day. The things he started doing for his experiment to not harm the earth for one year, I have been doing for a long time. It took him living with out gas powered vehicles, electricity, and farmers market only food to change his ways. He had been using 'green' cleaning products, but then learn you can do all the same stuff with vinegar.

No comments:

Post a Comment