Hey everybody! Well, Thanksgiving is over, all of my boys made it home for the day. We missed our daughter, but she couldn't make it. We had 10 at the table with the significant others and Rieley's friend Riley, ( yes that does get confusing!) The two Reileys probably did best this weekend, by inviting each other to their respective dinners they managed to stuff down full turkey dinners: one Sunday and one yesterday.
I managed to convince everyone that we needed to take an almost family portrait, minus Bethany. This will be the last picture without grandchildren as Matt and Sheena are expecting their first in February. Yep, I'm going to be a Nanna to a little girl. I am quite excited!
Now the holiday is over and it is time to get back to work. For today's How-to Tuesday I am starting a series on detoxifying your cleaning supplies. I went on a rampage many, many years ago to get toxic chemicals out of my home. It has been over 20 years now since I first started realizing that companies, advertisers and the government who was supposed to make sure products were safe for my family really didn't care about making sure we were safe. No, I'm not a paid-up member of the tin hat society; but when government-speak starts saying things like "balancing the health of Canadians against the need to protect jobs". and "industry self-regulation, works to protect everyone". Well, the little hairs on the back of my neck start to twitch. (Well, back then my hairs started to twitch, now it produces a gag reflex!)
So back then I started making my own soap and basic household cleaners. Searching old books and some of the magazines available allowed me to cobble together recipes and tips. Speaking with elderly ladies in the neighbourhood was a great source of information and searching what was the internet then allowed me to connect people who were looking for the same information. It was a slow process, but over the years I replaced the toxic goo with healthier products. Trial and error have helped me fine-tune the recipes and now my house functions on healthier and effective cleaning products. The products I make today are very different from the ones I started out with. I have learned to utilize the properties of the different ingredients and this allows me to make cleaners for every day as well as for specific issues. Over the next few days, I will show you how to make basic cleaners and also show you which chemicals to avoid, and why. I will also look at which ingredients to use for specific problems.
Today we are going to start with my favourite general purpose cleaner. This is a liquid cleaner, meant to replace items such as Mr. Clean, Lysol, and Pine-Sol. It is great for cleaning the kitchen and bath; the counter-tops, stovetop, sinks, and almost all other surfaces. It is quick and easy to make and costs pennies on the dollar over the toxic commercial cleaners.
I managed to convince everyone that we needed to take an almost family portrait, minus Bethany. This will be the last picture without grandchildren as Matt and Sheena are expecting their first in February. Yep, I'm going to be a Nanna to a little girl. I am quite excited!
Now the holiday is over and it is time to get back to work. For today's How-to Tuesday I am starting a series on detoxifying your cleaning supplies. I went on a rampage many, many years ago to get toxic chemicals out of my home. It has been over 20 years now since I first started realizing that companies, advertisers and the government who was supposed to make sure products were safe for my family really didn't care about making sure we were safe. No, I'm not a paid-up member of the tin hat society; but when government-speak starts saying things like "balancing the health of Canadians against the need to protect jobs". and "industry self-regulation, works to protect everyone". Well, the little hairs on the back of my neck start to twitch. (Well, back then my hairs started to twitch, now it produces a gag reflex!)
So back then I started making my own soap and basic household cleaners. Searching old books and some of the magazines available allowed me to cobble together recipes and tips. Speaking with elderly ladies in the neighbourhood was a great source of information and searching what was the internet then allowed me to connect people who were looking for the same information. It was a slow process, but over the years I replaced the toxic goo with healthier products. Trial and error have helped me fine-tune the recipes and now my house functions on healthier and effective cleaning products. The products I make today are very different from the ones I started out with. I have learned to utilize the properties of the different ingredients and this allows me to make cleaners for every day as well as for specific issues. Over the next few days, I will show you how to make basic cleaners and also show you which chemicals to avoid, and why. I will also look at which ingredients to use for specific problems.
Today we are going to start with my favourite general purpose cleaner. This is a liquid cleaner, meant to replace items such as Mr. Clean, Lysol, and Pine-Sol. It is great for cleaning the kitchen and bath; the counter-tops, stovetop, sinks, and almost all other surfaces. It is quick and easy to make and costs pennies on the dollar over the toxic commercial cleaners.
You will need: Water as the base for your cleaner, rubbing alcohol to cut through grease, white vinegar as a deodorizer and polishing agent, castile soap for cleaning dirt and Essential Oils (optional) for antimicrobial and grease-cutting properties, a spray bottle, tinted if you are using essential oils and a label. Mix 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol and 1/2 cup of white vinegar in your spray bottle. shake to mix. Next, add 1 tsp of castile soap, you can purchase this in all most any health store and it is readily available in the "green" cleaning supplies aisle in most grocery stores. Be sure to read the label. You can also make your own castile soap, more on that later this week.
This solution is effective to use as is, however, if you prefer to add essential oils you can do so now. Roughly 30 drops of essential oil of your choice for this volume of cleaner. I tend to vary the oils I use depending upon what and when I am cleaning. Especially when dealing with those situations that arise out of homesteading 'activities'. For instance, last week we finished butchering the last of this year's meat birds; when we were done for the day, I mixed up a batch of cleaner and added 15 drops of Rosemary and 15 drops of Tea Tree oil for the antimicrobial properties. I used this to clean the entire kitchen.
I am not meticulous about over cleaning, I have always believed that we do our loved ones a disservice by cleaning everything with antibiotic cleansers. I think the key to a healthy robust immune system is to let it get exposed to *gasp* germs. This said, I am also not an idiot, and if you are butchering animals there will be bacteria that you do not mess around with, therefore I cleaned the kitchen with a cleaner containing tea tree and rosemary. If I were cleaning up a greasy mess in the kitchen I would add orange oil as it is great for cutting through grease. It is great for washing up greasy hands and sinks when the menfolk are working with machinery. Once you are done mixing your cleaner apply a label and it is ready to use.
This solution is effective to use as is, however, if you prefer to add essential oils you can do so now. Roughly 30 drops of essential oil of your choice for this volume of cleaner. I tend to vary the oils I use depending upon what and when I am cleaning. Especially when dealing with those situations that arise out of homesteading 'activities'. For instance, last week we finished butchering the last of this year's meat birds; when we were done for the day, I mixed up a batch of cleaner and added 15 drops of Rosemary and 15 drops of Tea Tree oil for the antimicrobial properties. I used this to clean the entire kitchen.
I am not meticulous about over cleaning, I have always believed that we do our loved ones a disservice by cleaning everything with antibiotic cleansers. I think the key to a healthy robust immune system is to let it get exposed to *gasp* germs. This said, I am also not an idiot, and if you are butchering animals there will be bacteria that you do not mess around with, therefore I cleaned the kitchen with a cleaner containing tea tree and rosemary. If I were cleaning up a greasy mess in the kitchen I would add orange oil as it is great for cutting through grease. It is great for washing up greasy hands and sinks when the menfolk are working with machinery. Once you are done mixing your cleaner apply a label and it is ready to use.
Easy-Peasy! A great basic cleaner to start with. Tomorrow I am going to look at the chemicals to avoid and why. Have a great day everybody!
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