Pick me off the floor

Various updates below

So I've spent my morning cleaning house and pretending to be interested in all the penguin facts Johanna keeps running in to tell me.  It's been exhausting.  Oh, and I made oatmeal cookies and brownies, but the cookies look whack, even though Eric says they taste good, so my pride is hurt.  I'm going to channel my feelings of failure into my writing.

Or use it as an excuse to tell Johanna I can't talk right now.  Really, it's win-win for everyone involved, especially if you're me.

Cleaning my bathroom with stinky harsh chemicals earlier, I realized that I have never written about my gradual switch to homemade cleaners.  Gradual because I still have bottles of stuff and I don't want to be wasteful.  But what I have used up, I've replaced with a homemade alternative.  And I have been very, very happy with the results.

Here's what I use to make my own cleaners: Castile soap, white vinegar, baking soda and tea tree oil.  The castile soap cleans, the white vinegar disinfects, the baking soda cleans and deodorizes, and the tea tree oil is a natural antibacterial agent.  For containers, I just reuse spray bottles that would have been tossed into the recycling bin, writing what they now contain in permanent marker.

I get the castile soap in the bulk department of my grocery store--unscented, which is awesome, because I'm a girl who doesn't really like scents (unless I am in nature and they are occurring naturally around me)--in my own little reusable bottle.  I also buy baking soda in bulk.  I found tea tree oil in the vitamin section, and it does have a smell to it... sort of minty, I guess... but it's not so bad when you're not using very much of it anyway.  It's actually grown on me, that and the smell of vinegar.  I associate it with "clean" now.

For my all purpose cleaner--and I mean all purpose because I use this on counters and sinks and floors--I fill one of my spray bottles with water, add a couple tablespoons of the castile soap and vinegar, and about 15 drops of tea tree oil.  The trick is not adding too much castile soap, because then you're just cleaning up a whole lot of bubbles.

For my sink cleaner, I've filled a quart jar with baking soda and added about 10 drops of tea tree oil just for kicks. I also filled a spray bottle with vinegar.  I sprinkle the sink with the baking soda and spray on the vinegar, which makes it fizz.  It's actually pretty cool.  Then I scrub.  UPDATE: I've actually found THIS recipe, which works like a champ and is my new best friend.

I've replaced my rinse aid in the dishwasher with white vinegar.  I also give the silverware a good spraying before starting the dishwasher because I'm not really that happy with the dishwasher soap I've been using.  And that's improved things a bit.  On my list to try: Homemade dishwasher detergent.

I'm not sure where this fits into the list, but anyway, yesterday when I cleaned the girls' bathroom, I found their sink wasn't draining very well.  So I sprinkled some baking soda into the drain, added some vinegar, and watched it bubble around like an oozing volcano.  It was awesome.  After a little while, I ran the water and lo and behold, it totally worked!  We're draining again!  I wish I remembered where I'd read that little tip so I could thank the person.

For hand soap, I fill a foaming soap dispenser with water and add a bit of castile soap.  I also add three or four drops of tea tree oil just  for the antibacterial boost.  And I've been using this to wash my face, too.  One less package in my bathroom.  Apparently it takes a while, but tea tree oil is good for acne.  My face is softer, I can tell you that.  And this is the first winter that our hands haven't cracked from being dry.  Even Johanna's, which are notoriously horrendous this time of year, look great.

And!  For dish soap, I've refilled a bottle with a water / castile soap mixture.  I give that a shake and use it as I would a store-bought dish soap.  It's not as bubbly as store bought, but I tell you this: My dishes come out squeaky clean. UPDATE: I've found THIS recipe, so this is what I'm now using.

I find I'm actually cleaning more with my homemade cleaners, probably because the smell doesn't kill me.  I can't wait to be done with my purchased cleaners so I can go natural all over the house.  Homemade cleaners are easier to make than I thought they'd be, they work great, and I like the fact that I can spray this stuff everywhere and not worry about the girls or cats getting into anything.  And my hands!  Are so soft!

Plus: Less packaging, which was the reason I got started in the first place.

In case you want some extra reading on this subject, here are some links that I've found useful:

Zero Waste Recipes (Laundry / Cleaning)
51 Fantastic Uses for Baking Soda
The Many Uses of Castile Soap

Chapterhouse, Something More.  A break-up song for purchased cleaners, if you will.  Or just because I like it and it sounds cool.  And both are true, as it turns out, so there you go.