It’s been a while since I did my first Green My Routine, and I admit I’ve been reluctant to do Part 2 of the series just because it is so labor intensive! There are a lot of links involved and can be a lot of picture-taking to illustrate. I solved this reluctance by taking on something that seems like a fairly simple part of my daily routine: cleaning.
It’s simple because I really rely on only a few products to get most of my cleaning done.
My Cleaning Products
Thieves household cleaner* – Disinfectant that I use on everything: in the kitchen on the counters, the dining table, the kids toys, the kids potty seats, diaper pails, and also in our bathrooms for any surface my son pees on as well as the bathtub and shower. I also put it in my reusable microfiber mop sprayer and mop the floors with it. Ingredients are: Thieves oil, lemon oil and a surfactant to allow oil to mix with water. That’s it!
White Vinegar – Use this mostly on our microfiber couches for milk spills, but I also clean the windows with it. I often make orange vinegar to mitigate the smell, which my husband hates.
Shaklee Basic H2 Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate – Use this almost exclusively in the kitchen for greasy things like our glass stovetop. I also use it sometimes on the dining table.
Bon Ami Cleanser Powder – this is a simple, natural version of Comet. No bleach.
Baking soda – use this for anything that needs abrasive action, mostly in the kitchen and with dishes, but I have been known to scrub all sorts of things with baking soda!
Steam cleaner – for floor, no cleaning fluid necessary—just water!
Hydrogen Peroxide – Food-grade version that I bought from a health food store, I dilute at a 1:11 ratio with water to make the diluted strength we are accustomed to buying in a drug store. I spray hydrogen peroxide on my fabric shower curtain to remove mold stains. I also use hydrogen peroxide to remove pretty much any stains on tile, grout, or even fabric. It does a great job with blood! Often used in lieu of bleach.
I think that pretty much covers my entire cleaning arsenal for the whole house! Not a lot of products, I just keep some of each in every major location on both floors of the house.
Have I missed anything? If you have a question about how I clean various things with these 8 products, please leave it in the comments, on my Facebook page, or tweet me and I’d be happy to answer!
* I no longer sell this product myself online.