Make Spring Cleaning a "Green Cleaning"

Spring is traditionally the time for major housekeeping activities. Unlike the routine dusting, wiping and vacuuming that go on with some regularity throughout the year, this is the season for cleaning underneath and behind things, rejuvenating the furniture, refreshing the carpets, and airing out the house after a winter of confinement.

What better way to start the season this year than with a "Green Spring Cleaning"?

One easy way to go about this is to follow the recipes for effective, inexpensive and environmentally safe cleaning supplies in the best-selling Clean & Green: The Complete Guide to Nontoxic and Environmentally Safe Housekeeping (Ceres Press). In fact, there are 485 of them.

Author Annie Berthold-Bond says, "the nice thing about these formulas is that in addition to working so well, they are easy and quick to make. And when you’ve finished your spring cleaning, it feels like spring indoors, as well as outside."

Spring Cleaning Recipes

Shower-Curtain Vinaigrette
Rub a sponge saturated with vinegar on your shower curtain to remove soap build-up and kill mold and mildew.

Walnut Oil and Lemon
Furniture Polish
1/8 cup   walnut oil
1/8 cup   lemon juice
Combine ingredients in small jar and shake well. Using a soft, cotton cloth, rub on furniture to achieve the luster you want.

Annie’s Favorite Wood-Floor Soap
1/8 cup   vegetable-oil-based 
               liquid soap
1/4-1/2   cup vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup   fragrant herb tea
2 gal.      warm water
Combine ingredients in bucket. Swirl water around until sudsy, then mop in the usual way.

Cleaning Walls with Glossy Paint
1/2 teaspoon   washing soda
2 cups              hot water
Place washing soda in a spray bottle, add water and dissolve the washing soda by shaking the bottle gently. Spray onto the walls and wipe dry with a clean cloth.

Borax-And-Vinegar Spray for Appliances
1 teaspoon       borax
3 tablespoons  vinegar
2 cups               hot tap water
Combine ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake to mix and dissolve borax. Spray on appliances. Wipe off with a soft cloth or sponge.

Recipes excerpted by permission from Clean & Green. Clean & Green is available in bookstores or directly from the publisher for $9.95 plus $4.75 p/h. Ceres Press, PO Box 87, Woodstock, NY 12498, 845-679-5573  or HealthyHighways.com