With so many of you experiencing similar situations, I'd like to continue the discussion on creating a healthy indoor environment. The arrival of spring means spring cleaning, but don't reach for those harsh commercial cleaners just yet. In this issue of "In Bloom", Annie Berthold-Bond shares some of her simple, effective and affordable do-it-yourself cleaning recipes.

As always, we welcome your feedback. Please send comments and questions to info@babyblossoms.com

--Stacie Jacobs, Founder of Baby Blossoms

How To Make Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit

By Annie B. Bond, author of “Clean & Green,” (Ceres Press, 1990).

Most modern synthetic cleaning products are based on age-old formulas using natural ingredients that were passed down through the generations because the chemistry was right. Going back to the original naturally-derived ingredients is a way to make cleaning products that work, don’t pollute, and save you money. Most are found in your kitchen cupboards. Mix and match with well-chosen and environmentally-friendly green cleaning products found in health food stores, and you can easily and simply transform your home into a nontoxic and healthy haven.

Nontoxic cleaning can give you a deep feeling of gratification in knowing that your family's health is protected and that your home is a place for your bodies to rest and recuperate rather than promote harm.

Simple Solution:
Making your own nontoxic cleaning kit will take you no time at all with these simple, straightforward directions, and with this kit you will be supplied with enough cleaning product for months of cleaning.

As an added bonus, ounce for ounce homemade cleaning formulas cost about one-tenth the price of their commercial counterparts -- and that includes costly, but worthwhile essential oils and concentrated, all-purpose detergents for homemade recipes.

SUPPLIES

baking soda
washing soda
white distilled vinegar
a good liquid soap or detergent
tea tree oil
6 clean spray bottles
2 glass jars

MAKE YOUR OWN PRODUCTS

Note: Make sure to label all your homemade cleaning products, and keep them away from pets and children.

CREAMY SOFT SCRUBBER:
Simply pour about 1/2 cup of baking soda into a bowl, and add enough liquid detergent to make a texture like frosting. Scoop the mixture onto a sponge, and wash the surface. This is the perfect recipe for cleaning the bathtub because it rinses easily and doesn’t leave grit.

Note: Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin to the mixture and store in a sealed glass jar, to keep the product moist. Otherwise just make as much as you need at a time.

WINDOW CLEANER:
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon liquid detergent
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups water
spray bottle

Put all the ingredients into a spray bottle, shake it up a bit, and use as you would a commercial brand. The soap in this recipe is important. It cuts the wax residue from the commercial brands you might have used in the past.

OVEN CLEANER:
1 cup or more baking soda
water
a squirt or two of liquid detergent

Sprinkle water generously over the bottom of the oven, then cover the grime with enough baking soda that the surface it totally white. Sprinkle some more water over the top. Let the mixture set overnight. You can easily wipe up the grease the next morning because the grime will have loosened. When you have cleaned up the worst of the mess, dab a bit of liquid detergent or soap on a sponge, and wash the remaining residue from the oven. If this recipe doesn’t work for you it is probably because you didn’t use enough baking soda and/or water.

ALL-PURPOSE SPRAY CLEANER:
1/2 tsp. washing soda
a dab of liquid soap
2 cups hot tap water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake until the washing soda has dissolved. Apply and wipe off with a sponge or rag.

FURNITURE POLISH:
1/2 teaspoon oil, such as olive (or jojoba, a liquid wax)
1/4 cup vinegar or fresh lemon juice

Mix the ingredients in a glass jar. Dab a soft rag into the solution and wipe onto wood surfaces. Cover the glass jar and store indefinitely.

VINEGAR DEODORIZER:
Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5 percent vinegar in your kitchen near your cutting board, and in your bathroom, and use them for cleaning. I often spray the vinegar on our cutting board before going to bed at night, and don't even rinse, but let it set overnight. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straight vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on and wipe off.

MOLD KILLERS:
Tea Tree Treasure
Nothing natural works for mold and mildew as well as this spray. I've used it successfully on a moldy ceiling from a leaking roof, on a musty bureau, a musty rug, and a moldy shower curtain. Tea tree oil is expensive, but a little goes a very long way. Note that the smell of tea tree oil is very strong, but it will dissipate in a few days.

2 teaspoons tea tree oil
2 cups water
Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on problem areas. Do not rinse.
Makes 2 cups
Preparation Time: Under a minute
Shelf Life: Indefinite
Storage: Leave in the spray bottle

*Vinegar Spray
Straight vinegar reportedly kills 82 percent of mold. Pour some white distilled vinegar straight into a spray bottle, spray on the moldy area, and let set without rinsing if you can put up with the smell. It will dissipate in a few hours.

About the Author
Annie Berthold-Bond is the producer of Care2.com's green living channels. www.care2.com

She brings over 20 years of experience as a leading authority, writer and editor about the connections between the environment, personal health and well-being. Prior to joining the team at Care2.com (www.care2.com), the first and largest online community for environmentally conscious consumers, Annie authored three books, including: Better Basics for the Home (Three Rivers Press, 1999), Clean & Green (Ceres Press, 1990), and The Green Kitchen Handbook (with Mothers & Others; foreword by Meryl Streep) (HarperCollins, 1997), and wrote the chapter on cleaning in The Healthy School Handbook (NEA Professional Library, 1995). She was founder and editor-in-chief of Green Alternatives for Health and the Environment, the national consumer magazine designed to provide a community to the emerging environmental health field, and the founding editor of The Green Guide (a publication of Mothers & Others), an Utne Reader Alternative Press award recipient for general excellence in newsletters.

Annie also authors Care2 Ask Annie, a tip-filled Q & A that offers practical help, recipes, and solutions to meet your concerns about environmental health, the environment, natural, and simple living. .She can be reached at annie@earth.care2.com