Natural Ways to Spring Clean

By Murray Anderson

As the weather gets a little warmer and the days start getting longer, we’re all thinking about things that come with springtime. Things like warm air, sunshine, barbecues on the deck and unfortunately – spring cleaning. Now we all want our homes to be clean and healthy, and most of us would never consider the idea that the products we use for spring cleaning in our homes might actually be harming our families or us. However, it’s an unfortunate fact that some of the chemical based cleaning products we commonly use in our homes, do contain chemicals that either alone or in combination with other chemicals, can actually cause harm to people.

So if common chemical cleaners can potentially harm us, how are we supposed to clean our homes?

One option is using prepackaged natural cleaning products. All of the large retail and grocery chains are carrying ‘green’ or natural based cleaning products that will clean your house but not impact your family’s health. However, you could go a step further and clean you entire home with just four or five totally naturally products, (and as an added bonus, you’ll likely save yourself some money, since you’ve probably already got what you need in your kitchen cupboard).

The four magic products – Baking soda (bicarbonate of soda), lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil.

• Baking soda. We know when used alone it can get rid of nasty smells and stale odors, but it can also be used as a scouring powder to clean kitchen counters and bathroom vanities. Combined with some Cream of Tartar (makes baking powder) and mixed with a little water, you can make a cleaning paste that will cut through grease and grime.
• Lemon juice. Chemical cleaners have been including a lemon scent in their products for years to simulate lemon’s natural refreshing odor. However, lemon juice does more than just leave a nice scent behind. Since lemon juice is acidic it can be a fine deodorizer (poured in a kitchen drain) or used to clean kitchen and bathroom counter tops. Lemon juice can even be used to clean dishes, leaving them looking shiny and new.
• Vinegar. The cleaning properties of vinegar have been known about for years and the fact that it’s inexpensive is a real added bonus. A half-and-half mixture of vinegar and water is an effective glass cleaner and can be used to windows and TV or computer monitors. As well, hard water deposits or bathroom scum on taps or tubs, sinks and even toilet bowls can all be cleaned with vinegar. Vinegar can even be used in your laundry as a fabric conditioner. All you do is add ½ cup of vinegar to your wash in place of your normal liquid fabric softener.
• Olive oil. Not only is it healthy to eat, you can use it straight or mix it with a little lemon juice to make an effective hardwood furniture polish.

Long before scientists invented chemical cleaners, people used natural products to clean their homes and all these natural products still work effectively. In fact natural cleaning products may actually be a better choice for all our cleaning, since there is a growing body of evidence that some of the cleaning products designed to fight bacteria, may in fact be stimulating the development of ‘super bugs’ that are highly resistant to chemicals. The net effect could be we end up with strains of bacteria we can’t get rid of.

Murray Anderson is an experienced freelance writer with over 500 articles published on the web as well as in print magazines and newspapers in both the United States and Canada. He writes on a wide range of topics and is a regular contributor to DoItYourself.com. He can be contacted at murand@lycos.com.