Homemade Veggie Wash

Recipe 1:
Mix equal parts of vinegar and water.
Let your produce soak in mixture for 5-10 minutes
rinse well.


Recipe 2:
1 Tbsp of lemon juice
2 Tbsp of baking soda
1 cup of water

Put this mixture in a sprayer bottle to spray my veggies with. Let it sit for a few minutes then rinse well.

Recipe 3:
a very small amount of palmolive dish soap (green kind) mixed in water.

Put in a spray bottle and spray on produce, lightly scrub. Rinse well with cold water.


Tips of keeping produce to last longer:
1. Wash with water. Use a scrub brush and rinse well.
2. Discard outer leaves of leafy vegetables.
3. Scrub melons with water or produce wash before cutting. Rinse well.
4. Cut produce on a clean cutting board with a clean knife.
5. Thaw meats on a separate tray or plate in the refrigerator to prevent meat juices from dripping into produce drawers.
6. Clean and sanitize the refrigerator produce drawer regularly.
7. Don't pick off stems and such until ready to eat.

Dish Detergent

2 C. Baking soda
2 C. Borax

optional:
Tang maybe 2 Tbsp for citrus smell, and to get rust/spots out

Mix well and use 1-2 Tbs depending on how much your dishwasher may hold.

Works really well!

Cost = .02 cents per load

From Extraordinary uses for ordinary things Book

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

5 gallons of hot water
1 Fels-Naptha Soap Bar
1 c. washing soda (not baking soda but washing soda)
1/2 c. borax

Directions:
Grate soap into a saucepan with 4 c. (out of the 5 gallons) of hot water and dissolve over med-high heat.
Fill a 5 gallon bucket 1/2 full of hot tap water and add melted soap, borax, and washing soda. Stir until dissolved. (Stir it very well)
Fill bucket to the top with more hot water.
Stir, and cover and let sit over night. It will thicken.

*Optional 10-15 drops of essential oil (lavendar, rosemary, etc.) Stir this in just before you cover. Or fragrance oil works too. You can actually get tide, or clean linen fragrance oils online for pretty inexpensive or try walmart.

*Makes 5 gallons. Top loaders use 1/4 cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)-Front Load Machines- 1/8 Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads). If you have the extra large top loaders you will need to use more, or add a little more soda and borax.

The cost for supplies is initially: 1 box of borax about $2.50, 1 box of Washing soda about $3.10, 1 Bar of Fels Naptha $1.09. There’s enough borax to make about 25 Gallons in one box, and the washing soda to make about 25 gallons also.
The total cost per batch is: Borax: $.50, Washing Soda $.60, Fels Naptha $1.09. for a total of $2.19 for 5 Gallons which makes enough for about 180 loads so less than $0.02 per load.

This works great for your 1 year supply because you can store it dry. For example, our family would only have to store 1 box of Borax and one box of washing soda and 3 bars of the Fels Naptha. (Assuming you can get clean water).

Make Your Own Household Cleaners

How to Make a Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit

By Annie B. Bond

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 non-toxic and healthy haven.

Non-toxic 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.

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 counterpart—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

Read more about these 5 basic cleaning ingredients, and a vinegar update.

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 is 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 teaspoon 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 two cups.

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.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-
non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html