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Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

Magic memories of cleaning ingredients that looked like cooking recipes with ingredients picked from the lemon tree in the backyard and vinegar and baking soda out of the kitchen pantry to create incredibly effective and natural cleaners.

These three natural cleaning products kept our home magically clean and smelling fresh, without stretching an already thin household budget.

Using lemons, vinegar, and baking soda as natural cleaning products in your home:

Vinegar

Uses

Vinegar naturally cleans like an all-purpose cleaner. Mix a solution of 1 part water to 1 part vinegar in a new store bought spray bottle and you have a solution that will clean most areas of your home. Vinegar is a great natural cleaning product as well as a disinfectant and deodorizer. Always test on an inconspicuous area. It is safe to use on most surfaces and has the added bonus of being incredibly cheap. Improperly diluted vinegar is acidic and can eat away at tile grout. Never use vinegar on marble surfaces. Don't worry about your home smelling like vinegar. The smell disappears when it dries. Here are some uses for vinegar in the rooms of your house. Use it in the…

Bathroom Clean the bathtub, toilet, sink, and countertops. Use pure vinegar in the toilet bowl to get rid of rings. Flush the toilet to allow the water level to go down. Pour the undiluted vinegar around the inside of the rim. Scrub down the bowl. Mop the floor in the bathroom with a vinegar/water solution. The substance will also eat away the soap scum and hard water stains on your fixtures and tile. Make sure it is safe to use with your tiles.

A solution of equal amounts of vinegar and water is a well-known window-washing trick. Dip black and white newspaper pages into the solution and wipe the glass until it's almost dry. Finish wiping with a dry newspaper page. The streaks will disappear and the window will shine.

Kitchen Clean the stovetop, appliances, countertops, and floor. Remove the lime coating on your kettle by filling it with water and adding a half-cup of vinegar. Let it stand overnight, then rinse with clean water and dry.

Disinfect and clean wood cutting boards: Rub with vinegar to disinfect and clean. If your cutting board has deep grooves, you can also soak the board in vinegar for 5-10 minutes.

Deodorize your sink drains: Pour a cup down your drain, let stand about thirty minutes, then run cold water.

For sparkling crystal dip crystal in a solution of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. Polish with a dry, lint-free cloth.

Washing Glass wash glass water bottles and stained flower vases with 1 tablespoon vinegar and 1 tablespoon salt in warm water. Allow to soak for several hours and shake occassionally.

Laundry  Use vinegar as a natural fabric softener. This can be especially helpful for families who have sensitive skin. Add ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle in place of store bought fabric softener. Vinegar has the added benefit of breaking down laundry detergent more effectively. (A plus when you have a family member whose skin detects every trace of detergent).

Toilet Bowl  Pour one cup (or a little more) into toilet bowl and let set overnight. In the morning scrub well and flush. Great for hard water stains.

Ant Repellant  Spray undiluted vinegar outside door frames and window sills, around appliances, and anywhere else you have ant problems.

Refrigerator Wash with a mixture of 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar.

Microwave In a microwave safe bowl, mix 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup vinegar. Bring to a rolling boil; this loosens baked on foods and removes odors. Wipe clean.

Lime Build-up  Make a paste of 2 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon vinegar. Scrub area and rinse.

Soap Scum Mix 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 tablespoon liquid detergent and enough vinegar to make a thick, creamy texture. Scrub area and rinse.

Counter Tops  Clean with undiluted vinegar. Makes counters smell clean and sweet.

Garden Undiluted vinegar in the garden to kill weeds; just pour it on the weeds you want to kill.

Lemon Juice

Uses

Lemon juice is another natural substance that can be used to clean your home. Lemon juice can be used to dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits. Lemon is a great substance to clean and shine brass and copper. Lemon juice can be mixed with vinegar and or baking soda to make cleaning pastes. Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle baking soda on the cut section. Use the lemon to scrub dishes, surfaces, and stains. Mix 1 cup olive oil with ½ cup lemon juice and you have a furniture polish for your hardwood furniture.

To wash and deodorize the refrigerator, garbage bin or kitchen compost container, use a solution of 1 teaspoon lemon juice to 4 cups water.

Baking Soda (Bicarbonate of soda or sodium bicarbonate)

Uses

Baking soda can be used to scrub surfaces in much the same way as commercial abrasive cleansers. To clean silver, use a paste of 3 parts baking soda to one part water. Rub the paste onto each item, then rinse with warm water and dry with a soft cloth.

Remove scuff marks or grease spills from the floor, sprinkle with baking soda and then wipe with a warm, damp cloth. This is even safe for no-wax floors.

For burnt-on food in the bottom of pots, sprinkle with baking soda, and then add hot water. Let soak overnight; the dried on food will come loose much more easily.

Hairbrushes and combs can be cleaned in a baking soda solution.

Baking soda is great as a deodorizer. Place a box in the refrigerator and freezer to absorb odours. Put it anywhere you need deodorizing action. Baking soda will keep away garbage odours; sprinkle the bottom of the pail / garbage bin.

For Fido To quickly clean pets and remove "wet dog" odour, sprinkle with baking soda and brush out their fur.

Try these three inexpensive kitchen ingredients as natural green cleaning products in your home.

Happy green cleaning!