• 1/4 Cup baking soda
• 1/2 Cup white vinegar

First, you fill your washing machine with water and add your baking soda, laundry detergent and then your clothes.  During the final rinse cycle, add the vinegar (pour it into the softener dispenser of your washing machine has one).  It’s a lot gentler on your clothes than the commercial brands and you will surely save money by using the homemade version.  It will also eliminate the build-up on your lint screen that was mentioned in my previous post.

I would love to hear about any other alternatives for homemade fabric softeners if you’ve used them!

There are many safe and effective uses for salt for household use. Here is a list of salt uses by category.

Salt and Laundry:

• soak stained hankies in salt water before washing
• boil clothes pins in salt water before using them and they will last longer
• eliminate excess suds with a sprinkle of salt
• soak your clothes line in salt water to prevent your clothes from freezing to the line
• likewise, use salt in your final rinse to prevent clothes from freezing
• fabric colors hold fast in salty water wash
• boil mismatched hose in salty water and they will come out matched
• cover wine-stained fabric with salt; rinse in cold water later
• to remove grease stains in clothing, mix one part salt to four parts alcohol

General cleaning with Salt:

• rub salt on your pancake griddle, and your pancakes won’t stick
• clean brass, copper and pewter with paste made from salt and vinegar, thickened with flour
• pour a mound of salt on an ink or blood spot on your carpet; let salt soak up the stain
• clean your iron by rubbing some salt on a damp cloth on the ironing surface
• clean piano keys with a mixture of salt and lemon juice
• rub any wicker furniture with salt water to prevent yellowing
• freshen sponges by soaking them in salt water
• mix salt with turpentine to whiten your bathtub and toilet bowl
• soak enamel pans in salt water overnight, then boil salt water in them the next day to remove burned-on stains
• sprinkle salt in your oven before scrubbing clean
• soak discolored glass in a salt and vinegar solution to remove stains
• clean greasy pans with a paper towel and salt
• use salt to clean your discolored coffee pot
• sprinkle salt in milk-scorched pans to remove odor
• salt and soda will sweeten the odor of your refrigerator
• salt and cinnamon will remove offensive odors from the stove
• salt and lemon juice removes mildew
• remove odors from sink drainpipes with a strong, hot solution of salt and water
• polish your old kerosene lamp with salt for a brighter look
• if a pie bubbles over in the oven, put a handful of salt on top of the spill. It won’t smell and will bake into a dry, light crust you can easily wipe away when oven in cool

Salt and Personal hygiene:

• soak toothbrushes in salt water before your first use; they’ll last longer
• dry salt sprinkled on your toothbrush makes a good tooth polisher
• mildly salted water makes an effective mouthwash. gargle with warm water for a sore throat
• use equal parts salt and soda for brushing your teeth
• rinse a sore eye with a little salt water

Miscellaneous uses for Salt:

• sprinkle salt between sidewalk bricks or cracks where you don’t want grass to grow
• to fill holes in your plaster walls, use equal parts of salt and starch with just enough water to make a stiff putty
• sprinkle salt on your shelves to keep ants away
• for a longer life for cut flowers, add a little salt to the water

Chris Wilhelm http://blog.werelivingwell.com

Borax. Borax is most often used as a laundry booster and water softener, but it’s also great for killing insects, cleaning walls, floors and bathrooms, killing weeds, and getting rid of nasty odors. Unlike many of the other cleaning products listed here, borax can be toxic if swallowed. It may also lead to skin irritation. Be sure to keep it away from pets and children.

Vinegar. You know those spray bottles of multipurpose cleaner. Why not replace that with a solution of half water and half vinegar? It cleans glass and surfaces, while disinfecting and deodorizing. Plus it’s safe for your kids to drink (it’s actually healthy).

Hydrogen peroxide. You may have used this to clean out cuts and scrapes, or just the inside of your ears. If it can clean so well inside your body, imagine what it can do for your house. While drinking hydrogen peroxide is safe, it can make you feel very sick, so keep it away from children.

Lemon juice. Lemons juice is a strong acid, so it breaks down dirt and the organisms that live all over your house. It can be used to clean and disinfect just about anything (just test for staining first) and even polishes and shines many metals. Plus, you don’t have to add the lemony scent, it’s already in there.

One great thing to do with natural cleaning products that you should never ever do with conventional products is to mix them. While mixing certain household cleaners can be harmful and even deadly to you and your family, mixing natural products can give you added cleaning power.

You know all those bubbles that get released when you mix baking soda and vinegar? Well those bubbles are great for unclogging drains and breaking up other hard to reach dirt and grime. You can also substitute lemon juice for vinegar to produce the same effect with a fresh scent.

So, next time you need a new cleaning product, why not replace it with one of these great natural alternatives instead? You’ll soon find you can have both a clean house and a safe house.

Copyright © Lara Velez, All Rights Reserved

I am sure that if you search your home you will find MANY things that you just don’t need…

Old appliances…all shapes and sizes. When you recycle your old appliances, it doesn’t just reduce things that are just lying around; sometimes you can get some extra cash if you take the time and make the effort to take them to a local recycling center or scrap yard that deals in metal. If you are like me and just don’t have the time to put forth any extra effort there is also the fire station option. Many of them collect aluminum cans for burn units at the local hospitals.

By setting up your own recycling center in your home, it can help reduce your own clutter. You can have bins lined with bags that can hold various recyclables, set up in your garage, basement or utility room. One can be for aluminum cans, another for plastic bottles, and another for paper. Any time someone sees something lying around, instead of just tossing it in the trash…or like in my house making little junk piles…they can throw the items in a bin! When the bins get full, you can either set them out for the city to pick up (if they provide a recycling program), or take them to the local center.

You can make this fun for the kids too. You can have a “Recycle Day.” You can read a book about it to them…have them help decorate the bins, and let them know that they are not only helping keep the house clean, they are helping keep the planet God gave us clean and healthier!

Just about anything in your home can be recycled. There are a TON of Yahoo e-mail groups that are dedicated to “recycling” or “freecycling” like they call it. The lists are organized by local regions. If someone has something they no longer need they can list it to the group and it is claimed on a first come, first served basis. These kinds of lists are great for people who just want to get rid of a few things and don’t want to bother with a garage sale. Plus THEY pick it up and you do not have to worry about it! YEAH!

Listen…even us organizationally challenged people can make a difference for our homes…and out planet! If we start small and work our way up, before we know it, we’ll be the eco-friendly wannabe neat freaks recycling pros! LOL!!! And….have a much neater house!

Copyright © Lara Velez, All Rights Reserved