Spring Cleaning Made Simple

(Page 2 of 2)

March/April 2006
By Mindy Pennybacker 
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Decorate floors

RELATED CONTENT

Keep pollutants (and mud) out of the house and off your newly clean floors with a doormat made from recycled tires and a “Kona” entryway rug made from sustainably harvested coconut wood from Crate and Barrel.

Mindy Pennybacker is editor of The Green Guide, a print and online publication that helps people protect the environment and their families’ health through informed product choices and other actions.

Simple wisdom

Clean without chemicals

• White vinegar mixed with warm water and a few drops of dish soap gently but thoroughly cleans floors and windows and disinfects toilet seats, advises Annie B. Bond, author of Home Enlightenment (Rodale, 2005). Dr. Bronner’s fragrant Peppermint Pure-Castile Soap, which uses certified organic plant oils, is also a great all-purpose cleaner.

• Borax and hydrogen peroxide are good stain, mold and mildew removers and disinfectants.

• Many plant essential oils also have disinfectant, antibacterial and anti- fungal powers, including lavender, tea tree, orange, lemon, cinnamon, clove, thyme, eucalyptus, rosemary and sage, according to David Steinman, publisher of Healthy Living magazine and author of the forthcoming book Safe Trip to Eden (Thunder’s Mouth Press).

• Use baking soda (washed down with hot water) to clean drains, mixed with water in a paste to scrub sinks, tubs, toilet bowls, countertops, stovetops, pots and pans, and as a fabric soft- ener when added to the wash cycle.

• Salt scours cast-iron pans without removing the precious seasoned finish.

• Restore wood furniture and make it gleam with a mix of olive oil, lavender oil, lemon oil and beeswax or carnauba wax.

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