Save money and the planet at the same time!

Electric cars, homes heated by the sun, hydro produced by the wind.   All these things will become commonplace, if not in our lifetime then in our children’s.   We’re definitely on the road to going green and it’s large projects like these that get a lot of attention. But there are green alternatives that you can use that will help save our planet and save you money, like green products for cleaning your house.

Did you know there were over 300 household cleaning products sold in grocery stores? They’re used to clean rugs, stoves, glass, drapes, upholstery – the list goes on and on.   Now most of these cleaning agents have some pretty strong chemicals that make them toxic and difficult to dispose of.

So here are a few ideas on how to clean up around the house without using any toxic chemicals.

For example if you want to clean a stain on your carpet or upholstery use shaving cream. Now I know you’re thinking shaving crème probably has some kind of chemical in it, which is probably true. But compared to a heavy-duty household cleaner that you pay 15 dollars for, the shaving cream is a bargain, plus you still get to save with it.
It works like this, rub the shaving cream on the stain and let sit for ten minutes. Then take a damp cloth and rub hard on the stain, you’ll see that the stain comes out better than if you used commercial carpet cleaning products.

To clean your windows don’t use your regular brand, use a combination of ammonia and vinegar. The proportions are 1tbsp of vinegar and 3 tbsp of ammonia; put in a spray bottle and you have yourself a very effective green cleaning solution.

You can cut out chlorine bleach in your laundry by adding baking soda instead. The proportions are half cup for top load washers and one quarter cup for front-load washers.

By the way if you want to remove smoke odors from clothes, fill your bathtub with hot water. Add 1 cup of white vinegar and hang clothes above steaming bath water.

For homemade laundry starch dissolve 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in 1 pint of cold water, place in a spray bottle and shake before using.

All of these things may seem small, but all together they save the planet and save you money. No matter what you’re cleaning there is always a more green way of doing it — all it takes is a little research and some good old elbow grease.