Cleaning Chemical Free

The Healer's Nook's Yoga Mat Cleaner is a great example of a way to clean chemical free!

Hello again, everyone. I know I've already recently posted a post for this week but I felt the need to make another post that I hope will be of great use for you all. I work at a daycare and I come into contact and use bleach so many times I'm sick of it. Then at home, on the weekends, I clean with chemicals such as bleach, comet, various sprays for various purposes, etc. It's gotten to the point that I'm practically choking even when using Lysol.

These chemicals are so harsh on our bodies and my coworker / best friend and I talk daily about our pure hatred for bleach. My throat becomes sore and my head hurts and our noses start running. What really is happening here?

Chemicals such as bleach are powerful irritants and are highly reactive to each other and the environment. The fact that when you combine Oxyclean and bleach and it emits a toxic odor and will literally eat holes into your clothes is terrifying to me.

So what is the better option?

For those who have the option to make a different choice, natural cleaners are the way to go! Once my fiancé and I finish The Nook, I'll clean only with the most natural, non irritant cleaners I can make or find. There are so many options for natural cleaners, too! You just have to be open minded.

1. ​White vinegar - I've heard of people using vinegar on their old wood floors, but I've never given white vinegar a thought for much more. You can clean with most if not all vinegar. It is a deodorizer and is known as a great antibacterial. It's also great for cutting into grease or cleaning rusty objects.
2. Essential oils - If you are unfamiliar with what essential oils are necessarily or you would like to know more feel free to read my former blog posts on them! Essential oils are great for cleaning with and there is a list that I like, in particular, for just that purpose. Essential oils such as tea tree, any citrus, eucalyptus, and pine have antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. You can basically make your own Lysol from making a blend of these oils in water such as a glass spray bottle (essential oils would be hard on the plastic so don't use plastic) or a bucket of hot, soapy water for mopping! Speaking of hot, soapy water....
3. Castile soap - I'm in love. Seriously. I'm new to using Castile soap but I can tell you this - it's amazing! It's a vegetable based oil without the harsh added chemicals that regular soap has. We buy Dr. Bronner's liquid Castile soap for various reasons: bathing (hair and skin), washing dishes, can be used for mopping, laundry detergent, etc. The uses are endless. You can also add essential oils to them as a blend, Dr. Bronner's brand has some Castile soaps with eucalyptus and peppermint (the latter being useful as a bug deterrent).

Here are some examples of the outcomes and the formulas for my cleaners:

1. Laundry soap - I washed our laundry with Castile soap: just put enough in the water to get suds. The peppermint barely left a scent on clothes and they turned out really clean! (I used washboard.)
2. White vinegar - scrubbed out the wash tubs for a disinfectant.

Follow me as I start posting about my life in a tent! I hope you all will learn with me and give me any tips that come to mind!

Good health to you and yours!