It’s spring! It’s time to enjoy the outdoors and indoors! Time to make our space clean and comfortable!

Part of our springtime is spent cleaning the grime and grit of winter from our walls, windows, floors, fabrics and everything in between. How about using some common, natural household items that you probably have in your cupboards already? Check out these “other” uses for your regular household staples.

Basic Ingredients and Uses
• Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) neutralizes acid, softens fabrics, as well as deodorizes, cleans and polishes metals, plastics or your teeth
• Borax deodorizes, prevents mold and mildew, and removes stains
• Washing soda or borox (sodium carbonate decahydrate) removes grease, and cleans laundry
• Cornstarch cleans windows and carpets, and polishes furniture
• Isopropyl alcohol disinfects
• Lemon juice deodorizes, cleans glass, and removes stains
• Mineral oil polishes furniture
• Vinegar removes mildew, grease, and wax; deodorizes; cleans windows, brick, and stone
• Hydrogen Peroxide (3% that can be bought at your local pharmacy/drug store) can be used as a mouthwash (BUT, DO NOT SWALLOW), cleans kitchen or bath counters. (There is another variety that can be used to treat medical problems, but this requires knowledge for proper handling and proper dosage and a mistake can be fatal, so I don’t recommend it without a LOT of homework.)

Natural Cleaning Products You Can Make
• Air freshener: Place shallow plates of vinegar in rooms to absorb odors; sprinkle ½ cup borax in the bottom of trash cans or diaper pails to prevent the growth of bacteria and mold that cause odors
• All-purpose cleaner: Place 4 tablespoons baking soda in 1 quart warm water and shake well.
• Disinfectant: Mix ½ cup borax into 1 gallon of hot water.
• Drain cleaner: Pour ½ cup baking soda down drain, add ½ cup white vinegar, and cover the drain. Wait 15 minutes and then pour 1 gallon of hot water down the drain.
• Metal cleaner and polish: For stainless steel, use undiluted white vinegar; for tarnished copper, boil the item in a pot of water with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 cup white vinegar.
• Oven cleaner: Moisten oven surfaces with water and sprinkle baking soda on them. Scrub with steel wool.
• Toilet bowl cleaner: Mix ¼ cup baking soda and 1 cup vinegar, pour into toilet, let set for 5 minutes, then scrub with brush.
• To clean counters, tables in the kitchen or bathroom, apply, in sequence, vinegar and then hydrogen peroxide (or vice versa). Just use a spray bottle. The combo is bactericidal for food-born illnesses and a fair viricide (an antiseptic which reliably deactivates or destroys a virus).so using one after the other, is an effective solution that is better than a plain Clorox solution.-