Green, Eco-Friendly Ways to Clean Your House

If you're anything like me, then you hate cleaning. You would rather be spending time with your family, reading a book, or working in the garden, than getting your cleaning rags and scrubbing the bathroom tub. Here are four easy tips that help your house to stay clean without excessive elbow grease. The best part is that these great house cleaning tips and tricks do not use harmful chemicals, making it safe for little ones, and protecting the Earth.

One of the worst jobs in the bathroom is cleaning the tub. Not just because of the germs and dirt, but the time-consuming scrubbing that occurs. Here is an easy, non-scrubbing way to get rid of the soap scum and buildup found in most tubs.

First, make a vinegar and dish soap mixture. Take a half cup of vinegar, warm it up in the microwave for ninety seconds. Then, take a half cup of clear liquid dish soap and mix it together. Once mixed, pour it into a spray bottle.

Once the mixture has been made, spray it copiously all over your tub. I have found that it works best if you spray the mixture while it is still warm. Make sure to get all the tough spots. This spray works wonders on shower curtains, sinks, and glass doors as well. Once you have sprayed your entire tub, set a timer for one hour.

You'll want it to sit for more than an hour, but less than two. Then take a washcloth and wipe down the tub and glass door. The soap scum and chemical buildup will wipe away without scrubbing. The vinegar removes stains and bad odors. The soap will hold it in place as the vinegar does its magic.

After you wipe off the excess mixture, rinse the tub with water. It's easiest if you have a spray nozzle on your showerhead, since the mixture is thick. You will see a difference right away.

This is also a no-scrub method. Before you begin, make sure you wipe away all loose food and anything else that can be easily removed from your microwave. There is no need to scrub, so only get the loose food.

Once you have finished, mix a half cup of vinegar and a half cup of water together in a microwavable dish.

Once the mixture has been made, place it in the microwave and microwave on high for two minutes. It will boil; just make sure that it does not boil dry. Once two minutes have passed, do not open the microwave door; let it sit for another fifteen minutes so the steam can work its magic.

After fifteen minutes, open your microwave and clean. The baked-on food will just wipe away! No scrubbing is necessary. You'll love how easy this works, plus the vinegar will take care of any smell that may have developed. When you have really bad baked on food, you may need to repeat, as it only gets the top layer of grime.

The best option to clean your windows is a diluted vinegar mixture, although I hear full-strength works just as well. I usually dilute it half water, half vinegar, which means you could even use the mixture you boiled in your microwave. Put this mixture into a spray bottle, then spray your windows just as you would with Windex or another window cleaner.

Using newspaper, wipe from the top to the bottom. Newspaper is suggested, since it will not leave lint that paper towel or washcloths can leave behind. As you clean the windows, you will want to look through them carefully and keep wiping until all streaks are gone. Once the window is clean, then wipe your cloth along the edges. This will get the dirt and debris that often collect.

Around the edge of many faucets, lime, calcium, and many other elements can build up very easily. I've used everything from the Works to CLR, and nothing has worked as well as this natural easy method.

Before I begin, I usually use a vinegar mixture, either the one for tubs or windows, depending which one is closer. I spray the entire sink and faucet. Then take a washcloth and soak it in vinegar. Wrap the vinegar-soaked cloth around the faucet, trying to cover as much of the hardware as possible. Let the cloth sit on it for an hour. Once an hour has passed, remove and wipe away clean, it works very well.

To clean the internal structure of the faucet, or to clean out a sprayer that has become clogged, remove the faucet and soak it in vinegar for an entire twenty-four hours. Then rinse with water. Your faucet will be as good as new.

Cleaning with vinegar is not only natural, but inexpensive and effective. By trying to clean more green, we are protecting our earth, our young ones, and our pets from harmful chemicals.