Let's Not Let It Be A Fad
It's no secret that 'Going Green' is a popular advertising + marketing slogan being used by every different product that you can think of right now. The 'Green Revolution' is a fad, there's no denying that. I hope, however, that the core principles guiding this current cultural movement are not lost on us when the 'glamour' of being 'green' - a green company, a green consumer, a green advocate - is overshadowed by the next 'big thing'; the core principles of recycling + reusing, eating local + in-season foods, supporting local farmers + growing your own food, being an efficient energy user, and so on. We can't afford, as a human race + members of our Earthly community, to forget how our actions + decisions impact our own lives, our community, nation, + the world!
Why Do I Care?
Since starting this business and deciding to incorporate the Wildlife, Wild Places, + Conservation Initiative, I've been reevaluating the choices I make every day. By doing research + reading more books, the way I see my world has shifted dramatically + finding ways to be sustainable has become a huge focus. I am hoping to use my art to make an impact on conservation + public awareness of critical wildlife issues, but I can also be an advocate by how I live my life + the choices I make. By sharing here, hopefully it won't be a singular effort. I've encountered so many ways to change my everyday actions + I've been surprised at how easy it can be to slowly change your lifestyle, one thing at a time: gardening + composting, canning food, utilizing local farmers markets + co-ops, eating less processed foods, being energy efficient, buying or making reuseable items, + making my OWN everything from soaps to cleaning supplies to spaghetti sauce. This post is the brain child of that research - well one of the many to come - and I am so excited to share what I've learned with you!
Homemade Cleaning Supplies
So, homemade cleaners! Cleaning supplies + converting over to natural ingredients was the first thing that started my journey of learning how to eliminate unwanted chemicals, toxins, + middlemen. Have you ever actually looked at what is in your daily household cleaners? I know I have + it's like trying to read a foreign language. My chemistry education stopped after the required course in high school, so it's a mystery to me what I'm spraying + wiping on my household surfaces. You'll also notice on many of those store-bought, name brand cleaning supplies that they have WARNING labels, alerting you to the many ways in which they may be harmful: avoid contact with eyes, do not ingest, spray in a ventilated room, and on and on and on! RED FLAGS!! I don't actually know what I'm putting out into my house AND it could be harmful! No thank you!!
Making substitutes for those cleaners with things you probably already have at home is a lot easier than you might think + costs a lot less (double bonus!). But do they work, you might ask? As with most things, you have to weigh the costs + benefits of switching. The homemade cleaners may not kill 99.99999% of germs + bacteria in your house, BUT they kill 90%. You know exactly what's in them because you made them yourself. No need to worry about harmful side effects because they are all natural. You're saving money - white vinegar is $2-$3 for a gallon and is used in almost all of your homemade cleaners, where as you could spend $5-$6 on a much smaller quantity of one kind of cleaner. If sustainability, environmental impact, clean ingredients, + saving money are important to you, then the benefits far out way the costs here!
And now to the most important part...what do you need to make these cleaners? 10 ingredients will get you pretty much any kind of cleaner that you may want!
Ingredients
White Vinegar
Baking Soda
Lemon or Lemon Juice
Salt
Olive Oil
Ivory Soap Bar
Liquid Castile Soap
Washing Soda
Borax
Essential Oils
There are so many recipes out there for different cleaners + it's going to be a trial + error process finding out what works best for you, but these simple ingredients will get you there! Please also consider storing your new cleaning supplies in reusable glass containers. I'll be discussing glass vs plastic at a later time!
Thanks for stopping by to learn more about making your own natural cleaning supplies!
To Get You Started | Recipe websites
The Browning Homestead - a blog with a TON of recipe links