Late teens to early twenties I lived in a few different apartments solo and was always my own house keeper. What I would consider myself then a normal cleaner. Over the years as I drew more attention to all the chemical influx our bodies take from normal life, I decided to look into alternatives for different products, including cleaning.
We are all going to have different inputs to our needs which defines how we value a product, some want a smaller quantity to allow for budget, some have allergies which limit brands or business values might define our purchases. These needs may be subjective but what about health? Even though we are talking about cleaning products that are made to help protect us from germs, do we weigh the downside of the chemical intake? Depending on where we live we all typically have our house closed up for high and low temps making our home air quality only as good as our ventilation. This along with chemicals used on surfaces which could cause burns or irritation to humans and pets alike.
I’ve managed to get down to what I think is a safe and effective way to clean that is better on your wallet, your body and lungs will thank you! (PSA: below is my own ‘safety’ opinion, please research for your own home. Additionally, I am not paid or endorsed by anyone in this article, they are simply products and companies I like, value and happy to support)
I have one of the OG Shark steamers and that thing is still going strong. Well over a decade. I love it. I use the floor steamer on all my solid floors. Washable pads, only water & I use a few drops of my seasonal scented organic fragrance oils. I’ve tested that as long as your favorite brand is the organic or pure oil it will not streak. A cheap store bought oil will. Go for the good if you do this trick. Lemon is a great scent for kitchen and bathrooms, you can do an apple or peppermint in winter and my current summer favorite scent is pear!
I changed out all of the big name big label brands for my home products with a company called Melaleuca. Soaps, detergents, cleaners and so much more, not only am I getting quality ingredients at a great deal (no middle man) but they are American produced products. Win Win. For an all around cleaner I pump some cleaner concentrate into a sprayer along with a few drops of my scent of choice oil and filtered water. I use microfiber hand towels to save on paper towels and wash them. One little container lasts me a good amount of time, I am not throwing away bottles every reload and I can change the scent up. All while having a clean, safe and effective solution!
Fabric spray is pretty much my same routine as the cleaner, I use a fabric boost 1/10 to 1/15 ratio of boost to filtered water and a few drops of my scent of choice, for fabrics I like a coconut hint! I spray this on our bed after making it, carpets after vacuuming and throw pillows around the house. The best part? It actually smells like nice stuff and not like chemicals with nice stuff.
Thought I’d forget about dusting? I always think of myself up on a stage being crowned Hot Something and asked, if you could solve or cure anything in the world what it be? And my answer: “I would help to get rid of dust globally!” (cheering and clapping) Then I snap back to reality and realize it’s time to dust again. I splurge on two things in our house. Floor and surface disposable dusters. With three dogs this is highly needed. But every few weeks in between regular surface dusting I will get a big bowl of filtered water, a few pumps of cleaner concentrate, couple drops of a scent and use microfiber hand towels to wipe down everything. Walls, baseboards, surfaces, frames & furniture. Not only does this leave our house smelling amazing longer, it helps keep the dust from clinging as quickly.
We leave the heavy lifting antiviral spray for handles as needed and Clorox type cleaners for toilets, showers and sinks. I store these more to implement heavier if sickness is going around town and for emergencies.
Happy Fresh Cleaning!
*Guest appearance Skye
Astro Services 