Floor cleaners!

Inspired by Kelly, here are some floor cleaning recipes. 


Note: If you are using swiffer wet cleaners please stop! They contain known hormone disrupting chemicals (which babies are especially sensitive too) as well as neurotoxins. In fact I read an article 2 weeks ago about how it was found to be giving pets illnesses because they would walk and lay on the floor after it was cleaned then lick themselves and ingest the poison!


Here are some totally easy effective alternatives:

Wood Floor cleaner:

1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup vegetable oil, anything like peanut, safflower, canola anything cheap will do. Mix it up in a spray bottle or bucket and rub lightly into floors to bring back shine and clean spots. You can add a few drops of essential oil of choice for nice scent. Lavender is kind of nice but it's not needed to actually clean so don't worry if you're not an essential oils person!

Natural All Purpose Cleaner for All Floors:

Mix equal parts of vinegar and water and damp mop. For really tough stains, pre-treat with 2 T washing soda dissolved in 16 ounces of water.If you use the washing soda rinse it with clean water and a mop or rag

Natural Carpet Stain Removal:

Mix equal parts of vinegar and water. Spray on stains, let sit for 5 minutes and scrub with soft brush. Add 1-2 drops of dishwashing liquid for tough stains.

For grease or oily stains you can pour cornstarch liberally on the stain and let sit until dry then vacuum up. I would probably use the vin, water method afterwards to make sure it's all up.

For heavy duty stains that just won’t come out, mix 1/4 cup each of salt, borax and vinegar and rub into the stain. Let sit until dry and vacuum up. Use methods above if any part of the stain remains.

I also use that disinfecting all purpose cleaner that I earlier posted on my kitchen floor and my living room as my son crawls around there a lot. 

Easy, Natural Mommy and Baby Body Butter

As the days fade into winter I notice that even in Florida the weather is dry! Babies have such sensitive skin that I am always reluctant to put anything on my son. This recipe is so simple but it requires organic raw shea butter. I ordered a large block of it from Amazon for $16.00. I have used 1/4 of it so far and it is a good investment.
I am well into nursing for over a year but on my next one I am going to try this instead on Lansinoh for boobie soothing!

Ingredients:

10 TBSP Shea Butter

6 TBSP Coconut oil

2 tsp corn starch (this makes it less greasy and glides on a little easier)

How to:

Using a double boiler method melt the shea butter (put a glass bowl over a saucepan filled with water, as the water boils it will melt whatever is in the bowl)

After the Shea butter is melted, it will look like melted butter, add the coconut oil and corn starch. Mix really well.

Allow the mixture to cool into a semi hard state, it should be about room temperature and solid.

Whip with a hand blender into a whipped butter like consistency. It will get all light and airy.

Scoop into a jar with a lid and keep at room temp.

I don't add fragrance as I use it all over my kid and he sneezes often with scents. But you can.

You could also experiment with adding other oils like Vit E, sesame oil, almond oil etc.

Hope you like it.

Natural deodorant that works! (I promise!!)

I have probably tried every natural deordorant known to man, Thai crystals, Toms of Maine, Jasons, Kiss my face...... and I always would stink! I hated it, I even got to the point of taking 3 showers a day to avoid having to wear chemicals.

On a serious note, your armpits are very close to your boobies (thats my technical term) and the glands are right there and connected. Your skin is just a big organ and absorbs what you put on it. The last thing you should be putting and rubbing into your armpits is chemicals. I'm sure you know aluminum is bad and maybe you use a natural brand but even they usually have to use some kind of preservative or chemical.

And if you're breastfeeding at the same time you should keep your body green and clean from chems in any way. This is just my opinion but it doesn't take a genius to understand that what you out in and on your body comes out of your body!!!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

6 spoonfuls of coconut oil (this stuff is amazing and I will do a separate post about why everyone should own a lot of it

1/4 cup baking soda

1/4 cup arrowroot powder (I got mine at Whole foods, you can also order it from Amazon)

10 or so drops of essential oil, I used peppermint because I love that smell. Lavender, orange, rose... whatever you want.

How to:

I recommend mixing powders together first.

Slowly mix in oil and mash together with a fork.  You want the consistency of a slightly runny paste.

Add essential oils - a few drops at a time so as not to make it too strong.  Note: too much peppermint will burn!

Store in a small jar and apply to armpits as you would a lotion, only more sparingly.

Enjoy not smelling!

Homemade all purpose cleaner and disinfectant

It seems that with kids, a husband and 2 dogs I am wiping down something at all times of the day! I buy cheap spray bottles at Wal Mart and stash bottles of cleaner all over my house.

First of all let me say that my favorite all purpose cleaner which I can use for everything is white vinegar and water.

I mix 1 part vin and 3 parts water and I swear it works on floors, counters etc etc.

If you mix 1 part vinegar, 1 part hydrogen peroxide, 2 parts water, it will also disinfect. My son eats everything off the floor and wants to be involved in everything I am doing so often grabs my bottle or rags and it's good to know that he is not exposing himself to anything harmful when I am cleaning with this. Vinegar edible, cuts grease and dirt and after the vinegar smell goes away it does deodorize.

The vinegar smell goes away fast but if you cant stand it you can also use:

1 tsp Borax powder

1/2 tsp washing soda

1 tsp liquid castille soap

about 10 drops of essential oils of Thyme or lavendar which are both antibacterial. I'm sure there are other antibacterial oils that would also work. Thyme is the main ingredient in more expensive natural disinfectants like 7th generation and Biokleen.

Add this to 2 cups of warm water (so it dissolves) and after shaking well and dissolving use on anything and everything!

Do It Yourself Laundry Detergent

This is easy, natural and best of all it totally works! 2 of the main ingredients are Borax powder and Washing Soda. I never used these before and ended up ordering them on Amazon. They can be used for SO MANY THINGS! I highly recommend ordering in bulk, they are not expensive.

Now for the recipe:

Detergent:

1 cup Borax powder - I ordered on amazon but I think whole foods and most health food groceries carry it

1 cup washing soda - again, I ordered it on amazon, not sure where it is locally but it's cheap and you can use it for all sorts of cleaning stuff

1/4 cup baking soda

1 bar of castille bar soap (I always use Dr Bronners, I grabbed a bar at whole foods for $3.00 but if you order online I think it's cheaper and any type of castille will do)

How to:

Grate the bar of soap in food processor to with a cheese grater (which is what I did)

Combine all ingredients in a large jar or bucket and mix it up. I use about 1/4 cup per large load and that's plenty

THE ABOVE IS WHAT I USE AS ITS EASY TO PREPARE.

BELOW IS A RECIPE FOR LIQUID SOAP IF YOU PREFER

To make a liquid version of this soap you need a big 5 gallon bucket with a lid (you can get these at  costco usually in the bakery for free as they use them for ingredients) 

Dissolve the grated soap in a saucepan with about 4 cups of water.

Fill the 5 gallon bucket up with about 4 gallons of hot tap water and pour the powders in there. Add the dissolved bar soap to the mix and stir very very well.

Put the lid on and let it sit overnight.

Stir it again the next day and its ready! You can pour a portion of it into a smaller gallon jar or bottle (so you can actually lift it). Use as you would normal detergent.

I have a brand new HE washer and it seems totally compatible in case you were concerned.

Homemade toothpaste!

Toothpaste generally contains a myriad of toxins and chemicals, while you can often find some natural options they can be very abrasive and even still have preservatives. This recipe is completely natural, easy to make and actually can put minerals back into your teeth. Even better when your little is getting used to brushing you can use this paste with total peace of mind.

Toothpaste: 

5 parts calcium powder (you can get this from any health food store, I use Natures Food Patch out here in CW,  it's cheap, or if for any reason you have calcium tablets you can grind them in a coffee bean grinder)

2 parts baking soda

1 part liquid castille soap (I used Dr Bronners peppermint, don't worry this soap is totally edible, natural and you can't taste it, I promise)

3-5 parts coconut oil to get paste texture

Stevia or Xylitol for taste -  this is optional but I used a little vanilla and a few drops of stevia and it made it so you dont taste the baking soda so much

I say "part" but a simple spoon will do for measuring.

To make:

Add powders together and stir

add soap and just a little of the oil and mash with a fork, adding more oil to get the pasty type texture. At this point you can add the stevia or xylitol and taste a tiny bit to see if it's okay.

I keep mine in a little glass jar. Baby food jars would also probably work well and there you are being green again ;) You can dip your toothbrush in directly or keep a little popsicle stick in the jar for application

If you have essential oils you could easily make it minty with peppermint, I've tried vanilla peppermint too and it's tasty.