Green Spring Cleaning
How can you turn a necessary, tedious chore into a family-time effort for good?
Over the last couple of weeks, our family has cleaned together. Spring cleaned, the sort of cleaning where closets get sorted through, walls get wiped down, and overlooked cobwebs get discovered.
Conveniently, one simple step transforms this effort into a green and safe project for Miss Kindergarten and Little Miss Three to help with. We made our own non-toxic cleaning products thanks to a handout from one of Minnesota’s Living Green Expo several years back (this year’s Living Green Expo is scheduled for May 7-8 at the State Fair Grounds).
Alice’s Wonder Spray has been my favorite all-purpose recipe for years.
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 2 tsp. borax
- 32 oz. hot water
- essential oil (optional) 20 drops
- liquid dish soap (add last) 1/4 cup
- Mix in a 32 oz. spray bottle.
Not only is this stuff safe for the kids, unlike most commercial products, they liked knowing that it was safe for the Earth too. I simply mixed up two bottles of the stuff, gave one to each girl, and followed them around with rags cleaning up the bathtub surround, sinks, cupboards, and anything else in our path.
Do It Green Minnesota offers a complete list of other handy cleaning tricks relying mostly on vinegar, a natural disinfectant, borax, and simple dish soap.
As we cleaned, we also pruned. Bags of clothes and unused kitchen utensils made their way to Goodwill this week. Plus both girls helped pick out several toys that deserved more attention in some other child’s home. Though I learned that donations had better be made quickly or they risk being reclaimed with shouts of, “but that on is my favorite.”
The spring cleaning process distracted us from the too cool weather outside (snow in April!), and left us ready for the baby’s arrival in a couple of months. Unfortunately, it took just long enough that the rooms I started in already need dusting. If only Alice’s Wonder Spray repelled dust indefinitely!
Tags: Healing the Earth
