Becky Rapinchuk - The Organically Clean Home: 150 Everyday Organic Cleaning Products You Can Make Yourself--The Natural, Chemical-Free Way

It doesnt matter if youre attempting to clean out an entire room or a single drawer, you need time and a plan. Yet for most people, finding the time and an effective cleaning strategy is difficult. Throw in the toxins from store-bought cleaning products, and the whole situation is downright scary. To avoid feeling overwhelmed, check out the cleaning strategies in this chapter. Youll find easy-to-implement routines, timesaving ideas, and basic information on natural cleaners. Instead of being a tedious chore, housecleaning will be a breeze!

CAUTION: These recipes and formulations are organic in nature and nontoxic, but as with any cleaner in your home, keep them out of reach of children and pets. As long as around 1 percent of the cleaner is made up of essential oils (as is true for the recipes in this book), it is generally considered safe for pets, but check with your veterinarian first if youre concerned. Please use care in mixing and follow the intended uses and directions.

There are many great reasons to switch to organic or natural cleaning products. Maybe you want to

Keep toxins out of your home. (Most homemade products are toxin-free!) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accidental household poisonings affect more than 300 children in the United States every day. If you keep the medicine cabinet locked and use cleaning products that are safe, youre reducing your risk of an accident.

Save some money. (You certainly will!)

Cut down on what youre sending to the landfill. (You can cut back dramatically on plastics by simply using reusable spray bottles and cleaning containers.)

Use natural products because someone in your home has asthma or allergies. (Organic cleaners are much better to use around those with sensitivities.) Interestingly enough, the stuff that you clean with can actually make you sick, essentially negating the benefits of cleaning itself. According to the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org), conventional cleaning products and artificial fragrances can trigger asthma, can include low levels of 1,4-dioxane (a carcinogen), and can even include low levels of formaldehyde (another carcinogen) without disclosure. These ingredients can also lead to birth defects in pregnant women using the cleaners. Although many people dont have any reactions to the toxins, why take a chance?

No matter why youve decided to use organic cleaning products, you can rest assured that you are cleaning with the safest products and getting the best results at the same time.

Perhaps the most common reason people choose organic cleaners is that theyre safer to have around the house than the store-bought versions. Sadly, safe cleaning products are not the norm. Youd think that cleaning products would have to be safe to be sold for home use, but that isnt the always the case. I experienced this firsthand when my oldest child was a toddler and grabbed a safe cleaning product (sold to be used on highchairs and baby products) and sprayed it in her face and consequently her mouth. I grabbed the bottle from her hands and washed her off. After a quick glance of the bottle, I realized that a call to poison control was necessary. This incident ended safely with her drinking a cup or two of milk and taking a long bath, but my journey to finding safe cleaning products was just beginning.

Take a look at your cleaning product labels and read the warnings and lists of ingredients. You might see warnings like hazardous to humans and animals and causes substantial but temporary eye injury, and unpronounceable ingredients like ethanolamine or hexoxyethanol. Even the ingredient fragrance is a concern because it can cause skin irritation, and can trigger asthma and allergies. Scary stuff, right?