We all want a clean kitchen, that's a given, but not all of us want neurotoxins on our kitchen counter. Luckily it's easy to make your own, and often times mostly organic, quick and easy all natural cleaner at only a fraction of the cost of most commercial cleaners. Here's my favorite kitchen cleaner that I make at home, it's easy, natural and works really well. You can even use it to clean the oven and the fridge without having to worry that it's toxic.
Easy Antimicrobial Kitchen Cleaner:
1 18-24 oz spray bottle* | 40 drops organic essential tea tree oil** | distilled water *** |4 tbsp Dr. Bronner's Organic Magic Castile Liquid Soap****
1) Fill the bottle a little more than 3/4ths full of the distilled water.
2) Slowly add 4 tbsp of the castile liquid soap.
3) Add 35-40 drops of the essential tea tree oil. Tea tree oil has antimicrobial and antiseptic natural properties.
4) Shake.
To Use:
1) Shake well.
2) Spray on surface.
3) Wipe off.
Caution: Don't use in areas where your cat(s) lay or walk, tea tree oil isn't good for kitties.
* When selecting containers and bottles for use with making your own cleaners, always start with a clean new container. Do not reuse containers that previously held chemical cleaners as it is unknown the reactions that trace amounts of these cleaners can have with the natural items. And you don't want these chemicals to leach into your healthy cleaners.
** When using essential oils it's always best to use one labeled "organic essencial oil", regular essencials and fragrant oils are not regulated by the government and therefore you don't know if it's the real deal or a synthetic chemical. Using the word "Organic" is regulated, this way you know that what you're getting is pure and will have all the natural elements that you need. Yes they cost more but a little goes a long way so in the end, you save money.
*** When making your own cleaners always use distilled or purified water instead of plain tap water. This is for 2 reasons, one is that tap water is shown to have trace amounts of various chemicals, medications, toxins and general gross stuff. And two, all those chemicals in water and especially in hard water actually work against your natural cleaners and make it harder to clean instead of working with it.
**** Dr. Bronner's Magic Organic Castile Soaps come in various scents, are vegetable based organic soaps (not detergents, which most products that claim to be soap really are) and come in various scents. You can use whichever scent pleases you, I use the baby one because it's unscented and that way I can use it with any oil I wish. The soap is a little expensive however you can use it to clean anything, including yourself, your kids, your hair, your pets, your car and your home... which means in the end you save clutter and money with only having to use one product.
1) Kitchen Scrubber - Baking soda is great for safely scrubbing stuck-on grease all over the kitchen. All you do is sprinkle a little over the spot then gently rub with a wet wash cloth or sponge and the grease will come right up.
2) Plastic Container Freshener - After a while reusable plastic containers smell a little funky and that stink can leach into your food. So we end up tossing them out. Not anymore! Simply pour some baking soda in the container, cover and leave overnight. In the morning just use a wet sponge to wipe the container then wash and the stink will be gone.
3) Stuck On Food - After letting food sit on a plate or after baking in a dish, food can become stuck and the sponge just is not cutting it. Sprinkle a little bit of baking soda over the stuck on food then gently scrub with a sponge or wet washcloth and it should come off without ruining your dish.
