Green Clean

I don't make my own soap, but I saw the Duggar family make some on TV. They have a book you can get at the library- or it might be on their website. Their TV show is 18 and counting and their names are Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar.
Good Luck!

I started making my own laundry soap 3 months ago.
I do
1/3 bar of zote
1/2c of boarx
1/2c of washing soda

I use white vinegar as my fabric softener.

my all purpose cleaner is
1/2 cup of vinagar
2 drops of dish detergent
and water.

for baked on grease.
I don't make a passe it's too messy.
I do get a wet cloth and dip it in the baking soda and scrub.

for the sink.
I do the same with the bake on grease, but sometimes if it's in season, I use 1/2 a lemon then when i'm done i throw the lemon down the garbage disposal. smells lemon fresh.

for my hard wood cleaner or wood cleaner.
I save my citrus peals and put them in an air tight jar then fill it up with white vinegar and let the oil extract for about four weeks. then put in a spray bottle and delute with water. works great.

that's all I can think of at the moment. You tube helped me a lot. hope this helps.

I've been making my own laundry detergent for the past 4 months.

1 bar soap (your choice of "flavor")
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup washing SODA
1/4 cup baking soda

Grate the bar soap into a bowl, add other ingredients. Run through your food processor to incorporate the grated soap into the dry ingredients. Use 1 tablespoon for small loads, 2 for medium, 3 for large. Store in moisture-proof container.

I put my grater and food processor through the dishwasher so there's no "soap" taste residue.

This is no/low sudsing --- perfect for front-load washers. Once you get over the "no suds" idea, you're fine. It cleans great (3-year old twins to grandpa's gardening clothes). You know what's going into your family's clothes and it's SO inexpensive.

I haven't been able to find washing soda anywhere except Drugstore.com. (It used to be available on the laundry aisle.)

There is also a "recipe" for this detergent in liquid form, but you need a 5-gallon bucket to store it AND you dissolve everything on the stove.

Check out http://frugalliving.about.com/ for more great tips about saving money AND going green.

Check out this website for detergent/cleaner recipes:

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/laundr...

For really tough cleaning like stove top...make a paste out of baking soda and water let it sit on the crud. Come back later and you should be able to wipe clean. IF not, repete. Vinigar and water is what I use on my floors. Spray and wipe. It kills odors well and does not leave a residue. If you have a front loader you can use vinigar instead of bleach with the sani cycle to clean the machine. If you look it up on the internet I am sure you will find a whole bunch more cleaning uses just with these two items. I saw on the show 18 and counting that they made their own laundry soap that did tons of loads with one bar of ivory soap I think. I am intersted in trying it out. Meanwhile, I use liquid soap from liquid soap .com that is suppose to be green.

I don't make my own laundry detergent, but buy the Kirkland or Ecos brand at Costco and usually add baking soda as well. I use white vinegar (purchased at Costco) instead of fabric softner. (I only use dryer sheets when I am doing blankets that I know will be super staticky). I use as 50/50 vinegar/water mixture to clean just about everything else. I use baking soda as my scrub. It works great in the tub and no worries about toxic residue. Most "natural" cleaners still say keep out of reach of children, so they're not all that great or non-toxic (even Borax is toxic, so I try to not use it). (They can eat baking soda and vinegar, but they won't. I still have some of the toxic cleaner, like (gasp!) bleach for use when absolutely necessary. I am trying out Flylade tips (brush toilet every day (or every few days) and it stays cleaner longer). Good luck.

I don't make my own laundry detergent, but I do use a lot of baking soda and white vinegar in cleaning. Baking soda is a great substitute for scouring powder. White vinegar gets out many stains and has some disinfecting power as well. And if you put a cupful of baking soda followed by a cupful of white vinegar down your drains once a week, it helps prevent clogs and keeps the drains clean and fresh smelling.
You can also use lemon juice and the oils from lemon rinds for cleaning and polishing furniture.

For house cleaning... vinegar and water (floors - but don't use on granite, cement or natural stone only on wood, and ceramic or porcelain tile), for scrubbing (hot tubs, bath tubs etc.) baking soda. For laundry I use Ecos Free and Clear and that's pretty pure. I'm very sensitive to chemicals and do well with that brand for laundry. For bath soap, choose bar soap not liquids (liquids have more additives and preservatives though Trader Joe's makes one good liquid hand soap). You have to start reading labels. Buy products with less ingredients and familiarize yourself with the ingredients to avoid (look at http://www.ewg.org/ ). Most of the "Ecos" products are very good.

I've been making my own cleaners for 3+ years, and have been very happy with the results, mostly because it's all so simple :). I did look at a few "natural cleaning" websites and get a couple books from the library on natural cleansers (one was called Green Home, Green Planet, I'm not sure about the others) - look in your library or on Amazon under "natural cleaning". After skimming the books, the cleansers I use the most are: baking soda with a few drops of lavender or lemon essential oils (the oil is absolutely not necessary but makes cleaning more pleasant :) and soapy water (I use a very small amount of Dr. Bronner's soap with water in a spray bottle). I don't make my own laundry detergent, but I love "Ecos" soap sold at Costco - it's very simple and environmentally friendly. For hard-to-scrub tub scum, I use Soft Soap - it's a fairly mild cleanser and works really well. Baking soda works fine in tubs as long as you don't let it go too long between cleanings (which I often do :)). I guess my only general advice is that you don't need harsh cleaners to clean things - and you don't need to sterilize everything with cleansers to keep your family healthy (and the out-gassing of harsh cleansers can actually be worse than a few germs here and there :)). Good luck and God bless :).

Hi S.
I have been using Melaleuca green products for a long time because my son was allergic to the all the chemicals in the store bought brands. I can send you a cost comparison if you like, it is alot easier than making your own. There products are EPA approved & have won many awards, all are concentrated. For an overview go to www.melaleuca.com and take the tour.
regards
M.

Hi S.,

I don't have recipes but I do know of a "green" non-chemical line of products. 100% natural, only 4 ingredients in each. You can find them at:

www.wowgreen.net/mygreenhome

R.