Become Green for Less Green$

So, when Jack was around 12 months old, we decided to switch to non toxic methods of cleaning. Mostly, we were concerned about neurological development, and not so much about the effect on the environment, but it's had a wonderful impact on us! Our house doesn't smell like chemicals, it's clean and bacteria free, our son doesn't have a chance to get into any chemicals, and we have more money in the pocketbook! I love that last reason, it's a great bonus. Extra money for pedi's or mani's! Some cleaning products we do buy, and we buy Method Non Toxic. We buy ours at Lowe's, and they recently clearanced them out, so I stocked up. However, I still needed something for our dishwasher, and I decided to try my hand at making my own cleaner. After much experimenting, here is what has worked for us (and for the water down here).

1 cup Borax
1 cup WASHING Soda (sodium carbonate). You can also use pH up, found in the pool section. Most of the time, washing soda can be ordered online in bulk (amazon) or from the Arm & Hammer website.

Mix above 2 ingredients together, and use 1 Tbsp of the mixture with each wash cycle. Add ONE DROP of Dawn (or whatever dish detergent you use when you hand wash).

Fill Rinse Dispenser with Vinegar. If you don't have a dispenser because your washer is older, just add some vinegar to the dishwasher during the rinse cycle.

Now, I've also added a few drops of lemon juice instead of Dawn, and that works well too. Using Dawn or lemon juice is essential, as it keeps the film off your dishes that can build up after time. Also, if you have hard water, add 1/2 cup of salt to the Borax/Washing Soda mix, as it prevents hard water stains.

This homemade mixture has kept my china and silverware spotless and looking new. It only costs about $0.05 per wash load to use!

Other uses for Borax:
cleaning the house
adding to your laundry to extend your detergent (use half of the amt of detergent and half borax)
killing ants (make a solution)
stain fighter
cleaning appliances

Here is a great basic cleaning solution that I use daily in the kitchen:
equal parts vinegar and water, add in 1/2 cup lemon juice. Put in Spray Bottle (and label of course!). The vinegar disinfects, and the lemon juice disinfects and cuts grease and stains. If I need to scrub or have an abrasive cleaner (like on the stove or in the sink) I just sprinkle some salt, spray my vinegar lemon cleaner, and wipe with a sponge. It was EXCELLENT at getting water spots off of the faucet, not to mention cutting grease.

Stay tuned for more cleaning tips that will help you become green while you save green!