Clean Team!

When the kids were little, I researched natural ways to make my own everything. I made their baby food from real vegetables and fruit. I grew flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruit in our yard so they could see where some food comes from, to have the satisfaction of knowing that the blackberries they picked are in their PBJ for lunch the next day. Since the three of us had a tendency to be highly allergic to all kinds of things, I also made the cleaners I used in our house. Cleaning often comes with the toddlers-who-play-outside territory.

Oh the internet and its resources! Recipes for cleaning all kinds of surfaces with your own household chemistry set flow in abundant 1s and 0s online. The perfect concoction of custodial ingredients depends on the surface to be cleaned and what unwanted entity is to be removed from said surface.

A Google search, Instagram, Pinterest, or Martha Stewart's website produces recipes for just about every cleaning need imaginable! Before getting started, here are the things I collected prior to mad scientist mixology.

Fun Facts

Some recipes also incorporate vodka, but teachers can't post alcohol online... Also here are a few tips I've learned over the years of mixing up my own cleaning products that might be of interest.

• Tea Tree oil is a natural antibiotic.
• Lavender reduces stress and creates a sense of clam. Not a bad idea right now...
• Citrus juices are acidic (THIS is when you will use the pH scale from high school chemistry. You know you asked, "Why do I have to learn this?") and acids break down grimy stuff. Lemon and lime provide just enough to do the trick with the added bonus of smelling clean and happy.
• Castile soap is like the stem cell of cleaning. Just read the side and you wouldn't believe all the things pure castile will clean! Dilute castile whenever using it. Think preteens with Axe... Just a little bit goes a long way. Too much is, well too much. 
• Vinegar and baking soda breakdown stubborn things. Seriously, baking soda is the best toilet bowl cleaner and much cheaper than that thing that turns the water blue. 
• Borax works great to boost cleaners, especially in the bathroom. 
• Bleach, of course, but be careful! It will take the color out of most everything.

My multi-surface cleaner includes rubbing alcohol, vodka, castile, a few drops of dish soap, tea tree and orange oil, and distilled vinegar in a squirt bottle then diluted with water. I use it on all surfaces (including the fridge) except wood. Honestly, I even used it on some wood surfaces yesterday because I'm not willing to roll the dice.

Mixing up your own cleaners might be a fun distraction for younger kids. If you have slightly older ones, have them research the chemical properties of these household staples. They should be able to explain the chemical reactions taking place that cause grimy things to break down or change when other chemicals are added. While you're at it, make some elephant toothpaste just for a fun distraction.

When every Clorox wipe has wiped it's last and there are no more left on the pillaged Target cleaning aisle, we can always revert to the cleaning tricks of our great great grandmothers. Happy Cleaning!