Simple Sustainability: Cleaning Products

This post is in reference to a series on sustainability conducted by Rhonda at Down To Earth.

When my grandparents were alive, I would beg for stories about their childhood and the good old days. Some of those stories were eventful, others were shared to pass along family customs. My grandmother was not only a wonderful story-teller, but she was also a teacher and understood the delights of a child. She would spin stories that I still recall, many of which have been passed on to my own sons. My grandfather, a quiet man who communed more with nature than people, told tales of his mother and Dutch grandmother. I was puzzled that his grandmother never learned to speak English and that he had to communicate with her through signs, signals, and other forms of language besides spoken English. He spoke of the home-made chicken noodle soup — it was the best soup he ever ate. He also would tell me that his mother and grandmother would deep-clean their wooden floors with sand. How odd, I thought, that a woman would clean a floor with sand. I never forgot that story, and my images of these women sweeping sand across a wooden floor still lives with me. Now that I am older, I understand their constraints and their logic.

Our household uses home made products, some of which are made with the same or similar recipes from Down To Earth. Many of our cleaning practices come from our own family’s households, as tradition often dictates.

As it was when we were young, we do not use harsh chemicals to clean with. When you use water from a well and have a septic system, you must be cautious of what you release into your plumbing system. Anything that we pour down the sink, I always think, “Would I drink that?” A question like that will stop you cold before you possibly pollute any living ecosystem that you are connected with.

We avoid strong scents and perfumes, as do others who are aware of what the overuse of scents and perfumes can do to a person. Or to the environment. Commercials about air fresheners and scented oils continue to amaze me, though. Why would people buy artificial smells except to cover up what is unclean or unhealthy? And what about the chemicals used to create an air freshener (the name itself is a misnomer)? What happened to fresh air?!

In the laundry room: I make our laundry detergent with shaved bar soap, borax, and soda (sodium carbonate). We use no fabric sheets for the dryer because it’s wasteful and we dry most washed items on our clotheslines anyway. No fabric softeners either — we’ll work out any stiff fibers during the day. Oh, as for commercial cleaners (aka dry cleaners), we have no need for that type of chemical cleaning process.

For the household: We use good old-fashioned elbow-grease with basic ingredients like vinegar, ammonia, baking soda, and bleach. And basic soap. Lots of soap! Our kitchen appliances and walls are easily cleaned with a rag and soapy water. Staying on top of the cleaning means no baked-on or ground-in dirt. Our floors are either wood or porcelain tile and they are cleaned with soapy water, too. (I have yet to train the Goldens to mop up after themselves, but those bushy tails can give competition to the brooms.) With the wood floors, more water and less soap is used, making sure that the area cleaned is quickly wiped dry. I have wondered what my great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother would think: I haven’t tried sand.

Aerosols, pump sprays, and the never-ending variety of new and improved chemical cleaning formulas can boggle the mind if you shop that aisle in a store. I’m unable to do more than fast-walk down the aisle, which is rare anyway, because the overwhelming fumes give me a headache within minutes. I listen to my body-signals and keep it simple and as safe as possible. Smells stink…..

Personal products are rather limited for us. Like the grocery store cleaner aisle, we avoid the smells. We keep perfumes off of our bodies. My tooth ‘paste’ really isn’t a paste, it is a bit of hydrogen peroxide mixed with baking soda. We use commercial floss (twice a day for me), and it must be working — no gum disease, no cavities. I do use bar soap that is purchased: Tom’s brand which I enjoy, but at almost $4 a bar, I feel it is too expensive. This year a goal is to make bar soaps and I’ve already purchased a basic soap-making book that I’m excited to work with. I use commercial hair shampoo and will probably continue to do so unless I can find a formula to make my own (not baking soda –that seems bizarre to me).

Years ago, I used to use Comet in the toilet bowl but my husband stopped me, saying it slowly scratched the surface of the enamel. Now I use some soapy water with a toilet brush and clean more often.

About 20 years ago, my youngest son watched me clean the toilet and about 10 minutes later, I heard the toilet water splashing in the bathroom. I peered into the room and saw him with my hairbrush cleaning the toilet. Silly boy….those brushes are much too short for a toilet bowl…..