The Natural Cleaning Handbook

by natalie Wise

  • Quick pick up of each room

  • Quick mail sort

  Weekly:

  • Bathroom full clean

  • Launder bedding and towels

  • Vacuum, sweep, mop all floors

  • Kitchen full clean (including drain)

  • Full mail sort

  • Clean out fridge and pantry

  • Dusting

  • Clean mirrors and windows

  • Clean air spray

  Monthly:

  • Full cobwebs sweep (ceilings, mini blinds, baseboards, ceiling fans)

  • Carpet deep refresh

  • Wipe down walls and cabinets

  • Focus on one room and give it a purge, deep clean, and organize

  • Clean fans and lights

  • Clean and refresh the front door

  • Go through any lingering laundry that needs a special soiled-linens wash, stain removal, leather conditioning, etc.

  • Make any cleaning products that are running low

  Being Body Aware

  Another important part of organic home keeping is being fully aware of your body as you clean, because cleaning is a physical act. The problem is, it is also repetitive and, at times, a strain. But organic home keeping shouldn’t be a strain to your body (that’s the opposite of the comfortable, healthy environment we’re trying to create!). Build a system that works for your body and doesn’t put undue stress on you. By utilizing your body in an effective way, cleaning can not only help your home, but it can help you become more aware of your body.

  Be sure to work both sides of your body as you clean. Try strengthening your nondominant hand by scrubbing with it so you don’t wear out your wrists. The truth is, natural cleaning products do require a little extra elbow grease, but that is free and healthy if your body is capable of it. That said, your body is your best, and only, life tool, not only for cleaning, so you must protect it as best you can. It’s no use having a clean home if you’re too worn out to play with your kids or pets, or enjoy your hobbies afterward.

  Give your back a break as often as you need to. One of the keys is to not arch your back as you bend to clean. Work as closely as possible to your project, such as standing inside the bathtub to clean the walls instead of outside, to avoid bending and straining. Mop and vacuum standing with an upright back, instead of hunching over toward the machine. It’s hard to remember, but get in the habit of keeping a straight back, even when you’re on your hands and knees. Speaking of knees, be careful with those, protecting them with a washcloth or kneeling pad. Feel free to use a mop with any of these spray-bottle floor cleaning solutions if you need to. Bend your legs a bit when cleaning for long periods of time to avoid locking your knees.

  Be flexible. Keep your body liquid and moving as you clean. We tend to stiffen up when we are focusing on tasks, but this actually makes your body work harder. Sway your hips a little when you mop or dust, like you’re dancing. Stay loose in your shoulders when you’re washing dishes. Try not to tense your neck when you’re working overhead. When you’re working on your hands and knees, keep your neck in line with your spine. Keep your knees, hips, and lower back loose as you scrub floors, move furniture, or push a heavy vacuum.

  Watch your wrists. Be well aware of how you are using your wrists and don’t fatigue them. Switch hands often if you can. The more frequently you use your nondominant hand, the more adept you’ll become at using it. Vacuum with alternating hands to avoid shoulder and wrist fatigue from pushing a heavy vacuum. Avoid twisting motions, or putting all of the effort of your cleaning into your wrist at a 45-degree angle. Instead, keep your wrist in alignment with your hand so that all of your cleaning power goes into the job instead of putting pressure on your wrist. Also avoid overreaching in an effort to avoid a bit more work, such as moving your work station or stepladder.

  Switch it up. When you’re cleaning, try to do different types of tasks instead of all wrist-heavy or back-heavy tasks in a row. Varying your cleaning tasks gives muscle groups a break and reduces fatigue. Instead of vacuuming the whole house, vacuum each room and do other tasks in between. Take a break between making beds (and try working on your knees when fixing bed corners and bed skirts) to fold some laundry. When you’re tired of scrubbing tile, mix up some herbs for a face steam you can enjoy later that day.

  Look for ergonomic products. Ergonomic handles on mops, brooms, scrub brushes, vacuums, and more are a great way to reduce body strain. It can be tough to find eco-friendly and ergonomic products, but they’re out there. Full Circle makes many great ergonomic cleaning products with bamboo and recycled plastic. Look for products with adjustable height handles, too, so you don’t have to reach or bend to mop, sweep, or scour. Before you purchase any cleaning product, be sure to really feel it in your hands. Is it comfortable enough to use for long periods of time, or do you need to hold it awkwardly? Save your body grief and stress ahead of time.

  Utilize essential oils. The essential oils in many of these products will add a meditative or restorative quality to your cleaning efforts, too, which is helpful for overall well-being and stress relief. Harness the power of these oils. Feel free to swap them out once you know which oils work best for you and your family, and how their properties work for cleaning. Tea tree oil is one I recommend leaving in most products, but other than that, feel free to adjust or add oils (keeping the ratio the same) to a blend that works for you.

  Get in the mental zone. Cleaning can be routine. You know what to do, so your brain can wander. Bring it back to center by meditating or praying as you clean. This is known to have stress-relieving effects and it gives you some “me-time” while you clean. I like to wear clean sneakers around the house when I’m cleaning . . . they put me in the zone and I feel much more effective than if I trudged around the house in my slippers. Sometimes I like to put on an apron that reminds me of the women in my family before me who wore aprons daily for home-keeping tasks. My friend Emma wears a headband while cleaning. Put on some music if you’d like. Not only will it keep you swaying your body while you clean, it adds a positive attitude lift.

  Treat yourself. Remember that cleaning, as joyful as I think it is, is also work. You’ve done amazing work. Now it’s time to sit back and admire your work! You won’t get it all clean in one day. This is a process, and a way of life rather than a one-time deal. Take a break with the foot soak on page 183 or the face mask on page 185 as a reward!

  Storage of Organic Products and Supplies

  The good news is, most of these cleaning ingredients can go in your pantry . . . that is, they’re safe for your pantry. But chances are you’ll want to store your cleaning supplies ingredients in a more convenient and corralled location. I suggest the linen closet or laundry room. But a good rule of organization is to think of where you would go looking for something, and keep it there, to take away any extra hunting when you need something. For me, that’s my linen closet. I like to keep all of my cleaning and organizing products here, including laundry supplies, cleaning supplies, and ingredients.

  A metal caddy with a sturdy handle is ideal for your most frequently-used supplies that you’ll want with you as you clean, such as scrubbers, brushes, and spray bottles. It’s easy to clean, won’t crack or break, and is strong enough to carry heavier items from room to room. Check the home storage area of your local home goods store, or even the local hardware store, for a galvanized or enamel storage pail or caddy. Slip this into the pantry or under a cupboard for a handy thing to grab whenever you’re making the cleaning rounds.

  Aside from the caddy, I have a shelf with supplies. Keep a stack of fresh washcloths handy as well as a bucket of rags. Several of these recipes call for rags of a certain size, but they’re all flexible. For easy washcloth storage, turn a standard office 3-section letter sorter on its back so you have three small cubbies. They’re the perfect size to store rolled up washcloths and sponges. Smaller sized rags (for making reusable wipes) I keep in a colorful pail. Store
less frequently used items, such as white chalk and bentonite clay, in beautiful glass jars with tight-fitting lids to prevent moisture from getting in them. Dried herbs should also be stored in airtight containers.

  Several of the body care recipes will need to be stored in the refrigerator to prevent them from spoiling. Be sure they are well-labeled and on a top shelf separate from food. I keep refrigerated vitamins and supplements on the same shelf, but keep everything well-labeled.

  Always label products with the name of the product and the date. I also like to include the ingredients just to cover my bases. If you’re in a hurry, masking tape and a permanent marker is the easiest way to label things. The good thing about masking tape is that it doesn’t slip off from moisture or in the refrigerator. Fancy labels are a luxury of time and energy for many of us; but if you have the time to spare, why not make beautiful labels?

  Keeping the Basics Sustainable

  There’s far too much plastic in our landfills and oceans already; we can choose not to add to that simply to keep our homes clean. Choosing items that are recyclable (made from steel, tin, wood, natural fibers and bristles, and glass) instantly reduces your footprint. It also creates a streamlined, modern look in your home by utilizing natural materials that offer a rustic appeal.

  Technology has come a long way, too, and offers us new gadgets at every turn. But most of these gadgets are plastic and bound to break after a few dozen uses. Then what happens? They get tossed into a landfill to take hundreds, if not thousands, of years to break down. Simple and natural works best when it comes to keeping home organically.

  Say no to microfiber and synthetics: Microfiber is the current darling of the reusable cleaning world, as microfiber towels are great for dusting and cleaning and can be washed multiple times, reducing waste. But they have a sinister side, too. Microfiber cloths are made from micro fibers, which infiltrate our bodies, lungs, and water, and we don’t know how to process such small fibers. Even worse, do you know what microfiber actually is? Plastic. So we’re ingesting minute pieces of plastic in our water and adding it to our soil with every wash of a microfiber cloth or piece of clothing. They call this microplastic,1 and a single washing of a synthetic shirt can release up to 2,000 pieces of microplastic that go down our drains and into our water supplies and soil.2 Stick with natural fibers that decompose and don’t harm our bodies or our ecosystem. Look for cotton and linen dish towels, dish cloths, etc. And there’s a reason your grandma used flour sacks for dish towels. They absorb water well, don’t leave lint, and do their job thanklessly for generations without shedding tiny plastic fibers.

  Say no to plastic sponges: Plastic sponges may be able to withstand the heat of the dishwasher and scrub well with their solid structure. But the number of sponges an average household uses in a year could stay in a landfill for up to 42,000 years.3 The good news is there are plenty of nonplastic alternatives that are compostable and reusable. First off, you can wash dishes with a simple cotton dish cloth that can be washed and reused innumerable times. You could also choose a wood- or vegetable-pulp cellulose sponge that is compostable, or one made from walnut shells that offers additional scrubbing power.

  Say no to antibacterial: Antibacterial sponges, toothbrushes, hand soaps, dishwashing soaps, and cloths sound enticing, because we all want our homes to be as clean as possible. But these items contain triclosan, a chemical that kills germs and is also extremely toxic to our bodies. Triclosan is a pesticide.4 First off, the FDA says triclosan products are no more effective than soap and water.5 Secondly, triclosan disrupts our hormones, adds to chemical sensitivity and allergies, transforms into cancer-causing compounds, is potentially adding to antibiotic resistance, and is harming our aquatic system, just to name a few of its sins. Say no to anything labeled antibacterial and follow safe, natural cleaning recipes instead.

  Say no to plastic scrub brushes: For the same reason that plastic sponges are discouraged, plastic scrub brushes are equally destructive to our environment. And with classic wood and natural bristle brushes available in every shape and size, there’s no need to add more plastic to your life. Plastic scrub brushes are also laden with synthetic dyes that can leach out with repeated usage. Choose brushes with natural bristles, made from things such as corn, coconut husk, agave, and natural loofah. There are some plant-derived plastics available, as well as recycled plastic products, which are much more suitable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics if you like the colors and sturdiness of plastic items.

  Say no to disposable: We live in a throwaway world, and the same is true for cleaning supplies. Disposable plastic gloves, toilet brushes, and more are not only draining our wallets, they’re adding to our landfills. There’s no need to use new gloves for every cleaning job—simply wash them well and let them dry before your next use. Same with toilet brushes. Most disposable items have their reusable counterpart. It simply makes sense, financially and environmentally, to buy something once and reuse it instead of purchasing a new one each time.

  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

  Reduce, reuse, recycle, the green mantra, is useful when making your own organic cleaning products, too. You’re automatically reducing usage of toxic chemicals, so you’re already starting off well. Add to that that you can reuse containers to hold your products, and you’re reusing items that would otherwise end up in a landfill after each product is used up. And most containers you use can be recycled when they’ve reached the end of their useful life cycle. We live in a disposable world, but that doesn’t mean you have to live a disposable lifestyle.

  You can also repurpose things like rags, sponges, toothbrushes, and more. Rags can be cut from clothing that has seen better days. Sponges can go from washing dishes to scrubbing the floor before finally being tossed. And toothbrushes that are getting frayed around the edges are still great for cleaning sinks and grout before being recycled. The process of reusing items is not only good for the environment, it’s good for the spirit too.

  We feel a sense of accomplishment when we are able to get our money’s worth out of an item. Your creativity is one of your best assets, and I know you’ll come up with plenty of your own ideas to add to what I’ve written here. We are resourceful, conscious creatures and it’s thrilling to be able to find one more creative use for something.

  1 Accumulation of Microplastic on Shorelines Woldwide: Sources and Sinks. Mark Anthony Browne, Phillip Crump, Stewart J. Niven, Emma Teuten, Andrew Tonkin, Tamara Galloway, and Richard Thompson. Environmental Science & Technology 2011 45 (21), 9175–9179 DOI: 10.1021/es201811s.

  2 Loki, Reynard. “Microfiber Madness: Synthetic Fabrics Harm Wildlife, Poison the Food Supply and Expose You to Toxic Checnicals.” Alternet. http://www.alternet.org/environment/microfiber-madness-synthetic-fabrics-harm-wildlife-poison-food-supply-and-expose-you (accessed September 20, 2017).

  3 Adler, Simone. “To Sponge or Not to Sponge? An Eco Question.” Green Cleaning Magazine. http://www.greencleaningmagazine.com/to-sponge-or-not-to-sponge-that-is-the-eco-question/ (accessed September 20, 2017).

  4 Andrews, David and Samara Geller. “Tricolosan: Not Safe, Not Effective.” Environmental Working Group. http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2017/06/triclosan-not-safe-not-effective (accessed September 20, 2017).

  5 “Cheatsheet: Triclosan.” Environmental Working Group. http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2008/07/cheatsheet-triclosan (accessed September 20, 2017).

  ORGANIZATION AND STORAGE

  The Process: Purge, Clean, Organize

  This is the basic cleaning process you’ll see throughout this book: purge, clean, and organize. We’ll do this room by room and area by area to get your slate clean for organic home keeping. If doing all three of these things in every part of your house sounds overwhelming, don’t worry. I understand. There are things we loved once, things we might need again, things we have memories attached to and don’t want to let go. Purging and cleaning can be emotional. It brings up a lot of internal baggage. But we must persevere. For the sake
of our sanity, we must persevere and keep going. A messy house is one thing, but a dirty house that’s packed full of things we’re too afraid or lazy to let go of is a sign of dissatisfaction with ourselves and life. The two work together—clean the house, and your sense of self gets a little shining up, too. Clear a corner of a room and suddenly you’ll feel inspired about life again. It might be hard, but you can do it. I’m cheering you on!

  What you need: It’s best to have a few supplies handy before you begin tackling the Purge, Clean, and Organize routine. There’s no need to spend a fortune; in fact, you can use free cardboard boxes if you must, I’ve done it myself! Organize any way you need to and can. Depending on the room, you’ll need various organizing totes, baskets, bins, labels, markers, measuring tape, hooks, hangers, etc. Look for natural materials such as metal, canvas, wire, raffia, seagrass, and cloth. Plastic storage containers may be less expensive, but they are disposable and will crack and break with use. Natural materials are likely to last longer and don’t harm the environment or end up in the landfill.

  How to purge: This might be an overwhelming task at first, but once you do the initial purge, each subsequent session gets easier. And you’ll be able to breathe! It will feel so wonderful, I promise. We are not meant to live amongst clutter. Things we love? Yes. Things that are no longer serving their purpose for us? No.

  Here’s the process: You’re going to take everything out of the space you’re in, piece by piece. It all goes out of the room, somehow. Only things that you actually need and really want go back in. Everything else either goes to another part of the house, the recycling bin, the thrift store, tag sale, or gets resold or trashed. Everything will have a new home, be it still in yours or someone else’s. Enjoy thinking of who in your life might be able to use your extra computer chair, or whose children might like the toys your family has outgrown. Think of which charity you’d like to support and drop off your donations with them. Have a tag sale and make new friends and a few dollars. Drop usable items off at your local swap shop for someone who is in need but doesn’t have any money to purchase new items.