Mixing Vinegar and Castile Soap - No?

This week's post is going to a be a little boring, but it has to be done. Here's a quick disclaimer.

After doing some more research there are many green cleaning recipes that recommend never to mix vinegar and castile soap, as one is an acid and the other a base.  As I cautioned earlier in the post 'All Purpose Cleaner', mixing the two together with cold water causes curdling, however this may occur even if stored in cold temperatures.  See the picture below.  Not good!

So what does this mean? Don't use the all purpose cleaner?  Does it not clean?

For me not at all.  Read on!

There are a couple of options you can take with the castile soap and vinegar.  The first is to clean with water castile soap mixture and then wipe with vinegar afterwards, however for myself and a busy schedule I need a quick cleaning solution, which means relying on a good all purpose cleaner.  Thus the second option, and one I choose to stick with is to use the all purpose cleaner.  Again, when I make my mixture, I make sure the water is warm and I store it under the kitchen or bathroom sinks at room temperature.

Doing it this way, I've had no issues using the two together and the cleaner works wonderfully in conjunction with baking soda.  I do also add a generous 10-20 drops of tea tree oil, the little bit of oil helps to mix the cleaner as well .

If you are worried, then go ahead and keep a bottle of vinegar and water mixture (which I keep as well) and some castile soap and water mixture in separate bottles.

OK not to kill this subject to death, but as a final thought, I'm not a chemist (frankly hated chemistry) but I truly LOVE the results I get from the All Purpose Cleaner so please do your own research and make your own judgement.  In the end it HAS to be a better option then all of the toxins in store product cleaners.

Furniture Polish

Here's another easy to make cleaner to polish your furniture, and one less product you need to buy!

As I've thrown out all my store bought chemicals, I realized shortly after that I no longer had a viable option for furniture polish.  I started doing some research online to make my own polish and the recipe below is the easiest to make and works great.  I can't believe I haven't done this before.  Simple and again you probably already have all the ingredients!


B's Furniture Polish: 
-Spray Bottle
-1/4 Cup Olive Oil
-1 Cup Vinegar
-2 tsp fresh lemon or 10-20 drops lemon essential oil (can be left out I like the smell)
-Funnel


Instructions:
Combine the above ingredients in a spray bottle using the funnel and shake to mix the ingredients.  I would recommend using this polish with microfiber cleaning cloths and perhaps conduct a pretest to ensure it's suitable for your furniture.  I've been using it extensively in my kitchen to remove hard water stains on my dark cabinets.  Works wonderfully!

Check it out yourself.

Under the Kitchen Sink

Finally! I have been waiting to talk about organization and what better way then to tie it in with homemade cleaning products!

Having gotten rid of all my excess cleaners has freed up a lot of space under my kitchen sink, allowing me the freedom to organize and make it more functional.  Why does this matter you say???   Well for one, knowing exactly what products you have saves you time and money, as you're not unnecessarily restocking or looking for items you need.  Secondly, I take pride in my homemade cleaners and I love seeing them where I can grab them on the go.  Trust me when I say you'll stress less, and have more time to focus on more important things!

Here are my simple tips that keep my supplies organized in the kitchen.

In the front bin I keep my most used cleaners (labeled), including the baking soda.  I also store the castile soap and other supplies I need to make my cleaners.  Organizing like items in baskets or bins helps keep clutter under control. (I bought my bins from the Dollarstore).  Remember only keep those items that you absolutely need!

The other bin under my sink stores my cleaning supplies and extra items I may require to clean my kitchen.  Items such as the microfiber cloths, j-cloth, gloves, extra sponges, toothbrush, etc.  Again I would recommend storing these items in the front,  as you will always know what you have or don't have on hand,  should you need to replace. 

In the silver container I keep our dishwasher soap.  I am still in search of a natural dishwasher soap recipe, but I haven't come across any that seem to work. Leave me a comment if you are using one that does!

That's it, pretty simple!  Remember take the time to organize and declutter, you will save time and money in the long run.

Hope you find this helpful!

Power Breakfast Smoothie

As I'm still changing things up this week, I thought I'd share my favorite super healthy breakfast smoothie.  If you're wondering about what this has to do with cleaning, well it has to do with eating healthier to cleanse your body!  Part of my new year's resolution for my family and myself was to remove processed food as much as we can from our diets and we're trying our best to live by this.  As I'm usually pretty rushed in the morning, this is a great on the go breakfast that I take to work in a travel mug.  I have it every single day, and only usually cheat on the weekends.  The added bonus is I sip it throughout the morning and it keeps me full a lot longer then a piece of toast.

I've tried many different smoothies and I love this one as it's easy to make, high in nutrition, uses (mostly) organic wholesome ingredients and most importantly again keeps me full until lunch!

B's Power Breakfast Smoothie

2 tbsp Greek Yogurt
1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/4 cup Quick Oats (I purchase organic PCs quick rolled oats)
1 tbsp Organic Traditions Chia and Flax Seed Powder (substitute for any chia/flax powder or grind your own)
1/2 Banana
3 Frozen Strawberries (organics PC is excellent and available at Loblaws/Zehrs)
1/4 cup Power Blend Frozen fruit (again organics PC - contains blueberries, cherries and blackberries)
1 cup Spinach
1/2 tsp Honey
Blender

Directions:

In your blender combine the oats and chia powder and a little water, enough to soak the oats, and blend first into a smooth pulp.  The reason I do this is because I've found the oats don't blend properly when combined with other ingredients and remain chunky (which doesn't work sipping on a straw)!  To that add the rest of your ingredients and blend to a smooth consistency.  Pour into a glass or travel mug and you're good to go.

Let me know if you try it!

Brown Sugar Salt Scrub

Let's change things up a bit from all the cleaning talk and talk about something that I have a lot more fun with (ok not really maybe just as much fun), scrubs!  I was looking for a good organic scrub, (especially needed after a very harsh Canadian winter), and the one I did finally like that seemed to contain less chemicals ran at about $65 from the company Fresh at Sephora.  There was no way I was going to spend that kind of money on a scrub that contained primarily brown sugar!  So I started experimenting with different homemade scrubs and the one I am sharing now is probably my favorite.

It's got loads of really great skin soothing properties with almond and coconut oil and exfoliating properties with brown sugar and salt.

Brown Sugar

B's Brown Sugar Salt Scrub
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup salt
3 tbs coconut oil
3 tsp almond oil

Instructions:
Combine the above ingredients in a large bowl until it thoroughly forms into a paste.  You may also add extra oil if the scrub seems dry.  Once done, transfer to pretty little containers,  (ok you don't have to but it's just a nice little touch) and enjoy!  That's it!  Simple easy and all natural!

How to use:  One quick tip on how to use.  I've used this scrub on my hands with a little bit of water (and my husbands course dry hands) and it has completely removed all dead skin!  If you have super sensitive skin you can choose to wet your hands and not add any salt (substitute with extra brown sugar) to the mixture..

In the shower it is best to use the scrub as the final step.  After you have soaped and rinsed scrub in circular motions and rinse with warm water.  As an added bonus you won't need to moisturize afterwards and the scrub will leave your skin smelling so sweet, without any artificial fragrance or chemicals!  The only thing to be careful is that due to the oil it will leave your shower slippery, so be careful.  I usually spray some vinegar in the shower and rinse with hot water to remove the oil (not to mention a quick clean of the shower).

Cleaner Floors Today!

I've introduced you to the few products I use to clean my house, and here's another great way to use them to clean your floors.

In our house we have dark ceramic floors and hardwood in the living room.  The ceramic tiles are fairly low maintenance.  A quick sweep and they usually 'looked' clean.  I would once a week or so use a Swiffer Sweeper with a wet mopping cloth attached at the end.  Although the floors would be clean, they would leave a very strong chemical smell behind and almost a sheen on our floors.  The Swiffer replacement wet mopping cloths were expensive to purchase and I would easily go through 3 during one clean!  There had to be a better, more natural and not to mention cheaper way to clean our floors.

Of course there is, and the best part it is very similar to the All Purpose Cleaner (no extra products required).

B's Floor Cleaner: 
Large Bucket
Mop
4 tbsp Castile Soap (can be substituted with liquid dishwashing soap)
Warm to hot water (depends on how much floor there is to clean)
10-15 drops of Tea Tree Oil
2-3 cups Vinegar (depends on how much floor there is to clean)

Instructions:
In your bucket first add the castile soap and then warm to hot water depending on how much floor you have to clean, then add in the tea tree oil and stir.  Finally add the vinegar to this mixture (make sure the water is still warm to prevent curdling).  Soak your mop and clean away!

My floors have never looked cleaner, without any residue or chemicals left behind and there's even a nice shine to them.  Don't be worried about the smell of vinegar on the floors as the floors won't smell once dry.

Word of advice:  For hardwood floors I do use the same mixture however you have to be careful of not soaking your floors with too much water.  Make sure to rinse as much of the excess water, and the best way to dry and buff (to ensure the shine is there) your hardwood floors is to go over them with a mop that has a Swiffer duster/microfiber type attachment.  I also go old school and sometimes get down on my hands and knees to buff them with my All Purpose Cleaner in hand.

Now I didn't want to take a before and after of floors, because well how exciting is that?  Here's a picture of some flowers I just got that will definitely brighten our home for spring and this lackluster post on floor cleaners!

Cleaning tip - Stove Top

Today I thought I'd share some stove top cleaning tips.  I have a glass top stove which has always been a little tricky to clean.  I normally use a special glass top cleaner and scraper from Home Depot to clean the stove and have to admit it left my stove super clean, (even removed all the burned spots).  I was a little skeptical to try vinegar and baking soda to clean my stove, but I thought I'd give it a go and am SO impressed with the results.

I'm not sure of the results on other stove tops, but I am certain it will work just as well.  I do recommend purchasing a scraper for glass top stoves as it does an excellent job scraping off burned spots.

Before I share some cleaning tips, here's a shot of my stove.  I went a week without cleaning it so that I could test out my cleaning method, and also ensure there was plenty of burned spots.  Trust me when I say it was pretty grimy!

Steps to clean a glass top stove:

• Sprinkle baking soda all over the stove and give a thorough soaking of vinegar water mixture or the all purpose cleaner.  
• Let it soak for 10 min and then using a dishwashing sponge and liquid dishwashing soap (or castile soap if you have that) give your stove top a good scrub.  
• Without wiping the stove, use the scraper and remove all the hardened spots.
• Wipe with a wet sponge or j-cloth.
• You may need to repeat the steps by spraying with another coating of vinegar and again with the scraper clean off any excess spot.

...And here's the after shot following the above steps!  The only con I see is that you may need a little more elbow grease, but it's ok as you're not smelling all the toxic fumes!  (Ignore the scratches, I got that when I initially was using a pot that was damaging my glass element).

Sold yet???

Let's Talk Supplies

With your homemade cleaners I would 100% recommend investing in a few hardworking supplies to get the best use out of them.

A must in my books:

• Microfiber cloths- nothing wipes and shines mirrors, stainless steel and glass surfaces as does microfiber cloths.  I buy mine from HomeSense or Canadian Tire (in the car cleaning section).  However, they are readily available in the cleaning section of most supply stores.  I do prefer ones in pretty colors!  Paper towels do not work nearly as well as good quality microfiber cloths, and are reusable so much better for the environment.

• Spray bottles- You can purchase spray bottles from most hardware stores, I bought mine from Canadian Tire from their garden section.  I like to purchase ones that are at least the size below, as you can make a good quantity of the cleaner.  (Less refilling required.)  As a tip, I keep labeled All Purpose Cleaners in my washrooms and kitchen. 

• Salt pepper shaker (why????) - I'll tell you why, to store baking soda.  It just makes it so much easier when sprinkling in the kitchen (sink, stove, pots and pans), and in the bathroom, (toilets and sink).  I again leave these shakers filled with baking soda in all the washrooms and kitchen.

• Label maker-  I know a permanent marker would work too, but I do prefer neat labeling.  Anyone that knows me understands my need for aesthetics.   The label maker I use is from DYMO that I purchased from Staples here in Canada.  It was on sale for $20!  Best part is it comes with a magnet clip so you can just store it on the side of your fridge.

• Miscellaneous items- the rest of the items that I use regularly are scouring sponges, liquid dish washing soap, j-cloths, toothbrush (to get into the corners), your basic cleaning supplies.

Hope these tips are helping you on your way to natural cleaning!

All Purpose Cleaner - this is all you need!

Really it is.

I use this All Purpose Cleaner to clean my entire house, including kitchen cabinets, stainless sink appliances, washrooms, counters, and mirrors.  I can honestly keep going!  Except for granite counters, you should not use vinegar or any other acidic cleaner on granite as it will etch the surface.  I make a cleaner just for granite counters, I'll post that soon.

B's All Purpose Cleaner: 

• Spray Bottle (that can hold at least 450ml)
• 1 cup White Vinegar
• 1 1/2 cup Warm Water
• 2 tbsp Castile Soap
• Few drops Tea Tree Oil 
• Funnel (to pour the ingredients into spray bottle)

You may tweak the amounts as you need depending on the size of the spray bottle.  This is what I use and works for me.

Instructions:

Make sure your spray bottle is clean before you begin.  Using the funnel, add the castile soap first to the spray bottle, then warm water.  Give it a slight shake to mix.  Then add as many drops of the tea tree oil as you like, I do about 5.  Then add in your vinegar and shake to mix.  That's pretty much it!  You've got yourself an excellent all purpose cleaner.

If you do not have or are unable to purchase castile soap, you may substitute with regular dish washing soap.  For most surfaces you should have no issues, however you will need to test on glass and mirrored surfaces. (To ensure there is no streaking, I have no streaking with my above cleaner, and prefer castile soap as it is natural).

PLEASE READ THIS:  Follow the instructions exactly as posted as castile soap and vinegar should not be mixed together directly.  You must dilute the castile soap in water first, otherwise the soap will curdle when mixed with vinegar.  I learned this the hard way!

Check out this glass table before and after.  All I used was the All Purpose Cleaner and a microfiber cloth, no Windex!  Yes I took left over pizza and did a nice extra smear for demonstration and wow purposes.                                 

BEFORE

AFTER

Leave me a comment and let me know if you try it!

Where do you begin??

In your pantry of course!  If you're going to be making natural cleaners they should be safe enough to eat (use common sense here and please don't eat anything just because I say it's edible).   *Side note, Wikipedia helped to write some of the definitions, just a little.

Let's begin with the basics:

Vinegar- It is mostly used in the kitchen for cooking and salads however it has historically been used as a mild acid.  It has a wide variety of domestic uses, including as a household cleaner.  Vinegar is a staple ingredient for my cleaners and my hair and I bet it's already in your kitchen!  The most basic cleaner you can make is equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle.  Using a sponge and some liquid dish washing soap, you are good to go!  For those of you worried about the smell of vinegar, it wears off once dry.  

Baking Soda- Another standard kitchen ingredient used in baking (obviously) however it is very effective when used for cleaning and scrubbing, especially the kitchen sink.  I haven't scrubbed anything that baking soda hasn't been able to shine!  (Dump the Comet and use this!)

Castile Soap- is a soap, (either in liquid or bar form), that is mainly made from plant oils, such as olives, palm and coconut.  The one I use is Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap (shown in the middle picture above) and here in Canada it's available at Loblaws/Zehrs in their natural food aisle.  It runs at about $17 which may sound hefty, but you get a generous 944ml size bottle, and only need a tablespoon in your spray bottles.  It is without question a very multipurpose product. 
You may substitute regular liquid dish washing soap, however I haven't tried this in my cleaners.  I'm not sure about how it will work on mirrored surfaces, but no harm in trying when I post my cleaner mixes!

Tea Tree Oil- is an essential oil which has historically been used for its antiseptic/antibacterial properties.  I've read there may be allergens related to tea tree oil if you use it undiluted, (please do your research), however I use a few drops in my cleaners and have had no issues.  (Also the smell of tea tree oil reminds me of that clean hospital smell)!  I use Aura Cacia Tea Tree Oil, which is 100% pure and available again at Loblaws/Zehrs in their natural food aisle. 

Lemons- are a fantastic natural cleaner.  I use it to disinfect, remove stains and odors and as a natural bleach substitute. 

That's about it!  With these few ingredients you will be able to clean your ENTIRE house, I mean everything, the kitchen, bathrooms, mirrors, glass tables, floors, the list is endless (I sound like a broken record)!  

Stay tuned as I post the different mixes I use of these ingredients and the supplies needed to make your own cleaners.

Welcome!

Hi guys! Welcome to my Naturally B page, where I hope we can share ideas about living clean!  'Living clean', what does that actually mean?  To me it means living in a less chemically dependent household, eating organically and overall decluttering our lives. (I'm a bit of an organizing nut!)

A little background...

We all make the typical New Year's Resolutions to workout and eat healthy. Of course I myself made this same resolution once again this year with all great expectations to stick to it. The exercise part fell through within a month, but the 'clean' eating part was what I really decided to focus on.  Homemade breakfast shakes (my coworkers can attest to this as I drink my shake every morning), eating less sugar, avoiding processed foods etc. The other big change came about when my sister told me about the 'no shampoo method' (I'll get into that later and also provide my experience with it), and from there I started looking at all the products, household cleaners, even toxins in 'green' cleaners etc that are part of our daily lives.  I experimented and made my first all purpose home cleaner, and I am hooked!  (Do you really need more than 1-2 cleaners to clean the bathroom???)

I can now say I have removed all household cleaners (I hung on to them in a box in a garage for a while because I wasn't sure how long this 'phase' would last). The cleaners I make work just like any other product you buy from the store-if not better! Best of all they do not require a gas mask and well ventilated area to ensure they are working! (Many a times I have cleaned with my shirt over my nose!)
                       
So what can you expect from my blog??

I'll be sharing some of my breakfast shakes, recipes, home cleaners, scrubs, etc and hope we can exchange ideas, and at the very least you will benefit from some of my tips. Who knows, I might even throw in some organizing tips as well, as this page is naturally B - (B has been my nickname for years!)

As a side note, by no means do I claim to be a chemist or anything so as a disclaimer please use at your own risk (shouldn't be any, but I'll just add this in, especially if you're allergic to one of the ingredients I use.)

Anyways, this is the perfect time to post about cleaning products and tips, as we all start our spring cleaning!  Leave me a comment and please don't forget to like on Facebook!