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How to Spring-Clean Your Home With What You Already Have

Margaret Boyles
March 15, 2023
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When it comes to spring cleaning or any kind of housecleaning, I use an array of six admirably versatile natural cleaning products: vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, salt, borax, and wood ash.

I started using these products many years ago—mostly because so many commercial cleaning products gave me headaches and irritated my eyes and nasal passages. The headaches stopped, the natural products worked well, and they’ve saved a lot of money over the years.

Also, let me admit that I count myself among the “good-enough” group of rural dwellers. I live with a wood stove (smoke, ash, wood chips, sawdust), solar greenhouse (dirt, dust), and garden (time!), which makes maintaining high cleaning standards challenging.

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Natural Versatility

I continue to love the fact that this half-dozen of natural products singly or in combination will clean my toilet, tub, teeth, upholstery, carpets and windows, super-clean our grubbiest laundry, deodorize our pets and our car’s interior while they also soothe sunburns and insect bites, relieve an itch, gargle away many sore throats, and wash and condition my hair.

And please note: four of the six are pantry staples and safe enough to eat. (Do not consume borax or wood ash!)

Below, I remind you of just a few of the ways I use these products for tough cleaning and deodorizing tasks.

1. Vinegar

I use white vinegar in a spray bottle to sanitize kitchen and bathroom surfaces, prevent or remove hard-water scale from the coffee pot, tub and toilet, as a window cleaner, and to remove labels from products or stickers from walls. It will unplug most drains by pouring half a cup of baking soda, followed by a cup of white or cider vinegar. (Don’t use a commercial drain product first, as you could create toxic fumes.)

I’ve learned those tough, longstanding, tough limescale stains in sinks and toilets that no amount of scouring will clean will eventually give way after repeated, long soakings with white vinegar.

Oh, and a couple of tablespoons of ordinary olive oil in a cup of vinegar works well to dust and polish wood furniture.

→ See more household uses for vinegar.

2. Baking Soda

Especially in combination with salt, baking soda works well for scouring sinks and tubs, brushing your teeth, wiping down and deodorizing the refrigerator, removing smells and stains from carpets and upholstery (rub in, leave for an hour, shake or vacuum out).

→ See more household uses for baking soda.

3. Lemon Juice

Half a cup in a gallon of water helps brighten white clothes without bleach (especially if you hang the clothes in the sunshine.) Sprayed or rubbed on straight, lemon juice removes stains from countertops and rust stains from clothing. Clean toilets with a paste of baking soda and lemon juice; squirt lemon juice for fresh smell.

Half a cut lemon left on a shelf will deodorize the fridge. Sprayed or rubbed on with a cloth, straight lemon juice (or straight vinegar) will remove mold and mildew from many surfaces.

→ See more household uses for lemons.

4. Salt

One part table salt mixed with four parts each of borax and baking soda makes a good scouring powder for tubs, sinks and toilets. Adding a little vinegar to a teaspoon of salt makes a good scrub for removing coffee or tea stains from mugs and cups. (And don’t forget the health benefits of salt.)

→ See more household uses for salt.

5. Borax

Borax helps clean the tub, remove tough stains in laundry. I add it to baking soda and salt to make a general purpose scouring powder.

6. Wood ash

In a paste with a little water, cleans glass! Sprinkled on and scrubbed into pavement, bricks, and stone, it will help remove oil stains.

→ Read more about the surprising uses of wood ashes for the home and garden.

Actually, when you come up against challenging cleaning or deodorizing tasks, try one or more in combination and you’ll probably find something that will do the trick. That’s what I do, and it almost always works!

Home and Health
Cleaning
Spring

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Comments

Lisa Sinclair (not verified)

1 year 2 months ago

I use vinegar, and baking soda, to clean up animal pee smells. It works great, depending on what your cleaning, is how you apply them. My area rugs, I put in the washer with b.soda, then a vinegar rinse. On a mattress, or carpet, I spray the vinegar on the area, then sprinkle b. soda over spot. Lightly rub the soda in to the area, then allow to dry .Then sweep up the soda, and discard down the drain.

Baking soda, vinegar, dish soap, 12 mule team borax, lemon juice, olive oil, and alcohol, are all that I buy to clean my home. There's almost nothing these products can't do!

Bev (not verified)

6 years 2 months ago

What do you use to clean the front of your kitchen cabinets?

Hi Bev,

I have old-fashioned painted wooden beadboard cabinet doors (handmade many decades ago by the previous resident), which I wipe down with a wet, soapy cloth every so often. I use a soft brush to scrub into the grooves. I repaint them every few years to keep them looking fresh. (In fact, they could use a new coat about now.)

There are so many materials used in kitchen cabinets these days. Consider checking with a building-materials supplier to learn the best way to clean yours, especially if you have a lot of stains. You probably can't go wrong with a soap-and-water or a dilute, white vinegar wash.

cece (not verified)

7 years ago

Hi ,
How do we clean the brass face of a very old grandfather clock and also the brass chime weights. The clock is over a hundred years old and is beautiful but, has lost it wonderful brass shine. There are many little nooks, and crannies on the face and around the raised numbers.

Hi, Cece: Bear in mind that if you remove the beautiful patina on this clock, you will almost certainly reduce its value. That being said, you could try some tiny test areas on one of the chimes, always being very gentle and drying thoroughly afterward. First, try just plain warm water. Sometimes the culprit is just built-up dirt. Next, try just plain lemon juice or vinegar. If that doesn’t work, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to 1/4 cup water, then add enough flour to make a paste. Apply for 15 minutes, then wipe and dry. Remember, just try a little patch at a time. FWIW, we would leave the patina as is—but good luck and thanks for asking! 

Sharon (not verified)

7 years 1 month ago

So where are the tips about washing and conditioning hair?

s (not verified)

6 years 2 months ago

I missed that, too! But I've got one you may like....especially if you are dealing with well water. Try making a paste of a little of your normal shampoo and some baking soda....about equal parts of each....and apply it all over your head like shampoo. Leave it on for a few minutes, then apply just shampoo and rinse thoroughly. Gets rid of hard water residue really well. You could also try rinsing with cider vinegar....get all the shampoo off first, and then rinse with straight cider vinegar....be sure to close your eyes....and do a final water rinse right after that. The vinegar odor won't last if you do a quick final rinse with water,and it will get all the mineral deposits off your hair without drying it out.