Feel good about keeping the earth as safe and clean as your home with these d.i.y. alternatives to chemical cleaners.

Most of this information was compiled by the amazing people at the Natural Alternative Food Coop in Luck, Wisconsin, and published in one of the few cookbooks I actually use, The Real Good Food Cookbook. To get it for yourself or someone else, call 715-472-8084.

Basic Supplies:

• baking soda
• borax and washing soda (these are stronger than baking soda and somewhat toxic — do not ingest and use gloves if you find they irritate your skin)
• cornstarch
• essential oils: tea tree, eucalyptus, lavender for disinfecting properties, others as you wish for scent.
• lemon juice
• liquid soap (castile and other vegetable-oil based soaps)
• salt
• spray bottle (reuse an old one if you can!)
• vegetable oil
• vinegar (distilled white)
• other helpful products: Bon Ami cleanser and Oxo Brite

All-Purpose Spray

• 2 tsp. borax
• 32 oz. water
• ¼ cup vinegar
• ¼ cup liquid dish soap

Dissolve the borax in hot water. Add to a 32-ounce spray bottle, along with vinegar and water. Add dish soap and up to 20 drops of essential oil if you want to add a little delicious scent. Shake it up! Spray on your sinks, tub, tile, toilet. This spray acts as a mild disinfectant. For stronger killer-power, reduce measurements of water and dish soap by half (for a higher ratio of vinegar and borax).

Disinfectant

A small dollop (roughly a tsp.) of tea tree oil in a quart (4 cups) water is an effective antibacterial, antifungal and antiseptic cleaner. Use it on knobs, levers, shower curtains and other places germs and fungus like to meet and make babies. This is also great to spray on your yoga mat between classes or after a particularly sweaty session.

Drains

Got a slow drain? Pour a cup each of baking soda, salt and vinegar down the drain. Wait at least 15 minutes, then pour boiling water down the drain to wash it all away. Rumor has it that if this doesn’t do the trick you can let the mixture sit overnight and flush with boiling water in the morning. Pouring boiling water down your drains on occasion will help prevent build-up in the first place.

Floors: Tile and Linoleum

1-2 teaspoons of liquid soap in 3 gallons of water. Mop that floor! Rinse with 1 cup of vinegar in 3 gallons of cool water. Shine on.

Floors: Wood

1 cup vinegar in 3 gallons of warm water. Best thing for wood floors, according to a past landlord who kept a century-old building looking half its age.

Furniture Polish

Sure they’re famous for making salads delicious, but olive oil and vinegar have transcended the dinner plate! Mix one-to-one and use to polish your furnishings with a soft cloth. Food-grade linseed oil (aka omega-3 or flaxseed oil) also works. A little scented oil can make it even … mmmmm … what was I saying?

Glass

I don’t know who the marketing genius was who made us believe we had to buy Windex, but they’ve had us duped for decades. It’s this easy: slip a quarter-cup vinegar and a quart (about 4 cups) of water in a spray bottle. Spray on the glass and wipe until dry with a clean rag or newspaper. Stubborn spots might need a little extra spray and massaging, but your glass will sparkle.

Laundry

• Brighten: add ½ cup lemon juice during rinse.
• Bleach: Use hydrogen peroxide instead of bleach (for a color-safe bleach, I use Oxo Brite. It’s not d.i.y. but it is non-toxic, natural, biodegradable and effective).
• Sweaty gym-sock scent eliminator: add ¼ cup vinegar to the rinse cycle. This should also take care of lingering detergent, for you sensitive types.
• Minimize detergent: adding ½ cup baking or washing soda softens the water and reduces the amount of detergent you’ll need. For liquid detergent, add at the beginning of the wash. For powdered, add during the rinse cycle.

Oven

Mix 1 cup baking soda and ¼ cup borax with just enough water to make a paste. Scrub it onto the oven and let it go overnight, or while you complete a day’s worth of other projects (cleaning or otherwise). Wipe away the dried paste and rinse well.

Rug & Carpet Spot Remover

Right away, dab up as much as you can with a dry rag or paper towel. Sprinkle with baking soda, cornstarch or borax and let dry. Wash with club soda and vacuum.

Rust Remover

I’ve had varying degrees of success with this one, but it’s certainly better than nothing. It also puts you in the mood for a margarita, Mexican beer or tequila shot. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Sprinkle salt on the rust, squeeze a wedge of lime — enough to soak salt. Let rest for a few hours. Use rind to scrub until rust is gone.

Scouring Powder

Mix 1 cup baking soda and ¼ cup borax with a few drops of essential oil. Store in a shaker and use it like powders named after planets.

Soft Scrubs (for stubborn spots on countertops, sinks or tubs)

Mix together baking soda and liquid soap for a mildly abrasive cleaner. Work into spots with sponge and rinse. For small, enclosed places (microwaves or toaster ovens), make the paste with just baking soda and water.

Tarnish Removal

• Brass, copper, bronze and aluminum: rub with sliced lemons. For tough spots, sprinkle the lemon with baking soda, then rub.
• Sterling silver: this could also work as a science experiment. Line a bowl with aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt and baking soda and fill the bowl with warm water. Soak the silver in the bowl and the tarnish will leave your silver for the foil (perhaps this could work as an analogy about old married couples and hot young homewreckers … but I won’t go there). Rinse, dry and buff your silver with a soft cloth. Who discovered this?!?

Toilet Bowl

Shake some baking soda into the bowl, pour a little vinegar around and scrub as you normally would.

Alternatively, mix a cup of borax, ¼ cup of vinegar and a few drops of essential oil right in the bowl. Let rest for a a few hours (or shorter if you really have to go), scrub with a brush.

Tub & Tile

In a bowl, mix ¾ cup baking soda and ½ cup liquid soap. Add ½ cup water and 2 tablespoons vinegar. Stir with a fork until smooth.

Good luck!