Spring Clean: The Natural Way

As the colder winter days are hopefully behind us, now is the perfect time to give our homes a spring clean.

As part of a holistic lifestyle, it’s a good idea to look at the cleaning products we use in the home. Many products most families use today are filled with harmful chemicals, which can aggravate allergies, skin conditions – such as eczema – and health issues including asthma.

Chemical-laden products also damage our environment – polluting our waters and air – plus contribute to the amount of waste going to landfill.

Fortunately, nature provides us with some wonderful alternatives which are kinder to you, your family, the environment, and are often cheaper too.

Lemon

Lemons are wonderful to clean with, as they are a natural disinfectant and smell great too. You will notice many products add the smell of lemon as the fragrance exemplifies cleanliness.

Odours: Lemons are great to use to banish odours in the home. To remove odours from your refrigerator, place half a lemon onto a saucer and pop inside the fridge. Leave it for a few days and it will absorb odours, leaving your refrigerator smelling beautifully clean.

Hard water: Clean hard water marks on a glass shower door by rubbing half a lemon over it. It works a treat.

Cleaning grout: Use lemon juice and an old toothbrush to scrub your grout; not only will your bathroom smell wonderful, but it will lift any dirt.

Everyday cleaner: Use vinegar and lemon juice as an everyday surface cleaner; you can also add bicarbonate of soda for extra cleaning strength (it will fizz at first).

Bicarbonate of soda

Next to lemons, this is one of my favourite products to use around the home. It is cheap and readily available.

Burnt-on food: Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda onto the bottom of your pan, then add some hot water. Leave the pan to soak overnight, and it will lift the burnt-on food. Wash the pan in the morning and it should clean easily.

Stubborn stains: To remove stubborn stains from most surfaces, use a baking soda paste (three parts baking soda, one part water). Apply to the stain, leave it to stand for 30 minutes, then scrub or wipe clean.

Remove dirt from your bath: Make a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water, then use it to scrub away grime from your shower and bath. Once the dirt is lifted, rinse with warm water.

In addition to lemons and bicarbonate of soda, I also love to use vinegar and tea tree oil. All of these items are cheaper than shop-brought products, are kinder to my well-being, and to the environment.

So give them a try this spring, and clean the natural way.

Kelly x

P.S. When using a new product in the home, always test a small, discrete area first – to make sure it is suitable for the material.