A Clean Home, Naturally

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Looking for a Febreze DIY? This recipe is a healthy alternative, phthalate-free and freshens fabrics or air. The tea tree oil it contains also helps to reduce allergens. Recipe below.

Have you looked at the ingredients in your home cleaners lately (insert spooky, suspenseful music here)? I’ve never been someone who is all about everything must be natural in my home-cleaning supplies. To be honest, I haven’t paid that much attention, until the past few years. Did I think they were probably not the greatest for me? Yes. Did I do anything about it? Nope.

I’m not sure if I’m changing because I’m older (and obviously wiser), or if it really has just hit me: I 100% believe that so many everyday items, aren’t just bad for us, but they’re contributing to deteriorating health and countless illnesses.

I wrote about that extensively in regards to our food products here and here, but our cleaning products are also inundated with chemicals letting us know in big bold letters, they kill odors, viruses, bacteria and more - so they must be ok, right? But, call me crazy, I’m a little worried the chemicals themselves might be worse than some of the things they supposedly help with.

Yep, I said it.

Take 2-Butoxyethanol. It’s in most glass and window cleaners and even though it can contribute to severe liver and kidney damage, it’s not required by law to even be listed on a product label.

And then there’s Phthalates, found in many air fresheners and dish soap. BUT, thanks to proprietary laws, brands don’t have to disclose the ingredients in their “scents,” so guess what, you won’t see Phthalates listed on labels either. In case you’re wondering, Phthalates are terrible for the endocrine system, and pregnant women who are exposed to the chemical can pass it on to their unborn children, and when they do, the children can have neurodevelopmental effects. It’s also been linked to cancer, asthma and liver and kidney toxicity.

Makes you just want to take a deep breath after cleaning a mirror, right??

How to Achieve a More Naturally clean Home

It’s so easy to clean windows with vinegar and water. It’s literally the only cleaner I use for glass as it’s phthalate-free and non-toxic.

Instead of using all of these harsh, chemically-laced cleaners and home products, I’ve instead been using more naturally clean, DIY options. It’s healthier, way less expensive and my home is just as clean. An added bonus, I don’t have to feel bad for breathing during my Saturday cleaning sessions:)

Stock up on the following ingredients, plus a few misting and/or spray bottles, as most of these ingredients are used in some sort of combination in all of these recipes. Pro-tip: get bottles you can write on. List the product use and the DIY cleaning recipe right on the bottle so you never forget.

Ingredient List: White Vinegar. Baking Soda. Tea Tree Oil ( this is antibacterial). Essential Oils (in your favorite scents). Hydrogen Peroxide.

DIY Sink Cleaner: Mix 1/4 C - 1/2 C baking soda with 6 drops of your favorite scent of essential oil. Make sure you’ve rinsed your sink with hot water, sprinkle on the baking soda mixture and then pour 1/4 C - 1/2 C vinegar. Let it fizz, then scrub as you normally would. Rinse with hot water.

Countertop Cleaner: Use equal parts of white vinegar and water. Add 3 drops of tea tree oil and + 3-6 drops of your favorite scent of essential oil.

DIY Fabric Spray: This is actually also a great allergen spray, to help keep allergies at bay for those of you with pets or with seasonal allergies. Mix 2 C of hydrogen peroxide with six drops of tea tree oil and up to 12 drops of your favorite essential oil. I use it on furniture and throws, curtains and rugs.

For those of you who swear by Lysol or Febreze, check the ingredient list. Does it have 3 or less? Can you pronounce most of them? If you answered, “no,” please start mixing this “Febreze DIY” up yourself!

Window and Glass Cleaner: I’ve been using vinegar and water for window cleaning, literally forever, as that’s just how we grew up doing windows. BUT, when I first ventured out on my own, I started buying glass cleaner because surely it worked better. The problem: it totally didn’t. I always had streaks. Needless to say it didn’t take me long before I went back to cleaning mirrors and washing windows with vinegar and water.

Vinger-water cleaner ratio is 1:4. I add 1/2 C vinegar and 2 C water to a spray bottle. That’s it.

I’ve seen a lot of people add a few drops of Dawn dish soap as well. I have no doubt that works, but I’ve never done this, and my windows and glass turn out perfect.

Non-Toxic, Clean-Burning Candles

I don’t know about you, but once I’m done cleaning, I LOVE to light a candle. BUT, guess what? Many of your favorite candles are also made with chemicals that could be harmful to your health.

For instance, unless specified, most candles are made with paraffin wax (including brands like Bath and Body Works and Yankee Candles). Did you know that paraffin, a waste product of petroleum, is chemically bleached and, when burned, creates benzene and toluene, both are highly toxic and known carcinogens. And, if your favorite brand is using synthetic fragrances, remember, they don’t have to disclose that in all likelihood, those fragrances contain phthalates.

I’m having an actual WTF moment. Candles? Bad for you? I feel like my world is exploding.

So if you’re now frantically searching for a new favorite candle brand, meet the line from Broken Top Brands. They generously sent me their Sea Salt Turf and White Birch scents to sample, and I’m so thankful to have been introduced to them!

While I’m glad they use soy wax, it makes this former farm-girl’s heart even happier to tell you it’s 100% U.S. grown soybean wax. They also use USA made glass and lids, the wicks are cotton and their candles get their amazing scents from essential oil-infused fragrance oils (in other words, phthalate-free).

The 9oz candle (shown) has a burn time of approximately 50 hours.

Food for thought, take a look at the ingredient list for one of Bath and Body Works candles compared to one from from Broken Top:

List of Ingredients for a Bath and Body Works Candle

Hydrogenated Soybean Oil(8016-70-4,Wax), Paraffin(8002-74-2,Wax), Hydrogenated Palm Oil(68514-74-9,Wax), Fragrance (Parfum)(Fragrance Ingredient), Microcrystalline Wax (Cera Microcristallina, Cire microcristalline)(63231-60-7,Wax), Benzyl Benzoate, Butyl Stearate(123-95-5,Emulsifying Agent), Citral, Limonene,Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate(6683-19-8,Stabilizer), Hindered Amine Light Stabilizer(Stabilizer), Hydroxyl-Benzotriazole(Stabilizer), Benzyl Alcohol, BHT(128-37-0,Stabilizer)

List of Ingredients in Broken Top Brands Candle

100% U.S. grown soybean wax
Essential oil infused fragrance oils.

I’ve not researched each of the above ingredients, but common sense tells me one of those brands is obviously way less healthy than the other.

Naturally Clean for a Healthier Home

I know we all have so much going on, and it really is easier just to ignore the ingredients in the foods we eat and products we use. It’s easier to just trust whoever - the brands, the government/FDA, etc., that they have our best interest in mind. But, I think it’s time we actually start living like maybe these brands and agencies, have THEIR best interest in mind.

Coming into contact with most of these ingredients occasionally won’t harm you in the least, I 100% believe that. BUT, what happens when we repeatedly, as in multiple times per day, expose ourselves to these chemicals through our foods and also household and beauty products?

Check ingredients. Make changes (even small ones). Live healthier:)