It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since I started my journey to natural. Like anything new, there’s always a period of adjustment, an opportunity to practice, and a chance to continue to learn and grow. I remember feeling completely overwhelmed at first and felt like I had to change everything instantly. I felt like everything i knew up to that point was wrong and I felt very alone trying to figure out how to make it right (overly dramatic, I know, but I was pregnant and filled with lots of feelings). I decided at that point to sift through the endless information at a reasonable pace, change things slowly by swapping out one product at a time, and focusing on what I felt was most important and needed my immediate attention, and worry about the rest at a later time.
The first thing I chose to focus switching out was our household cleansers. I remember when I decided to switch I had a cabinet filled with 8-10 different cleaning products that I used religiously to clean various things around the home. I remember looking at the various warnings on the label, “Do not inhale directly”, “Call poison control immediately if ingested”, “Avoid contact with skin” and the warnings continued with the corrosion, contents under pressure, flammable, and toxic symbols. I thought, there legit has to be a way to clean my home without fear of little ones being exposed and little hands possibly getting into some of these (obviously they were stored in high places but seriously, kids have a way to get into EVERYTHING). Enter vinegar.
I know, it sounds cray and so outdated, but I assure you vinegar works. It was a bit of an adjustment in the beginning, the house reeked like French fries all the time, but I was totally comfortable with that knowing that my soon to be babe(s) wouldn’t be breathing in fumes from harsher chemicals, could not possibly be in harms way if they somehow ingested our cleaner, and they would be able to crawl, lie and lick (so gross but they do) the floor freely, without worry.
Here’s a few ways I use vinegar throughout our home.
All-purpose cleaner- I put a cup or two in a jar with some orange rinds (lemon or lime works well too) and leave it for a few weeks. Mixed with a little water, the result is a great cleaner that doesn’t smell like french fries.
Windows- I tried using vinegar and paper towels to clean my windows a number of times, but it always looked streaky and never clean enough. I switched out my paper towel for newspaper and ta-da! Magic!
Bath tubs- I find in our bathroom, we need some soap to help make our sink and tub uber shiny. I sometimes use liquid castile soap to help our porcelain shine, but mostly I just use dish soap. I spray on our all purpose cleaner and a few squirts of dish soap. With a little elbow grease, the results are a super clean tub that I feel comfortable putting my littles, with their sensitive skin into.
Have some more household uses for vinegar? Feel free to share!
Until next time,
Richelle xo
Edna Mae's Homemades 