Mahogany Monday is a weekly meme hosted at The Mahogany Way.

This is how the kid gets down at dinner time.

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I actually only painted the tabletop with two coats. I thought the two toned table would be interesting. The bottom half is still in the original oak stain and in far better condition than the beat up top. Tip to the wise: For small jobs like this, purchase the 8 oz. sample. I got a smallish 29 oz. can for $15. That wasn't too shabby but the sample jar was $3 and would have been plenty just for the tabletop. At least I was smart enough to get a primer & base in one. 

I've been slowly transitioning to using more natural products for household cleaning. With a move approaching, I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to go completely 'green' with my cleaning products. I've been making a natural laundry soap for about two years now and have implemented other commercial products like Seventh Generations all purpose spray cleaner and their dishwashing detergent. My shortcoming has been in the bathroom, however. I was still bleaching the bathtub monthly and occasionally using one of those liquid toilet bowl cleaners that requires venting when used. I know...yikes! But I'm now using my cleaning powers for good. My husband and I went to clean our new place yesterday and I put together a very eco-friendly cleaning kit. I realized after we left the new place that I didn't get that feeling of over exertion and nausea I normally do when cleaning. And with it being an antiquated building we're moving to, I can't imagine adding more chemicals and toxins to the indoor air. 

What we use
white vinegar
baking soda
Dr. Bronner's tea tree oil castile soap
Ivory soap
essential oils: lemon, lavender, tea tree
Borax
washing soda

What they do
White vinegar acts as an antibacterial agent and can be used, diluted with water, to clean hard surfaces including tile.

Dr. Bronner's is a pre castile soap safe for cleaning your home, your clothes, and your person! It comes in liquid and bar form. The liquid is form is great for adding to a vinegar and water mix for cleaning hard surfaces like countertops. It's concentrated so a few drops go a long way.

Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is another multipurpose product. It can be used for the body internally and externally. Most importantly, it makes a great scrubbing agent for cleaning tubs, tile, and toilets. It's also great in laundry to freshen  garments.

Essential oils tend to have antimicrobial and antifungal properties among others that promote a healthy environment.  Because they are the natural oils and not manufactured fragrance oils, those wonderful scents don't leave behind unwanted chemicals in the air.

Borax is is sodium brate and functions much like baking soda. While not safe for human consumption, it is a great addition to cleaning solutions for natural deodorizing. It's already found in lots of commercial detergents but can be purchased on its own making more eco-friendly.

Ivory soap is another brand of castile soap. Castile soaps are simply the purest, gentlest kind of soap one can get.  As a bar soap, Ivory is great for making laundry soap.

Washing soda (sodium carbonate or soda ash) also acts much like its counterpart, baking soda. It's not safe for human consumption but will soften hard water and boosts the cleaning power of a castile soap in the laundry.

How we use it
Scrubbing paste: In a plastic bowl, I mixed baking soda, a few drops of liquid castile soap, and water to form a paste for scrubbing the bathroom tub and tile. 

Floor cleaner: For the kitchen, which is vinyl flooring, I did approximately a 1:3 solution of vinegar to water, a few drops of liquid castile soap, and a 12 drops of lemon oil. 

For the hardwoods, I did approximately a 1:5 solution of vinegar to water and damp mopped. This was done after sweeping the floors. Again, the mop should only be damp not soaking wet. I used a microfiber mop as I figured the cloth would be great for picking up any remaining dust and not scratch the floors.

Hard surface spray: I mixed a 1:4 solution of vinegar to water, a few drops of liquid castile soap, 10 drops lemon oil. Shake vigorously, spray as much as needed and wipe with sponge or cloth. I cleaned the refrigerator, stove, counters, and window sills with this.

Other uses: 
Pour baking soda down the drain and let sit for at least 15 minutes then rinse to freshen sink drains. 

If you need to quickly get rid of kitchen or bathroom odors, pour vinegar down the drain or let simmer on stove with water.

Add 10 - 20 drops of an essential oil like orange, lemon, grapefruit, or lavender to a spray bottle and fill with water for an all natural air freshener. Remember to shake well and can even be lightly misted on furniture and window treatments.

What green cleaning tips do you have?

Sometimes I like to color butterflies. This one in particular. I thought I was the only grown ass woman doing so but I may be wrong. I stumbled across a site recently just for folks like myself. A site called Color Pages for Mom. It's ad riddled but there are some great "grown up" coloring pages there. 

Is it silly for an adult to color? At first I thought so, but didn't care. Now, after finding this and several other coloring for adults pages, I see that others realize it's therapeutic. So, if you've had a horrible day at work or your kids or partner have driven you insane, get out some colored pencils or crayons, print some coloring pages, and channel the anger and frustration into a ten minute masterpiece. By the way, colored pencils are my poison (I have two sets). And I don't always wait until I'm stressed to enjoy this creative past time...