In my last post, I gave you a recipe for an all-purpose cleaner to show just how simple and affordable it can be to green your home care routine.  Today I'm going to add to this by showing you how you can use baking soda--that miracle pantry staple--and vinegar to take care of some of your bigger your cleaning needs.  Like my all-purpose cleaner that only used vinegar and essential oils, these easy recipes only cost you a fraction of what an organic cleaning product would and yet are as gentle on your home as they are on the earth.  In fact, using baking soda and vinegar to clean your home is even less expensive than buying those chemical laden commercial products!

1. For Your Toilet:  Pour 1 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup baking soda into the bowl.  Scrub thoroughly and let sit for 20 minutes. 

2. For the Bathtub, Kitchen Sink, or Other Tough to Clean Surface: 1/4 cup baking soda and about 1/8 cup water (enough to make a thin paste).  Combine ingredients until they form a thin paste and spread across desired surface.  Scrub until surface is clean and rinse off baking soda with warm water.  The baking soda will not only remove soap scum and other substances but also deodorize and disinfect.

3.  For a Clogged Drain: Pour 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain and 1 cup vinegar.  Cover drain so that the foaming action of the two ingredients stays in the pipes.  Let sit for half an hour then pour hot water down the drain.  This will clean out regular build up.

These are just a few ways to use such simple products on those hard-to-tackle places in our home that often need more elbow grease to get sparkly clean.  You can also use vinegar to deodorize your refrigerator (simply put an open cup of vinegar in your fridge for two days to absorb odors); placing an open box of baking soda near your trashcan will likewise get rid of any funky smells.  Between my all-purpose cleaner and these recipes, you can safely and cost-effectively clean your home!