Not only is the Natural Kids team full of great artist that specialize in items for little ones, we are also mamas and papas. We live our lives as natural as we can, keeping traditions and natural methods alive. We know that many other mamas and papas are striving to live this way too so we thought it would be good for us to share with you a few tips to help you have a natural home too.
Lanolin Soap from The Sitting Tree
Spring is such and important time of renewing. As the world wakes from it sleep so do our natural longing to clean. Spring is a great time to open those windows and let the fresh air in to our homes. Cleaning, organizing, and discarding unwanted items will help your house feel as fresh as a spring day! Here are a few more tips from our members.
Beccijo of The Enchanted Cupboard
Sanitizing sponges
I love sponges for cleaning, They do a great job and fit nicely in the hand. Here is a great tip for keeping it fresh, clean, and sanitized. The best part, as you are sanitizing the sponge you can get the microwave clean too. This will make even the hardest baked on goop come of easy in the microwave.
What you will need:
1 Dirty Sponge
1 Dirt Microwave
1 (microwave safe) Dish
Water (fill bowl 1/2 full
A few squirts of lemon
Put the sponge in the bowl fill 1/2 full of water and add the lemon juice right on the sponge. Place in microwave and cook for 3-6 minutes depending on you microwave. It is going to get very hot and steamy. Let it sit and door stay closed for 15 -20 minutes. Once things have cooled down to where you can touch the sponge, wipe down the inside of the microwave. Everything will come off easy from the steam bath, and smell fresh from the lemon!
Scrubbing the Floors
A friend of mine once wrote for her Facebook status, “I would rather be crafting than cleaning.” I empathize. I enjoy the process of creating order out of chaos, but floors become dirty again, forced-air heat coats surfaces with dust, and clutter creeps onto flat surfaces. A wool felt doll I sew stays sewed.
Every week I have to scrub the kitchen floor tiles by hand, and change clothes to do it (knees and socks get damp). I make a notation on the calendar after I complete the 15-20 minute job. Then, I make sure everyone in the house knows I’ve scrubbed the floor. Acknowledgement and documentation of a needful but unglamorous task helps me feel like the job is worth doing, and reminds others that scrubbed floors happen through human effort, not fairy magic.
My favorite is a squirt & mop solution. It just makes the whole house smell so clean!
Floor Cleaner:
A repurposed Dish Soap Bottle
2 parts water
1 part vinegar
1/2 tsp dish soap
6-10 drops of essential oil
Pour all ingredients into a repurposed dish soap bottle. Shake before use. I use a hot bucket (or sink) full of water to rinse my mop and squirt this cleaner right onto the floor for mopping. It leaves no film and makes the floor so clean! I love it. I’ve read you can use a little baking soda sprinkled onto the floor for extra dirty spots.
Beccijo Neff is a toymaker, storyteller, and award winning Artist from Pennsylvania. She homeschools 4 children and is happily married. You can find more about her life and her work at her blog . To see her enchanting toys stop at her shop, it will brighten and delight you eyes to see all the magical things she creates.
These are great tips, thanks for sharing, ladies!
I agree, Farida! I’d rather be crafting too. It’s very depressing to see the family spread tortilla chips all over the kitchen floor after one has just mopped and cleaned the whole house. Yet it must be done once in while or we’d end up with layers of chips. LOL
Thanks for the cleaning tips!
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This team is a great resource!
Much of our home has tile floors. I’m trying to envision scrubbing them on my knees, but cannot. Just Not Happening. I can’t wait to try Stephinie’s squirt solutions!
Lol, no hands and knees for me, either!
This is wonderful Beccijo! I look forward to reading more. And I’ve just added Liz’s lovely soap to my favorites 🙂
I will have to try Stephinie’s way of scrubbing floors, as my way is a bit of a drag. Fortunately (?!) we have a small kitchen, ergo a small kitchen floor.
I have to admit, I’m a hands and knees scrubber too. {Although, I only do our kitchen about once a month!}
Wow, wonderful natural cleaning ideas. To clean with home-made cleaning solutions is really great. The cleaners that you prepare are just as good as the chemical-based products sold in supermarkets, but are completely safe. I recommend that everyone prepares his own cleaners.
They do excellent work and adapt well in hand. Here’s a good tip to keep it cool, clean and disinfected. The best part, these are disinfecting the sponge, these can get the microwave clean too. This will make it even more difficult baked on goop just easier in the microwave.