Cleanliness is part of goodliness. The kitchen is a sanctuary and should be treated with mindful respect. Keeping the kitchen clean and sanitary is almost as important and big of a task as making delicious dishes. Using responsible “green” cleaners keeps the water and environment as clean as the kitchen without exposing your household and the earth to unnecessary and harmful chemicals.

Each of us can make a personal and global difference by choosing “green” earth-friendly soaps and cleaners. It is a big beautiful world to keep clean, beginning with the kitchen sink. Let’s make clean, simple choices so that we can all simply live clean.

GREEN CLEANERS:

Until about 60 years ago, there was only non-toxic, coconut-based soaps and cleaners. During WWII, coconut import came to a grinding halt. A snappy team of American chemists invented miraculous, modern chemical detergents for every household in America to replace the tried and true scrub-a-dub of natural soaps. These chemical super-detergents for the modern home eroded the slippery slope that is poisoning our hands, our homes, wildlife, marine life and our deteriorating fresh water on the planet.

“Green” cleaners are earth-friendly, plant-based, fully biodegradable and gentle on human hands and noses. Earth-friendly, good smelling soaps and cleaners get their good sense and scents from essential oils and natural citrus oils. “Green” cleaners are made from non-toxic, plant-based materials and begin breaking down into carbon and water long before re-circulating back into the water system into lakes, streams and aquifers.

SOAPS:

Commercial soaps and cleaners that are not labeled earth-friendly or “green” are produced from petroleum products, a non-renewable resource (fueling the world’s heated political duels) and harmful chemical compounds. Many of the primary ingredients of commercial soaps are oil-derived phosphates. These phosphates do not break down and end up in out planet’s lake and oceans causing a mess and imbalanced algae overgrowth that suffocates water life and snuffs out marine balance.

Many commercial soaps commonly irritate skin and flare allergic reactions to chemicals including dyes, heavy metals and perfumes. Chlorine bleach is another toxic culprit with dangerous fumes and poisonous dioxin that does not degrade.

There are many biodegradable, earth-friendly liquid soaps and dishwasher soaps readily available. Different soaps work better for different tasks. Having a few soaps near and under the sink will make cleaning much easier and pleasant. For instance, bar of hand soap is much more efficient for hand washing and saves on wasteful packaging; liquid dish soap is good for dishes, bowl, utensils and equipment; and bottle of Dr. Bronners or castille soap will go a long way using a few drops for surface cleaning like counters and cutting boards. In the long run, different soaps are a good-consumer choice to save money and use less product for more effective results.

Liquid Castille Soap
*add a few drops of Tea-tree oil (see glossary) for extra anti-septic and anti-bacterial power!
Not too sudsy and bubbly
Good for extra-oily dishes
Good for counters and surfaces
Widely available brands: Dr. Bronners, Omega Castille soap

Bar soap
For scrubbing up your beautiful paws
A Tea-tree or Peppermint variety is best for tingly clean bubbles.
A nail-scrubber is a ‘handy’ cleaner.

Liquid Dish Soap
Very sudsy and bubbly; good for regular dish-washing.
Widely available brands: 7th Generation, Ecover, Planet

Apple Cider Vinegar
Old-school, versatile cleaning power for pennies. Apple Cider Vinegar is the ultimate glass and window cleaner. Very effective for surface cleaning. Add a squeeze of lemon or essential oils to lift the smell for a more pleasant aroma. Diluted A.C. Vinegar also makes a great fruit and vegetable wash.

Citra-Solve
A concentrated, hard-core citrus-based cleaner. This stuff will dissolve chewing gum and remove ink and glue. Citra-Solve lasts for ages as only a few drops diluted in water are necessary for a full-strength cleaner. Just the tool for scrubbing stubborn stickers and labels off of jars. Very effective for deep surface cleaning: counters, cabinets, glass and floors, even bathrooms and nasty cleaning jobs. Widely available in most health food stores.

GSE: Grapefruit Seed Extract
Grapefruit Seed Extract is sold as a dietary supplement in a squeeze bottle (1-2 oz.). As labeled, it is an extract from the seeds and pulp of grapefruit. Commonly used internally (a few drops in an 8 oz. glass of water) to combat bacterial and parasitic problems.

GSE is a highly effective sterilizing agent. Gross, festering bacteria does not stand a chance in the face of this powerhouse. A few drops are known to purify up to a gallon of water. Use a drop or two to clean the inside of narrow-necked bottles. Use to scrub and sanitize cutting boards and counters in a jiffy.

Hydrogen Peroxide : H2O2
H2O2 will literally eat dirt. This is the same product used to clean cuts and scrapes. It fizzes little white bubbles where there is grime to show it is working.

Good for cleaning narrow-necked bottles, especially water dispensers. Effective for scrubbing porous material such as, cutting boards, wooden utensils and wooden salad servers.

CLEAN SPONGES & SCRUBBIES

Sponges are the breeding ground for mold and bacteria. Yuck. It is a minor investment to break out a new sponge every-so-often.

Designate 1 sponge for dishes and 1 sponge for counters and surfaces. Sponges with a scrubby-side are best. Keep an older sponge under the sink for floor clean-up. Use different colored sponges for an easy system. Rotate the sponges every 2 weeks. The dish sponge becomes the counter-surface sponge. In turn, the counter-surface sponge is demoted to the floor sponge.

A designated scrubber for vegetables will keep grunge and soap away from precious veggies and fruit. A natural-bristle scrub-brush is best.

Danger: Bleach!
Chlorine bleach is a toxic substance that can be easily replaced for a healthy home and earth. Chlorine bleach breaks down into dioxin, a toxic poison that does not ever bio-degrade and is dangerous to humans, wildlife and fresh water systems.

Hydrogen peroxide is a harmless natural agent that performs the duty of eradicating bacteria and bleaching surfaces. Eco-bleach is a good alternative to toxic bleach for clothes and available in health food stores and markets.