Thursday, March 8, 2012

It's not what you think. That's not for me. Really.

I was completely out of spray cleaner.  Which isn't all that big a deal.  But I was out of spray cleaner because I was out of vodka.  Which is a big deal on a lot of levels.


So, I went to Specs, which is a really fancy liquor store in Houston that my parents used to go to when they were having really important people over, but like everything else, it's become a chain.  I needed vodka, and I was by a Specs.  So, I went in.


And bought this:




A really, really cheap ($5.40) bottle of vodka.  In a plastic bottle.  At noon.  On a Monday. In my yoga pants.


I don't know how the Russian (really?) guy at the register felt about it.  Because he wouldn't look at me. I tried to explain that I wouldn't drink this myself.  It was for stuff to clean my house.  Not a glance.  I gave up.  I had to go home and take a shower after that.


And then I made cleaning spray!  Why?  A while back, I read an article about the artificial fragrances that they put in cleaning products to cover the smell of the really scary chemicals in them.  S also has asthma, which was starting to become a problem.  We consciously tried to decrease the amount of chemical ookiness in our house.  Is it working?  Who knows?  Central Texas is the most allergy-plagued place on earth, so there are a lot of variables to contend with.


I found a great book -- Easy Green Living, by Renee Loux.  If you can get past hating her for how cute and skinny she is and the fact that she lives in Hawaii or someplace equally tropical, she has a lot of great information, including recipes for products AND recommendations for store bought natural stuff.  She's also very non-judge-y.  Here's her website http://www.reneeloux.com/ and a link to the book.  I am especially fond of the disinfecting spray and the window cleaner, both of which I pretty much use for everything.


Here's the recipe for the disinfecting spray:


Good Smelly Disinfecting Spray CORRECTED!
Renee Loux, Easy Green Living


1/4 cup cheap vodka (Renee says to use the cheap stuff -- they're all the same alcohol content)
3/4 cup 3% hydrogen peroxide (yes!  the stuff from the drug store!)
1 cup bottled water (preferably distilled, but I never have it)
10 drops grapefruit or other citrusy essential oil or extract
10 drops lavender or other woody essential oil or extract


Combine all the ingredients and swirl.  Do not shake - it makes the peroxide bubble and reduces the effectiveness.  I pretty much put this on everything - I always spray my cutting boards down with it and always for the counter tops.  Right now I'm using a combo of 10 grapefruit, 5 orange and 5 rosemary.  For a long time, I used half lavender, half orange.  I think you usually want to use some form of citrus extract because it has some antiseptic properties.  


This is pretty good stuff, but Renee says it might not take care of raw meats or poultry.  Bring out the big guns for that.


Dasvidaniya.

1 comment:

  1. made it, love it. orange extact, mint extract, and almond extract. bliss. is it bad if i lick my hands after i clean with it? would it be better (from a social acceptance standpoint) to spray this directly into my mouth? or should i just stop there? thanks for the goodness. heart!

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