What can be more readily available in every house than salt? Not only is it required by our bodies to perform a variety of essential functions, it also is a cheap, green and effective cleaning aide. Here are my 9 favorite cleaning uses for salt:

1. Scouring - Salt works as an effective yet gentle scouring agent. Salt also serves as a catalyst for other ingredients, such as vinegar, to boost cleaning and deodorizing action. For a basic soft scrub, make a paste with lots of salt, baking soda and dish soap and use on appliances, enamel, porcelain, etc.

2. Drain Cleaner - Pour salt mixed with hot water down the kitchen sink regularly to deodorize and keep grease from building up.

3. Water Ring Removal - Gently rub a thin paste of salt and vegetable oil on the white marks caused by beverage glasses and hot dishes on wooden tables

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Here’s another green laundry tip for you – How to remove sweat stains. Have a favorite white shirt that’s looking a bit yellow around the pits? Try soaking the stains in a solution made from crushing two (uncoated) aspirin and mixing it with 1/2 C of warm water for 2 to 3 hours.

Sources: ColumbusParent.com, HouseCleaningCentral.com, & ehow.com

Wait! Before you toss that stained or smelly kitchen container in the recycle bin, try these tips to recover it:

- Cover the stains with vinegar and let sit for an hour. Vinegar is a natural deodorizer.

- Make a paste out of a mixture of baking soda and either water or vinegar, and use it to scrub any stained areas.

- My personal favorite – set the container out in the sun! You’ve seen what the sun does to candy wrappers on the ground. Imagine what it’ll do to that new tomato stain on your otherwise perfectly good container! A few hours should do the trick.

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If you’re like me, the coming of Spring is synonymous with opening the blinds in an effort to let every ounce of that long-awaited sunshine in to the house. Problem is, after a winter of rain, snow, and dog and cat-noses pressed against glass, my windows are filthy! Maybe yours are too. When you’re ready to clean them, sure – you can go with a commercial cleaning product and a half a roll of paper towels. Or you can try a green approach using one of these cheap, easy cleaning recipes and this week’s Mosaic Mention: the squeegee.

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(cc) LightSwitch Creative

Whether you’re cleaning your home every week or only have energy for a deep clean a few times per year, remember to take care of these often neglected spots:

1. Under the Stovetop - If you have a traditional gas or electric stove, did you know that your stovetop lifts up similar to the way a car hood does? Remove the grates (gas) or burners (electric), and you should be able to just pop that whole top surface up by applying upward pressure in the place where the surface behind the knobs changes to the cooktop. It should hinge at the back and either hold itself up with springs or posts, allowing you to use your favorite kitchen cleaning products to get rid of all those bits of food that have fallen into the abyss.

2. Shower Head - Maybe you have a fancy shower head with some special features that you just love, or maybe you have the one that came with your apartment or house. Chances are, it’s not spraying like it used to. That’s because calcium and lime and the same things that leave your sinks, tubs and toilets looking dull have built up in all those little tiny holes. There are a couple of different ways I clean this. While you could take the shower head off and soak it briefly in some CLR (don’t forget the teflon tape to avoid leaks when you go to put it back on!), I don’t think that’s really necessary unless the flow is really obstructed. Instead, I use Zud (or vinegar and baking soda for my Green Cleaning clients) and a toothbrush to keep shower heads clean.

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Last week I had the chance to clean for a friend who has a toddler and one on the way. Because she is concerned about the Earth her children will inherit, and because she totally rocks, she requested that I do a “green clean” of her place.  Great!  However, I had never done a green clean before and wanted to be sure to do it right.

I very easily could have gone to the mega-store down the road and purchased a whole line-up of  products newly designed and marketed by the major manufacturers of everyday cleaning stuff, but that didn’t feel right somehow. I want to do green cleaning, but not boost the bottom line of the companies who are simply cashing in on this ‘latest trend’.  So I did a little reasearch.

I hopped on the Internet and found tons of resources for making my own products!

Many of the recipes that I ended up using came from the blogs of  Annie B. Bond on the Care2.com site.  One of my favorite recipes was for “Creamy Soft Scrubber”:

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I’m learning about “green” cleaning. There are several reasons for this. One, I don’t want to wake up 10 years from now with a wicked case of whatever all the toxins in my regular cleaning supplies will give me. That would, um, s*ck. Or at least not be good.

Second, green cleaning seems to be gaining in popularity, enough so that I need to know what I’m doing should someone request a green clean.

And third, I want to leave this place better than I found it. Sometimes that means cleaner than I found it. Mostly, I want to know that I didn’t do a lot of harm while I was here. If learning some green cleaning techniques will help me in that respect, I’m cool with it.

I’ll let you know what I discover as I begin this journey. Thanks for reading!

LJB