Spring cleaning naturally

We've put together a few essentials, from easy DIY mixes to convenient ready made alternatives, perfect for natural Spring cleaning. You often hear that it is easy to clean your house with a few simple ingredients ... but you may feel like you don't have the time to figure it out or buy a heap of ingredients. Whether you'd like to mix your own or grab a ready made solution, here are some ideas to do it without harmful chemicals.

	DIY	Made for you
Window cleaner	For a streak free DIY window cleaner, take 1 1/2 cups vinegar, 1 tsp borax, 1/2 cup warm water, 6 drops peppermint essential oil and 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice. Mix together in a spray bottle. Shake well before each use.	Clean Conscience window cleaner is an Australian window and glass cleaner made using locally sourced ingredients. This cleaner can be used on all window and glass surfaces, contains peppermint to naturally repel flies.
Cream cleanser	Make your own cream cleanser by mixing 1/2 cup of bicarb-soda (baking soda), 1/4 cup castile soap, 1/4 cup of water and few drops of your favourite essential oil (optional) in a small bowl. Pour into a squeeze bottle and shake well before use.	Clean Conscience creamy cleanser is an Australian cream cleanser made using locally sourced ingredients. Scented with lemon myrtle, the bi-carbonate soda base makes is ideal for heavy duty cleaning without scratching.
Surface spray	For a super simple surface spray, mix equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle. We have some great semi-DIY alternatives too that pack a green cleaning punch. Firstly, with our Tinderbox herbal cleaner concentrate, all you need to do is pour 100ml into a 500ml spray bottle and top up with water! It contains a mix of essential oils chosen for their mould-inhibiting and anti-bacterial properties. And our Full Circle 'Come Clean' cleaning set contains two spray bottles, one mixing container, two juicers, one microfiber cleaning cloth, one Clean House Green House guide, reusable stickers for labeling your mixtures.	Clean Conscience multi purpose spray cleaner is an Australian cleaner made using locally sourced ingredients. This multi-purpose spray is a great all-rounder, with Lemon Myrtle oil for a fresh clean aroma and anti-bacterial qualities.
Floor cleaner	For a non-toxic tiled or timber floor cleaner, add 1 cup vinegar, 5 drops eucalyptus oil (or your favourite essential oil) to a bucket of hot water. Lightly mop over surface.	Ecologic rose geranium floor cleaner is an all natural product to clean and shine your floor and fight germs with rose geranium essential oil. Can also be used to clean your car! Our microfibre mop system is a great reusable replacement to disposable mop heads. Thee microscopic fibres actually lift the dirt and bacteria into the pads leaving a brilliant finish to surfaces.
Oven/BBQ cleaner	For a DIY oven cleaner, sprinkle a little bicarbonate soda over the oven surface. Spray vinegar over the bicarbonate, then leave overnight. Wipe off with a damp cloth, then wipe over one more time with a vinegar.	Enviroclean heavy duty all purpose cleaner is a non toxic grease-cutting heavy duty all purpose cleaner that works on those tough cleaning areas like soap scum in the shower and greasy ovens and BBQs.
Toilet cleaner	Take 1/2 cup bicarbonate soda and sprinkle into toilet bowl, then pour 1/2 cup vinegar on top. Leave for ten minutes then scrub and flush. For antibacterial protection, put a few drops of tea tree oil on a cloth and wipe around the bowl and seat to provide some antibacterial protection.	Ecostore toilet cleaner contains plant ingredients like citrus, sassafras and pine oils to leave your toilet fresh and clean.

Oh, and if you haven't already done so, get yourself some long lasting microfibre cloths. These replace short term sponges or cloths that have to be thrown out after a short time and are guaranteed to last at least 300 washes! Do you have any favourite home made natural cleaning remedies? We'd LOVE for you to share them with us and other readers in the comments section below! Sources: Warringah Council