Natural Home Remedies ... another point of view

Have I mentioned recently how much I love my guest bloggers? Well, I do. Today, I'm happy to offer another take on natural home remedies, written by Audrey Porterman. She is the main researcher and writer for doctoralprograms.org. A recent graduate from Ohio State with a degree in business management, Audrey's current focus for doctoralprograms.org involves a doctoral nursing program and online phds. A chock full of home remedies also can be found in my book, Vinegar Fridays, available through Lulu.com or Amazon.com.

Photo by Vera Kratochvil

Natural Home Remedies

When you think of a clean home, do you imagine the smell of Lysol, bleach, or something citrusy? While traditional store-bought cleaners may take up the dirt and bacteria and get your house clean, they leave behind harmful chemical residues, turning your home into a toxic environment that threatens the health of your family.

The same is true of beauty care products that leave your hair smelling citrusy and your skin soft, yet leave behind harmful chemicals.

Discontinuing use of these cleaners and beauty products is the first step toward creating a natural, healthy home environment. Now how do you keep your house clean? Organic products are available, but some of these use chemicals or questionable ingredients, as well.

The best way to ensure the purity of your home cleaners and beauty products is to make them yourself. Many can be created with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry or refrigerator.

Here are a few home remedies that you can create:

House Cleaners

The easiest cleaner you can create – and one that can be used for a variety of cleaning jobs throughout your house – is a simple mixture of white vinegar and water. Simply mix one part white vinegar with one part water. You can store your solution in a spray bottle or make it as needed and apply it with a cloth.

This solution can be used for:

• Wiping countertops and other surface 
• Cleaning your refrigerator 
•  Cleaning glass 
•  Mopping floors 
•  Spraying down your tub or shower to prevent mildew   formation

Essentially, this mixture can be used on any surface that can be cleaned with a simple cleaner. Read: One that doesn’t require heavy duty scrubbing, like your oven or your grill.

For tougher scrub jobs – like the bathtub – you can mix a solution of one part baking soda and one part white vinegar. The mixture will form a paste that can be used to clean stubborn stains, tile, chrome hardware, shower heads, and more.

Carpet Stains

Life is messy. Unfortunately, your carpet and your clothing are often the victims of that mess.

You don’t need harsh chemical mixtures to clean up these stubborn stains. For clothing stains, you can simply cut open a raw potato and rub it against the stain. If it’s a tough stain, just dip the potato in lemon juice, then rub against the stain.

For tough grease stains, spray a little WD-40 on the fabric, then wash as usual. Lemon juice can also cut rust stains (apply and wash).

For carpet stains, you can crush a couple of aspirin in a glass of hot water then pour the mixture on the stain. Let it dry then vacuum the area the next day. You may need to repeat this for stubborn stains.

Beauty Care

To get beautiful skin and shiny hair, you don’t have to look farther than your refrigerator. Many of the home remedies for beauty care rely on a single ingredient – no mixing or complicated recipes required.

For a simple face wash, just soak a potato in water and use the water as you would a cleanser (or use the water from boiling a potato after it has cooled). You can also mix dry oatmeal with water for a simple scrub that exfoliates your skin.

For soft and shiny hair, you need only cover your hair in mayonnaise. As long as you can stand the smell while you’re giving yourself this treatment, you’ll love the way your hair feels once you wash it out. If you don’t want to try mayonnaise, you can rinse your hair in your favorite beer for equally soft hair.

For a deeper conditioning treatment, apply coconut oil directly to your scalp after washing or wetting your hair. Wrap your head in a towel and leave it to set for several hours, then wash it out. This will also help with dandruff and other scalp problems.

There are many, many more natural home cleaning and beauty care remedies that you can create with simple natural products found in your pantry or refrigerator.

What are some other natural cleaning and beauty care products that you use at home? Tell us about them in the comments!