I don’t know about you, but I’ve got the bug. The bug for warmer weather and playing outside. I’ve also got an itch to Spring Clean my home. There’s just something about the weather warming up that warms me up to cleaning. It has to do with some weird nesting phase all women go through. Everything out side is coming back to life and you want your house to come back to life too! After a long, cold winter, I’m ready to get the house spruced up and super clean. Lately I’ve been really worried about the chemicals that are in the cleaners that I’ve been using though. So I decided that I would make my own cleaners, ones that would disinfect without the harsh chemicals. And I also received a steam cleaner from Home Right to help me with my goal of Chemical Free Spring Cleaning.

1. Use a Steam Cleaner. There are a variety of all purpose cleaners and reusable cleaning cloths out there that can give your home a good non-toxic clean, but you can make this process simpler by using a steam cleaner. All you do is fill the steam cleaner with water and wait for it to warm up. Then you just steam away!

You can clean your floors (be sure to not use steam on any wood that is not sealed), kids toys, bathrooms (especially around the gross toilet), outdoor furniture, and upholstered furniture. Everything is de-germed with a steam cleaner because of the temperature of the steam. You do not want your kids helping you with the steam cleaner. The steam can scald them.

We use our steam cleaner to clean our kitchen floors, the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the van. Steam is the best thing to get all that sticky goop out of the kids cup holders. I don’t like using chemicals to clean my car out because the smell stays in there forever and gives me a headache. That’s why I love to use the steam cleaner for the interior of my car. I also love having the steam cleaner around for un-wrinkling curtains or clothing. It’s really handy and gets a lot of use in our home.

This SteamMachine (model 52) is a chemical free way to disinfect and clean floors. The SteamMachine leaves behind no chemical residue and kills 99% of all germs and bacteria including; e-coli, salmonella, and staph. The included 3 piece floor cleaning kit uses steam to disinfect your hard floor surfaces; such as tile, vinyl and linoleum. The high pressurized steam blasts the surface and the cleaning pad wipes the surface clean.

2. Use a Pressure Washer. We finally gave in and purchased a pressure washer this year. Our home is brick and they only way you can really get it clean is with a pressure washer. We thought it was well worth the investment because our 17 year old son has started a little business with it. He pressure washes people’s disgusting outdoor garbage cans and cleans out their house gutters for  a fee. It’s already paid for itself. You can use a pressure washer to clean the sidewalks, driveway, garage floor, windows, gutters, garbage cans, and so many more things. They are so useful. I’d recommend buying one that has a soap dispenser so you can really get everything spic and span. Oh, and you can get the kids to clean the cars too!

3. Make Homemade All- Natural Cleaners. I bet you already have all the ingredients for all natural cleaners in your pantry right now and don’t even know it. Non-toxic cleaning products are better for us and can save us money in the long run. And they are better for the environment because you will be using the same bottle, over and over again, by making your own cleaners. Toxic household chemicals can also contribute to air pollution inside your home and make you very sick. So it’s always better to use natural ingredients when you can. I’ll give you some great homemade cleaning recipes that you can use for all types of surfaces.

• Lemon All-Purpose Cleaner: I use this for just about everything. Including windows.
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons baking soda
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 3 cups hot water
    • Add all ingredients to a spray bottle and shake to dissolve the baking soda. Spray on all types of surfaces and let sit for about 30 seconds to disinfect. Wipe clean with a paper towel or cloth.
• Oven Cleaner: 
  • Heat the oven to 125 degrees
  • Spray the caked on food with vinegar until it’s damp
  • Sprinkle salt over the area and then turn the oven off and let it cool
  • Scrub away the mess with a damp towel or scrubbing brush
  • If salt doesn’t work, use baking soda next
• All-Natural Air Freshener:
  • Replace the lid of a Mason Jar with card stock cut in a circle
  • Poke holes in the paper with a pin or tack
  • Fill the jar about 1/4 of the way full with baking soda
  • Drop 5-10 drops of your favorite essential oil
  • Mix a little with a fork
  • Put the paper lid on and the ring of the Mason Jar
• Natural Wood Polish:
  • 1/2 cup Olive Oil
  • 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
    • Mix together in a jar. Dip your rag in the oil and rub into your wood surfaces in a circular motion. If you are worried, test the ingredients on a spot of the wood that is not seen.
• Counter Tops:
  • Grab a damp rag and sprinkle baking soda on it
  • Scrub the counter top with circular motions
  • Wipe clean with another clean damp cloth

There are so many more natural home cleaners you can make. I found some great DIY and Chemical-Free recipes here too.

4. Plan Your Cleaning Strategy. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done that I just give up and don’t get anything done. I know I’m not alone in this. Everyone feels overwhelmed when it’s time for Spring Cleaning. That’s why I had to make a cleaning binder for myself. These printables break everything up so you are not cleaning your whole house in one day. Not only does it contain normal day to day tasks, but weekly, monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly, and yearly cleaning tasks so you don’t ever forget anything like changing the furnace filter again! You can read more about the Yearly Cleaning Binder HERE.

You can get this whole printable set for yourself too! Just subscribe to my newsletter below and you can download them all and keep yourself organized and your home clean all year round.

I hope some of these Chemical Free ideas to clean your home are helpful to you. Enjoy your spring!

Be sure to check out my other helpful cleaning posts below. Just click on the image to visit the post.