House Cleaning the Gorgeously Green Girl's Way

As most conventional all-purpose sprays are made up of a concoction of potentially hazardous chemicals, I have chosen to make my own. It is ridiculously easy to make and I have two or three large spray bottles on the go, all the time. It's brilliantly effective at cutting grease, germs, and grime; it smells wonderful and will save you a lot of money. You can use this spray on just about everything: fridge, countertops, walls, doorknobs (for germs), toilet seats, sinks, and so on.

Ingredients
32-ounce plastic spray bottle
2 cups water
1⁄2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure castile soap (peppermint is my favorite)
3⁄4 cups hydrogen peroxide
20 drops tea tree oil
20 drops of lavender or lemongrass essential oil

Simply fill a large 32-ounce plastic spray bottle with the water. Add the vinegar, castile soap, hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil, and lavender or lemongrass essential oil. Lavender is lovely for the bathroom spray and lemongrass for the kitchen, so make two separate bottles at the same time. In the hot summer months, I add about 10 drops of citronella essential oil to the spray, as it is an excellent insect repellent.

This spray is suitable for acrylic, ceramic tile, wood, marble, and granite.

Gorgeously Green All-Purpose Heavy-Duty Cleaner
If you need a really strong cleaner for tiles, walls, and doors, try this excellent brew: Fill a bucket with really hot water. Add a squirt of dishwashing liquid, 1/2 cup of baking soda, and 20 drops of tea tree and lavender essential oils. You are saving water by using the bucket rather than running water.