When you accidentally spill on your carpet, it’s like you’re watching it in slow motion. And if you’re anything like me, you’re scrambling to fix it! Luckily, I’ve found an easy solution that works every time. It’s all natural, green, and costs less than 30 cents.

My homemade carpet cleaner and this homemade carpet stain remover make the perfect combo! You can easily use both to keep your carpets fresh, clean, and unstained!

All you need to remove a stain is to use the chemical reaction of baking soda and vinegar, and it will lift the stain right up! It’s like magic. It works so well, I was confident enough to stain my own new carpet on purpose to make this video:

And just to make things a little easier, in case you don’t like watching videos, here is how you do it:

Can you believe how easy it is? This carpet is my favorite in our home, and I use it all the time because it’s in my office, which is my favorite room in the house. I wouldn’t risk it unless I KNEW I could get the stain out for sure. This stain remover works for me every single time.

And, let’s admit it, it’s fun to make baking soda and vinegar react and fizzle. That’s just an added bonus.

Well, what do you think? Try this out at home and let me know how it goes for you!

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It’s so easy to overlook cleaning your carpets. Vacuuming feels like enough most of the time, right? But they really do need a good cleaning regularly to keep them nice and fresh and make sure there isn’t anything unpleasant lurking in there. After all, carpets are great places for mold and pests to hide. And those are two things I really try to avoid in my home. So this super easy two-ingredient carpet cleaner takes 5 minutes to make and costs less than fifty cents!

Did I mention it is also all natural and green? You can avoid all the synthetic chemicals in store bought carpet cleaners. I generally believe simple is better, and this cleaner definitely lives up to that principle. That’s why I love green cleaning so much!

This carpet cleaner is great to use for regular cleaning and deodorizing, but it isn’t a spot stain remover. It will prevent and treat icky odors and mold from permeating your carpet, so it definitely has its purpose and is extremely useful. If you do want a spot stain remover, head on over and read this post about removing carpet stains.

This recipe has only two super simple AND effective ingredients:

• Baking soda: gets rid of funky and unpleasant smells, gentle, non-toxic, and natural.
• Borax: kills and prevents mold and pests, disinfectant

And it couldn’t be easier to make.

*As with any new cleaning product, it’s always good to spot test the cleaner before you do this to make sure it doesn’t affect the fabric.

I got this adorable carpet at home goods, and I use it in my office. It gets a lot of trampling day to day, especially from my dog Biscuit. So after almost 3 months of use, I figured it was about time for a good cleaning. I sprinkled the carpet cleaner all over and it worked like a charm!

All right- this is the before photo.. just a little bit of yellowing and unfreshness, but not tons.

Before

And this is the after picture! I will admit I left the homemade carpet cleaner on overnight because I can be a bit lazy… but it worked its charm. I used it on only half the carpet and did a smell test… and it definitely helped remove some of the smell!

After

I told you it was easy!

My carpet feels much fresher now. Yay for homemade cleaners!

Let me know how making your own homemade carpet cleaner goes for you.

supplies used in this post

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There’s always at least one place in your house where you just quite can’t get rid of the smell, whether that’s the fridge, or your garbage can, or that one cabinet that always smells funky. Sprays and perfumes only mask the smell, and you really want to get rid of it. The best thing to do is use something to absorb the odor! That’s what these homemade odor eliminator tabs are good for!

Sure you can use an open box of baking soda, but that isn’t really cost effective, it’s kind of wasteful, and it’s hard to remember to change them out. These tabs are much less expensive, at only 30 cents a tab! They are great at eliminating odors, and they are multipurpose! After the odor absorbing is done, you can use them for some all purpose scrubbing around the home.

You won’t believe how simple these are to make. Simple, green, inexpensive, and effective! All of my favorite things in a green cleaning product. A perfect addition to green cleaning month!

I like to explain the purpose of each ingredient in my recipes.

Ingredients:

• Baking Soda: Absorbs odors effectively, and is natural, safe, and inexpensive.
• Water: Holds the tabs together
• Essential oils (optional): For scent

I love how bright and cheerful they look in the silicone baking cups! I love my silicone cups because they are dishwasher safe, reusable, and cute.

Seriously, this may be the easiest green cleaning recipe you make.

We have one cabinet in our house that just never seems to get rid of that woody smell. We bought it on craigslist and even though we left the doors open for a week or so after we bought it, we couldn’t get rid of that smell. So we really need these in there! They definitely help, but still need to be changed out every few months or so.

They’re also perfect for the fridge. I hated leaving an entire box of baking soda in there- there are so many other things I like to use my baking soda for! So this is more efficient and effective in my opinion.

I love these homemade odor eliminator tabs! Let me know how they go for you!

supplies used in this post

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I love having stainless steel appliances! But you would think that stainless steel would never actually stain… but it does! Leaving that pan soaking in your sink for too long can take its toll. I learned this the hard day, when one day I found a rust stain in my new sink. I’ve tried scrubbing it with dish soap, with all purpose cleaner, with granite cleaner, and just about everything in my arsenal. Until I finally found something that did the trick- and in under 10 seconds!

When I saw this solution from Passionate Penny Pincher, I thought it was too good to be true. No way it could be that easy after all the time I’ve spent scrubbing!

But it turns out… it was the perfect solution! I always say that green cleaning products should be simple, and this method proves that to a t! I’m guessing you usually have baking soda in your home, right? And usually a lemon or two in the fridge? Well then you’re all set!

To remove rust stains from stainless steel, all you need is half (or less) of a lemon and a tablespoon or two of baking soda. If the stains are really big, you might need more, but I used about one tablespoon. Just pour it out right on top of the stain.

Then just turn the lemon over to its cut side, and scrub the baking soda in. When I did this, I checked after a few seconds to see how much more rubbing I needed to do. But the stain was already gone! In less than 5 seconds.

How could it possibly be that easy??!!

I’m sorry the stain doesn’t show up better in the photo… I am always so excited to rush into projects that I don’t always take amazing before photos. But just look at the area with the arrow and you can see the little stain that was bugging me for over a month!

I know I keep acting all amazed by this solution, but it really is amazing. It’s green, inexpensive, easy, and effective. Just as all my favorite cleaning solutions usually are.

Who knew these two little ingredients were such a powerhouse together! They blew me and my scrubbing arm out of the water.

The baking soda has the perfect amount of gentle abrasiveness while the lemon has great acidity and the right texture for scrubbing the stain. It was love at first scrub.

I love looking at my clean sink! Now I can admire and appreciate it without noticing the little flaw of a rust stain that was stuck there before.

Let me know how this method to remove rust stains from stainless steel goes for you! I would love to see your before and after pictures, just send them to me!

The post How To Remove Rust Stains from Stainless Steel appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Happy March! As you may already know, I’ve made March a green cleaning month for the blog! That means every week I’ll be sharing two green cleaning recipes with you. By the end of the month, you will be more than ready for spring cleaning. I hope you’re excited. It only makes sense to start with a homemade all purpose cleaner. It’s so versatile and easy, but better than that, it only costs 50 cents to make!

After all, you need a cleaner you can grab in a pinch and use to clean any little (and sometimes big!) messes. Sure, you need specific cleaners for different things, but my all purpose cleaner is one of my cleaning staples, and the perfect cleaner to start out with.

I’ve made an all purpose cleaner before- and I loved it! But for green cleaning month I’ve done a lot of research- and I wanted to update my homemade all purpose cleaner to make it even more effective. Plus that was one of my earliest posts, and I like to update my pictures and style anyways. So I hope you like the new and improved recipe!

Ingredients:

• Baking soda: dissolves dirt and grease, gentle and non-toxic, deodorizes
• Borax: all natural and sustainable cleaner, disinfects, anti-fungal and keeps away bugs
• Dish soap or liquid castile soap: surfactant, dissolves dirt and grease
• Essential oils: for scent, and depending on the oil, can have different properties like being antibacterial, anti-fungal, etc. (I used lemongrass)

I’ve been trying to keep my cleaners more pH neutral. This cleaner has both baking soda and borax, so it is mildly alkaline, with a pH of about 8.5. This is approximate and based on the pH strips I used to test it.

And it is super effective! Just check out the picture below:

I’m always embarrassed to show before and afters like this… my baseboard was so grimy before! But it looks clean and great now. I don’t know where all that grease and grime came from, but it looks so much better cleaned up now. And it was persistent kitchen grease, so this stuff really packs a punch!

Seriously, you can’t get much better than that for 50 cents. And I recycled an old spray bottle for it, which I always love to do. This cleaner is my new favorite!

Let me know how making your homemade all purpose cleaner goes for you!

Want more green cleaning recipes? Check out all of my green cleaning month recipes here!

Supplies Used in this post:

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There’s nothing worse than trying to trug along through your day when you have a miserable cold. Even just some sinus congestion can feel so uncomfortable and just distract you all day. Sure, it’s winter, but it doesn’t mean you have to just sit in discomfort and blow through 10 kleenex boxes a day. These easy to make shower soothers will help you breathe more easily when you feel sick.

You know how good it feels just to take a shower and breathe in some steam when you have a cold? These shower soothers make that feel ten times better than that, if you can believe me! They are so refreshing and really do ease that icky congestion.

They’re so simple to make too!

Ingredients:

• Baking soda: The main body of the disks, helps keep them fresh and retain smell
• Citric acid: Creates the fizzing effect
• Corn starch: Makes the shower disks hold their shape
• Epsom salt: Helps you feel more hydrated and helps relieve sore muscles
• Eucalyptus essential oil: Opens your airways and helps with congestion
• Water: Binds everything together

You can see in the picture above an example of the clumping you should see when you add water to the mixture. If your mixture looks this clumpy- you’ve gone slightly too far! So use this as a precaution- stop slightly before this point.

All right, I think you’re ready to find out how to make these suckers.

You can see in the picture above how much my shower soothers puffed up. I definitely added too much water, which made them expand more. So make sure to use your water sparingly. If you use too much all the fizziness will be used up before you even get a chance to use these in the shower!

And let me just say, you want the chance to use these in the shower. Using one of these made me feel like I was in a spa. The eucalyptus is so relaxing and refreshing.

I’m not saying I’m looking forward to getting a cold, but I do love having an excuse to use these. Eucalyptus is definitely one of my favorite essential oils. It is really great stuff. I always use it to help me breathe when I have a cold.

So there you have it. I bet you didn’t realize how easy these would be to make! So you really have no excuses… go out and make some yourself!

Supplies Used in this Post

The post Homemade Shower Soothers for Colds and Congestion appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Spring Cleaning time is here! Lars and I already have started getting a jump on things by cleaning out our dressers and closets. I love the organizing part of spring cleaning. The cleaning part… not quite as much. But with this fabulous toolkit all assembled it will make things much easier on you.

We all know how great it is to have a clean house, but it’s not so great when you clean your house with products that are unhealthy for you, your family, and the environment. Full of synthetic chemicals, many commercial cleaners cause a lot more harm than good. Green cleaning products are healthy, effective, and they save you money! There’s not really a downside there.

For this toolkit, you’ll need to make a few green cleaners, using some basic supplies. The key to green cleaning is to use simple ingredients that aren’t harmful, and use reusable supplies that don’t create excess trash.

The ingredients that you should have on hand to make this toolkit are:

• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Olive oil
• Liquid castile soap
• Essential oils (I like lemon for cleaning products)
• Borax
• Witch hazel extract
• Empty Spray bottles

So… let’s get started!

1. Green All Purpose Cleaner

This stuff is a total powerhouse. I use it pretty much everywhere in our apartment. All purpose is not kidding! Countertops, bathroom tiles, tile floors, random surfaces, walls, the fridge… it does it all. This is the basis of your green cleaning supplies and you will want to use it in pretty much every room.

To make it you need:

• Baking soda
• Borax
• Castile soap
• Water
• Essential oils

Head over to read how to make this great All Purpose Cleaner. It even has a free printable label for you!

2. Homemade Dusting Spray

My Homemade Dusting Spray has been by far one of the most popular posts on my site. And with good reason, it’s an amazing product! So simple and easy to use.

Dusting is an important part of spring cleaning. It’s a good time to dust all the places you sometimes neglect (hello- baseboards!) but if you just use a duster, the dust resettles quickly. To get the most bang for your effort, use this dusting spray which will help prevent dust buildup in the future.

To make it, all you need is:

• Vinegar
• Olive oil
• Water
• Essential oils

3. Homemade Febreeze/ Household Odor Remover

Sometimes cleaning the spots that we usually miss can stir up some… odors. Unpleasant odors. The easiest solution is to spray a bunch of febreeze. But febreeze has tons of icky synthetic chemicals. This Homemade Febreeze is just as effective and less expensive.

The ingredients you’ll need are:

• Water
• Witch hazel
• Baking Soda
• Essential Oils (I like cinnamon for this one)

And you might find that you spray it even when there aren’t any odors to mask… because it’s just that lovely.

4. Green Glass Cleaner

I know that I always neglect cleaning my windows. They’re so easy to forget. But it’s spring cleaning time now and time to clean everything, including windows. Also mirrors. I do clean our mirrors fairly regularly, but not nearly as often as I should.

Windex is great at cleaning and everything, but not so great at being healthy and harmless. And this Green Glass Cleaner is just as effective, if not even a little more.

What you’ll need:

• Water
• Vinegar
• Essential oils

5. Baking Soda and Vinegar

Baking soda and vinegar are my go-to green cleaning products. Both great cleaners on their own, but the reaction they make together is also effective at lifting dirt and other ickyness out of household surfaces.

Need to clean some stains? Sprinkle a little baking soda and spray some vinegar on it. Need to wash your tub? Same thing. How about the kitchen sink? Or the toilet? Or your drains?

I think you get my point.

I like to keep my baking soda in a mason jar with a sprinkle top, so I can just sprinkle some wherever necessary. The vinegar is in a spray bottle.

6. Other Supplies

Of course, cleaning products aren’t the whole picture- you still need other things to have truly green spring cleaning!

Things you will want:

• Microfiber cloths: Awesome for cleaning and scrubbing of all kinds
• Reuseable duster: (You can make your own!) Instead of tossing used dusters… just wash it! Saves lots of waste
• Sponges: An awesome go to cleaning tool
• Scrub brush: Packs an extra cleaning punch

Besides the products I included in the toolkit, Lars and I wouldn’t get by without our amazing mop and vacuum! We use homemade hardwood floor cleaner in our mop, so check out that recipe too!

Not a huge fan of making your own cleaning products? That’s okay too. Here are some alternatives that are not as harmful, unnatural, or toxic as many name brands:

• Honest Multi Surface Cleaner
• Honest Glass Cleaner
• Meyer’s Clean Day All Purpose Cleaner

I hope you find this green spring cleaning toolkit helpful! Let me know how it works out for you!

The post Green Spring Cleaning Toolkit appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

I love me some baking soda. It has so many great uses around the home. We all know its obvious use- for baking! But it goes so much farther than that. I use it for at least half of my cleaning. It also makes a great addition to many beauty recipes. Is there anything baking soda can’t do?

Baking soda has so many great benefits. It’s a great all purpose cleaner. It deodorizes smells naturally. It can counteract fungus. It can remove grease and rust. It is a gentle exfoliant for the skin. It is also a great gentle cleanser for the skin. And to top all those things off, it is safe to ingest and is non-toxic. It is pretty much everything I look for in a green ingredient. That’s probably why I find myself using it so often!

So, let’s get to some of the awesome ways you can use baking soda around the house and in your beauty routine.

Household Uses

1. Washing Soda

Washing soda is a very useful ingredient. It is a great compliment to baking soda in many green cleaning recipes. Well- you don’t have to buy it! You can make it yourself with only some baking soda and an oven.

2. Homemade Febreeze

Everyone needs a little spray deodorizer once in a while. It’s nice to freshen up smells sometimes. Well instead of using toxic febreeze, you can make your own with the deodorizing power of baking soda.

3. Laundry Detergent Tabs

It’s cheap and easy to make your own laundry detergent tabs. They do the job just as well as the store-bought kind, and they are safe and healthy! Thanks again, baking soda.

4. Toilet Fizz Bombs

With only 3 ingredients you can quickly deodorize smelly toilets in between washes. These are easy and inexpensive to make- and the fizz is so fun to watch!

5. All Purpose Cleaner

You may be seeing a trend here… but making your own all purpose cleaner avoids the toxic ingredients in the ones you can buy in stores. This stuff is easy, inexpensive, and effective. What more could you want?

6. Dishwasher Detergent Tabs

For only 9 cents a load you can make these awesome dishwasher detergent tabs. I think they work better than any other dishwasher detergent I’ve tried- especially when combined with a vinegar rinse!

Beauty Uses

7. Coconut Lavender Moisturizing Exfoliator

Coconut and lavender will make you feel relaxed when you use this scrub. Great for the face or the body- it will leave you smelling amazing!

8. Honey Cinnamon Exfoliator

Honey, cinnamon, and lemon oil make this face scrub acne friendly. Baking soda gives it the cleaning and exfoliating powder. This stuff smells so good you might try to eat it- and it’s healthy enough that if you did you wouldn’t get sick!

9. Washing Your Hair Without Shampoo

Believe it or not- shampoo can get your scalp out of balance and make you produce more grease. Using baking soda, through the no poo method, will help you fix your scalp and use less toxic ingredients to boot!

10. Soothing Chamomile Foot Scrub

Dry winter months cause dry cracked heels, unfortunately. Give your feet a little love and exfoliate them with this easy three ingredient scrub. The camomile will help you relax, as well.

Try out a few of these awesome uses for baking soda and let me know how it goes for you!

The post 10 Amazing Household and Beauty Uses for Baking Soda appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.