Natural Kitchen: Watch What You Wipe With
April 11th, 2009
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Sponges and cloths are playgrounds for nasty kitchen bacteria. Bacteria goes everywhere because we spread it about while cooking, cleaning, and preparing meals. Just think of how many times you touch and use that dish towel while preparing a dish such as roast chicken!
The concept of paper towels is what we want to go with—frequent disposal (or laundering) of the cloths. Paper towels are ingenious yet wasteful, so here is the environmentally friendly way to keep things clean.
Have a stack of 7 dishtowels and use one a day. (Think: those socks with the days of the week embroidered on them.) At the end of the day, toss the dishtowel in a separate basket along with your other cleaning rags and launder it at week’s end.
For cleaning counters, we recommend getting cleaning cloths (available at grocery stores; they’re a cross between a dish towel and a face cloth). For those who get incredibly excited about cloths, try microfibre cleaning cloths. Clean what you like during the day, but pitch it in that laundry basket before you hit the sack.
You may find that a good microfibre cloth will eliminate the need for a sponge (clearly because you are already using the great pot cleaning techniques I discussed in the vinegar and baking soda blogs). If you do require a sponge, clean it by soaking it well in water (get all soap out first) and then microwaving for 2-3 minutes to kill most germs and spores. The inside of the microwave will be damp and steamy, at which point you can wipe it clean with a dry cloth. What a great way to multi task!
Melissa
Natural Kitchen: How to Keep Your Kitchen Smelling Fresh
April 11th, 2009
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I love cooking, but after broiling a beautiful piece of salmon, steaming some tasty broccoli, or roasting a delightful bulb of garlic, I have no interest in the odors coexisting with me. I’ve come across some excellent tricks to reduce and neutralize kitchen odors.
For starters, decaying food is a huge problem! Examine your fridge and remove old foods at once. Wipe the bottom of the fridge regularly to remove stains and odors.
While cooking, use the exhaust fan; it removes the grease from the air, which helps to reduce odors and also prevents you from inhaling the stuff.
You can also boil vinegar to remove odors. See the previous vinegar blogs for more detail.
I came across the coolest trick a while back, and use it whenever necessary. You have to try this to believe it! Broccoli is amazing, but we all know how it smells when being cooked. Simply take a slice of bread and place it in the pot on top of the broccoli, then close the pot and let it steam. The bread acts as a natural sponge, absorbing the odor from the broccoli!
I have a lampe berger, which is a catalytic alcohol- and oil-burning lamp; I use it to burn “crème brulée” to deodorize. A lampe berger is incredibly effective at neutralizing odors and leaving a beautiful scent in your home, without the chemical effects of scented candles and air fresheners.
Finally, you can investigate air purifiers which can be helpful, too.
Melissa
Great Ways to Clean Delicate Finishes in the Kitchen
April 11th, 2009
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If you are lucky enough to have a stunning modern kitchen, you will need to know how to clean it. Many commercial cleaners are available but natural solutions do an amazing job and should be your only consideration for these projects.
Stainless steel is all the rage in kitchen design—and it looks lovely! To keep it that way, here’s what to do. Fill a sink with warm water and about a ¼ cup of white vinegar. Immerse a clean cloth in the solution and wipe away all marks and dirt. Vinegar cuts grease, so all fingerprints will be gone. Give it a quick buff dry. For the ultimate shine, blot a clean cloth in some vegetable oil and polish the appliance in the direction of the grain. Be sure to use the oil sparingly to reduce stickiness. The results are amazing—you will be blown away!
To clean a stain out of the sink, try tossing salt and lemon juice over it and wiping clean in a circular motion. This combo practically erases marks right out of any sink—think coffee, tea, etc.
To clean granite, a gorgeous addition to any kitchen, you must be extremely careful to take good care of the surface. To start, we crouch to eye level to see where the dirt is because granite can always “look” clean. Following this, focus on the areas with blotchy stains (old spills, dried-on jam, etc). We suggest using an eco-friendly marble and granite cleaner or even dishwashing liquid and hot water (you can mix a few drops into a spray bottle full of water, or simply fill the sink up—your choice). This is gentle enough to treat the stone without harming it and no harsh chemicals are used, either.
It’s a win-win situation! You can have a beautiful kitchen and maintain it easily, inexpensively, and without harming the environment or yourself.
Melissa
What Does a Clean House Smell Like?
April 11th, 2009
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Many people believe (or have been conditioned to believe) that a clean house should smell like Mr. Clean, Windex, or bleach. This is not true! In fact, after my endeavors into the cleaning business, I learned early on that “naturally clean” smells like—well, not much at all.
You can choose to clean your house with four or five basic items, such as salt, lemon, vinegar, baking soda, and oils (lemon oil, olive oil, etc). If you choose to clean using these basics, your house will be immaculate, but you won’t smell the masking scents of commercial cleaners.
Now, I must admit that I am a sucker for any eco-friendly product with pretty packaging and equally pretty scents, so when I clean, that is what I prefer to use. However, these are not the kind of scents that are damaging to our bodies or the environment. More companies are moving towards aromatherapy or “mulling” scents. In fact, I know there are some brands of eco-friendly cleaning solutions that will create a delicious bakery-like scent in the home.
If you care to be a bit more experimental and are open to using products with scents, there are a ton of choices available to you in grocery stores, hardware stores, and drugstores.
Make sure you look for a number of reputable seals and symbols that can help out, such as the Green Seal and the Environmental Choice Program. That will let you know your products are truly eco-friendly and you can feel safe using them at home.
Melissa
Cleaning Stains Off Porcelain
April 11th, 2009
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I am an avid tea drinker and have a couple of tea pots in my rotation. I have a beautiful black ceramic one as well as a white one, but the white one, of course, gets stained each time I boil a pot of my favorite morning drink, English breakfast tea. I usually scramble out the door to get started with my day, so I rarely have time to rinse the pot or even dump the cup out. (I know I should rinse it, seeing that I do run a cleaning company, but that’s for another discussion)!
I have fallen in love with this trick (which you can also use at kids birthday parties—it’s magical)! You need a lemon and a few shakes of salt. Simply run the lemon over the stained area, sprinkle the salt over the lemon and agitate with a clean and dry cloth. Add more lemon or salt if necessary. Rinse the porcelain and voilà, your porcelain piece will look brand spankin’ new!
Melissa
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