By now you should know that the Bella Girls have a love affair  with the cleaning products named after this lady. 

Yes, there really is a Mrs. Meyers. She knows a lot about cleaning …which all of us Bella Girls love to do. (Except, possibly Keighley who pretends to clean for the sake of her husband’s sanity.) And we all  like our cleaning products to smell great and at the same time be environmentally safe.

Thelma Meyer (mother of 9), the inspiration behind Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day product, shares her tried and true tips for getting your home sparkling clean using natural products. Here’s her favorites along with a few recipes I found that use these natural cleaners.

“Vinegar: Since it’s an acid, vinegar will lift dirt easily. It doesn’t have the best scent in the world, so I don’t use it for much. I will run vinegar and tap water through the coffee pot two or three times through every once in a while to clean out the insides.”

I agree with Mrs. Meyers-I think that vinegar stinks. So here’s an idea for getting rid of the smell.

Odorless Vinegar

Ingredients

1 part vinegar
1 part water
Several mint leaves

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and let the mixture stand for three days, leaving it uncovered.

Strain and bottle for cleaning purposes only. (keeping in mind that this preparation is a diluted form of vinegar).

“Lemons: While they are also acidic, lemons have a refreshing, nice fragrance. Cut one in half and run it around the faucet.”

Since I hate to find a fresh lemon each time I want to use one, I thought it’d be fun to make a “bottle” of your own lemon cleaner? This lemon cleaner spray is great for both kitchen and bathroom surfaces. It works double duty, cutting grease and grime while killing germs.  

Lemon Cleaner & Disinfectant

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon borax
1/2 teaspoon washing soda
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

In a pint spray bottle, combine the ingredients.

 Add 1 cup very hot water and shake well to mix and dissolve the dry ingredients.

To use, simply spray on the surface and wipe off with a sponge or rag.

This solution can be stored indefinitely.

P.S. Here’s washing soda, just in case you’ve never heard of it.

“Baking Soda: This kitchen staple is naturally abrasive for getting out really tough stains.”

 You can use it directly on the area you want to clean (like a natural “Soft Scrub”) or you can mix in with other ingredients. Here’s an idea:

Homemade Oven Cleaner

 Ingredients: 

Baking Soda
Water
Dish Detergent

Directions:

Fill a spray bottle with water and spray oven generously.

Generously sprinkle baking soda over the water. Leave overnight.

 The next day wipe out much of the baking soda and grime.

Soak a sponge in hot water, squeeze out excess water and scrub the inside of the oven.

Sources: iMag|Oldenbuzz.com|easy-homemade-recipes.com|washingsoda.info