In July at Mass Innovation Nights I had the pleasure of meeting Leslie Reichert, author of The Joy of Green Cleaning. She passed along a sample and the recipe for Green Cleaning Scrub. Most of the ingredients I already have in my pantry. The only thing I had to buy was borax but now that I see the number of uses borax has, I'm glad to have it on hand. The cleanser is made with: 

1 cup baking soda

1 cup borax

1 cup table salt 

and six drops of your favourite essential oil for scent 

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl, sprinkle with essential oil and store in an airtight container. If you don't have essential oil, you can skip this part. I happen to have plenty of essential oils since I make hand & body soap at home. I store my cleanser in an old tea canister I marbleized a while back. 

One thing I really like about this cleanser is, it is pet safe. This doesn't mean you should clean your pets with it but it should be safe to use around most pets. 

For a soft scrub with bleaching properties add hydrogen peroxide to desired consistency. I have used this cleanser on many different surfaces such as my tile kitchen counter and the cook top of my stove but you may want to test on a inconspicuous spot to make sure it won't scratch your surfaces. On shiny surfaces, no matter what kind of cleanser I use, I always do a final wipe with white vinegar. Vinegar will get rid of any excess oils or haze and the smell disappears once it is dry. 

Now that you see how easy it is to keep your home clean with everyday, natural ingredients you can get rid of all that poisonous junk taking up space under your sink! Happy cleaning.