Natural Household Items:
How to Avoid Harsh, Harmful Chemical Cleaners and Similar Products
     As witchs, pagans, and citizins of this earth we truely need to watch what we put in our enviorment.  Not only because by being wastful and using whatever is on the market without considering what it does to the earth harms the earth and our natural enviorment but because these products harm us.  They harm us both directly and indirectly.  When we hurt the earth we hurt ourselves but what is more, we dirently hurt ourselves by using chemicals that cause chemical burns, we inhale harmful chemical fumes, and similar things daily by simply cleaning our homes!  There are, however, natural, simpler, and safer ways to do things and no need to help pollution along and harm ourselves further. 
     The first and most notable thing we use daily are harsh chemical cleaners.  An example of these is Comet.  Have you ever realised how obnioxious the fumes from Comet are?  I'm not picking on Comet though, most non-natural cleaners have such fumes.
Natural Cleaning Items:
- Baking Soda
- Borax  (A natural mineral that kills bacteria and mold.)
- Sea Salt
- Vinegar
- Castile Soap
- Mineral Oil
- Lemons
- Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide; Be VERY Careful with this, never let this touch your skin unless it is highly diluted it WILL BURN!  Read the Label Carfully!  (This is a heavy duty cleaning product for heavy duty cleaning, I'm not really a fan of it but it's better than Comet!)

Esstential Oils that Add Scent and Kill Bacteria:
- Lemon
- Orange
- Rose
- Spearmint and Peppermint
- Pine
- Cedar
- Tea Tree (expensive but good!)*

Oils (Arranged in Order of Bactericidal Properties:
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Verbena
- Lavender
- Patchouli
- Angelica
- Juniper
- Sandal
- Cedar
- Thyme
- Lemon
- Pine
- Wormwood
- Jasming and Tuberose Extracts

     Aside from these products which are good to always have on hand, there are many safer alternative products you can make at home, and simply too!

Scouring Powder: Baking soda and salt with a hot water rinse.
Disinfectant: Mix half a cup borax with 1 gallon hot water.  Add to taht a few sprigs of fresh thyme and steep for ten minutes, then strain and cool. Store this in a recycled plastic spray bottle.
Drain Cleaner: Boiling water works well when accompanied by a rubber plunger or pumber's snake!
Floor Cleaner: Mix a cup white vinegar with 2 gallongs hot water.  If you have greasy floors to clean, add one fourth cup washing soda and a tablespoon vegetable-oil-based soap to the above mxture.
Window-Washing Fluid: One cup vinegar with four cups hot water.
Oven Cleaner: If you are not so lucky as to have a self cleaning oven, line your oven with foil and wipe up splatters and spills.  A paste of baking soda and hot water sponged onto stains will take them out and they can be wiped clean.
Copper-pan Cleaner: Sprinkle the surface of your pans with coarse salt and then rub the salt into stains with the cut half of a fresh lemon.  Another method is to scrub them with plain sorrel leaves.
To Clean Wood Furniture: If you need to get rid of water stains, dab white toothpaste onto the stain.  Let the paste dry and then buff off gently with a soft cloth.
To Remove Mildew: To remove mildew from bathrubs, bathroom tile, and curtains make a mixture of one-half cup vinegar, one-half cup Borax cleaning detergent, and two cups of water.  Pour this on the diry areas and let it sit for a few minutes, then scrub with a cloth.  If you can still see the mildew, repeat the process once.
If you have mildew on pillows, blankets, furature, and etc. the best thing to do is set it out in the sun on a hot, dry sunny day.
Toliet Cleaner: Combine equal parts baking soda, Borax cleaning detergent, and white vinegar.  Pour a generous amount into and around the bowl and scrub with a toliet scrubing brush.  If it is badly stained, let this mixture sit over night. 
To Remove Crayon, Ink, or Pencil from Walls: Take two tablespoons of baking soda and mix in water.  Dip a white wash rag in the solution and rub the marks away.  Then wipe away the excess baking soda.
Furniture Polish: Combine one tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar with one-half cup of olive or vegetable oil.  Use a soft cloth and polish.
For wood lemon balm leaves are good also their oil protects the wood and they have a lovely scent.
To Remove Crayon, Ink, or Pencil from Upholstry: Use dry baking soda and a hairbrush (or like brush) to rub the baking soda and remove the marks.
To Remove Blood Stains: Combine one quart of Borax cleaning detergent with two cups of cold water.  Rinse stained clothing item in cold water and scrub in warm water with your hands.  Then dip it in the solution and wash by hand.  Also, to reduce staining on cloth immediately immerse the bloody cloth in cold water until you are ready to wash it.
To Remove Chocolate and Coffee Stains: Mix one teaspoon of white vinegar in one quart of cold water, then sponge the mixture onto the stain and wipe clean.
Tile, Counter, and Tub Cleaner: Baking soda with a wedge of cut lemon on stains.
For Crisp Ironed Clothes: Combine one to two tablespoons of cornstarch in one pint of water.  Pour the solution into a spray bottle, shake, and spray clothes before ironing.
Removing Grease and Hair from the Drain: Use equal parts vinegar, baking soda, and salt and pour the mixture down the drain and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Then pour boiling water down the drain.
To Protect Pets from Fleas: You may use eucalyptus ointment, herbal baths and a tiny bit of brewer's yeast or Vitamin B with dinner.
To Control Bugs: To keep bugs out of pasta, rice, flour, pancake mix, and other wheat products, put 2 to 3 bay leaves in the containers.
To get rid of roaches place bay leaves around the cracks of a room and leaving out dishes of equal parts baking soda and powdered sugar.  As a last resort you can mix powedered sugar and boric acid (a poison) and leave it out for them.  Another method is to place black hellebore root in the areas they frequent or create your own roach motel by putting molasses and water in a glazed china bowl and place and old piece of carpeting on one side.  This will capture them.  Cucumber parings and Borax also may deter them.
Soapy water spray is a good insecticide and a shallow pan filled with stale beer kills slugs and snails.
To keep ants away you can plant peppermint around your house or place strips of cucumber or tansy around the place they enter the house.
To control flies you can take half a teaspoon pepper (in powder form), add one tablespoon sugar, and one teaspoon cream, put this on a plate and leave it in the worst room.  Also, soak leeks in water for 24 hours and then dab the liquid on furanture to keep the flies from landing.  You could also make fly paper by taking resin with sweet oil, lard, and lamp oil and mix together until you have a honey-like consistancy and paint this on strips of paper and hang.
To keep moths out of your clothes, bind rosemary and wormwood together and hang it in your closet.
Air Freshener: Place ginger, cinnamon, and allspice in boiling water on the stove to fresh the air.  Orange and Lemon rinds strung in together and hung in an open window also will work.
Antiseptic/Antibacterial Herb Wash:  Make a tincture of 1 part basil, bay, comfrey, rosemary, and cinnamon and two parts lavender and add this to your wash water before cleaning to kill germs.
To Remove Candle Drippings: To remove wax from a table cloth or other item take some newspaper, lay it over the wax, and apply an iron on low heat.  Repeat this until the newspaper has absorbed all the wax.  Or you could soak the wax with cider vinegar for an hour and then rub vigorously until the was has dissolved. 
Creaking Doors: Rubbing a little soap on the hinges of creaking doors will quiet them.
To Remove Wine Stains: Immediately pour salt on the area that the wine has spilled on and brush it off.  Reapat this until all of the stain is gone.  DO NOT let the stain set.
Rug Deodorizer: Put a full box of baking soda in a bowl and add one eighth a cup lavender, four teaspoons fennel, five crushed eucalyptus leaves, four teaspoons lemon balm, and a dash of cinnamon and dust your rugs with this before vacumming.
Glue: Quick lime and old cheese beaten together is a strong household glue.  Another method of making glue is taking sap gum balls from fruit bearing trees, powedering them, and dissolving them in vinegar.  Tree sap mixed with powedered myrrh and orris root is effective, nicely scented, and simple.
To Remove Grease and Ink Spots: Make a sand soap and add a good amount of coarse sand to the cooling mixture.  (This soap also wonderful for cleaning tin!).  Another way is to mix carbonate of ammonia with rain water and dab this onto the spot.  (I'd think you could also use disstilled water.)
Laundry Freshener: Make a tincture of lemon rind, orange rind, or other aromatics and add this with 1 teaspoon of baking soda of your rinse water.
Silver Cleaner: Make a paste of baking soda and water and apply with a soft toothbrush.  This is good for all silver products, including jewelery.
Corn Shuck Mop: Corn shuck mops are simple to make great for cleaning pine floors  To make this mop use an 8-inch piece of wood with holes drilled into it all around.  Twist the shucks in tightly until each hole is filled.  Attach a handle to this and use lye soap with it.  If the shucks wear our, replace them.
All Purpose Cleanser: Salt is a good cleanswer for any non-delicate surface.  Baking soda can be used to clean almost anything.
*To Bleach Whites without Bleach: Boiling water works wonefully and also kills bacteria.  For anything really dirty (clothing, etc.) pre-wash them in very hot water with a gentle detergent and then drain the water and pour the boiling water into the tub (being VERY careful) and scrub some more.  Add some essential oils for scent and hand to dry.

      There are also some things sold today you may want to avoid.  First, recently there are many "wipes" that are sold.  These are for a variety of purposes.  Almost all of these wipes are non-biodegradeable and therefore horrible for the enviroment.  It's not that the choice of materials is bad, but usually they are synthetic, but that once they are coated with these harsh chemicals it will poullte the soil where it does start to break down.  Also, most of these wipes are coated with horrible harsh chemicals. Please recycle.  This is a good way to help get rid of overflowing landfills (let's face it, none of us wants this stuff in our backyard!)  If it's possible, by products packaged in glass.  If you buy things in tins then recycle them.  Recycle soda cans.  Recycle newspaper, and other papers.  You cna also recycle glass.  At the very least, at least reause these products in some way!  (Line the cat bin in newspaper, sherreded newspapers and aromatics herbs are nicer than kitty litter any day or use the jars from products you buy to store things it looks neat, even paint on them!) There's also the classic use paper or cloth bags instead of plastic.  Plastic bags are the threat to our enviorment, they are nonbiodegradeable.
* Added by Klothos of Bolt.com  Thanks so much Klothos!