Natural Solutions

Whether you own cat has had an accident, or the neighborhood Toms have decided to leave their calling card, that awful smell of cat urine is something that you don’t want to linger. Save yourself from the olfactory assault with this trusted and true household product. That’s right, Vinegar to the rescue once again! This inexpensive miracle product is by far the best at tackling tough cat-related odors.

Cast iron skillets get better with age- as long as you’re consistently cooking with them, and as long as you don’t clean them with soap. If it’s been ages since you’ve actually used your skillet, chances are it’s in need of some TLC. Covered in rust, you say? No problem! Reach for these three simple kitchen staples to help you return your pan to its former glory. Coarse saltOil (vegetable, olive- even Crisco works!

Our sink has been draining very slowly for months; but, complete laziness has kept us from doing anything about it. Last night when we were brushing our teeth, we realized that we’d let it all go too far.

All the fruit we had gave us not only delicious fruit conserves, but also a bumper crop of fruit flies. We were humane to the spiders, but we had something else in mind for these fast-reproducing pests…It’s easy to make your own: just roll a piece of paper into a cone, pour some apple cider vinegar or put a piece of ripe banana in the bottom of a glass or jar, insert the paper cone, and wait.(Oh yeah, and get rid of the ripe or rotten fruit that’s attracting the fruit flies.

Grilling can be a year-round activity, but summer is an especially popular time to get cooking al fresco. Not only is the warm weather and longer, lighter days good reason to get outside, but that same nice weather can also make cooking inside (and preheating your oven) seem unbearable. Simply prepared meats and vegetables can feel downright special with minimal effort. So with all that extra grill use in the summer months, it can be important to show your grill some attention for its hard work.

No matter how clean a room may be, a dirty fireplace can make it look messy and unkempt. Tidying up can take time and effort, but the end results are rewarding, and will help keep your fireplace in great working order. More than likely you’re only dealing with some soot here and ther—and if that’s the case, your cleaning adventure won’t take all that long. But if you’ve inherited a neglected fireplace like mine, prepare to put in some time and serious elbow grease!

Whether you’ve resolved to lay off the libations in January (Anyone out there giving Drynuary a try this year?), have just a few drops left in a bottle, or are stuck with bottom-shelf booze after a big bash, we’ve got some great alternatives to pouring the party down the drain—clean with it!

Over the years I’ve been guilty of occasionally buying whatever bath cleaner is on sale at the store -could be all-natural, could not. The moment I try to settle into a nice, relaxing bath I immediately start thinking about what chemicals I’m being subjected to and majorly regret my decision.

Wool blankets are one of the most coveted finds at flea markets these days. They are practical, durable, and fashionable. And we’ve found a great way to clean them that costs only your time —and maybe your comfort if you don’t have a big warm winter coat. People have been cleaning with snow for ages.

Forget harmful oven cleaners: This two ingredient, all-natural recipe is great for more recent stains, like quickly cleaning up the lasagna spillage in your oven (and on your pans!). I know baking soda is a miracle compound, so I had pretty high expectations as to what this magical paste would do for my oven. The photo below is what I was hoping to tackle, but alas, this years-old stain was just too much for the simple recipe.

Sometimes we find ourselves in the most cliché nerd predicament: a leaking or exploding ink pen (where was your pocket protector when you needed it!?). But you can put away your inhaler, because removing an ink blob is easier than you think. Just grab some milk and vinegar and get to the stain ASAP! 2 parts whole milk1 part white distilled vinegarLarge bowl 1. Place your garment in a bowl at the most shallow part, allowing it to be covered completely with the mixture. 2.

If you’re tight on space and don’t want a bottle of rarely-used wood polish hogging the shelf, don’t buy it! Wood polish is easy to make in small, single use batches, so you don’t have to worry about trying to jam yet another bottle away under the cupboard. Depending on the size lemon you use, the polish ends up being around about 1/2 cup of liquid.

Lemons and vinegar are the great dynamic duo of green cleaning, but there’s nothing quite like the smell of fresh grapefruit. It’s fresh and sweet, and can give your bathroom that extra boost of freshness that is usually only obtained with heavily scented candles and other cleaning products that aren’t so earth-friendly. I recently moved into a home that had sat empty for a year and while it was in great condition, the old cast iron tub looked pretty rough.

Here’s an oldy but a goody that’s even more relevant now as MORE people are doing it… I recently bought my first pair of “serious” jeans. The reason I know this is because as I was standing at the register about to pay A LOT of money for them, a cool dude who was standing next to me at the register said, “Oh, you’re going to like those.” “Do you have a pair?” I asked him.

Pantry moth infestations are most frustrating. At the same time, I am committed to using natural, non-toxic, and mostly no-kill methods to deal with pantry moths. Here are the methods we recommend to get rid of them and effectively prevent further infestation. If you suspect you have pantry moths, first inspect everything in your pantry. Although moths tend to infest flours and grains, you should also check dried fruit, candy, pet food, etc.

Just this morning, AT:Green Home reader Shanalee wrote in:I have 2 cats and a dog. I Swiffer probably 3 or 4 times a week… that’s a LOT of Swiffer refills! Any green alternatives?-shanaleeDear Shanalee,By our calculations, you are spending about $1 per week, or $52 per year, on Swiffer refills, which means that over the next 5 years, you’ll spend upwards of $250 on something you’ll throw away.