Money Monday: Clean Green

Admit it - you have a household cleaner graveyard under your kitchen sink. Sprays and solutions you bought to tackle all your dirty jobs around the house that are just sitting there.

Well, not only are those cleaners expensive, they're gunking up our planet with chemicals. Do your wallet and the planet a favor and consider making your own household cleaners the next time you have a problem.

Like I did --

Last week, I noticed my bathtub was draining slower and slower. The commercial machine has brainwashed most of us to think that a clogged drain is solved with Liquid Plumr or Drano. Ick - I don't even want to think of the chemicals in those things. Plus, each bottle costs about $6-$10.

So instead, I found a DIY solution online. I started by dumping a half cup of baking soda down the drain. Then I poured down a half bottle of white vinegar in small spurts, letting the two react and fizz. After about 10 minutes, I boiled a large pot of water and flushed that down the drain.

Voila! Unclogged drain!

Cost? Pennies - both the baking soda and vinegar came from the 99 Cent Only store and the water was free.

Impact on the earth? Minimal. My eco-conscience is clear.

I've also made my own daily shower spray from water, white vinegar, and tea tree oil and regularly use baking soda to scrub my stainless steel kitchen sink to a brilliant finish.

A simple Web search will find you a million homemade cleaner recipes or DIY green solutions . Alicia Silverstone has great homemade household cleaner recipes on her blog The Kind Life. I love this one about making your own laundry detergent!

Bottom line - there's always a more affordable and environmentally-friendly solution to your household cleaning problems. Try it - you'll save money and the earth. Happy green cleaning!