Scrub it with salt
Give a new life to copper with a combination of lemon and salt. Slice a lemon in half and dip it in coarse salt, them loofah the pot to a luxurious shine.

Freshen up your furniture
Mix together 1/4 cup white vinegar with a few drops of olive oil. Polish with a soft cloth, going with the grain. You can also use lemon juice instead of vinegar.

Fix up those floors
Mix together a solution of vinegar and water and mop clean for the freshest, easiest floor fix

Put away the paper towels
Leaving lint and streaks on your windows is usually the best a paper towel can do. For a streak-free, flawless finish, with not a speck of residue to be seen? Use newspaper, instead.

Kick the clog
Have a blocked up drain? No problem. Pour 1 cup of baking soda down the drain, then slowly pour in 1 cup of white vinegar. Given your knowledge on how to build volcano eruptions as a kid, you probably can picture the action in the pipes. Let it sit for about 5 minutes (and if you can cover it, even better). Follow with 4 to 5 litres of boiling water.

What’s your favourite all-natural cleaning tip? Tell us about it!

Image courtesy of bonappetit.com

1. Clean the coils
Regularly cleaning the refrigerator coils ensures that it always running smoothly and performing at its peak.

2. Decide with the door closed
Wondering what to have for lunch? Ponder the possibilities with the freezer or fridge shut, then open it when you know what’s on tap. Same goes for baking- set it and forget it, checking it only when you need to, so it doesn’t have to work harder to maintain the internal heat.

3. Think ahead and thaw
Decide the night before if you want to take something out of the freezer for dinner the next day. Defrosted food will save on cooking time. (Keeping in mind that this does not apply for items that are not to be defrosted pre-cooking).

4. Fill ‘er up
Fill the dishwasher to capacity using the shortest wash cycle, and allow to air dry. Keep the fridge and freezer full, too – both appliances are much more efficient when packed versus empty.

5. Give glass a try
Baking in a glass dish allows for temperatures to be reduced by 25F, due to better heat conducting.

6. Love your laundry
Use cold water whenever you can, and don’t be overgenerous with detergent – you don’t need as much as you think. If you use dryer sheets, rip them in half – they still get the job done. Also be sure not to overload the dryer, but a better option is allowing clothes to air dry – either on an indoor rack or outdoor line.

7. Close the curtains
Hard to breathe on those hot, humid days? Close the drapes and blinds, keeping the coolness indoors.

8. Size up your saucepans
Ensure that the saucepans you use match the size of the element its on – a small pot placed on a large burner is an energy waster, and a large pot on a small burner takes longer to heat.

9. Quiet your computers
Turn off your computer and other items, such as printers, when not in use – obvious, but infrequently done. Click into your computer options and alter the “sleep” mode to kick in sooner than later.

10. Become one with a blanket
Slippers, sweaters and blankets can keep you toasty while you lower your thermostat a notch or two in the winter. Investing in a programmable thermostat is an efficient way to keep track of the heat when you are sleeping or not at home.

11. Lose the lights
Do you really need to have the lights on all the time? Open the blinds during bright days, and light a few candles in the evening. Often, if you have a TV humming in the background, this is more than enough brightness to mellow out for the night.

12. Free the flow
Reduce bath time and install low-flow shower heads. With shaving off only a few minutes, the numbers will continuously add up.

13. Go gap-free
Ensure your floors, walls and roof are properly insulated, and seal any gaps with caulking and weather stripping. If you can’t identify the drafts, this is a good one-time investment to hire a professional.

14. Grind it with girth
Opt for manual appliances, such as hand beaters, knives, and can openers, over the electric kind. The added bonuses are they often are easier to clean and take a few seconds to use.

From splashes of red wine to residue from dirty sneakers to pet problems, a hearty-carpet cleaning is not a chore we love to do, but results that we love to see.

With most commercial products and carpet-cleaning companies using chemical-laden ingredients, though, the labour itself isn’t the only reason we shy away from the dirt-ditching deed.

The answer lies in a chemical-free alternative. Real Natural Flower Power is a safe, healthier alternative to most cleansers, combined with a lovely aroma-therapeutic scent. Formulated from essential oils, it is free of polluting your home, family, and the environment. With nary a chemical to be seen, they combine a planet-loving process that is 100% biodegradable environmentally friendly.

Unlike conventional cleaners, Real Natural Flower Power does not contain any petrochemical-based solvents, which are the ones that often leave behind those anti-aromatic toxic fumes, and over-saturated “fresh” scents. Instead, it is a concentration of eleven therapeutic-grade essential oils, each with its own characteristics that make the carpet cleaner like no other. The blend of oils, they say, “produces a synergy, a complimentary union where the functionality of the blend far outperforms the sum of the individual parts in the blend.” We just think it smells good.

Because of the nature of carpet cleaning, chemicals used in the process stay in the carpet long after it dries. As a result, it is an avenue for avid inhalation and skin contact. This all-natural alternative combines oils that are both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, leaving your carpets a safe haven for yourself and your family.

The active ingredient is a coconut-derived, oil-based surfactant, which is then accentuated with the essential oils. Featured recently on ‘A’ Morning on A Channel, the company summed their products as “Art and science combined for carpet cleaning.”

Real Natural Flower Power has a line of products, for both machine or hand-use. They also sell a spot-remover, for  smaller marks, such as grass-stains or spilled wine, working far more efficiently than other cleaners that simply “bleach” the surfaces. The added bonus? It also works on upholstery, allowing for snacks to be eaten on the couch without a worry. To round out the product list, they also have developed a stain booster for deep-down cleansing, All varieties come in both commercial-use and home-use sizes.

A safer alternative, Real Natural Flower Power, offers a worry-free solution (no pun intended) to keeping your carpets clean and chemical free. With increasing investigation on carpet cleaners and their association with immune-deficient diseases such as Kawasaki Disease, it undoubtedly a safe-route to start cleaning chemical free [read more].

For more information about Real Natural Flower Power, visit: carpetcleaningvictoria.com