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I really try to make my house as natural and eco-friendly as possible.  I don't use any chemicals to clean the house, I make my own washing powder and can generally find a green alternative for anything I want to clean round the house. Not only is it better for our health, and that of the environment, but it is cheaper and gives me peace of mind that I am doing the best by my family.(Especially now a little someone is crawling and into almost EVERYTHING!) Cleaning staples in our house include borax, baking soda (bi-carb soda), salt, vinegar and a selection of essential oils. You can pretty much clean the whole house with these ingredients, plus a few others you probably already have in the pantry.

One of my relatively found 'green cleans' is for the dishwasher. I love my dishwasher. It makes life easy. But I really hated using (what the boxes claimed to be 'natural') dishwashing powder or tablets. If you have a dishwasher, try this simple recipe, it truly is, a safer natural alternative - and works beautifully.

1 tablespoon of borax
3 tablespoons of baking soda
a few drops of lemon essential oil

I just throw it all down on the lid and let my dishwasher do the rest. Easy! Start the dishwasher and let it run its normal cycle.

You will feel peace of mind knowing that the dishes you eat off are not caked in harmful detergents!