15 Tips for an Ecofriendly Home

Why use harsh and toxic chemical products when there are so many natural solutions for your home and health?  Here are 15 easy tips for your everyday needs.  #7 is my favorite!  Do you know of other tips?  Leave a comment below and tell us if you know of any other tips or ideas.

1. Natural Air Freshener: To refresh the room, take a liter of water and add a few mint leaves, a cinnamon stick or cinnamon powder and a few drops of eucalyptus oil, and let it boil on medium heat for five to seven minutes. The room will have a nice aroma.
2. Natural Manure: Use the residue of coffee and tea as manure for your rose plants or any other plant. They keep insects away too.
3. Clean Green Leaves: If a plant has leaves with white spots sprinkle water mixed with a few drops of vinegar and a little soda bicarbonate.
4. Shiny Silverware: If you are taking medicines wrapped in aluminum foils save the foils. If not tear a few aluminum foils we use to wrap food and put this in water.  Boil this water. When boiling put silver jewelry in it and boil for a few minutes. THE SILVER WILL SHINE.
5. No more smelly Trash Cans: Before putting a bin cover in your Trash Can, put some camphor or naphthalene balls or soda bicarbonate wrapped in a cloth as a small bundle. You will not get any adverse smell while opening.
6. Silky Hair: Give a final rinse to your hair with diluted tea decoction. The hair will be silky and shiny.
7. Natural and Fragrant Hair Conditioner: Pluck a few leaves from the hibiscus plant and make a paste in your blender with a few basil leaves and a little olive oil. Apply this to your scalp and rinse. It is a very good conditioner.
8. Grease-Free Kitchen Counter:  For any oily or greasy surfaces on the kitchen counter, rub a little all purpose floor or wheat flour and then clean it again with a wet cloth or wet tissue. The oily stickiness would have gone.
9. Spot free Clean Mirrors: When you boil a potato and peel it use the peel and clean the surface of mirrors. The mirror will look clean.
10. Stain Free Sinks, Bath Tubs, Range, Glass and vessels: Add a table spoon of baking soda (soda bicarbonate) with two tablespoons of vinegar and two drops of any soap solution. This will look like pulp.  Use this to clean your wash basin, bath tub, kitchen sink, cooking range surface, glass and even vessels. This removes even hard tough stains.
11. Insect bite treatment:  If you suspect an insect bite, mix a quarter teaspoon of turmeric powder with basil leaves crushed and apply on the spot. The skin irritation or the poison if any will vanish.
12. Coffee Mug Stain Remover: If there is a coffee stain in your mug,  rub some white salt with soda bicarbonate for some time with your fingers. The stain will vanish.
13. Keep New clothes from fading color:  If you rinse your new dress in water mixed with salt for your first wash the color will not fade.
14. Fragrant and Insect free Closet: Place some camphor tied in a cloth in your wardrobe.  Insects will not spoil the clothes and the clothes will smell nice.
15. Natural decongestant: If you have a cold, heat water to a boiling point, add a few drops of eucalyptus oil and inhale the vapor. This will give you relief.

[Images Credit: Sastha Prakash]