Keeping the kitchen clean is a never ending chore, but an important one. A clean kitchen means a safe kitchen. That said, many cleaning products that we typically use to clean our kitchens may actually be doing the opposite of keeping us safe. The chemicals found in the majority of cleaning products can actually be pretty harmful to your health. I’ve been buying store brand versions of all the popular cleaning products for years, not even aware of how many different toxic chemicals I was exposing my family too. When I learned that there are plenty of natural ways to clean my kitchen that are not only much safer but also work just as well and are even cheaper than my old store brand products, I changed my cleaning ways.
I’d been buying all kinds of bottles of chemical cleaning products, but it turns out that all I needed was simple things I already have in my kitchen! The majority of kitchen cleaning tasks can be accomplished with just lemon, salt, baking soda, and vinegar. Oven cleaner is particularly toxic, but now I just use a paste made from baking soda and water. I let that sit for a while before wiping it off and then spraying everything down with some distilled white vinegar. I let that sit for a bit, then wipe everything down, and my oven is left clean and chemical-free. To clean my cutting boards, I just cut a lemon in half and rub that all over the board’s surface. I then sprinkle the cutting board with salt, let it sit for 15 minutes, and then scrub it with the lemon again. A simple rinse under warm water and my cutting board is clean and disinfected. The lemon comes in handy when cleaning out the refrigerator as well. I just make a solution with a mix of lemon juice and water and use that to spray on and wipe down the inside of the fridge. For particularly messy spots, I’ll use a little baking soda as well. For a general cleaning spray that works well for countertops and other surfaces, I mix together vinegar, water, and some lemon juice. It cleans, disinfects, and leaves a fresh citrusy smell.
In the past, I would give myself a pat on the back for saving money by buying store brand cleaning products. Now, I barely spend anything at all, and my kitchen has never been cleaner. Every time I clean my kitchen, it gives me a little burst of happiness and pride because I know the products I’m using won’t hurt my family. They also get the job done, cost almost nothing, and are so easy to use. I had no idea that natural things like lemons and vinegar are effective disinfectants. Now that I know how easy it is to clean my kitchen using natural products, I’m ready to tackle the rest of the house. I’m pretty sure that baking soda and water paste will work really well on the bathroom tile. 
