How to Clean Your Chopping Boards, Safely and Naturally

This week, Del and I taught our Green Living – Detoxify Your Home workshop to one hundred people!! That’s one hundred people who will hopefully return home, open up their cleaning pantry and really take a close look at the toxic, chemical products that they spray in their homes everyday.

This recipe for How To Clean Your Chopping Board was a favorite from the DIY’s that we demonstrated! And you can use this to clean and disinfect any area in your home! We use two ingredients which are incredibly good cleaners: vinegar & salt (ask your grandma, she’s known this all along!)

Vinegar – People have used vinegar to clean for ages. Probably because it used to be the strongest acid that we could buy. It’s because of the acidic properties that it kills bacteria, mold, and germs (viruses). It’s a great general cleaner and no, it doesn’t make your house smell like a chip shop! Just don’t use it on your marble or stone countertops – vinegar breaks down minerals, which is great for water stains, not so great for marble.

Salt – We’re talking about your cheap, table salt (which I hope you’re not eating!) Don’t use up your rock salt or sea salt, just plain salt will do. On its own it’s a great abrasive, but when combined with vinegar they become this super bacteria-fighting duo. Salt pulls out all of the moisture from the bacteria’s membrane, killing it by dehydration. A little brutal, but there it is…

Scientist now believe that the cause of so many of our health problems – the rise in asthma, allergies, eczema and even cancer – is the continual exposure to these chemicals. We have to remember, after you clean your windows and spray your countertops, the chemicals linger. They do not biodegrade easily. That means you are breathing it in, eating it when you clean your kitchen and refrigerator and are continually exposed – and the effects are showing up newborns, children and adults in the form of early disease.

You might be wondering – why are harmful chemicals allowed in our products?

These cleaners are sold in stores, made by well known brands… we assume that they’ve been tested to be safe. The problem is that every year thousands of new chemicals are being created, the majority of which have not been tested for long-term repeated exposure or when combined with other chemicals. It’s not just about the one product, it’s the cumulative effect of all the products that we use. Did you know that if you use a product that contains bleach (like an all-purpose spray) with a product that contains an acid (like a toilet bowl cleaner) then you’ve just created Chlorine Gas – a WWI chemical weapon! Is this really what it takes to clean our home?

It’s time that we take a step back.

If you listen to advertising companies, you’d think we need to launch a war against germs and dirt. If you listen to medical experts, you know that all you need is good hygiene and a few simple ingredients to keep a healthy home. You don’t need to buy a bunch of products, you probably already have all that you need right in your kitchen.

Do me a favour – open up your cleaning pantry and take a close look at your cleaning products. If it’s covered in warnings, it’s not something that you need to be spraying into your home.

• Leave a comment below with a product that you’d like to stop using, and let’s figure out how you can replace it with natural, simple ingredients.
• Want more safe and natural alternatives? You should join our Green Living Facebook page and meet almost 300 people who are making changes towards living a more natural, healthier life!

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p.s.  I received a bit of fun news – one of my recipes was picked up by the Huffington Post! No big deal!! Check out how to make your own ricotta cheese (easy!!) and whip up a Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli!