Many commercial household cleaning products are toxic for us, our children, and our planet.  There are so many non-toxic, earth-friendly options available in the stores now.  I’ve tried several of them.  Many of them clean fine, and some smell great (Method’s Wood for Good is one of them!  Available at Target and many other stores nationwide), but window cleaner was one in particular that I could not find a good product.  I’ve been through several different brands of non-toxic window cleaner to no avail.  Then, I asked my good friend, Larissa, for help.  She makes her own household cleaners.  I tried her very simple recipe for clean windows:

equal parts vinegar and water

Sprayed it on my mirrors, wiped with a cloth (she did emphasize to be sure to wipe until completely dry), and voila! clean, streak-free mirrors!  I also tried it on my patio doors, which are always streaky.  Streaky to the point that I sometimes look at them and think, “Hmmm…the dirt, fingerprints, noseprints, and soapy mess from the kids blowing bubbles and making “bubble-handprints” on the glass might actually look better than the streaks that will be there if I clean them!”  So, I cleaned both sides of the glass and was so impressed that the windows were clean and streak-free!  So, I’ve probably spent $20 on various bottles of commercial non-toxic window cleaners, and here was the perfect solution - vinegar and water - sitting in my cabinet.  Cheap and does the job.  Larissa also said she uses this as an all-purpose cleaner - for countertops, the kitchen table, etc. 

You may want to add a few drops of liquid detergent the first few times you use this solution.  It cuts the wax residue from past use of commercial products.

If you’d like more recipes for safe cleaning products, go to the care2 website via this link: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html

Happy, safe cleaning!