Living Green In Your Home

Green Ways to Clean Your Apartment

Okay, so you are new to Japan and your house is a mess. If you don't want a lot of nasty chemicals invading your space and can't read the kanji on cleaning products at the supermarket then maybe you can try making your own cleaning products at home using basic ingredients like salt, baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice. A significant portion of the price you pay for stuff in the supermarket covers packaging and advertising costs so why pay for that, especially if you don't approve of how it is done?

Karen Logan's "Clean House, Clean Planet: Clean Your House for Pennies a Day the Safe, Non-Toxic Way" is highly recommended. It is available from Tengu, whose newsletter recently contained the following gems of information:

• If you've read the book "Clean House Clean Planet" you'll have come across distilled white vinegar. This is great stuff especially when cleaning up mineral and soap deposits. If you have trouble finding it in Japan, try asking for "sakusan" at your local chemist. It's sold in 500ml bottles and is very concentrated. To use for cleaning, dilute six parts water to one part vinegar (so 500ml makes 3 litres) before use.
• If the smell is a bit much, you can also add an essential oil of your choice. Alternatively you can try "mokusakueki". This is a white vinegar with charcoal added giving it a "woody" smell. Some of you will love the smell, but others might find it a little strong. You can find it in some home centers and natural health food stores.

Further Reading

Dover Council's web-site has information about Alternatives to Hazardous Chemicals.