Housekeeping with Natural Products

This week, as part of this month's One Small Change Challenge, I have been trying to make the move towards using more "green" and natural cleaning products. I had been contemplating this move for a while, but was a bit reluctant - so I finally took the plunge and tackled our family bathrooms, and for the most part, I was pleasantly surprised.

First, I had to actually purchase some "green" products. I've been wiping down our kitchen island with a mixture of water and vinegar for years, but that's as far as my "green-ness" went. I was in our local Big Box store this week, and purchased a box of Borax. I was surprised at the low cost - I got a 76 oz box for less than $5.00. Ounce per ounce, this was more expensive than Ajax Cleanser ($0.95 for 21 oz), the product I had been using to clean the commode, but according to the research I'd done, the Borax is much more versatile, so I deemed it worth the extra cost. (In addition to Ajax, I had been using SoftScrub to clean the other bathroom surfaces - because that's what my Mom uses :-)  )

I followed the directions on the box and used 1/4 cup of Borax to clean the toilet bowl. It was exactly like using Ajax, I just dumped in the powder, swished with a toilet brush, and then let it sit for about 45 minutes. While the Borax was doing its thing in the toilet bowls, I moved on to sinks and counter-tops. (I should explain that we have 2 bathrooms on the second floor - one in the master bedroom and one off the hall - I typically clean them both at the same time, since I've carried up all the cleaning stuff anyway). To clean the sink, counter-tops and faucets, I again referred to the box, and sprinkled a bit of powder onto a damp microfiber cloth and got to scrubbing. The Borax worked beautifully! I was really pleased with how well, and quickly it cleaned the vanities. What I especially appreciated was that the Borax leaves no residual odor - things smelled clean, but not like cleaning products - it was great!!

My only complaint was really a logistical one - how to best dispense the product out of a 4+ lb box? I found the box size really unwieldy, and I can't conveniently store it under a bathroom sink. And lets be honest, if the stuff isn't in the bathroom, then our bathrooms are going to get cleaned a lot less frequently - which is not a good thing! I posted this question to the Mothering.com discussion boards, and several folks suggested parmesan cheese shakers. I will see if I can't find a source for those - I'm hoping to have a few minutes to do a bit of thrift store shopping tomorrow, and I might get lucky!