Green Routine: DIY Drain Cleaner

The Christmas decor is down and it's back to work this morning. But it's the fresh & shiny start to a new year and for that I am thankful. I love the newness the beginning of the year holds and the road stretched wide with possibilities that seems to lay before us.

Perhaps one of your resolutions this year has to do with cleaning. Well, whether it does or not, I have a little gem for you: DIY Drain Cleaner. You see, our shower drain gets clogged pretty often. We usually buy some store bought cleaner, but it's kind of expensive. I saw this pin on pinterest from the blog Tidy Mom (Great blog, go check it out) and I knew I had to give it a try. It claimed to be the best drain cleaner and only used two ingredients that I already had on hand!

Here's what you do:

1. Pour 3/4 cup of baking soda down drain
2. Add 1/2 cup of white vinegar and cover drain with plate or plug.
3. After 30 minutes, remove plate or plug and run hot water down drain for several minutes.
4. Repeat 1-3, only if necessary (I had to for a very tough drain clog).

You can also do this on a regular basis just to keep your drains clean. Cool, huh? So inexpensive and so effective. I like that!

Check out my other post on my getting-there green routine:
Coconut Oil Love

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Green Routine: Coconut Oil

Lately I've been fairly fascinated with using homemade products to replace some of the things I buy at the store. I have a few concoctions I plan to share with you soon, but today I can't help but share my newest love: Coconut oil.

Not just for cooking! I started using coconut oil in the shower to shave my legs. Holy moly is it awesome. Coconut oil comes in a jar and is fairly solid at room temperature, but it melts at body temperature, so it glides on super smooth. Plus, it's so moisturizing that I don't need to put on lotion after I get out of the shower. Major score considering I usually forget to put on lotion anyway which results in less-than-silky smooth legs, especially during the dry winter. (If you can really call it "winter" in San Diego)

I got my jar for $6 at Sprouts, a local health food store, but I have also seen it similarly priced at Walmart and Trader Joe's. You can also buy it online from Amazon.

Apparently there are quite a few other household uses for coconut oil. Haven't tried them yet, but I might just have to! Did you know that coconut oil is antimicrobial, antiviral, antiinflammatory and antifungal?

• Use a small amount as a deep hair conditioner.
• Use a bit on your lips as chapstick
• Use it on bug bites to stop the itching
• Put it on a cut like neosporin
• Use a bit on a cotton ball as make up remover
• Use it on your skin like lotion. It's said to be great for psoriasis, eczema and dermatitis
• Mix with peppermint oil extract and rub on your skin as an insect repellant
• Use it on babies to help with cradle cap
• Deodorant? ...I don't know if I'm sold on that one.

And those are just a FEW of the topical uses. It also helps with quite a few ailments when ingested. That, and many more uses can be found here

The more I learn about common products getting the job done naturally AND cheaper, the more I wonder why I keep wasting my money on products filled with tons of chemicals. Don't you?


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