Here are eco-friendly cleaning products—adapted from recipes in Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living by Annie Berthold-Bond.
Window Cleaner: Mix equal parts white vinegar (a natural disinfectant/deodorizer that reduces bacteria, mold, and germs) and water in a spray bottle.
Scouring Powder: Make a paste of baking soda and nontoxic dish soap (about 1 to 1 ratio, use less than you think you’ll need, it makes a lot; add water, if needed, to thin).
Wood Cleaner: Mix equal parts water and vinegar, plus a few drops of olive oil. Add essential oils for fragrance if you want. You can also add a small amount of nontoxic dish soap if needed.
Bleach: For laundry, add lemon juice (another natural disinfectant), borax, washing soda, or hydrogen peroxide to the rinse cycle. For general disinfecting, use nontoxic soap and/or white vinegar. Certain essential oils (including tea tree, lavender, orange, and eucalyptus) are antiseptic and can be added to water in a spray bottle to make all-purpose cleaners.
By Alexandra Zissu
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We’ve got some simple solutions that are good for you (and gentle on the Earth).
Honestly, who really sees your feet until it’s time to slip on a pair of open-toe shoes or sandals? Chances are no one, which explains why we pay so little attention to them in the winter. Follow our heel-to-toe guide for fabulous-looking feet—and we’ll forgive your neglect. Pressed for time? Simply combine steps to turn this into a one-day treatment. Either way, you’ll be ready to show off your tootsies long before Memorial Day.
Renew the radiance of your skin and hair with these homemade spa treatments.
It’s time for your hands to come out of hibernation. If yours aren’t quite ready, try this homemade solution from Lisa Price, founder of Carol’s Daughter, a natural hair- and skin-care line. Price, who concocted her first products in her kitchen, created this overnight skin softener using sugar to gently slough away rough patches, coconut oil to moisturize, and lemon juice to lighten pigment discoloration and brighten skin. 
We asked Donna Perillo, owner of New York’s Sweet Lily Spa, for an at-home recipe to pamper your feet and help get them ready to emerge from winter’s boots and wool socks. “The caffeine in the coffee reduces redness and swelling, while the salt, coffee grinds, and vanilla beans—along with the lactic acid in the whipped cream—are all natural exfoliants,” Perillo says. 
The secret to this inexpensive home whitening method is malic acid, which acts as an astringent to remove surface discoloration. Combined with baking soda, strawberries become a natural tooth-cleanser, buffing away stains from coffee, red wine, and dark sodas. While it’s no replacement for a bleaching treatment at your dentist’s office, “this is a fast, cheap way to brighten your smile,” says Adina Carrel, DMD, a dentist in private practice at Manhattan Dental Arts in New York. “Be careful not to use this too often, though, as the acid could damage the enamel on your teeth.” 
