Spring Cleaning- With Tea

The town that I live in has been promoting "Go Green" for the last six months. Recently my son told me that at his school they were going to start using "green" cleaning supplies and suggested that I follow suit (actually, he told me that I need to switch to prevent polluting his air space). I like my house to stay clean, okay- I am a bit fanatical about it, and that has always meant using glass cleaner, bathroom cleaner and bleach among other toxic cleaning chemicals. This past Saturday a customer came in and brought me a page from a national magazine that discussed all natural cleaners. Tea was listed as the product to use for scouring rusty garden tools. The directions said to make 2 pots of really strong black tea and let it cool (cheap teabags are a good option for this). After the tea has cooled pour into a bucket and add the rusty garden tools. Allow the tools to soak for a few hours and then remove and wipe with a cloth. This started me thinking about other ways that tea can be used for cleaning. I found that used green tea leaves (thoroughly dried after steeping) have strong deodorizing properties and can be used to deodorize a cat litter box. Simply sprinkle the dried tea leaves in with fresh litter. Used, dried, green tea leaves can also refresh a soiled and smelly carpet- sprinkle on the carpet (let sit for 5-10 minutes) and then vacuum. And don’t forget, used tea leaves are also excellent for composting, just add to your bucket of coffee grinds and veggie peels to make all- natural mulch. Happy spring cleaning!