Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

Whether you're in your last trimester and nesting like crazy or have a new baby at home, you're likely to be overly concerned about germs.  You may actually be willing to spend whatever you have to in order to keep baby from coming in contact with anything potentially germ-ridden. Especially if this is your first baby, germ warfare is extremely important.

Unfortunately, bringing home a new baby also impacts your budget the way no other life-changing event does.  You're suddenly buying three times as many diapers than you ever thought possible, and unless you're one of those very lucky but rare individuals with phenomenal health insurance, your hospital bill probably beat you and baby home from the hospital.

One way you can save an extraordinary amount of money is when you're killing germs and sanitizing literally every surface in your home – and you can do it with a couple of products that cost mere pennies compared to commercial cleaners, products you probably have in your home already, and products that don’t hurt the environment or baby.

This little miracle mixture kills 99% of all germs and bacteria on surfaces, will scrub out some of the most stubborn stains (I've used it on coffee, wine, and blood) and is gentle enough that even if baby somehow ingested some, the worst it would do is cause a little gas.

The mixture? Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Mixed together as a paste, you can use it to scrub shower walls, sinks, toilets, and tubs.  Add a little extra peroxide for a more liquid solution that you can use in a spray bottle for a quick wipe-down of surfaces.  Straight peroxide (or half peroxide and half water, depending on the strength of the peroxide) will kill the germs on your kitchen counters and other surfaces.  I even used hydrogen peroxide on my carpet after my daughter spilled a strawberry smoothie – it took the pink right out and restored the carpet to its color.

As with anything, you should check a small area before using the mixture to make sure it won't damage it.  Additionally, hydrogen peroxide loses its potency once it has been exposed to sunlight (that is why you can only find it in brown bottles in the store).  It's best to mix it only when you're going to use it.

When I make my paste mixture, I add just enough peroxide to the baking soda (which I buy bulk from the grocery store for less than 25 cents per pound) to make the paste.  I bought a dark spray bottle that I keep peroxide in for spraying on countertops.

If you have a really tough stain, you can add a small amount of salt to the mixture. The salt makes a great abrasive to help remove stubborn stains.  Don't believe that this could possibly be harmless? It is!  I brush my teeth every morning and night with the same mixture of baking soda, peroxide, and salt – it leaves my teeth whiter and brighter, kills the bacteria that causes bad breath, and oxygenates the mouth to keep bad breath from recurring.

If you want to protect your baby from all the germs out there but want to be a savvy mommy when it comes to making your budget stretch, make the switch to this simple, inexpensive cleaning solution.  Not only will your mind be at ease because you're saving money, you also won't have to worry about your exploring toddler finding a cupboard full of chemicals that might cause harm.