Clean With Cleaners You Can Eat by Raven Ranson

I give this book 9 out of 10 acorns. I've learned a lot through this book! Not only that, it's a fun, easy read. It's full of information about not just cleaning recipes, but also preventative measures to reduce the need to clean, and to make cleaning easier. And, of course, I love that it's full of non-toxic, edible cleaners that are not only cheap, but easily accessible.

I do think some of the areas could be filled out a little more. But, that does not detract from the wealth of knoweldge offered. I think it'd be super cool for the book to have some more information about what are detergents (and their names, so we can watch out for them!), and info on oxygen bleach (I use it a lot, and would love to know how safe it is!), and maybe some info on how to make soap from the grease you don't want clogging your drains and the ash from your fireplace, and what a good laundry soap/"detergent" would be and what to put in ones dishwasher if one had one. Maybe, just maybe, these things will be in a second edition!

This book has a wealth of information, and is a great resource for those new to cleaning, as well as for those who are used to commercial cleaners, and even those--like myself--who haven't bought a commercial cleaner in years. If you want to know how to spend less time and money cleaning, and be healthier for it, this book is for you!

Thanks so much for taking the time to review the booklet.  Very much appreciated!

I agree, there are a lot more goodies we can add to the booklet.  Tracy might be able to add some illustrations and I have some more bits and bobs to add in.

When we update to the second edition, anyone who has bought the first will have access to the updates.  We'll post about it in the thread.

There's a lot I wanted to write about laundry and dishes, but I also wanted to keep restrict the contents to things I have a lot of personal experience with.  I don't have a lot of experience doing laundry and dishes with purely foodsafe ingredients.  ... yet.  But I do have a lot to say on the topic, enough to fill another 40 to 100 pages, so I think I'll save those for a new booklet.

Speaking of laundry... I'm off to the laundry room.

I just uploaded the second edition.

Clean With Cleaners You Can Eat now has fewer spelling mistakes and is now beautifully illustrated by the talented Tracy Wandling.

If you bought an earlier edition, you can upgrade for free by downloading the file again.  

I am actually excited to get this for my wife to read.  She has been interested in non-toxic cleaners for some time but there aren't many reliable resources on how to make them simply at home.   My gratitude to the author for making this available to the Kickstarter backers!

I know what you mean!

When someone suggested I write down what I know on this topic, I was surprised.  I didn't think I had anything to say that wasn't already common knowledge.  

So I went to the library and discovered that they have over 100 books on the topic.  WOW!  A hundred books on green cleaning!  How could there be anything new to say on the topic?  So I borrowed ALL OF THEM!  From the 100 or so books and 40cents in late fees later, I came to the conclusion that 97 of those books were a waste of paper.  These 97 books had advice that was either, really difficult, expensive, highly commercial, dependent almost exclusively on out-stinking the mess, chemically unsound (mixing two chemicals together to make salt water does not amplify the cleaning power of the ingredients), or all of the above.

A few of the books were helpful.  I already use most of the tricks recommended in these books, but I also learned a lot of good stuff from them. Most of those books are long out of print now, but I mention a few of my favourite in-print books in the resources section of this little ebook.  

The Hands-On Home is a fantastic book for this sort of thing.  If you have to make a choice between my book and that one, choose Erica's book!  It's worth every penny.

Of course, if you have a few extra pennies, you could toss them my way.  

I need to update my review to reflect how much more lovely the second edition is compared to the first. The pictures add SO MUCH to the book, and all the formatting is lovely, too. I look forward to future editions with laundry and dishwashers and even more goodness!!

The pictures make the book!

All I did was throw words at the page.  I got so much help and support from the community to edit the text into something useful.  

But I was feeling that the first edition was missing so much.  

As a reminder to everyone who bought the first edition. You can download any future editions free of charge.  

The Hands-On Home is a fantastic book for this sort of thing.  If you have to make a choice between my book and that one, choose Erica's book!  It's worth every penny.


Thanks for the referral!  We will check it out.  Just out of curiosity, what is the estimated timing of release of your book to kickstarter backers?

Thanks and have a great day!

Vernon Inverness wrote:
 Just out of curiosity, what is the estimated timing of release of your book to kickstarter backers?

This book was offered as a stretch goal for the Better Would Book kickstarter.  Paul and Shawn are handling everything and they have a a thread for all the questions about the kickstarter and rewards

Raven,

Just got my copy and am very excited to dig in. I just wandered to mention, I went to add the book to my Goodreads account, and I saw that your author profile there had the Homegrown Linen book listed, but not this one. I and a lot of people I know find books to read through Goodreads tbese days, so I wanted to suggest that you consider adding it there so that more people can find it. Thanks very much for offering it as Kickstarter candy!

Wow!  What a rabbit hole!

Goodreads looks amazing.  Thanks for suggesting it.

I submitted an application to be associated with my Author Profile.  From there I can add and alter stuff.  

Goodreads is super fun but dangerous—my to-read list will expand exponentially if I’m not careful!

Is Coca-cola a cleaner you can eat or at least drink:)? I think Coca-cola is on the borderline and I would not concider it as a cleaner you can eat but somebody would probably call it a cleaner you can eat.

The main reason coca-cola cleans so well is that it is highly acidic. All that citric acid. BUT, you can get all those cleaning benefits without needing soda. Vinegar is an acid, but not as strong as coca-cola. Citric acid, however, can be bought online in a big bag. I use it for making gummies and jello...and also for cleaning my toilets (and making fun little volcanoes for my kids, but that's a different story...).

In Raven's book, she lists a recipe for lemon peels soaked in vinegar. This is not only a great acidic cleaner, but also has the power of d-limonene, which is also a degreaser. In other words, it works great to get petrol-based gunk (like sticker goop and car oil) off of things. You can use any citrus peals to make a great cleaner.  Vinegar is cheap, and orange peals are also really cheap, especially if you like those tasty little mandarin oranges that sell in big bags around Christmas time. That's how I made my orange cleaner!

Hi! Thank you for all the communication and goodies. I do not have access to the book and had up’ed my support during campaign. Can you help confirm I am at the $100 level?

Diana Massa wrote:Hi! Thank you for all the communication and goodies. I do not have access to the book and had up’ed my support during campaign. Can you help confirm I am at the $100 level?

This sounds like a Better World Book Kickstarter support issue.  

Paul and Shawn are handling everything to do with that and they have a a thread for all the questions about the Kickstarter and rewards

Thank you so much for telling me about goodreads.  What a great resource!

I've added Clean with Cleaners you can Eat to goodreads.  I don't know if I did it right.  Could someone have a peek and let me know.

Now I'm off to apply for an ISBN for the ebook.

Raven.  I checked the link and it works perfectly.  I even put the new book on my 'to read' shelf and will be sure to rate/review it once I've finished reading it.  Have a great day!

Raven,

You’re very welcome!

It shows up perfectly on Goodreads.

YaY!!!
  So cool to be getting stuff from the kickstarter already. I have really been looking forward to this book. A few years ago I stopped using any commercial cleaner. I  was really trying to get rid of all the toxins I could think of. And I am allergic to so many of them anyway.
 It was great to see I am doing most of this already.  When I stopped buying comet or the like I thought what am I going to use to get rid of all the gunk in the bathroom.  So I experimented a little and found out baking soda and salt work even better. I use it to scrub everything now.  I have started putting lemon, or other citrus peel in a container of the salt and it gives a nice lemon scent to it as well.  
I have looked at other sources  about "green" cleaning and most were just promoting some product you had to buy. There are some good resources out there but it is nice to have it all in a book I can reference to now.  
 I was wondering what kind of linseed oil you use for making the wood cleaner?  I try and stay away from "boiled" linseed since it is not really boiled at all. Chemicals are used to make it more stable and not go rancid and I would just rather stay away from that.   I have tried to find out just what chemicals are use but it is hard to find any information on it.
 I am telling others about this hoping they will come get the book as well. We just don't need all this nasty stuff in our homes. People have been so brainwashed into thinking things are not clean unless it comes from some harsh industrial chemical,  and never think about the residue those so called cleaners are leaving behind.
 Thanks for getting this out so quickly and including it in the kickstarter!!

Nicole Alderman wrote:The main reason coca-cola cleans so well is that it is highly acidic. All that citric acid. BUT, you can get all those cleaning benefits without needing soda. Vinegar is an acid, but not as strong as coca-cola. Citric acid, however, can be bought online in a big bag. I use it for making gummies and jello...and also for cleaning my toilets (and making fun little volcanoes for my kids, but that's a different story...).

In Raven's book, she lists a recipe for lemon peels soaked in vinegar. This is not only a great acidic cleaner, but also has the power of d-limonene, which is also a degreaser. In other words, it works great to get petrol-based gunk (like sticker goop and car oil) off of things. You can use any citrus peals to make a great cleaner.  Vinegar is cheap, and orange peals are also really cheap, especially if you like those tasty little mandarin oranges that sell in big bags around Christmas time. That's how I made my orange cleaner!

Making cleaner from peals sounds great.Not to mention the pleasure to know that the fresh smell comes from natural ingredients.It is time to save the peals from all citrus fruits I think.

coca-cola is delicious, but I've never thought of it as food.

Very cool book. I'm not the greatest housekeeper yet so there's a lot of new info in here for me. 🙇‍♀️I do like to make soap though and I had a suggestion for this part:

Place odds and ends of soap in a jar. When you’ve collected enough, add
water and heat on low (double boiler, or the leftover heat harvested from the
oven or next to the fireplace) until it melts. Use this liquid soap for clothes,
dishes, or general household cleaning.

If you're going to store it, can I suggest to grate it, store the gratings, and add the gratings to water when you're ready to use it, rather than storing diluted soap? Diluting and storing soap is not recommended because it shifts the pH of the soap towards neutral and creates an environment where bacteria and mold can grow. Liquid soaps produced by soapmakers are liquid because they're made with a different kind of lye.  

Also the instructions you give for making your own mop make a Cuban mop which is tres chic right now. 😉

Although I've generally use pretty safe cleaning methods for a long time, I recently read Raven's book and it encouraged me to push even further. I'm back in Ontario helping my sister and she managed to spill bacon grease on her glass stove top. I took her jug of vinegar and glugged a small pool on to the stove top, wiped it around with a cloth, and was incredibly pleased at the good job it did. Two days later, my sister was again cooking something greasy that had splattered all over the surface. I was out weeding her garden at the time (she can't do bending for another 6 weeks at least) when she came out to her garage where she keeps a stash of extra bottles of vinegar. I asked what she was up to and she said, "Cleaning the stove with vinegar seemed to work for you. I thought I'd give it a try for myself." So I'd like to not only encourage people to read Raven's book, I'd like to challenge them to experiment on their family and friends! The more we encourage safe, Earth-friendly behavior in all the people around us, the better off we'll all be.

Maybe not the right place to post this but... other sister arrived and said, "oil and vinegar dressing don't stay mixed, so why did the vinegar do such a good job of getting the oil smear off the stove top?"

My off the cuff theory is that the oil always floats to the top of the vinegar, so the vinegar on the stove in effect "floated" the oil off the glass surface to be picked up with the cloth. If anyone knows a better thread to ask for more input on the chemistry behind this, please speak up. I'm happy to simply accept that "I saw it work - good enough", but my internal scientist is wondering why and how.

I did take some chemistry in collage but I did not get to organic chemistry so I am not sure of the details. Vinegar has some interesting characteristics compared to other strong acids.  One is that it is volatile, that is it evaporates and does not leave a residue when pure.  It is a significant, that is it makes the water wetter. That may be the explanation to removing the grease from the stove as speculated.  It is a buffering agent, That is because it's relatively large organic slows down chemical reactions.  When baking soda and vinegar are mixed the sodium combines with the acetic acid releases the carbon dioxide leaving sodium acetate an even stronger buffering agent.
So that brings up baking soda as a cleaning agent. As a dry agent it has a mild abrasive capacity. then when water is added the sodium has some capacity to combine with oils to make them soluble as a soap. So when I pore heated coconut oil into a jar with baking soda in it until all the air is displaced no reaction takes place because there is no water to separate the sodium from the carbon dioxide. When I put it on my toothbrush and put it in my mouth it starts out with the mild abrasive and antimicrobial properties of the 2 ingredients but then starts break down with the presence of water into an acceptable tasting soap to help wash away the debris.
Try scrubbing the glass stove top with dry baking soda then add the vinegar. Be cautious and make it a controlled experiment.

Hi Raven. for those of us just coming to this party, what is the best way to buy your book?

thanks to you and to the rrest of the posters here. this sounds like a good addition to my cleaning needs.

I used Lifetree products for over 25 years. and they were great. and no longer produced.
SO I'm going with you now!

Hi Gail,

You can buy the ebook on the first post of this thread or on my etsy shop (see my signature for the link).

I recently made the permies price a little lower to encourage people to buy here as permies gets a cut when goes to keeping the site up and running.  

This is another cover that Nicole helped make.  

Hello
I live in Canada and when I tried to buy and download this, it said the digital downloads are only available to residents of the US. Is there another way I can purchase this?  I’d love to read it and to support Raven. Thanks!

Lynn, she has it for sale on her Etsy page! https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/807127315/printable-green-cleaning-e-book-instant?ref=shop_home_active_27 There's also a lot of other amazing fibre arts stuff there for sale!

Nicole Alderman wrote:Lynn, she has it for sale on her Etsy page! https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/807127315/printable-green-cleaning-e-book-instant?ref=shop_home_active_27 There's also a lot of other amazing fibre arts stuff there for sale!

Thank you Nicole!

Awesome! I already clean with baking soda and apple cider vinegar, so I'm eager to see what other methods are available.
Thank you!