Is that a gross title? I was not going for gross.

But I was trying to think of a way to make cleaning your bathroom sound fun. Because really, who wants to scrub a toilet? It is not the most fun job ever.

Although, mixing up some green cleaning products makes it a little more enjoyable, if only because it saves money and makes the whole room smell fresh and clean without chemicals.

And really, isn’t fresh and clean about the best we can expect from a bathroom?

So as part of our green cleaning series, this week, we are talking toilets (and all other things bathroom related).

I recently bought myself a new toilet brush. It was a very exciting day.

But bringing that new little friend home made me wonder about something — isn’t the toilet brush really doing most of the work in the toilet cleaning equation? Do I really need a strong cleaner? Turns out the answer is no. A little squirt of castile soap actually got the potty sparkling. I’m sure mixing some castile soap with a little tea tree oil would create a natural disinfectant too!

For the rest of the bathroom, I often call upon my favorite all-purpose spray cleaner that I talked about a few weeks ago.

When a deeper clean is needed, I mix up some homemade paste out of baking soda, castile soap and essential oils.  I use about a half a cup of baking soda and add enough soap to make a paste. Then I add a little tea tree or eucalyptus oil and a citrus-y oil like lemon (about 5 drops total of essential oils).

The paste works a lot like those Scrubbing Bubbles type cleaners without the chemicals. Tea tree and eucalyptus help kill nasty stuff in tubs and showers too.

For mold in showers or tubs, try mixing 2/3 parts water to 1/3 part hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle and scrub, scrub.

Finally, I would like to share with you my top secret recipe for cleaning mirrors (works on windows too). It was passed down to me from my grandmother. Ready?

Top Secret Glass Cleaner

1 part vinegar

1 part water

Mix in a spray bottle. Spray on glass. Wipe with a cloth.

OK, if you want to get really fancy, you can add a little essential oil to make it smell a little nicer, but my grandma never did that.

I remember in spring going to my grandparent’s house and our entire family spent a day cleaning all of their windows. It wasn’t that big of a house, but it sure had a lot of windows. They all sparkled using this homemade mix.

So there you have it! A very clean bathroom area!

My friend Laura also sent me a simple idea for a bathroom air freshener (you know, just in case) — mix one part baking soda with one part scented bath salts and place in a dish.

I love this idea — such a nice, low-cost alternative to chemical air fresheners!

I’m really excited to announce that as part of the green cleaning series leading up to Earth Day, we have at least one big give-away coming up. So stick around, and if you have green cleaning ideas, please share them in the comments below!