Spring Cleaning with Homemade Cleansers

Spring has sprung and we all know what that means. It's time to scrub those floors, wash those windows, and partake in the annual ritual known as Spring Cleaning.

As a type-A, hyper-organized person, I find this process cathartic and love seeing the finished product of a home rid of dust, grime, and old clothes. What I don't love is the cost and harsh smell of many of today's cleaning solutions.

Happily, Carla's readers come to the rescue with various homemade cleaner tips that will keep your wallet full and your house smelling like springtime daisies, not chemical cleansers.

Here are a few of my favorites that will give you great Spring Cleaning success:

• To clean painted walls Lynn Woodworth writes: "I use a mixture of 1⁄4 c. turpentine, 1⁄2 c. milk, and 2 T. liquid soap, dissolved in 2 qts. hot water. It gives a nice finish to flat or semi-gloss paint."

• To clean the refrigerator use a weak solution of baking soda.

• To polish rust from copper or silver use a paste of water and wood ashes. Or use half a lemon sprinkled with salt to clean copper...Repeat until you win. Carefully dry afterwards to prevent more rusting.