Spring seems to be the time to clean! From floors and cabinets to stove tops and carpet stains, a homemade all-purpose cleaner can do it all. You can make a batch of effective, non-toxic cleaner with simple ingredients that costs a fraction of what you’d pay at a store.
 
Many store-bought cleaners have additives like color and fragrance, as well as harsh and unnecessary agents that can affect household air quality, be a risk for children and pets and harm your household pipes as well as the sewer pipes we share.
 
If you’re ready to make your own green cleaners, try some of the recipes on our website. Replace your blue, ammonia-based window cleaner with club soda. Or try our all-purpose cleaner below. 
 
Once you fall in love with these cleaners, you may want to rid your house of all kinds of toxic cleaners and chemicals. For safe disposal, please take them to a Household Hazardous Waste facility.
 
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This is the recipe we recommend and use in our homes! To make a gallon, quadruple the batch and reuse the gallon jug from the distilled water. Use this cleaner to cut stove top grease, wipe counter tops and tackle carpet stains. 

“This is the best field trip ever!”

Each year, we work with Ford Middle School to make sure every 6th grader makes a trip to the Franklin Pierce School District’s farm. Students from Harvard and Midland elementary schools also visit and participate in planting and harvesting.

Before they visit the farm, students learn about natural resources and how to have a positive impact on our environment. This includes growing food locally using sustainable farming practices. When they arrive at the farm, they help plant and harvest food that goes back to the schools. This year they focused on plants that attract bees.

Classes in May and June: Container Gardening; Fruit, Nuts & Berries; Your Summer Garden: Vegetables & Herbs
Register at piercecountywa.org/ediblegardens

Classes include: Tour of the Compost Factory and Landfill
Register at piercecountywa.org/composting

Calendar

Saturday, June 2: Pierce County Parks—Pitch In For Parks at Bresemann Forest

Tuesday, June 5: Pacific Lutheran University—Life on Land/Sea: Owls and Whales

Saturday, June 9: Pierce County Master Gardener Talks—Hugelkultur, Gig Harbor

Saturday, June 16: Pierce County Master Gardener Talks—Rain Gardens, Puyallup

Saturday, June 23: Pierce County Master Gardener Workshop—From the Ground and Up