Confession time: When I was in college, I used to buy off-the-shelf carpet deodorizers with artificial lavender or tropical scents.

Before becoming eco-savvy, I never suspected these carpet “fresheners” were hazardous—or that I was breathing in a nasty dose of their residues as I vacuumed.

Read their labels today, and you’ll find unhealthful ingredients you don’t want to inhale. And newer versions, available as quick-dry foams, have propellants that contain propane and n-butane.

To avoid chemical exposure, go the do-it-yourself natural/organic route, which also turns out to be less expensive. Today’s DIY carpet deodorizer recipe calls for only two nontoxic ingredients:

1. Baking soda, which absorbs odors
2. 100% pure natural/organic essential oils for customizable fragrances

As with Wednesday’s recipe for DIY Natural/Organic Carpet Cleaner, the aromatherapy experts at Aura Cacia recommend using deodorizing essential oils like bergamot (a refreshing citrus), coriander seed (like bergamot, with a woody nuance) or lavandin (a cross between true lavender and spike lavender).

DIY Natural/Organic Carpet Deodorizer 

• 1 cup baking soda
• 18 drops essential oil

1.  Mix ingredients.
2. Sprinkle on carpet, and allow powder to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Vacuum normally.

Household cleaners are notoriously loaded with caustic and toxic chemicals, so trading them in for green cleaning products is one of the first steps organic consumers take. 

After a while, however, we tend to figure out that we can use common household ingredients like vinegar and fresh lemon juice to create do-it-yourself versions that get the job done effectively and less expensively. Add your favorite natural/organic essential oils, and you can customize your cleaners’ scents—an added bonus. 

Today’s DIY carpet cleaner recipe contains only three nontoxic ingredients: 

1. Baking soda, which gently scours surfaces while absorbing odors
2. Natural liquid soap (made from vegetable or nut oils)
3. 100% pure natural/organic aromatherapy essential oils 

Aura Cacia, a manufacturer of natural and certified organic essential oils, recommends using deodorizing oils like bergamot (a refreshing citrus), coriander seed (like bergamot, with a woody nuance) or lavandin (a cross between true lavender and spike lavender) in today’s homemade carpet cleaner.

DIY Natural/Organic Carpet Cleaner

• 1 cup baking soda
• 18 drops natural/organic essential oil
• 1 teaspoon liquid soap 

1. Mix baking soda and essential oil.
2. Add liquid soap and mix, until a creamy paste forms.
3. Apply to spots on carpet. Scrub and blot dry.

Most cats have a visceral reaction to catnip (Nepeta cataria), whose aromatic oils entice them to eat it, rub up against it, roll around on the floor and/or drool. (This is your cat on drugs…)

Outdoor/Windowsill Gardening 

Growing your own organic catnip is a breeze. Tolerant of virtually any type of soil, the perennial thrives outdoors and in windowsill gardens. You can buy a packet of 450 certified organic catnip seeds for as little as $1.89.

Organic Cat Toys 

As for organic cat toys, Duckyworld Products sells a variety of stuffed playthings, including 100% organic catnip pillow toys ($7.69) and the adorable Stinky Sardine ($8.75). The company’s toys are filled solely with 100% organic catnip—no cotton fillers, plastic pieces or other cheap mainstream stuffings.

DIY crafters should check out Holly Tse’s Make Your Own Cat Toys: Saving the Planet One Cat Toy at a Time ($11.95), which features more than 50 projects and lots of eco-friendly cat care tips.

Brew a Cup of Organic Catnip Tea 

Humans are not immune to catnip’s botanical powers. Steep dried plant leaves in hot water, and you’ll enjoy a lemony mint tea.

Celebration Herbals sells a box of 24 ready-to-use organic catnip teabags for $4.89. The bags are chlorine-free and can be composted after use, and the box is made from recycled paper.

DIY Beauty Products 

Organic catnip essential oil is a natural mosquito repellant, and you can use it to scent handmade bath and body products (soaps, lotions, bath salts). It can, however, be expensive: about $23 per fluid ounce. That said, a little goes a long way, so consider it an investment.

We’ve talked about different ways to soften fabrics when you wash and dry your clothes (plant-derived dryer sheets), as well as products to avoid (toxic, beef fat-infused dryer sheets and laundry balls).

I’ve also reported on ways to green your washing machine, the importance of ENERGY STAR-rated washers and eco-friendly dryers.

Today, I’ll conclude this series with a look at two of the most low-tech, yet effective, ways to soften fabrics:

1. Organic distilled white vinegar
2. Baking soda

According to Deirdre Imus (yes, she’s Don’s wife), author of Green This! Volume One: Greening Your Cleaning:

Distilled white vinegar, preferably organic, is the best and healthiest softener. Just put a tablespoon in the rinse cycle, as you would any of the toxic fabric softeners. (Don’t overdo it—you don’t want your clothes to smell like vinegar!) Your clothes will come out soft every time.

In lieu of vinegar, add 1/4 cup of baking soda to the wash cycle, she says.

If you want your clothes to smell nice, add a few drops of your favorite organic essential oil to your washer’s rinse cycle, notes Imus, founder and president of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. As an alternative, place a few drops on a washcloth, and toss it into the dryer with your clothes.

Also by Deirdre Imus

• Growing Up Green!
• The Essential Green You: Easy Ways to Detox Your Diet, Your Body and Your Life