Well, this just happens to be my favorite formula ever, the best formula I ever created, and it only takes a few seconds to make. It rinses beautifully, too. No toxic chemicals, no fumes, no grit on the bottom of the tub to sit on when you have a bath. I created it thanks to a request from Nikki Goldbeck, wife of the publisher of my first book, Clean & Green! She loved her SoftScrub and wanted a fragrance-free version. I went home and came up with this. Note that as an added bonus it works wonders on stainless steel appliances!

Makes 1/2 cup

Cost: 0.36 cents

½ cup baking soda
A few squirts of a green liquid soap (such as Dr. Bronner’s) or detergent (such as Seventh Generation dish detergent or Ecover’s All-Purpose cleaner)

Place the baking soda in a bowl and add enough liquid soap or detergent to make a texture like frosting. Scoop some of the mixture onto a sponge and scrub the tub or the stainless steel. Rinse well.

After cleaning with the above soft scrub, some people like to bring stainless steel to a high polish by rubbing the surface with straight household vinegar. I’ve found that just rinsing the soft scrub well does the trick, but each to their own!

Note: Stay away from chlorine-based products on stainless steel.

Takes 7-10 seconds to make.