Traditional Cleaning and Gardening is Making a Comeback!

Thanks to better awareness of the health and environmental impacts associated with toxic substances, traditional cleaning and gardening methods are making a comeback!

Before supermarkets, synthetic sprays, and plastic bottles lined our homes, people kept their spaces clean and gardens thriving using simple, natural methods. At The Prairie Home Services, we believe it’s time to revisit those age-old practices—not only because they work, but because they’re cost-effective, non-toxic, and environmentally sound.

Timeless Wisdom from the Past

Historical documents like The Household Cyclopedia (published in 1881) detail how vinegar, baking soda, and soap made from animal fat were used in early American households. Meanwhile, First Nations and Indigenous communities and early settlers used natural composting and companion planting to maintain productive gardens without chemicals.

Key Lessons from Traditional Methods:

• Simplicity Works: Vinegar and baking soda clean almost everything. No mystery ingredients needed.

• Waste Not, Want Not: Garden scraps were composted, greywater reused, and nothing went to waste.

• Toxin-Free Is Common Sense: If it wouldn’t go in your mouth or on your skin, it didn’t belong in your home.

• Environmental Harmony: Gardens were designed with the local ecosystem in mind—inviting pollinators, using native plants, and avoiding invasive techniques.

Let’s bring back what worked. It’s time to reconnect with the land and our homes the way our ancestors did—naturally.