Being the "crunchy" homemaker that I am and a mom to two messy boys, I like to make my own cleaning supplies so I thought I'd share some of the recipes with you all for them. I always look forward to cleaning my house when I go to the grocery store and get the ingredients for them along with some soy candles. There's just something about it that makes me so happy that I want to clean! So now I kind of have an addiction to soy candles and lemons. In all honesty I don't usually measure everything out. I just dump it in and use it. So you can always measure and see what amounts work for you. Here are some of the recipes for cleaning your house safely.
Multipurpose cleaner
1 spray bottle
vinegar
lemons
Juice 1-2 lemons and add with vinegar in the spray bottle. You can always dilute it with water if you don't want it so strong. The vinegar smell does dissipate after a few minutes. I use this cleaner to wash anything from counter tops to floors. A lot of people add essential oils, I don't know much about them yet, but will probably starting using them after I do more research on them.
Scrubbing powder
Baking soda
zest of lemons or oranges
I use scrubbing powder for anything from scrubbing pots and pans to bathtubs. I would love to add lavender to mine but still haven't found anywhere to buy it locally. But you can find it online HERE.
Window cleaner
spray bottle
vinegar
water
Dr Bronner's castile soap
I put 3/4 water and 1/4 vinegar in the spray bottle along with 1/4-1/2 tsp of Dr Bronner's Castile soap. I love their eucalyptus one. You can get Dr Bronner's Castile soap HERE.
Toilet bowl cleaner
baking soda
peroxide
I just dump and let sit for about 20 mins then scrub the toilets.
Homemade oxiclean
1 c peroxide
1/2 c baking soda
I mix in with water in my washing machine and then soak the clothes for about 1-2 hrs or overnight then wash. If they are really stained, I'll soak them in a bucket with water and a double batch of the oxiclean.
I'm still looking for a good liquid laundry soap recipe that works for the clothes and my son's cloth diapers. Currently I'm using soap nuts or Ecover's liquid laundry soap. If anyone knows a good recipe just leave a comment and let me know.
I have found a recipe for homemade dryer sheets on Pinterest that I'm going to try. I will post a tutorial about it when I have had a chance to see if it works.
Ok.... so I am taking your advice. Talked it over with my hubby and we are taking it slow. Starting with the household cleaners we are weeding out unnecessary chemicals. Thank you for the inspirational motivation! :) Can you post the different measurements you would use for the scrubbing powder and the Toilet bowl cleaner. Im new at this so any advice is welcome. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFor the scrubbing powder it depends on how much you want to make up in advance or to use immediately. I use scrubbing powder as a carpet deodorizer by adding essential oils instead of the zests. I would say to use 2 cups baking soda and 2 tblsp zest. I just thought of that you can dry the zest and then break it up to get even more scrubbing power. For the toilet bowl cleaner, I honestly just dump and scrub lol. I let it sit for a while. You can also substitute vinegar for the peroxide.
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