For those of you who have been following my blog for a while (thanks by the way!), you will know that I have been trying to “green” my cleaning routine for a while now. I have used store-bought non-toxic cleaners and was really impressed with their cleaning power, but not so impressed with the prices of these.
Then I began reading on different blogs that many people were making their own cleaners at home for pennies on the dollar of the bought stuff. I found this pretty intriguing and started by making my own clothing detergent. This post tells all about that. The results were great and I haven’t bought any detergent since. This got me to wanting to try more cleaning recipes and I found these instructions on Pinterest at the blog Macheesmo. I ordered all of the components from Amazon at about fifty bucks for everything including the bottles. Now that may seem like a lot, but I have enough of the ingredients to make a LOT of the cleaning products, plus these should be much easier on the environment and hopefully our bodies.
I will start with the antibacterial spray that is made with only two things: water and lavender essential oil. The oil has natural antibacterial qualities so it makes a great-smelling safe spray. Just mix 1 cup of water and 20 drops of the essential oil. I made a double batch since my bottle was big enough to handle it.
Next was the all-purpose cleaner which includes:
3 Tablespoons vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon washing soda
1/2 Teaspoon castile soap
2 Cups hot water
Mix all of these together in a spray bottle. There will be a slight reaction with the vinegar and washing soda so watch out for a few bubbles. I noticed that the ingredients will separate a little when the bottle is left alone, but all you have to do is shake it up to re-mix.
Next is what I call the tub and tile cleaner and it worked great! You will need a squirt bottle for this instead of a spray since it is quite a bit thicker in consistency.
2/3 Cup baking soda
1/2 Cup castile soap
2 Tablespoons vinegar
1/2 Cup water
A few drops of Tea Tree oil (another natural antibacterial product)
Mix all of these in a squirt bottle. Again, watch out for a few bubbles from the reaction of the components, but they will dissipate quickly.
The fourth container in the above photo shows the homemade window cleaner that I have been using for a while. It is 1 part distilled vinegar to 2 parts water. So easy and so effective! So far, all of these homemade products were effective and it only took about 15 minutes to make all of them.
If you are trying to “clean up” your cleaning routine, give these a try.
Picture Perfect Cooking 