I’m always amazed but the number of household cleaning products that line the shelves in our stores today. The choices are often loaded with chemicals that can cause harm to our bodies. But that’s not the topic of this post today. I want to talk about saving money and luckily for us the side effect of simplifying our cleaning products is a healthier less toxic home environment.
So let’s get started with the supplies you’ll need to get started.
- Spray Bottles – Preferably glass. You can use old spray bottles and just label them or you can buy these cutie pies. I do like to buy non BPA plastic products if using plastic at all and I like to be responsible by not putting much plastic in our landfills. I feel that reusing and repurposing is always the responsible thing to do. You can also find nice glass spray bottles, really important for your essential oil solutions.
- Baking Soda – Grab a large bag at your favorite wholesale store. I get mine at Costco. It’s super cheap and it will last a good long time.
- White Vinegar – This is another product I get at Costco. It comes in a 2 pack with large gallon sized bottles.
- Rubbing Alcohol and Cornstarch
- Organic Liquid Castille Soap – Dr. Brommer’s Liquid Castile Soap is the one I use. You can buy a large size if you want but I find a little goes a long long way so buying a giant size isn’t really necessary.
- Microfiber Towels – They just work so great. Spray your surfaces and use one to wipe and another after to polish up. Voila!
- Sponges – Use separate sponges for the different uses in this post to avoid any potential cross contamination.
- Essential Oils – Lemon, eucalyptus and tea tree (melaleuca) are a few that have antibacterial properties.
That’s about all you really need to do the essential cleaning of your home. You can also get into making your own laundry soap and whatnot but we’ll leave that for another post.
All Purpose Cleaner
This is so easy. I save the used lemon peels from my morning lemon water and put them in a jar. I fill the jar with white vinegar and leave it to sit for a month or more. When you’re ready to make your spray cleaner just fill your spray bottle with half lemon vinegar mixture and half water.
To Use: Spray your surfaces with the All Purpose Cleaner and wipe with a microfiber towel. Follow behind to dry and polish with another microfiber towel.
Toilet Bowl Cleaner
For cleaning your toilet bowls baking soda and white vinegar works wonders.
To Use: Drop about a cup of baking soda into your toilet bowl and add about a cup of white vinegar. It will fizzle up. Leave it for about a half an hour. Using your toilet bowl brush swish the toilet bowl and scrub it clean. Spray your all purpose cleaner on the outer surfaces of the toilet and wipe clean.
Tub & Shower Cleaner
This is another area that works well with baking soda and vinegar. You can make a paste by stirring the two together until you get a paste with the consistency of Soft Scrub. You can always add your favorite essential oils to these products. How about pine, rosemary, tea tree or lemon?
To Use: Take a sponge and scrub the surfaces of your tub and shower. Rinse well and dry off for a sparkling clean surface.
Mopping Your Floors
To Use: Fill a bucket with warm to hot water and add a few drops of liquid castle soap. If you like the smell of Pine Sol you can add a couple drops of Pine Essential Oil to the Water. Mop the floors with the mixture as you normally would.
Granite Counters
Rumor has it that it’s not a good idea to use vinegar solutions on your granite counters. I take a soapy kitchen sponge to clean my counters and my stove top. Just scrub a dub all the surfaces and follow behind and dry with an absorbent towel, preferably a micro fiber towel. Your counters and cooktop shine and you can feel safe knowing that you’re disinfecting and cleaning your kitchen safely and healthfully. You can make your own dish soap but I haven’t tried that yet. I prefer to purchase a eco friendly liquid dish soap that has a decent rating on the Environmental Working Group’s website.
For cleaning the grime out of your oven head over to DIY Oven Cleaner and Why You Should Make Your Own
Glass Cleaner
This is another one that you can make with things you probably already have around the house.
- Glass Spray Bottle
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 1/2 Cup Rubbing Alcohol
- 1 TBS Cornstarch
- 10 Drops of Your Favorite Essential Oil
Add all the ingredients to the glass spray bottle and shake well.
To Use: Spray your glass and mirrors with the solution and dry well with your microfiber cloths.
With these few cleaning tips you can have a clean home and know that you are lowering your exposure to toxic household chemicals. And heck, you’re saving money too! What’s not to love?
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