This is the 2nd installment of our Spring Cleaning series. In this post we will be talking about 8 Eco-friendly, cheap, cleaning products that you can make.
I don’t love spring cleaning, but I do like what it symbolizes, the end of winter! Opening up the windows letting the fresh air in after our months long hibernation just screams, “Goodbye Winter!” Once those windows are open you may be tempted to reach for run of the mill house hold cleansers. While those cleaners may clean the house, they are full of harmful chemicals that are bad for us and the environment. Breathing in these toxins can cause eye irritation, irritate lungs, cause headaches, contribute to allergic reactions, and other health problems.
There is another way to clean that is better for us, better for the environment, and will leave the house sparkling clean: DIY cleaning products. Don’t feel intimidated by making your own cleaning products. DIY cleaning products are quick and easy to assemble once you have all the ingredients. The ingredients for homemade cleaning products are easy to find too. You will see that many of these DIY cleaning recipes utilize combinations of vinegar, baking soda, borax, distilled water, and essential oils, for the most part. I bet most of use have at least half of these ingredients in our cupboards already, which makes DIY cleaning solutions economical too!
Of special note, even though these are Eco-friendly, it is still important to label your cleaning supplies and list their ingredients.
Well, without further ado, lets gather our supplies and make some spring cleaning solutions!
Kitchen
All Purpose Deodorizing Cleaner
4 Tbsp Baking Soda
4 Cups of Warm Water, preferable distilled due to its purity
1 New Sponge
Baking soda is a great deodorizer and a diverse cleaning agent. Use this mixture to wipe down counters, shine up the sink, stainless steel, fridge, and appliances.
Window & Mirror Cleaner
2 Cups Distilled Water
½ Cup White Vinegar
¼ Cup Rubbing Alcohol or Vodka
1 to 2 drops of essential oils for scent, lemon & lavender, grapefruit or orange perhaps? Any essential oil you want, cleaner’s choice.
1 Spray bottle, if you don’t have any laying around, check the dollar store and Amazon, who will ship it right to you.
Pro-Tip: Use a microfiber cloth or, my personal favorite, cut up pieces of an old ,non-flannel, sheet. Old sheets make great window and mirror cleaning rags.
Floors
Pine-Sol Alternative for Clean Floors
1 Tablespoon Unscented Castile Soap
4 Cups Warm Distilled Water
10 drops Pine Essential Oil
1 to 3 drops Rosemary Essential Oil
Mop as usual.
Bathroom
Bathroom Cleaner that Destroys Hard Water Stains
1 Cup Epsom Salt
½ Cup Baking Soda
¼ Cup Dish Soap, preferably environmentally friendly i.e. Seventh Generation, Method, ect.
Mix, apply to shower doors, tiles, and spouts with a sponge or cotton rag. Allow it to set for a few minutes to really break down the hard water stains. Then rinse with warm water. Viola, gorgeous shower!
Whitening Bathtub, Grout, and Tile Cleaner
½ Baking Soda
¼ Hydrogen peroxide
1 tsp Eco-friendly Dish Soap
1 squeeze bottle, the dollar store is a great place for these.
Combine mixture in the squeeze bottle and apply to a sponge or directly to grout to whiten and scrub away soap scum. Scrub then rinse.
All Purpose Cleaning Spray
3 parts distilled water (it’s extra pure, no minerals)
1-part white vinegar
1-2 tsp. lemon juice
5-7 drops of essential oils, go for floral, citrus, or herbal. It’s your choice.
Rust Stains
½ Lemon
½ C. Borax, is a laundry booster easily found in the detergent isle or Amazon.
Dip the lemon half into the borax then scrub away rust stains on enamel, porcelain, and your tub. Rinse the surface when done. Rust stains gone!
Fresh Scent
Linen Refreshing Spray
¼ Cup Vodka
1 Tbsp Vinegar
10 to 15 drops of your favorite essential oils
Distilled water
Small Spray Bottle
With a small funnel add ingredients to a small spray bottle. Vodka is may sound like an odd ingredient, but it deodorizes fabrics, while its vodka scent evaporates once dry. Then our good ol’ vinegar will disinfect the mattress or fabric that it is sprayed on.
For more essential oil blend tips, Natural Living Ideas has an informative post to help. If you don’t want to bother with the possible trial and error or making your own blend why not try a pre-made blend. Many companies, like Aura Cacia and doTERRA offer a variety of pre-made blends that require no blending work from you. (I only mention these two because they are the ones that I am most familiar.)
Pro-Tip: Make a relaxing or sleep blend. Transfer some into a travel size spray bottle to use when traveling. I personally do this when I travel. The bottle fits in my purse and instantly makes any hotel or friends room extra relaxing.
DIY, Cheap, Easy, Eco-Friendly
Hopefully our list of 8 DIY cleaning solutions has inspired you a bit. These DIY products are easy to make, easy on the wallet, Eco-friendly, and non-toxic to you! By the way, did we mention that they will leave your house sparkling clean too? Super important!
Now that we have our supplies let’s open up those windows and get cleaning!
