I saw a post a while back about making your own 'windex' and it got me wondering; what other cleaners are there that I can make myself that are just as effective as store-bought? I really would like to move away from using so many chemicals in my house. :)
Vinegar is my fave! Google it and you can find recipes for almost everything. I put orange peels in my vinegar and water counter cleaner and it helps with the vinegar smell. I don't mind vinegar but the kids complain:) I also make the Duggar's liquid laundry detergent. Works great and the price is right!
1 part vinegar to 2 parts water. Throw away everything else.
lol. That's what I used to use a lot. I think lemon juice works too, the acid in it is a mild bleach/disinfectant (which I primarily use to wash my face).
Here are some quick links I found too that'll help:
http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/cleaning/more-s...
http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm <- very in depth! I'll have to look through that one more thoroughly myself.
I make my own laundry soap. I got it from the Duggars website.
http://duggarfamily.com/content/duggar_recipes/30455/home...
There is also a recipe for powdered laundry detergent, but I have an HE washer so had to use the soap. works pretty well and is a lot cheaper than store bought. About $30 in ingredients will probably last me almost 2 years.
Vinegar.
Multi uses.
White Vinegar for cleaning around the house and freshening laundry, especially in the summer.
For bathing and hand washing we only use Dr. Bronner's Soap. That stuff is awesome! Supposedly it has 100+ uses, but we just use it as soap. :)
I second the vinegar and water. It cleans off soap scum, is great on any surface, and is 100% chemical free. Not the best smell, however, light a candle on cleaning day!
DRAIN Cleaner
1/2 cup baking soda
3/4 cup white vinegar
pour soda into drain, then pour the vinegar, let sit until bubbling stops, then flush with 2 cups boiling water
I use white vinegar, baking soda, and salt for all my cleaning.
I use water and vinegar on most things. You don't really need anything else. it works great on my stainless appliances, on windows, on everything.
For cleaning my cheap wood furniture, I do water, vinegar, a little oil and a little dish soap. It works great on getting muck from little fingers off my dinning room chairs!
I love all the Get Clean cleaning and laundry products from Shaklee. They were safe and biodegradeable decades before people knew how important that is. (Most people still don't!)
There are so many things you can make at home and save a lot of money.
Vinegar, water and some rubbing alcohol and you can clean glass with few streaks, it also helps to use paper or coffee filters instead of paper towels (less lint left behind).
I also use baking soda and vinegar to clean the drains and scrub the sinks like one of the other posters.
Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and baking soda gets rid of odors so they can be used for so many things.
Olive oil and some lemon juice for dusting and cleaning wood.
I will using this recipe for our new tub cleaner:
Mix Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap, water and baking soda in a paste.
