It is embarrassing for how long I didn't
know I could make and use homemade house and kitchen cleaners to clean my house
for cheap.
My light bulb moment was the I walked up and down the conventional cleaner aisle in the grocery store trying to find a floor cleaner that didn't have petrochemicals in it that could potentially harm my dog. It was a practically impossible task because cleaning products do not have the ingredients listed on the bottle.
I left the store frustrated.
And determined.
Well, if the companies aren't going to tell what is in their products, then I'll make something myself! Then I'll know my household cleaners are made with safe ingredients! So take
that companies!
Turns out my DIY household cleaning solutions are not only nontoxic and use less resources to make, but they also cost less money. Which means you can live green without the pretentiousness and high cost associated with some of the eco guru products now in stores.
Or you can make your own cleaners just for the sake of saving money. That's OK too.
Sixteen of the Easiest Homemade Cleaning Recipes You Can Make for Cheap!
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three
ingredients are all you need. It gets even Husband's toxically sweaty
running clothes clean and doesn't make my washer stink at a price that
can't be beat.
You can use this recipe for laundry detergent in conventional washing machines too!
This is the least expensive DIY cleaner recipe in the bunch! I was skeptical when my allergist recommended it because I was afraid it would damage my wood furniture. It works fantastic to my surprise and as long as I keep my dust rag damp, my wood furniture is none the wiser.
If you have a pet, sometimes potty accidents happen. Especially when you are training a new puppy or rescue dog. The anomia in some household cleaners you might use to clean pet messes act as a homing beacon for your dog to keep using that marked spot again. Fortuanately there is an easy and nontoxic solution for that as well as a few dog behavioral training tips to make sure your dog knows their former potty spot indoors is a no go zone.
Hands up who likes scrubbing the shower? Anyone? Yeah, me neither. I like the idea of using a daily shower cleaning spray after each time someone uses the shower but not the price. That is, until I came up with this easy recipe to banish ring around the shower for good.
And speaking of bathrooms and showers, do you know you can use shampoo to clean more things around the house besides your hair? It's true!
No matter how spic and span you keep your bathroom, there are activities that leave it a little less than fresh smelling. Conventional air freshening sprays work to cover the scent of,
uh you know, but use synthetic chemicals that smell like a fake flower factory exploded in your bathroom. This simple, simple, simple recipe allows you to make a room freshener tailored to how strong you like your scents or not.
I use this nontoxic air freshener recipe all of the time. It works to cover even the most noxious of household smells and odors.
Baking soda is my favorite scouring powder because it also cleans and deodorizes the sink as I'm washing it down the drain when its scrubbing job is done.
I can't tell you disappointed I was when I first sprayed Scrubbing Bubbles, walked away, and came back to find the cleaner stopping bubbling and the dirt stayed behind. (see Number Four about me hating to scrub the tub and shower.) I now know it is the bubbling reaction in the cleaner that helps lift the dirt as you scrub. I also know how to make my own version of Scrubbing Bubbles that makes that bubbling reaction that allows me to clean baked on stove gunk like nobody's business!
The oil in orange peels cuts through dirt and grease and is why there are tons of orange oil cleaning products on the market. Here are some simple ways to put those spent orange peels to work around the house!
Vinegar is considered a natural disinfectant. Orange oil is considered a grease fighter. Mix them together and you have a powerful household cleaning spray that costs pennies to make!
I found even more ways to reuse orange peels for cleaning and around the house after I wrote the first post, I had to write another! Here are a few more ideas on how to get one more use out of orange peels before you send them off to their final task of cleaning and deodorizing your garbage disposal.
Don't want to make your own laundry soap? No problem! But there are several other things you can make to save money in your washer, dryer, and when ironing.
Traditionally lavender was used in items because it has antiseptic qualities besides smelling good. This homemade household cleaner works just as well as the orange cleaner recipe in a slightly different way.
Many of the homemade cleaning recipes in this post call for essential oils. I like to use extracts (also called tinctures) in my DIY cleaning product recipes. I can make easily make essential oil extracts for less than it costs to buy an essential oil.
Extracts and distilled essential oils are not always interchangeable. I think essential oils are best for health, beauty, candle and soap making.
I don't always need the powerful punch of a spendy essential oil in a cleaning recipe. That's when I use its cheaper and slightly weaker cousin the extract. Especially when I have mountains of material growing in my yard just begging to be used!
You know that expensive bottle of peppermint extract you bought at the fancy baking store? This is how they made it.
Lavender!
Do you make your own homemade cleaning supplies? Share your cleaning tips, tricks, and hacks in the comments below!
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