This is for you Kayla! It's long but I hope it helps. There are endless recipes for products to clean your home with natural products.
All of these things can be replaced with the things below. Plus maybe a couple more things.
All- Purpose Cleaners:
1/2 C. Borax in One Gallon of hot water. Can be used in a bucket or use it in a spray bottle as an everyday cleaner.
Baking soda is a great abbrasive cleaner to replace your comet. Just sprinkle it on and scrub away. It can be used in sinks, on counters, appliances, etc.
1 part vinegar to 1 part water. Mix in spray bottle. Use as a disenfectant spray for your counters, toilets, etc. Vinegar dries with no smell.
Carpet Deodorizer- Sprinkle Baking soda on carpet. Leave overnight. Sweep up as much as possible and vacuum the rest.
Spill absorber- Sprinkle spill with cornstarch or cornmeal; leave 15 min. Sweep. Vacuum.
Carpet Cleaner- 1 part liquid soap. 1 part water. Whip together by hand or in blender. Make at least one cup worth. Sponge onto carpet, rub in, wipe dry.
Dishwasher Detergent- 1 part borax to 1 part washing soda. mix together in container size of your choice. Use as you would a commercial detergent. I have used this an it works great. If there is any residue use a little more washing soda.
Mildew Remover- Mix Vinegar with water or sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge to clean affected area.
Drain Cleaner- 1/2 C. Baking Soda 1 C. Distilled White Vinegar and boiling water. Dissolve Baking soda and Vinegar in boiling water. Pour down drain. Cover with drain cover for a few minutes. flush with hot water until clog breaks.
Hardwood floor cleaner- 1/4 c. distilled white vinegar in one gallon warm water. Mix together in bucket. Wash floors with mixture and then rinse with water. Don't leave pools of water on the floor. When I cleaned house we didnt rinse the floors and no harm was done.
Basic Floor Cleaner- 1/8 c. liquid soap 1/8 c. distilled white vinegar 1 Gallon warm water, and ten drops essential oil of choice. Combine all ingredients in bucket.
Baking Soda Deodorizer spray- 2 TBS baking soda. 2 Cups hot water. 16 oz spray bottle. Mix in spray bottle. Spray when needed to deodorize a room or furniture. Will not leave any residue if baking soda is completely dissolved.
Basic furniture polish- 3 parts olive oil. 1 part distilled white vinegar. Mix. Apply with soft cloth.
Lemon Furniture Polish- 2 C. Olive, Vegetable, or Mineral Oil. Juice of 1 lemon. Mix. Apply with soft cloth and buff.
Starch spray- 1 TBS Cornstarch. 1 pint cold water. mix in small spray bottle, dissolving cornstrach. Shake before using.
Natural Bleach- 1/4 C. Washing Soda or Borax. Add to washing machine. Will whiten whites and brighten colors.
Natural Whitener- 1 C. fresh Lemon Juice. Half filled bucket of water. soak clothes overnight.
All- Purpose Stain Remover- 1/4 C. Borax. 2 C. cold water. Mix. Soak Clothes. Wash as usual.
Stainless Steel Cleaner- Baking soda or mineral oil. use either and shine with a damp cloth. Use vinegar to remove spots.
Oven Cleaner- baking soda and water. Sprinkle oven with Baking soda and spray with water. let sit for several hours or overnight. Scrap and wipe clean. Make sure to wipe well with water.
Toilet Bowl Cleaner- Baking Soda and Vinegar. Sprinkle with Baking Soda, drizzle with vinegar, scrub with brush.
Toilet Bowl Stain Remover- Pumice Stone. Keep stone wet and rubs spots until they dissapear. Works SO great for toilet rings!
Basin, Tub and Tile Cleaner- Half a Lemon dipped in borax. Scrub surface with lemon. Rinse.
Tile Cleaner- 1/4 C. Distilled white vinegar, 1 gallon water, 10 drops essential oil. Mix well. Clean well with damp sponge or rag.
Window Cleaner- 2 tsp. Distilled white vinegar. 1 quart warm water. mix in spray bottle. Spray windows and use clean cloth to wipe clean. Use rubbing alcohol to remove residue from commercial cleaners.
This laundry soap was replaced with the homemade laundry soap below. See previous post for recipe. You can use 1/4 C. Vinegar as a fabric softener. Pour it into the rinse cycle or into the farbic softener chamber at the beginning of the load. You can also use a downy ball.
3 comments:
SO EXCITED!!!! I stopped using household cleaners and I use vinegar for everything (50% water and vinegar for mirrors and windows, baking soda and vinegar for sinks and tubs). It is seriously the most wonderful thing ever. I am intrigued by your dishwasher and clothes soaps. I use Purex, Oxi-Clean, dish soap and dishwasher detergent. That is it. I didn't know you were into this stuff! I am really excited! I just love that if I am cleaning I don't have to feel like I need to hide from the kids because my hands have cleaner on them.
So, now that I know you are in this mind set, I would like to put in a plug for cloth diapers. They are WONDERFUL. No joke. I will never go back to paper. I love my cloth diapers (not that I am the one who wears them - I have been trained for a while now).
Nicole, Spencer and I calculated the cost of our new laundry soap down to the load and it was .02/ load! The dishwasher detergent can't be much more considering it is made from two of the products also used in the laundry soap. They both work great!
I haven't been into it for long.
It is a recent interest but one that has made a strong impression on me.
We are already planning on using cloth diapers for our first babe! That was the first thing to spark my interest in a more natural approach to life. We haven't talked much about cleaning them ourselves but using a company called Tidee Didee in Portland. Maybe you could change my mind and give me some pointers?
I really love to have someone to talk to with a common interest and excitement for this so THANKS for commenting!
Sara,
I'm seriously VERY excited about this post! Did you get all the info from the book in your photo? If so- I think I will just invest in it and have it on hand, all the time. Thanks for taking the time to post all of the cleaning info! I will have to get things organized so I can start converting!
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