The Cleaning Caddy
Stash your homemade cleaners in an attractive cleaning caddy and you'll have everything you need in one handy location. Creating your own cleaning products has natural appeal. They are easy to make and cost-effective as well. Try our recipes and get started cleaning your home naturally!
Once you begin to make your own cleansers and glass cleaners, you'll love filling bottles with your creations and displaying them in a beautiful cleaning basket. We filled our basket with natural cleaning supplies: a bottle of liquid dish soap for all-around cleaning, a shaker of baking soda-based scented cleanser for gentle abrasive cleaning, paste wax for polishing wood, lemons for removing stains, glass cleaner made with ammonia and alcohol, flour-sack towels for lint-free polishing, a scouring sponge for breaking up heavy grime, natural-bristle brushes for gentle scrubbing, textured mitts for abrasive cleaning, and a natural-feather duster for touch-up dusting.
Cleaning Recipes
Here are three easy recipes that cover many household needs: cleanser, scrubber, and glass cleaner, followed by tips for more specialized cleaning needs. CAUTION: When creating your own cleaners, never mix ammonia and bleach, since resulting fumes can be deadly.
Scented Cleanser
Salt is used as a mild abrasive in this recipe for cleanser.Baking soda and salt are mild abrasives that can easily take the place of commercial scrubbing powders. Salt is slightly more abrasive but still gentle enough for most surfaces. Mix your own scented cleanser by stirring a drop or two of essential oil into baking soda or salt using a wire whisk. Store the mixture in a small glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. As the fragrance fades, refresh it with another drop of oil.
Lemon Scrubber
Our lemon scrubber recipe is great for cutting grease and soap scum.Borax and lemons are known for their cleaning and whitening powers, but each works differently. Because it is an alkali, borax is good for cutting grease, oil, and dirt. Lemons are slightly acidic, so they work well at eliminating soap scum and hard-water deposits. To get the benefits of both, dip a lemon half in borax and use it as a scrubber for the bathroom, kitchen counters, cupboards, and appliances — any surface that is likely to have both alkali and acidic dirt.
Glass Cleaner
Try this simple glass cleaner recipe and watch your windows sparkle. Make your own streak-free glass cleaner by mixing a solution of 2 cups water, 2 cups rubbing alcohol, and 1/2 cup ammonia. Put the mixture in a spray bottle (32 ounces or larger,) and use a clean, absorbent lint-free rag (soft cotton is ideal) to wipe the glass. The ammonia does most of the cleaning; the alcohol speeds up the drying time to help eliminate streaks.
More Ways to Clean Naturally
Ammonia. Dilute 1 tablespoon of ammonia in a pint of water for a strong grease-cutting solution. CAUTION:Never mix ammonia and bleach; the resulting fumes can be deadly.)
Baking Soda. Sprinkle soda directly onto the soiled area and scrub with a damp cloth. For added cleaning power, mix it with water to form a paste the consistency of peanut butter, then scrub.
Dish Soap. To create a single-use cleaning solution, dissolve a teaspoon of liquid dish soap in a quart of water, then add a teaspoon of vinegar. (Do not add the two at the same time; the acid in the vinegar will neutralize the alkali in the soap.)
Salt. For a paste that removes hard-water stains, mix 1/4 cup salt with 2 tablespoons vinegar.
Lemons. To remove rust or food stains on countertops, rub a cut lemon over the spot or squeeze fresh lemon juice onto the area and let it sit for up to 30 minutes.
Vinegar. Dilute distilled white vinegar in water to cut through tacky dirt, soap scum, mineral deposits, or wax buildup. (Add a drop of essential oil to diffuse the vinegar odor.) For heavy buildup, soak a rag in vinegar, lay it over the area and leave it for an hour, then scrub.
Tip: Always rinse or wash your cleaning tools thoroughly to prevent dirt and bacteria buildup.
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