To keep my home clean, I need some
basic cleaning supplies. I need a
window/glass cleanser, a scrubbing
cleanser (for toilets, tubs, etc.), a basic all-around spray cleanser (for countertops,
walls, floors, appliances, etc.), and a furniture oil for woods. Now, here are some
recipes to mix up with all these goodies!
Window/Glass Cleanser
Take one old, empty, clean sprayer bottle
and fill it ¾ with water and ¼ with vinegar.
Shake the mixture well, and voilà, you have
your own homemade Windex® Some folks
use old newsprint rather than paper towels
to wash windows, but beware, newsprint of
our day uses toxic inks and chemicals. I use
an old rag, or you could “cheat” and go over
to www.UrbanHomemaker.com and get a
Norwex Window Cloth I have one I have
used for a few years; it’s as good as new and
can be used with just water to clean mirrors
and glass. It works perfectly, and when I’m
done, I just toss it in the wash. I love mine!
This vinegar and water solution also can
be used wherever you might find mold. I
tend to find mold in our window tracks in
the wintertime. I just spray a little of this
solution on there, grab my old toothbrush,
scrub, and wipe out the area with an old
rag. (In this case, I’ll toss the rag.)
Scrubbing Cleanser
I love this one! Rather than using the chlo-rine-laden can of tub- or toilet-scrubbing
powders, take a pint- or quart-size canning
jar, and fill it ¾ full of baking soda. Put a
straw or butter knife down the middle of
the jar into the baking soda, to make
“holes” in the baking soda so that your oils
can really get mixed up well. Dump in
approximately 20 drops of Lavender
Essential Oil (or Tea Tree, Lemon, or
Orange!), put on the lid, and shake it well.
Then take a small nail and punch about
five decent-sized holes in it. Now you have
your own “shaker” of cleanser, which
contains no chlorine or chemicals and
works even better! I also use this cleanser
to scrub my stainless steel kitchen sink,
bathroom sinks, and our shower (using one
of those old green scrubbie pads). Want a
sparkling tub? Use full strength vinegar on
an old rag or washcloth to wipe the tub
down—clean and shiny! To remove water
spots from the shower glass, do the same
and then rinse with plain water.
All-Around Spray Cleanser
I use this everywhere! Take one of your
old, empty, clean sprayer bottles and fill it
¾ full of water. Add one full dropper of
Grapefruit Seed Extract (I buy mine at
www.More ThanAlive.com, and it’s called
“Grapefruit Seed Crush” there), a dropper
of Lavender Essential Oil, and shake it up
well. I use this to clean my appliances and
countertops and to get those little fingerprints off of walls. It works on kitchen and
bathroom floors too. (I just spray it on the
floor and mop it up, or I use one of those
handy old rags, get it a bit wet, and wipe
up.) It really is an all-purpose cleaner!
Furniture Oil
I’ve seen lots of recipes for this, but the
most effective and frugal recipe I’ve found
for use on my wood furniture is plain old
olive oil in a half-pint canning jar. Fill it
about ¾ full with olive oil and add 5–10
drops of Sweet Orange Essential Oil.
Shake it up, dab a bit on your rag, and
polish up all the woodwork. This one
smells great and works even better.
Dishwasher Soap
I mix up this one in one of those old plastic
cottage cheese containers. I use 2 cups of
baking soda and 1½ cups of Borax (mixed
well). When you’re ready to wash a load,
fill the soap container in your dishwasher
with this mixture, and then fill your rinse
container with white vinegar! I tend to
over-fill a bit on the vinegar; we have very
hard minerals in our water, and I easily use
a ½ cup of vinegar per load here. You may
need to adjust this depending on the hardness of your water.
One of my personal favorites: I like to
keep an old pot simmering on the wood-stove, filled with water and a few drops of
essential oils and herbs. I especially love
Eucalyptus and Lavender, and I have a
Cinnamon Stick Blend I make up too. They
fill the house with a lovely aroma!
As you can see, a little goes a long way
with these frugal, homemade cleaners, and
you can get creative and customize these to
meet your family’s needs. Look for these
and many more helpful, frugal, and homemade cleaning ideas, recipes, and tips in
our new E-Book, Homestead Simplicity:
Natural Clean1, available at www.Home
steadOriginals.com.
We can make our own homemade
cleansers; they are easy to make and use.
Not only are we being good stewards of the
money our family has been provided with,
but these homemade cleansers also are so
much healthier for our families! Happy
cleaning!
Lisa Barthuly is wife to Marc and Mama to
four blessings! They live a lifestyle of
learning in the foothills of Mount Rainier on
their little homestead, with Shalom the Great
Pyr, some Nubian goats, a flock of “
chicklettes,” and lots of wild critters. They run
Homestead Originals (www.Homestead
Originals.com), where they specialize in All
Natural Soy Candles and other goodies for
the homestead and those in it! Come on by
and visit our blog for great ideas, tips, freebies, and contests too!
Endnote: 1. Homestead Simplicity: Natural Clean by Lisa Barthuly, copyright 2008.
