It’s Cleaning Day!
Time to put on your favorite old jeans, sweatpants, or even pajamas. Crank up some loud music or just enjoy the silence. The unpleasant smells and harsh chemicals usually associated with cleaning are a thing of the past with these “Do it yourself” or DIY cleaning recipes.
Don’t dread giving the toilet bowl or kitchen floors a good scrubbing when you use all-natural homemade cleaning products. These recipes can make you feel great about cleaning toxin-free! These easy recipes can work for every room of your house.
From a daily surface cleaner to homemade laundry detergent, you can customize the scent of all of these DIY products using essential oils. You’ll avoid all the harmful chemicals and save money because they use just a few basic ingredients.
Benefits Of Using Natural Cleaning Products
For people with respiratory issues or conditions like asthma, all-natural cleaning products — especially ones you make yourself — provide one of the best defenses for your health. Those with sensitive skin or eyes will notice the difference between natural cleaning products and harsh chemical cleaners. And for everyone, you will avoid additional exposure to toxic chemicals, which can cause subtle and not-so-subtle health issues over time.
There’s also an environmental benefit: using green cleaning methods reduces harmful contaminants polluting the air and water. Reusable glass jars for DIY cleaning products can also eliminate plastic waste and reduce packaging.
Nature’s Best Cleaners: The Top Ingredients for DIY Recipes
Having these items on hand will keep you prepared for satisfying and safe house cleaning:
- Baking soda
- Castile soap
- Essential oils
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Lemons
- Rubbing alcohol (90 to 99% isopropyl)
- Washing soda
- White vinegar
DIY Eco-Friendly Recipes for Household Cleaning
These simple recipes for natural homemade cleaners are so effective, you may never go back to store-bought products again! Choose organic ingredients wherever possible.
Window Cleaner & Surface Degreaser
This cleaner works great and is handy for quick daily cleanups of both windows and surfaces. Kitchen grease can be stubborn, but with a little muscle, these ingredients will do the trick.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup rubbing alcohol (90 to 99% isopropyl)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups of water
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a spray bottle and shake well to dissolve cornstarch.
Spray onto surfaces, including glass windows, mirrors, or surfaces such as glass tiles around the stove where cooking grease may linger.
Wipe thoroughly with a dry cloth for a residue-free shine.
Super-Simple Counter Cleaner
Keep this handy in a spray bottle for quick countertop cleanups. This also works well for bathroom surfaces.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon natural liquid dish detergent
3 cups water
10 drops lemongrass or sweet orange essential oils
Directions:
Fill a 24-ounce spray bottle with 3 cups of water.
Add in the natural dish soap and essential oils. Shake well to mix.
Spray onto surface and wipe with a clean towel.
All-Purpose Floor-Cleaning Solution
Laminate, tile, linoleum, or vinyl floors will sparkle with this recipe. Adding tea tree oil gives a boost in repelling germs. If you don’t enjoy the smell of tea tree, try lavender, lemon, lemongrass, pine, or sweet orange essential oil — but you may not get the same germ-fighting properties. If you have wood floors, use the recipe below, instead.
Ingredients:
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup rubbing alcohol (90 to 99% isopropyl)
3 drops Castile soap (non-oil based)
5 to 10 drops tea tree oil
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake to mix.
Spray liberally on the floor.
Wet the mop and wring well before applying to the floor.
Save any leftover mixture for spot cleaning.
Wood Floor Cleaner
This mixture acts as a cleaner and a floor polish in one step. The hot water and the lemon juice clean the floors, and the olive oil works to polish them. No rinsing required!
Ingredients:
1 gallon hot water
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
Directions:
Mix the ingredients in a mop bucket.
Dip the mop into the mixture and wring mop very well before applying to the wood floor.
Let the floor air dry.
Discard remaining solution.
Bathroom Disinfectant
Try this recipe for disinfecting your bathrooms thoroughly and safely. It deters those tough germs you find in frequently-used bathroom areas with a lot of traffic and moisture. Washing soda, also known as sodium carbonate, is a lesser-known all-purpose cleaner.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup rubbing alcohol (90 to 99% isopropyl)
10 drops tea tree oil
5 drops of rosemary essential oil (optional)
Directions:
Add all ingredients in a 24-ounce spray bottle.
Swirl gently.
Spray onto shower, bathtub, or toilet surface and clean with a sponge or cloth.
A shiny bathroom is a simple way to start your day with happiness!
Homemade Hand Soap
Liquid hand soap is neater than bar soap and more appealing for kids to use. You can use a recycled store-bought soap dispenser or purchase a pump-top for something pretty like a mason jar. Flaunt your natural efforts! This idea makes a great gift as well.
Ingredients:
1 ounce grated organic bar soap
1 quart distilled water
5 drops essential oils for fragrance (optional)
Directions:
Slowly dissolve soap shavings on your stove over low heat and let cool.
Add essential oils if you’d like.
Pour into the container you’ll be using.
DIY Hand Sanitizer
Washing for 20 seconds with plain old-fashioned soap and water is the best way to eliminate ordinary germs, like viruses and most bacteria. You may be staying home and social distancing, but when you are out and about, hand sanitizer can prove useful. Here’s a recipe that will do the trick when you want to make your own.
The final product should be at least 60 percent alcohol, so start with rubbing alcohol which is 90 to 99 percent pure (avoid recipes using vodka and drinking alcohols for this reason). The aloe vera adds moisture so it does not dry your hands. While some recipes online add essential oils, there isn’t yet evidence of how they may influence the effectiveness of the final product against germs. Better safe than sorry.
After making the recipe, let it sit for 72 hours to ensure that any germs you introduced during the recipe-making process are gone.
Ingredients:
2 parts rubbing alcohol (90 to 99% isopropyl)
1 part pure organic aloe vera gel
Directions:
Mix the alcohol and aloe vera gel together in a large container.
Add a small amount to a travel container with a squeeze top for easy use.
Set aside for 72 hours to ensure any germs you may have introduced during mixing have gone away.
Homemade Laundry Detergent
Adapted from a great recipe on Live Simply, this uses no Borax, since some people prefer to avoid that ingredient. Washing soda can help with tough stains on clothes, baking soda cuts odors and softens the clothes, while salt is another water — and garment — softener. Castile bar soap is an excellent option for this recipe, but you can use any variety of natural bar soap, preferably organic.
Ingredients:
1 bar Castile dry soap (scented or unscented)
1 cup washing soda
1 cup baking soda
1 cup Kosher salt
30 drops essential oil (lavender works great!)
