All-Natural Homemade Cleaners

One of my all-time favorite purchases is the Cleaning Essentials three-pack DYI for Natural Homemade Cleaners. These glass containers are a must-have for people who want to replace household cleaning chemicals with safe, all-natural alternatives.

And best of all, they each have recipes printed on them for cleaning glass, bathroom, and kitchen.

I love these bottles.

We primarily use the blue container as an all-purpose cleaner for counters, glass, and the kitchen with vinegar as the main ingredient. To make my cleaning vinegar, I infuse distilled white vinegar with lemon and orange peel and keep it in a glass in the recesses of my pantry. I’ve also infused vinegar with dried lavender but prefer the lemons, orange peel mixture instead.

I don’t buy lemons or oranges specifically to make my cleaning vinegar. Instead, I routinely freeze leftover lemon pieces and orange peels to use as needed. I do have to confess that I haven’t had to do this in a long time because I have a decent stockpile and if you don’t use them in a timely manner they will get freezer burnt. Although, I suppose it doesn’t matter if you’re not eating or cooking with them.

The brown bottle contains a mixture to clean wood furniture and floors but also serves well as an all-purpose cleaner. Up until recently, we used Murphy Oil Soap and water.

If you want an easy DIY wood furniture and floor cleaning recipe, mix equal parts warm water and vinegar with a tablespoon of olive or coconut oil.

Whatever you use to make your DIY cleaners, don’t mix vinegar (an acid) with soap (a base). Doing so will create a harmless reaction that will cause an acid-base neutralization of the soap making it look like curdled milk (yuck). Instead, clean with a mixture of soap (like Castile) or liquid cleaner (like Sal Suds) and water first, followed with a vinegar spray.

So why did I say we used Murphy Oil Soap up until recently? Click here to find out.

If you opt to use commercial cleaning products, I suggest you do some research before determining which one is best for you and your family. Then again, there is nothing wrong with sticking to vinegar, baking soda, lemons – and vodka – yes, vodka, for cleaning.

Last, but certainly not least, is my favorite of the trio. The container for homemade wet wipes, which also comes with three recipes printed on the glass – gentle, all-purpose, and heavy duty.

Here’s where the vodka comes into play (and this is not why I like this one the best). When preparing the ingredients for our homemade wipes I use the heavy-duty formula which calls for alcohol, vinegar, water, and essential oil. I have used rubbing alcohol with this recipe but prefer to use vodka. Because of its alcohol content, vodka can clean and sterilize many surfaces. It’s also known to kill mold and mildew. You don’t need top-shelf vodka for cleaning. Use the cheap stuff.

The container does come with reclaimed cotton squares, but we’ve also added to it by re-purposing old dish towels cut into squares.

When it comes to the oils, I reach for lemon, tea tree, oregano, and lavender.

Click here to find out more about which essential oils are best for cleaning and their antimicrobial properties.

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