Guest Post by Kari Patterson
Months ago I printed SPRING CLEANING across this week in my calendar. I’ve looked forward to it for months. No, don’t love cleaning, but I do love having cleaned. I love having a home of peace, order, and beauty. Not perfect, not spotless, but fresh and fun. I feel happier when things are reasonably clean and as my husband says, “A happy wife is a happy life.”
Now here’s the thing — I don’t think any of us love cleaning, so how can we make the whole thing more enjoyable? For me, I feel better about my cleaning when I feel better about my cleaners. A simple switch to natural, homemade household cleaners can be better for the environment, better for your body, better for your budget, and beautiful to boot.
:: Better for the environment
“Conventional cleaners seep into our water, and it’s difficult for water treatment plants to handle a large volume of these chemicals. Many cleaners are also petroleum-based, which further depletes our natural resources.” (Simple Mom)
:: Better for our bodies
Conventional cleaners pollute the air around us. Since many of us clean with children running around, we’re wise to keep the air clear of these harmful fumes. Natural homemade cleaners can be used while pregnant, used near children, and even used by children. A three-year-old, eager to help, can squirt a vinegar-and-water solution onto the floor as the two of you tackle chores together.
If natural cleaners enable my children to do more chores at a younger age, I’m sold!
:: Better for our budgets
Homemade cleaners cost pennies. Borax, washing soda, bar soap, and vinegar can make up most household cleaners. (Winco carries both Borax and Washing Soda in the laundry aisle.)
:: Beautiful
It sounds silly, but somehow a pretty bottle of clear-and-healthy-cleaner inspires me to clean much more than a neon-yellow bottle of Lysol that reeks of chemicals. So, I mix up the natural stuff and store it in Mrs. Meyers bottles.
For the laundry detergent, I mix up a large batch and keep it in a hot-chocolate tin covered with paper from an Anthroplogie catalog. Just a pretty little detergent-container can make sorting stinky socks a little more enjoyable.
How to make your own? My two favorite homemade cleaners are Tsh’s All-Purpose Cleaner and Dry Laundry Detergent.
All-Purpose Cleaner
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 gallon (1 liter) water
a few drops of essential oil (optional)
- Combine the ingredients, stir, and pour into a spray bottle.
- Optional: Add a few drops of essential oil. Tea tree essential oil has antiseptic properties, making it a winner for cleaners. But my favorite aromas come from orange, lemon, and lavender essential oils.
Laundry Detergent
The base for this detergent is mild bars of soap. Here’s what I do with all those little bars of soap you use in hotels. You know how you usually use them once and then leave them in the shower? I put them in a baggy, bring them home, then keep them all in a big ziplock and make laundry detergent.
1 cup grated soap (see directions below)
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1 drop essential oil (optional)
- Take the mild, dry soap bars and toss them in the blender. Pulse until grated/powdery. (Be sure to wash the blender well afterward so your next smoothie doesn’t taste like Irish Spring.)
- Combine 1 cup of grated, dry soap with the borax and washing soda.
- Optional: Add 1 drop of essential oil. (I use rosemary oil and then dry clothes with Mrs. Meyer’s basil-scented dryer sheets. The laundry scent is heavenly; the price is even better!)
Leave a comment! What are your favorite all-natural cleaning products? How do you add beauty to your household cleaning routine?
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Kari Patterson is pastor’s wifey, preschool mommy, writer, speaker, reader, blogger and frugal living enthusiast. She writes all about the beautiful mess of life over at KariPatterson.com.
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Where do you buy the essential oils?
Try a health food store.
What the previous post said about the effects of homemade detergent on clothes is true. You will end up with a closet that looks old/used soon. The money you save by making your own is offset by the shorter lifespan of clothing. A good perfume and dye free detergent might be a workable compromise. In the past I was always having skin problems on my hands but switching to the free & clear detergent seems to have cured that..
Does anyone know if the laundry detergent can be used in High Efficiency washers? We just got a new washer and it would be way too expensive to ruin it!
If so, how much do you use?
I have a chemical engineering background and want to note that one of the downsides of using homemade, rather than commercial, laundry detergent is that your clothes will lose their color faster. Not only do commercial detergents, like Tide, use enzymes and surfactants to remove stains and dirt, they also use stabilizers so dye stays in your clothes, not in the wash/rinse water. I had acquaintances who worked in R&D at Procter and Gamble, and the difference is obvious after a couple dozen washings. This article refers to a now-somewhat-out-of-date Consumer Reports article that says the same thing.
http://www.consumersearch.com/laundry-detergent/best-laundry-detergent
I’m not opposed to natural detergents, just want people to be aware of the tradeoffs in terms of clothing longevity.
How much of the laundry detergent do you use per wash?
1 tablespoon. (2 for a really dirty/big load)
Does anyone know how to make homemade dishwasher soap?!?! Would love to try it Out but not sure how to make it!!!!
Yes, I have a recipe, but the tricky thing is the dishes come out clean but really really cloudy, so I hated serving drinks to people because the glasses looked terrible. I guess you can resolve that by using citric acid, but I couldn’t find it anywhere at a reasonable price. This recipe uses lemon koolaid…I haven’t tried that yet. Good luck! http://www.welcometomybrain.net/2008/02/christines-generic-dishwashing.html
I make the dishwasher soap using the unsweetened Lemon Kool-Aid. It works really well, but you need to use plain white vinegar in the rinse recepticle.
Here is another recipe for dishwasher soap – she even makes it into little tablets! http://ladywiththeredrocker.com/2011/09/02/diy-dishwasher-detergent/
I use 1 cup borax and 1 cup washing soda with 12 drops lemon essential oils (100% pure essential oils..NOT aromatherapy oils). I got the recipe from the last issue of ALL YOU. there was a 5 page article on all kinds of homemade cleaners.
Also, if you put vinegar in the rinse aid container of your dishwasher the dishes will not be cloudy. If you start to notice them clouding up its time to refill.
The best way to remove stains from carpets is club soda–I get mine at Albertsons when they have the store brand 2 liters on sale for $.50. Just pour it on. Let it sit for 30 sec.-1 min and blot up the stain. It’s amazing:-)
Get blood stains out of clothing with peroxide. I actually rub Resolve pre-treat in first, let it sit, then pour peroxide on and watch it dissolve away.
To remove rust or grape juice stains from clothes, put lemon juice on the stain and place in the sun. Gone like magic.
You can find a lot of great ideas for natural cleaners from the Queen of Clean.
Wow, this is great! I’ll go check out the clean queen (although it sounds like you are the queen of clean!). I have some bad carpet stains so I’m headed out for club soda today! Thanks you!
Does anyone know if the all-purpose cleaner would work for cleaning the bathtub and especially shower tile? Thanks!
I don’t have tile in the shower, but works fine in my fiberglass tub. Baking soda is great for the tougher areas. I just wet the tub sprinkle on the baking soda and let it set for 5-10 minutes. Then I spray with my vinegar solution and scrub away!
Ooh great idea! I have some Bon-Ami on hand that I use for toilets/tubs (it’s all-natural) … but I’ll try the baking soda.
Thanks, I’ll try it!
Thanks Ladies that really helped me.
Super washing soda is by the Borax, and Fels Naptha. It costs around $12 to start up, and depending on your families needs you will have to replace those products throughout the year.
Thanks for this post! I have been on a mission to remove toxic things from our home. Vinegar is AWESOME. You can also use 1/2tsp-1tsp baking soda and water for shampoo and apple cider vinegar diluted in water for conditioner. Your hair doesn’t stink when it dries (I was worried about that initially!) It’s pennies to make these, you can make it as you need it AND it doesn’t have all the extra junk in it regular shampoos do, if I can’t pronounce it, I am NOT putting it in my body or on my body! Just a few tips!
Love the shampoo suggestions, that’s the one I haven’t tried yet — I have very long, fine, blond hair …not sure how it will respond. I need to try though! And to clarify, the Washing Soda/Borax isn’t $12, right? They are only in the $2-3 range at Winco and they last me around 4-6 months… Thanks, Kala!
What is washing soda? I love to make this but am not sure what that is? A picture would be great!
It looks like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Church-Dwight-03020-Hammer-Washing/dp/B0029XNTEU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331247980&sr=8-1
I have found it in the laundry aisle, usually top shelf, at WinCo. I believe they also have it at Walmart Supercenters (the one with groceries) and Fred Meyer.
I find it at Ace Hardware. Same goes for Fels Naptha soap!
Video on how to make my favorite all-purpose cleaner: http://lisa.drbronner.com/?p=64
For a really powerful laundry detergent you can use Fels Naptha as the soap (smells strong, but the clothes don’t smell like anything but clean) or for a gentler one use bar of castile (pricier, but smells great, especially if you add a matching essential oil).
Great idea, thanks Dani!