I was inspired by reading the All-Natural Living ebook that I got as part of the Healthy Living Bundle to continue on in my quest to slowly make the switch to more natural alternatives for household products we regularly use.
I especially loved these simple steps the author outlined:
Ditch your fabric softener/dryer sheets – These are some of the most toxic things found in the home and really aren’t necessary. There are homemade options, plus different detergent options that may make the need for fabric softener obsolete.
Make your own detergents – Making your own laundry and dish detergent are both easy and cost effective.
Make a simple All Purpose Cleaner – Even if you aren’t convinced that this homemade stuff can really replace all your cleaners, starting with a simple APC can help ease you into the transition.
Try switching out one beauty product – Not sure if you’re up to a full commitment of diy beauty products? Just pick on that you are willing to try. Maybe it’s the homemade mascara, or the mouth wash, or shaving soap.
These seem doable — even for busy moms, don’t they? I’m all about baby steps and taking it slow, so this was perfect for me.
After reading through the ebook, I picked one recipe to try and I landed on the All Purpose Lemon Power Cleaner.
All Purpose Lemon Power Cleaner
1 cup warm distilled water
1 cup white vinegar
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
10 – 20 drops lemon essential oil (you could also use orange or tea tree oil — or just omit this)Measure ingredients into a spray bottle and shake to mix. Shake before each use.
This recipe was very easy to make and very inexpensive (especially if you opt not to use the essential oils). It smelled very strongly of lemon and wasn’t the best all natural cleaner I’ve ever used before. But I’d say that it was fair and one that I would make again.
I love that the ingredients are things I usually have on hand, but I thought the smell was pretty strong. So if/when I make it again, I’d probably adjust the essential oil ratio down or use a different essential oil than lemon.
All in all, I enjoyed All-Natural Living ebook. The one thing I didn’t love was the author plugging her essential oils site multiple times in the space of just a few pages. Once or twice would have been great, but doing it repeatedly got a little old and sales-pitchy feeling.
However, I loved that she included so many different recipes — even one for Windshield Wiper Fluid! Some were really basic, but there was a lot of variety — including recipes for homemade makeup.
Have you tried making some of your own household products or make-up? I’d love hear about how it worked (or didn’t work!) for you.
I recently started making homemade detergent and I’m loving it. I’m also trying to switch out more personal care products too.
THIS IS NOT A DISINFECTANT. I used to get so confused, but vinegar, lemon juice, and other mild acids will not kill harmful bacteria or viruses.
I do wish “homemade cleaners” would specify just what they will clean. For disinfecting purposes, I use rubbing alcohol. Or hydrogen peroxide.
Vinegar will not disinfect! I wish I had known that fact ten years ago.
Do you have a good link to back that up? I’ve never heard that vinegar isn’t a disinfectant. It’s not as powerful as say, bleach, but it is anti-bacterial and to a lesser extent anti-viral.
Here’s a NIH study about its use against food-borne pathogens: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9713753
I would assume that vinegar is good enough to use on a normal basis; for those with compromised immune systems, sure, I’d use something stronger.
Personally, I use a mix of Method, Mrs. Meyers, vinegar, and baking soda. It depends on the room, my mood, how badly I’ve neglected the cleaning, and the alignment of the stars. I’m sick with a nasty cold and so far, the vinegar spray I’ve been using has prevented my kids from picking up my germs (in addition to hand washing and the like).
This is a good place to start. She references a useful study. http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2014/04/vinegar-myth-vinegar-great-natural-cleaner.html
Truthfully, acetic acid, the main ingredient in vinegar, DOES have antimicrobial properties. But your white vinegar is only 5% acetic acid, and if you’re using it in one of the many recipes I’ve seen it’s highly diluted beyond even that.
I LOVE baking soda. Wet the tub, sprinkle it around, and it takes off any hard water deposit better than anything else I’ve tried. Got some greasy residue on plastic? A paste of liquid soap + baking soda will take it off.
I love your honest opinions in all your post because you don’t hide anything!
We have quit using fabric softener and dryer sheets except for winter time we tend to get a lot of static so I have been looking for a different option there, plus this saves money!
One thing I am curious of is we have super hard well water so about the only thing that works for cleaning the toilet/tubs and showers is “The Works” from the Dollar Tree it’s the only thing that gets rid of the orange tint on everything. I have tried vinegar and baking soda for that but it doesn’t work so if anyone else has any recommendations I would love to know some! 🙂
We have found that putting 2 cups of peroxide in the toilet and letting it sit for at least 12 hours will take out the orange most of the time but it is hard to remember to do it at a time when we can let it sit. I am with you that The Works does do it very well but I cannot bring myself to use it anymore. My search continues.
Peroxide in a spray bottle has really helped with the showers, too. Spray and leave for 12 hours and then wipe down with a wet microfiber cloth. Our shower is the cleanest it has ever been this way.
We have super hard water with tons of minerals also. We have always used BarKeepers Friend to clean sink/toilets. It takes the rusty orange color right out and there is no smell to it. It is found next to the Comet in our store. We prefer the powder over the liquid
I’ve made my own window cleaner and shower cleaner. Both worked as well as the store bought items. My husband even thought that the shower cleaner worked better. It’s so nice to be able to make your own cleaning products.
I have tried adding essential oils to my homemade cleaners and have found that it leaves an oily residue. I especially noticed it on my tile floor. I would recommend leaving the oil out.
I’ve been trying to use as many natural products as I can for cleaning over the last year or so. The mix I’ve mostly been using is a recipe for a water/vinegar/lemon juice mix that came with my spray bottle. But I’ve also read a few things lately that say vinegar doesn’t really clean all that great, at least as far as actually removing dirt goes. Is that true? We have two messy dogs, so I need to make sure the counters that the one likes to put his front paws on is actually getting clean!
VINEGAR IS NOT A DISINFECTANT. People need to make that clear. It will not kill bacteria.
Heinz does actually make a cleaning grade, stronger vinegar. Not sure how that measures up either.
On a daily basis in my home, there is nothing to seriously “disinfect”. I can’t think of any really. Even if someone is sick, would it really be a great idea to use bleach or other antibacterials? Probably not. Really regular soap (without antibacterial) is all you need to wash away the germs off hands or surfaces without creating superbugs. And as far as raw meats go, I don’t go getting the bleach out to disinfect anything. I just always have a sink full of hot, soapy water, and give everything a really, really good wipe/scrubing.
I use vinegar and/or baking soda to clean everything. That’s it!
I make my own all purpose cleaner (similar to this but not always with lemon juice or EO) and deodorant. I don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets. I have had terrible luck with dw detergent. I think it is our hard water.
Crystal – would you be willing to share what specific cleaning you did with this natural cleaner? Thanks!
I’ve been using just a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water for 2 years now. I use essential oils also. I think that I’m going to add some Thieves essential oil to help combat the sickies:). It smells good too!
I have tried many too and one I kept is an all purpose cleaner using tap water, grapefruit essential oil and lavender castile soap. I use it every day, espeially to wipe down babys highchair multiple times a day. I have read to always use glass bottles when using essential oils so my cleaner bottle is actually on old kombucha drink bottle, prob a 16 oz size. I fill almost to the top with water, add 10-20 drops grapefruit eo, two squirts of Dr Bronner lavender castile soap and shake. Give a little shake before using, I love this one.
Nothing to do with homemade cleaners, just wanted to make sure everyone read the swagbucks update on gift card redemption: http://blog.swagbucks.com/2014/09/gift-card-security-upgrade.html
We ditched fabric softeners 23 years ago and never used anything to replace them. Our fabrics are actually softer and have less static than we had with the softeners. The active ingredient is formaldehyde! Yuck! I have never understood why that is not on the package.
I really have never found a homemade cleaner that I would use on a regular basis. I hate the smell of Fells Naptha and Ivory soaps so I don’t make homemade laundry soap. I do use all cleaners that are natural/green and have been since 23 years ago when I ditched the softeners.
I love this mixture. Have been using it over a year and not only does it clean really well, but the vinegar keeps ants away in your kitchen.
Also gotta love being able to get the great spray bottles at dollar tree.
Hi!
I love your site and am always finding great new ideas for our home. Question — you mentioned that this lemon cleaner wasn’t the best one you’ve tried, so I’d be curious to know more about the best one you’ve tried. Do you have a recipe for it you could share or direct me to where I could find it?
Thanks in advance!
I love when you try stuff out and let us know how it goes! It would be really helpful if you could expand on “it was fair and one that I would make again.” What made it just “fair,” and what makes it worth making again? In my book, if something is just fair, I wouldn’t make it again…
I love that the ingredients are things I usually have on hand, but I thought the smell was pretty strong. So if/when I make it again, I’d probably adjust the essential oil ratio down or use a different essential oil than lemon.
Thanks!