More Home Made Household Cleaning Products

Although I'd like to take credit for all the following - I can't. The first part of this post came from The Dollar Stretcher website at http://www.stretcher.com. It is an article written by Amy Allen Clark. She is a stay-at-home mother of two wonderful children. She is founder and creator of http://www.momadvice.com. Her website is geared towards mothers who are seeking advice on staying organized, living on a budget, and those seeking work-at-home employments. Please visit her money-saving blog where she offers even more tips for ways you can save your family money. The other part of this article is cut and pasted cleaning recipes from the Dollar Stretcher website. Just read - enjoy and then try the cleaner recipes. I have tried several of them before and they work. I did not know about the furniture polish though. I'm going to try that tomorrow or maybe the next day - or whenever I have time to dust...... LOL. I'm just too busy planting spring flowers and blogging for my wonderful readers to care about a dusty house right now. Here's Amy's article and the recipes:

I am not going to launch into a preachy prose about how bad commercial cleaning products are today when it comes to cleaning your home. It is common knowledge that a healthy home is not doused in heavy-duty bleach and preserving our environment should be tops on our priority list. The truth is, if you peeked inside of my caddy of cleaners, you would see some of these harmful products in there. The fact is that I am trying to rely less on these cleaners and rely more on homemade cleaners. I am in the process of making the transition over to using only healthy homemade cleaners and feel a lot of pride when I take the time to do this.

Making cleaners does not mean that you need to purchase a ton of items; in fact, most cleaners can be made from things you already have in your house. The main components that I like to work with are white vinegar, baking soda, liquid dish washing soap, and lemon juice. To get started, however, you may need to purchase a few spray bottles. I pick these spray bottles up from our local dollar store. These clear spray bottles will make it easy to measure and label your new cleaners in your house.

If you do decide to use these types of cleaners regularly, I would suggest making a trip to your wholesale club to buy the ingredients. A small box of baking soda can cost around fifty cents at your local grocery store. The same baking soda, in a twelve-pound bag, from Sam's Club costs about $5.42. What a savings! All of these products can be purchased in bulk, and once you begin using them regularly, you will go through them quickly.

While you are at the warehouse store, be sure to swing by the automotive section and pick up a bag of microfiber cloths. The cloths sold at the warehouse store are larger and thicker than the ones you can get in other stores, and these are great for all of the jobs around your house. You can use these wet or dry. You can also use these just using water and not even bothering with a cleaner because they are that amazing.

Be sure when you launder your microfiber cloths that you do not use any type of fabric softener and use a very little amount of soap or cleaner on them. If you overload them with cleaning products, they will become less and less effective, particularly when you are trying to attract dust towards them. Because these cleaners are homemade and use less harsh ingredients, they will require a little more elbow grease than your commercial products. Here are some of my tried-and-true recipes that we use in our house:
All-Purpose Cleaner - Mix together two tablespoons of mild dish washing soap and two cups of water in a spray bottle and give it a shake. Use this anywhere that you would use a commercial all-purpose spray. This cleaner is particularly great for counter tops, bathroom surfaces, and high chairs.

Glass Cleaner - Mix together one part white vinegar to one part water in a spray bottle. Spray this solution on your mirrors and windows and dry your windows with newspaper. The newspaper is great for lint-free drying.
Homemade Oven Cleaner/Deep Kitchen Cleaner - Mix a paste of three parts warm water to one part baking soda to clean away kitchen stains or to clean your oven.
Bathroom Cleaner - Mix dish washing liquid with baking soda until you have a thick paste and use this throughout your bathroom.
Toilet Bowl Cleaner - No measuring is required with this recipe. Sprinkle a little baking soda into your toilet bowl and then pour a little vinegar in and watch it fizz it up. Give it a swish with your toilet brush and then flush.
Floor Cleaner - Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to a gallon of water. The scent of the vinegar will fade in approximately an hour, but you can also add a couple of drops of essential oil to help with the scent.
Furniture Polish - Mix 1/4 cup olive oil with four tablespoons of vinegar and two teaspoons of lemon juice. Pour into a spray bottle and shake well before using. If you do not use all of it in one cleaning session, store the remainder in the fridge, as the lemon juice can go sour.
Silver Cleaner - Although I don't polish silver very frequently, this is a great to have in your bag of tricks. In a large bowl (or you can use your kitchen sink), place strips of aluminum foil and place the silver pieces on top. Cover the silver with boiling water and then add three tablespoons of baking soda and soak for ten minutes.

By making your own cleaners, you will save hundreds of dollars over the course of the year. What a difference that will make to your grocery budget and helping the environment is a wonderful benefit of your fabulous frugalness.

More frugal cleaning product ideas:

From a reader named Layne -

I, too, thought the price on the clean-up wipes was way too expensive at $3.99 for a package of 28 in my area, so I modified my homemade baby wipes to make my own clean-ups.

Cleaning Wipes: Cut a roll of Bounty paper towels in half, and remove cardboard tube. In an airtight container add 1 1/2 cups water and 1/2 cup of cleaner (bleach or pine Sol or whatever kind you want). I use an old 5-quart ice cream bucket and Mr. Clean Anti-Bacterial. Place roll of paper towels in and seal with lid. Turn upside down until all liquid is absorbed in paper towels. To use, pull each piece of paper towel out of the center. I figured I spent about 75¢ for 100 wipes. Quite a savings! They work great for wiping down the bathroom and kitchen.

From a reader named Bridgett -

Baby Wipes: I use Bounty Select-A-Size paper towels and fold them into thirds. Put them in an old Huggie wipee box. Mix 2 cups warm water, 2 tablespoons baby lotion, and 2 tablespoons baby bath. Pour over the paper towels. You can adjust the recipe if you like your wipees' wetter or drier.

For each of the following, I use Bounty or Viva paper towels, because neither one of these turns to mush. I take a roll of paper towels, cut it in half, and take out the cardboard inside. You won't need it for anything. You'll pull out the sheets from the center. I keep each of the following in a Rubbermaid container big enough to hold half a roll of paper towels:
Kitchen Face Wipe: 2 tablespoons Johnson & Johnson Baby Bath and 2 cups water

Bathroom disinfectant wipes: 2 cups Pine Cleaner (your choice) and 2 cups water.

Bug Wipe: 1 cup Avon Skin so Soft and 1 cup water

Window Wipe: 1 1/2 cups Glass Cleaner (your choice) and 1/2 cup water

All of the above save me some time and money, and they get used a lot here! I've marked the tops of each with exactly what is inside, and the same container gets used over and over again for even more savings.

Room Deodorizers from several readers:

The Fake Febreeze Recipe
2 C. Fabric Softener
2 C. Baking Soda
4 C. warm water
Mix and place in a spritzing bottle. Use just like you would the expensive Febreeze from the store. If you want, you can use the unscented fabric softener and then add a few drops of essential oil to make it a scent that you prefer. I just use Snuggle. Tina

Easy Deodorizer
The best deodorizer that I make is plain tap water with several drops of essential oil in it. I normally use lavender. About 15 drops for a 32-ounce spray bottle. When needed, I simply mist the air. I use lavender because it's so relaxing! Katrina
Good Use for Vodka
I own a business which styles and sells wigs, falls, and other synthetic hairpieces, and the best trick I've learned for getting smells out of those fibers works just as well on other fibers and fabrics. Just mix water and vodka in a 1:1 ratio and spritz it right on. Works as well as commercial products like Febreeze. It evaporates quickly, leaving no alcohol-scent behind. Penny
Less Expensive Substitute
Sam's club has a product called OdoBan. It comes in a gallon jug as a concentrate. You may make the scent as light or strong as you wish by adding water to a very small amount in a spray bottle. The scent isn't as flowery as Febreeze but pleasant, very effective, and very affordable. I have had my gallon for over a year and it's still almost a gallon. My daughter uses this product at her pet grooming shops. The scent of wet dog isn't so noticeable. I have also read you may add fabric softener diluted with water as a spray, but would worry about furniture because product stains clothes if not used right. Dian