By The Green Parent

03rd April 2015

As part of my New Year’s Resolution to be more self-sufficient and chemical free, I have been dabbling in making my own household cleaning products. I was reluctant at first, as it seemed like a lot of effort and my less than enthusiastic partner had a firmly raised eyebrow at the concept of handmade dish soap (he’s our resident dishwasher, you see). So, I was delighted with the results of several of the recipes we found online. It’s been a lot of trial and error, and sometimes a bit of a hunt finding the right ingredients, but overall I am quite thrilled with our new home made products, and the little reusable glass bottles they live in excite me more than would be consider healthy. Here, I am sharing my top 5 household cleaning product recipes from around the web!

By The Green Parent

03rd April 2015

By The Green Parent

03rd April 2015

1. Washing Up Liquid/Dish Soap

• 3 tbsp liquid Castile soap
• 2 cups warm water
• 2 tsp glycerine
• 2 tbsp. white vinegar
• 10 drops lavender essential oil
The lavender in this recipe makes the water smell lovely, and also has anti-bacterial properties. The scent doesn’t linger on the dishes, however.
Recipe: backwoodshome.com

2. Detergent

• 2.5kg Natural Borax Substitute
• 2kg Soda Crystals
• 500g Bicarbonate of Soda
• 3 bars of soap
• 35 drops of essential oil

Be prepared for the lack of suds. It can be a little difficult to get used to, but suds don’t mean clean! You can add 1kg of chlorine free oxygenated bleach to this recipe if you have really stubborn stains to get rid of, or you can scrap it completely and go for soap nuts if you have particularly sensitive skin.

Recipe: thevillagewitch.co.uk

3. Window Cleaner

• ¼ cup of white vinegar
• 1 tbsp of cornstarch
• 2 cups of warm water

Streak free, easy to use and the cornstarch is a surprisingly effective addition to the usual vinegar/water mixture. If you can get hold of rubbing alcohol, even better!

Recipe: crunchybetty.com

4. Toilet Cleaner

• ¾ cup baking soda
• ¾ cup white vinegar
• 10 drops of tea tree oil
• 10 drops of lavender essential oils

Smells lovely and really scrubs even the most limescale stained toilet bowls clean. As an added tip, pouring oil around the bowl after cleaning can help prevent “things” from sticking to the side…
Recipe: frugallysustainable.com

5. Multi-Purpose Cleaner

• ¼ cup of white vinegar
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1 litre of hot water
• ½ a lemon
If you’re looking for something to clean your kitchen surfaces, bedroom furniture, bathroom and general odds and ends with then look no further! This general, all-purpose household cleaner will freshen up, scrub and naturally disinfect all in one handy mixture.
Recipe: simplebites.net

Where to find ingredients: naturalselection.biz

loading