Can you believe how much household cleaning products cost? Even the cost of laundry soap is getting to be outrageous. One of my new year resolutions is to stay away from those harsh household cleaning products.  Instead, I’m making my own. For the price of one kitchen or household cleaning product, I could make 5 or more spray bottles of cleaner with everyday kitchen items that are stored right in my pantry.

I’m sure there are a lot of you who say white vinegar doesn’t smell too pleasant and you’re right. But you can make it smell better by adding a little lemon juice for a citrus scent or organic essential oil of tea tree, lavender, eucalyptus, lemongrass and rosemary. (Note:I wouldn’t recommend adding any of these to your coffee maker when cleaning the actual maker.) These are all good choices to use. You can make homemade cleaners can smell better and work just as well. It also cuts down on packaging, and saves you money. Lastly, this is a very simple green step you can take at home, yet the rewards are extremely huge – cleaner indoor air quality and a healthy, happy family.

Household Cleaning Recipes From The Pantry

Here are some recipes I’m already starting to use:

Tea Tree Treasure
Nothing natural works for mold and mildew as well as this spray. Your windows can sometimes get a lot of condensation on your windows in the bedroom or bathroom during the winter or if fresh air is not aloud in the rooms on a routine basis.  Tea tree oil is expensive, but a little goes a very long way. Tea tree oil  has a very strong smell, but it will dissipate in a few days.

2 teaspoons tea tree oil
2 cups water

Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on problem areas. Do not rinse. Makes two cups.

Vinegar Spray
Straight vinegar reportedly kills 82 percent of mold. Pour some white distilled vinegar straight into a spray bottle, spray on the moldy area, and let set without rinsing if you can put up with the smell. It will dissipate in a few hours.

Window Wash
This is one I’ve been doing for years-Simply mix 3 tablespoons vinegar with 2 cups of water (or for a bigger job – 1/2 cup vinegar to 1 gallon water) and spray right on your windows. Vinegar works great on glass, it’s true, however I can’t stand the smell of vinegar, so I add lemon juice. But I read you can also use straight fresh lemon juice or club soda to get your windows and other glass items sparkling clean. Spritz your glass with club soda and scrub with recycled newspaper. If you use straight lemon juice use a lint-free cloth to scrub with.

Furniture Polish
I tried this one over this past weekend and it works great! Grab a lemon out of your fridge and squeeze the juice out of it. If you don’t happen to have a lemon, then grab a container of lemon juice and pour out about four tablespoons into a small spray bottle. Mix the lemon juice with three tablespoons water and two teaspoons olive oil. Put the sprayer in the bottle and shake well. You now have an excellent homemade furniture polish. Anytime you want to polish your furniture, you should make a new batch, as the olive oil may become rancid if you only polish your furniture once a month. When I use homemade furniture polish, I use a soft terry cloth instead of paper towel. The cloth just seems to give a better shine to the furniture.

Homemade Spot Remover
Mix white vinegar and baking soda together to form a paste. Then, work the paste into the carpet stain with an old toothbrush, or something similar. Allow the paste to dry; then vacuum up the baking soda, and the stain should be gone. Note: Some stains may need to be treated more than once.

Degreasers
I mixed up a vinegar degeaser-one part white vinegar and one part water into a clean spray bottle and add two or three drops of dishwashing liquid to form. It’s inexpensive and mixture is safe around food preparation …areas and there are no environmental concerns to worry about. This degreaser can even be used to clean cutting boards and other kitchen equipment without the worry of food contamination. Spray the degreaser on the surface, wipe down with a clean towel and rinse with water. (I always like to add a few drops of lemon juice for a citrus smell.)

ALL-PURPOSE SPRAY CLEANER
1/2 teaspoon washing soda
A dab of liquid soap
2 cups hot tap water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake until the washing soda has dissolved. Apply and wipe off with a sponge or rag.

CREAMY SOFT SCRUBBER
Simply pour about 1/2 cup of baking soda into a bowl, and add enough liquid detergent to make a texture like frosting. Scoop the mixture onto a sponge, and wash the surface. This is the perfect recipe for cleaning the bathtub because it rinses easily and doesn’t leave grit. Note: Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin to the mixture and store in a sealed glass jar, to keep the product moist. Otherwise just make as much as you need at a time.

Fast non-toxic oven cleaning
You don’t want to use conventional oven cleaners – any product that requires open windows and gloves to use, is not ok to use around your kids (or yourself). The best tip is to not wait to clean your oven when it gets dirty. An old stain is harder to clean. To clean oven stains naturally, sprinkle table salt liberally on the hot spill before your oven cools down. Allow the oven to cool. Grab a damp cloth and rub off the spill.

Got questions? Go ahead and ask in the comments. I haven’t bought conventional household cleaners in a couple of months, and plan on researching and testing out new homemade cleaning recipes and sharing them with you. So if you need a natural homemade cleaning solution, I can most likely help you out!

 Have a Homemade Cleaning Product you use that works? Please feel free to share in the comments.