With cold weather creeping in, I’ve found myself spending a lot more of my free time indoors. With that being said, my house seems to be taking a blow from being occupied more, and it has become a complete disaster. Recently, I’ve started a winter deep clean, which has led me to replenishing my supply of cleaning materials. So, I wanted to do a round up of DIY cleaning supplies.
I realize there are A LOT of different cleaning supplies, so I’ll try to break it down by uses. Today I want to focus on the kitchen and bathroom, but we also explore cleaning supplies for laundry day and cleaning supplies for the rest of the house! These cleaning supplies are natural, easy, and consist of similar ingredients so you can buy your supplies in bulk and save plenty of money!
Dish Detergent
For those of you with dishwashers, this dish detergent works on hard water for clean dishes every time. This concoction probably has the most specific ingredients, but its still simple and cost effective. Plus, it’ll last a while!
Here is what’s needed:
- 2 cups of washing soda
- 3 cups of detergent booster
- 15-20 drops of lemon/orange essential oil
- 1 cup Epsom salt
- Storage container, such as mason jar.
This one is really simple: you just mix it all up and store it until its needed! This was inspired by Tiffany with Imperfectly Happy, who subs out the essential oils for Lemi Shine detergent booster.
Dish Soap
While it’s nice to have a dish detergent for the dishwasher, it’s still necessary to keep a dish soap on hand!
Here is everything you need:
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 1/2 cup castile soap
- 1 Tbsp of washing soda
- 1 tsp tea tree or eucalyptus oil
- 1 Tbsp of shredded bar soap
- A plastic or glass container
This one is a little bit more complicated, because you need to combine all of the ingredients first and then mix in the boiling water. It might take a minute to get the perfect thickness, so don’t be afraid to experiment. You can find more details on homemade liquid dish soap here.
**Note: A lot of DIY cleaning products will call for castile soap as well as vinegar, but those two ingredients should not be combined. Because of this, I leave vinegar out of dish soaps, but use it as a rinse agent instead. It works wonders!
Homemade Bleach
This one is my absolute favorite, because the smell of bleach tends to make me a little bit nauseous, but this reeks of lemon! Not to mention, I get a little bleach-happy with my cleaning—using it in the toilet, shower, sinks, counters and pretty much anywhere else I can get away with it—so it’s nice to have a cheaper alternative.
Here are the ingredients:
- 1 cup hydrogen peroxide
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 5-10 drops lemon essential oils
- Spray bottle for storage
This is another one that just mixes up, however storage is a little trickier. The finished mixture should be kept in a darker container so that light can’t reach it, or you’re welcome to just store it in a paper bag or something along those lines. You can find additional tips for making homemade bleach here.
Soft scrub
When I cleaned houses for a living, I became super attached to soft scrub. It’s essentially just a heavy duty cleaning paste to be used on a sponge or with a scrubby in showers and sinks.
Here’s what you need:
- 1 cup of baking soda
- 1/4 cup castile soap
- 1 Tbsp hydrogen peroxide
- 10 drops lemon/orange essential oil
- Storage container
Your finished soft scrub should be a thick paste, like glue. You’ll want to keep the container tightly sealed with a little bit of room at the top. You’re welcome to store the soft scrub in any sort of container, but I prefer one with a squirt-top for easier use. You can find more tips on storage and other details here.
Again, these are just some cleaners to be used in the bathroom and kitchen, and there plenty more we will talk about! I really love how cheap and easy it is to make my own cleaning supplies, and it is always a pleasant surprise how long they last (except maybe my soft scrub). Not to mention that between all four of these mixtures I only use 7 TOTAL ingredients, most of which I already have around the house anyway.
Also, feel free to experiment with the essential oils! Tea tree (I know it’s kind of an acquired smell), eucalyptus, orange, and lemon oil all include many cleaning properties, making them a good choice for any of the mixtures!
Do you guys have any great DIY kitchen and bathroom cleaners? Share with me in the comments below! 🙂
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