Natural Cleaning Supplies for Around the House

As a continuation for natural cleaning supplies for the kitchen and bathroom and natural cleaning supplies for laundry day, I wanted to finish up discussing all natural cleaning supplies with a roundup of a few of my favorite supplies for various areas around the house. Read on!

Homemade Febreeze

I love walking in to a fresh-smelling home, but unfortunately I’ve been known to overspend on candles and scentsy. Even Febreeze can run about $5 for a bottle! This alternative homemade mist will leave your house smelling fresh, without putting a hole in your pocket.

Here what you need:

• Large spray bottle
• 3 tbsp fabric softener – use your own mixture!
• 2 tbsp baking soda
• Warm water

This is a pretty simple mixture; the only advice I have is to mix your baking soda in with warm water first so that it doesn’t clump in your container. After that, just add your fabric softener, fill the rest up with warm water, mix, and enjoy! There are some essential oils in your fabric softener, but if you’d like a more potent smell, feel free to throw in some additional drops! Also, you can add a couple tablespoons of vinegar to your mixture to make it a great wrinkle release spray.

Glass Cleaner

Cleaning glass and mirrors is an extremely tedious task for me, as I’m a bit of a perfectionist. This homemade glass cleaner is pretty much the bomb, although you might be surprised what the secret ingredient is!

Here is everything you need:

• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
• 2 cups of hot water
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch – the secret ingredient!
• A spray bottle

Again, I would recommend adding your cornstarch to the warm water first, just to make sure it dissolves. Crunchy Betty gives us a breakdown on the cost of this mixture, and at less than 50 cents per batch, you really cant beat this value!

**Note: I clean my glass and mirrors with a micro fiber cloth or coffee filters—no paper towels! It helps to leave everything streak-free.

Furniture Polish

For those of you still using store-bought furniture polish, STOP! I personally think it smells awful, not to mention the chemicals linger in your home for days after you use them, which is really not good for you and your family! This all natural alternative is simple, and will leave your furniture looking great without harming your home.

Here is what you need:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 10-15 drops lemon essential oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• Plastic bottle for storage

There are a lot of different furniture polish mixtures out there. I really like this one because most are very heavy with oil, which I think leaves a film on my furniture. Instead, I opt for a little more lemon oil and juice. Feel free to experiment with the amounts of some of these ingredients until you find your perfect mixture, but I would max out with the 1/4 cup of vinegar!

Carpet Stain Remover

I am a little bit accident prone, which leads to more messes than I would like around the house. A spill is definitely not unusual for me, and my pets don’t help much either! This carpet stain remover works surprisingly well when used on a fresh stain, but for any super dark liquids (red wine, grape juice) I recommend pouring salt over the stain to soak up the spill and to do a quick vacuum first.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 cup vinegar
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 15 drops of essential oil
• Storage container

I know I usually tell you to go crazy and use whatever essential oil you want, but for this mixture you want to make sure you are using a CLEAR essential oil so that no residue is left on your carpet. Definitely steer clear of orange!

**Note: You can easily make a dry carpet cleaner by combining 1-2 cups of baking soda and 20-30 drops of essential oils. I use this periodically to freshen the carpet throughout my house, but you can also sprinkle it over your treated stain and leave it overnight in order to help keep everything smelling good! Just vacuum up everything in the morning.

These are just a few of the all natural cleaners I use randomly around my house. By now, you can see that there are a lot of reoccurring ingredients that have a number of uses! Because of this, making your own cleaning supplies is insanely cost-effective. If you don’t have any homemade cleaners yet, not to worry. This is the perfect time to start, you can make double batches for great holiday gifts!

Do you guys have any great DIY cleaners or tips that I need to hear about? Share with me in the comments below!