make cleaning products for pennies

There is something about homemade living that I think everyone should know:

You can make your own cleaning products (and toiletries) for just pennies, and actually enjoy them!

AND you don't have to live with and use the chemicals from the store that make you want to wear a gas mask every time you use them! 

When I first pregnant, I became more and more aware of the chemicals in my house- they were everywhere, in my kitchen, in my bathroom, in my laundry room, and behind most cabinet doors close to the floor! It was alarming to realize this and the huge responsibility it would be to baby-proof a house and spend years keeping all kinds of harmful things around our house out of little hands.

I knew it would be impossible to say goodbye to the little years without some incident involving my child eating something he shouldn't, no matter how careful I was. So what could I do?

I could remove it all from my home. But how? I still needed to clean my house?

Then I began a mission of finding a natural cleaning product. Then I discovered Norwex and have been happily using their reusable antibacterial microfiber cloths for about 2 years now, along with many other products! I love the products and although I don't sell them myself, I've sold many friends and family on them and now have a couple consultants in the family :) If you have any questions about it, let me know, as I won't take the time and space in this post.

After slowly removing chemicals from my home and using a few simple Norwex products that are truly multi-purpose, I started learning that I could easily and cheaply make my own cleaning products with only a few ingredients that I already have around the house.


Here is a basic list of staple ingredients needed to make homemade cleaning producs:

• Borax
• Baking Soda
• Super Washing Soda
• White Vinegar
• Castile Soap
• Essential oils are not necessary but they can be fun to experiment with
  
  
  
  The basics are vinegar and baking soda- we probably all have that in our pantry right now! So you can start there! The rest of these items are fairly inexpensive and can be found pretty easily in the laundry aisle of your local grocery store, a well appointed health food store, or online through Mountain Rose Herbs.

Here are a few recipes for cleaning products you can make with a few simple ingredients:

Abrasive Scrub
(Uses: Toilet bowl scrub, mattress freshener, carpet freshener,

~Fill an empty plastic container (like a parmesan container) halfway with baking soda.
~Add 15-20 drops of tea tree oil (anti-bacterial)
        (Also add any other essential oil you like for scent- I love Peppermint or Orange)
~Shake until mixed totally

For toilet bowls, use like Comet- sprinkle in toilet bowl, and use toilet brush to scrub
For mattresses and carpets, sprinkle around, let set, then vacuum up!




All Purpose Cleaner
(Uses: counters, floors, sinks, tubs, etc!)

~Fill a spray bottle 1:1 with water and white distilled vinegar.
~Use as is or add some essential oils


Dish Soap- I plan to make this recipe soon!

Laundry Soap- uses Castile bar soap. I plan to use this recipe as soon as I go through the last batch I recently made. I don't care for the strong smell of the Fels Naphtha.

Foaming Anti Bacterial Hand Soap


So here are a few recipes that can get you started, and pretty much do most of your cleaning for you.
I've found that if there's still something in my house I want to replace, I just google a homemade natural version and there are usually lots of versions out there, so take advantage of the internet! There are lots of other women on blogs who have a wealth of information and experience and they are just like us, wanting to make their homes safer and cleaner!

I now exclusively use Norwex or homemade cleaners, and chemical cleaners are almost non-existent in our house! It feels good to have one less thing to worry about in a house of toddlers! We have enough trouble to keep them out of!

Tomorrow I'll be sharing another DIY Cleaning Recipe with you!:)


Share or Link any other cleaning recipes you have in the comments below so that we can all

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