TUTORIAL: HOMEMADE CLEANING PRODUCTS (WITH FREE LABEL DOWNLOAD!)

Sometime right after Henry was born I came across the book Clean House Clean Planet by Karen Logan and fell in love with making my own cleaning supplies. Not only are these better for the planet and your family, but they are much more cost efficient than buying many of the "green" products on the market. All of the recipes below are from Karen's book (I have adjusted the amounts slightly to fit the container sizes I suggest here).



Materials:

*One box Borax Laundry Powder
*One large bottle of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap in your choice of scents (or other castile soap).
*One large (or a few small) box of baking soda
*white vinegar
*distilled water
*essential oil (in your choice of scents--I used Tea Tree this time)
*two one-quart Mason (available at the thrift shop if you don't want to buy a whole case)
*two empty 32 oz. spray bottles (either new or one you have washed and are reusing)
*funnel for pouring ingredients into containers

A NOTE ABOUT BORAX:
*Borax is a commonly used household product, but can be extremely harmful to children and pets if ingested, so please use caution to mark all products containing Borax carefully and to store them away from kids and animals. Some people experience skin sensitivity to Borax, as well, so it is best to wear dishwashing gloves when using these cleansers.

*OPTIONAL: Print my little labels on sticker paper (I use this one--it's great!) to put on your containers:
Homemade Cleanser Labels



Label your containers before you start, and then mix everything up right in its own bottle.


COUNTER SPRAY RECIPE

Ingredients:
A clean 32 ounce trigger spray bottle
2 teaspoon borax
4 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 cup Dr. Bronners soap
Essential oil of lemon, tea tree or lavender
Hot water (enough to fill bottle)

Instructions:
Fill bottle 1/4 full with hot water then add borax. Shake to completely dissolve borax. Next add vinegar, home soap, and 20-25 drops essential oil. Fill the rest of the bottle with hot water. Gently shake mixture. Ready for use.


SOFT SCRUB CLEANSER RECIPE

You can use this cleaner really anywhere in your house. Common places include the tub, bathroom sink or on kitchen counters. It also works well on floors and garbage cans – basically on any surface that becomes greasy or grimy.

Ingredients:
1 clean Mason jar with lid
3 1/3 cups baking soda
1 cup of liquid soap
1 cup water
4 tablespoons vinegar

Instructions:
Mix baking soda and liquid soap in your jar. Dilute with the water and add the vinegar last. Stir until the lumps are gone. If it's too thick, add more water. Keep the lid on the jar because this mixture will dry out. Stir or shake well before using. For future uses, add more water if cleaner seems dry.

GLASS CLEANSER RECIPE

Ingredients:
2 cup white distilled vinegar
2 cup distilled water
6 drops essential oil of your choice

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together. Pick an oil you'd like, or just skip.

POWDER CLEANSER RECIPE

Use just as you would any other household cleanser.

Ingredients:

1 cup baking soda
2 cups Borax



To make the "shaker" lid for this, trace a circle slightly larger than the lid of your jar onto a piece of cardstock or cereal box. Use a hole punch to perforate the cardboard circle. Mix together the baking soda and borax in your jar, place the piece of cardstock on top and screw on the lid ring.

Now, enjoy your spring cleaning!

xo