During a recent trip to the hardware store I put disinfectant wipes on the list, something I haven’t bought in ages. As I perused the aisles I was absolutely shocked when I came across a bottle of 35 disinfectant wipes for at least $3.50. For that price I could feed my family two meals of canned beans, buy 1.5 pounds of grass-fed meat, or buy a roll (or two) of paper towels plus a spray bottle and get far more than 30 wipes.
I had been out of the purchasing cleaning products market for so long that I had no idea things could be so expensive. While $3.50 doesn’t seem like a budget breaker, it all adds up. There’s the all-purpose cleaner, the toilet bowl cleaner, the mop and glow, the shower cleaner, the disinfectant wipes, and a dozen other products that are marketed as super time-savers.
The truth is these things really don’t save you that much time and the cost, when you truly add it up, may not be worth it. So I like to use just a few very inexpensive, very safe, and very environmentally friendly items to clean just about everything.
The Only Three Items You Need
When it comes to cleaning, disinfecting, or scouring there are only three items you truly need.
- Vinegar. I just buy the cheap gallons of distilled white vinegar and use it as an all-purpose cleaner. To make just make a 50:50 mixture of water and vinegar in a spray bottle and add essential oils as desired for more disinfecting and lovely-smelling properties. It is also great for washing tubs or showers if you have hard water.
- Baking Soda. We have always purchased the large bags from Sam’s Club in the past and they last a really long time. I have used baking soda to clean toilets, clear drains (in combination with vinegar), scour sinks and counter tops, and use on any smelly situation.
- Hydrogen Peroxide. I don’t use this one nearly as often as the previous two, but it is great for those times when you are worried about bacteria or germs. If I accidentally got chicken juices on the counter top, for instance, I would spray first with vinegar and then with peroxide and I am pretty much guaranteed the combination will kill any of the icky guys. This is also a great combo for the toilet.
Make Your Own Scented Cleaner
One of the big draws of commercial cleaning products are the lovely, clean smells they leave in your home. One thing that I have started using not only for their lovely smell, but also for their cleaning power, is essential oils (here’s my favorite source). By mixing just a few drops (5-10, depending on the size of your spray bottle) into your vinegar/water mixture, you can have a lemon or a lavender-scented cleaner with the added cleaning power of these oils.
One of my favorite combinations is about 5 drops each of rosemary and lemon essential oils. These two, in combination, really give your homemade cleaning solution extra cleaning power as well as leaving a lovely, clean scent.
Have you ever tried making your own cleaning products?
What most people don’t know is just how versatile these products are and how hypoallergenic they are. My kids have allergies although to any cleaning products that I am aware of. Just to be safe I use all of the above but did you know baking soda is great in you load of whites to boost the cleaning power of detergent? Or that vinegar is a natural safe fabric softener? How about that you can clean you sink drains with a combination of baking soda followed by the vinegar and the foaming will clean & clear the drain? Points to ponder!
The best thing about baking soda is it’s great to use as an exfoliator on your face or back (especially for teens or if you break out alot). I’ve been using baking soda to wash my face or I make a water/baking soda paste and use it as a face mask till it dries. Don’t it in your eyes! Use lotion afterwards since it can make your face feel a little dry. You can also use baking soda in addition to your toothpaste. Don’t scrub hard on your teeth with it though, a gentle brush with it will clear off any film on your teeth & makes your breath smell good.
If you have a canker sore you can use hydrogen peroxide as a mouthwash and then rinse with water. You may get some foaming,but just rinse out some more.
This is just an added bonus: for big red pimples crush aspirin (not tylenol or anything else. Straight simple aspirin) into a fine powder and make a paste with water. Apply to the pimple and leave it on as long as possible to get rid of redness and swelling. Instant cheap pimple reducer for pennies!
Thanks for these tips! I have one more to add. You can make citrus infused vinegar really easily. Just keep a jar of white vinegar on the counter, and as you peel citrus fruits put the peels into the jar of vinegar. Let it sit for 2-3 weeks and then strain out the peels. Mix it 50/50 with water in your spray bottle and use for cleaning. It smells great and cleans really well!
I also have two questions. How exactly do you clean the toilet bowl? I tried using the spray bottle of vinegar mixture, but it doesn’t really spray into the bowl because of needing to turn it on its side. Do you have some other sort of bottle or a trick you could share? Also, when you use hydrogen peroxide, do you use it straight or is it a mixture with water? Thanks a bunch!
Make your own orange oil cleaner! Fill a jar with orange peels and then fill up with vinegar. Put a lid on and leave on a shelf for 3 weeks. Then strain out the orange peels and what you have left is a gorgeous smelling orange oil cleaner. I use all round the house. It also works with lemon peels. Mandarins: doesn’t seem to work so well. I haven’t tried with any other citrus.
I started adding essential oils (orange) to my vinegar spray and I LOVE it! None of these seem to work very well on my glass top stove though. I’ve really burned on the mess and have scrubbed the begeeze out of it to no avail. It’s like I permanently stained it (and it’s black)! Any advice?
Try adding a few drops of castile soap (like Dr. Bronners) to the vinegar/water mix in sprayer. Also, scour gently with a baking soda/water paste (let it sit on a little while even) first, then wipe down with the spray.
Side note, for a “shower spray” that really works well, the water/vinegar mix with a few drops of castile soap and about 10-12 drops of tea trea oil…really cuts grime and prevents mildew/mold, etc if you just spray it on wet shower after you get out. This pretty much cleans anything, counters, etc. And for person asking about toilet bowl cleaning, I just dump a scoop of baking soda in and use the brush to scrub it all around; then I add vinegar and when the fizzing is done I do another quick scrubbing around and flush. I don’t think you have to do both bs/vinegar, but the fizzy reaction is just so…satisfying