A Guide to Homemade Cleaning Products

March 20, 2020

eco friendly cleaning products flatlay.

If you are keen on making your own all-natural cleaning products which work perfectly with our amber glass bottles, I’ve teamed up with Amanda from @small_sustainable_steps to showcase just how easy it is to make them yourself!

If you want to see an All Purpose Cleaner How To video, check out my Instagram story @thekindstoreuk to see a demonstration. You will need:

Citrus peels - cover them in white vinegar for 2-4 weeks in a cool dark place (You may be lucky enough to find a refill station otherwise Sarsons White Vinegar is available in most supermarkets in a glass jar).
Strain and add with the same volume of water (50/50 mix) to your amber glass jar, then transfer to amber glass bottle.
Optional – add 10 drops of lemon or other essential oil.

Thank you so much to Amanda for sharing how you clean your entire home the natural way. The more people we can get to swap to non-toxic cleaning products the better. Over to Amanda...

Why Natural?

Cleaning with natural ingredients is not only good for the planet but also good for us humans, much cheaper and simpler too. I don’t spend anymore than a few pounds each month on cleaning supplies.

My supplies are:

White vinegar
Bicarbonate of soda
A few essential oils (my preferred are lemon, tea tree and lavender)
Castile soap
I did buy citric acid and a natural borax but I haven’t used them!

I’ve got plenty of cloths (also cut up old t shirts etc), natural fibre ones that go straight into the compost bin, once they are worn out. I've got wooden scrubbing brushes, a scrub pad, bottle and pot brushes. I also use two amber glass spray bottles, one for the kitchen, and bathroom. I’m looking into making a natural air freshener for the third. Why not check out our home & kitchen collection here?

Benefits are I know I’m not exposing myself or my family to any nasty toxins. I’m not releasing toxins into the waterways, I’ve developed a simpler cleaning routine, and cheaper too. Also all those plastic bottles I’m not putting in my bin each month!

Homemade Cleaning Recipes

I use the same basic cleaner spray. 50/50 cooled boiled water to white vinegar (soak with citrus peels) but swap the oils.

Kitchen cleaner: 10 drops of lemon essential oil
Bathroom cleaner: 10 drops of tea tree essential oil in the bathroom.

Dusting

I damp dust using a few drops of lavender essential oil, as I like that smell. The secret to damp dusting is to wring the cloth out as much as possible, I also carry a soft dry cloth and buff up any shiny surfaces too.

I use 1/2 lemon and sea salt to scrub my wooden chopping boards.

For stubborn marks on fabrics and other surfaces, I make a paste with Castile soap and bicarbonate, spread it on, leave, then wash off...3/4 cup bicarbonate of soda, 1/4 cup Castile soap, 1tbsp water, optional 10-15 drops of essential oil such as Tea tree essential oil.

I even clean my windows with the kitchen spray, but make sure I buff it up afterwards for no streaks with a cloth.

Oven cleaning

Soak the shelves in white vinegar and bicarbonate solution with hot water for a few hours, it then scrubs off easy. I spray the oven with the kitchen spray, then sprinkle the oven with bicarbonate and leave a while. This then gets scrubbed and rinsed off, then buffed up.

Smelly sinks

1/2 cup of bicarbonate and 1/2 white vinegar will do the trick and just leave for 1/2 an hour.

White vinegar can be used as a fabric conditioner too. I use soap nuts too for clothes wash, which are very cheap. I sprinkle bicarbonate overnight on settees and carpet to get rid of dog odours or sprinkle some on the mattress when you change your sheets. Just hoover off afterwards.

500ml amber glass spray bottle

I don’t think there’s anything else I do. Like anything it’s an adjustment. You have to get used to the vinegar smell and open the windows. Now I can’t breathe if I walk into a room where chemical cleaners have been used! It just shows how desensitised our bodies have got to chemical cleaners.

I can honestly say I’ve not noticed any difference to how clean my house is now to before when I was using highly toxic stuff. It’s no cleaner, it’s no dirtier. But there’s the obvious health and financial benefits.

If you are pregnant, please research before using essential oils. They can be used in small quantities as they are highly concentrated substances. The same goes if you have a medical condition and caution should be used around pets.

Make sure you purchase high quality organic therapeutic grade oils too. My favourite are doTERRA.

I hope this blog post has been useful. Thank you Amanda! You can refer back as and when your current products run out. I’d also love to hear how you are getting on ☺

Tash x

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