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The household cleaning market is a multi-billion dollar a year industry- even when much of what
you are paying for is water.
Laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, glass cleaner, all purpose cleaner- you are buying
bottles of a little bit of chemicals, toxic fragrance & water. Oh & dye. Because nothing actually
comes in that blue color on its own.
We spend $100’s of dollars a year on expensive, toxic water that smells pretty but is terrible for
us. Chemical fragrances contain phthalates which are hormone disrupters that can cause
headaches, asthma, hormonal imbalances, reproductive issues & a host of other health issues.
So what do we do about it?
We can “go green” & buy products that don’t have those ingredients & that is absolutely the right
thing to do. But often times, the less toxic a product is, the more it costs. Now what? How about
we learn to make (at least some) our cleaning products at home?
If you do a search you will come up with multiple recipes for everything from laundry detergent
to shampoo that you can make at home. Some recipes are simple & work awesome others not
so much so I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you.
My all-time favorite, super simple all-purpose cleaner is so easy &it really works. You ready for
this?
Save up your citrus peels- I like orange the best- and fill a quart jar with them, then just pour
vinegar over them until the peels are covered & the jar is full. Cap the jar & put it in a dark
cupboard for a few weeks. After a few weeks strain the vinegar through a fine sieve into a spray
bottle, fill bottle half with the citrus vinegar & half with water. Shake it up & there you go! Use it
to spray down your countertops ,your table, your cupboards, your bathroom- it’s a great all
purpose cleaner. If you prefer the scent of pine to citrus, you can use fresh pine needles instead
of citrus peels.
Another simple but effective recipe is for powdered laundry detergent with just 4 ingredients.
1 bar soap, finely grated (castille or other natural soap)
2 cups washing soda
2 cups baking soda
2 cups borax
Thoroughly mix together & store in an air tight container. Use 2-3 tablespoons per load for
‘normal’ laundry, more if it’s extra dirty or stinky.
Some people find that homemade detergent can become less effective over time. Typically you
can resolve this by switching to a different detergent for a few loads or stripping your laundry.
Stripping basically consists of washing your laundry in super hot with water no soap or
detergent to remove any residue that may have built up.
For washing cloth diapers, regardless of whatever detergent you use adding baking soda &
vinegar to your wash load neutralizes odors, removes stains & keeps the diapers soft.
For my favorite glass cleaner you don’t even need a recipe. You need a microfiber cloth. Norwex
brand are super nice but you can buy a bundle of generic microfiber cloths at your grocery store
or online. The trick to the perfect, non-streaky window is to wet your microfiber cloth & wring out
as much water as you can. Take the damp cloth & simply wash your window. Works on mirrors
as well. Clean , non-streaky windows with only water & a little elbow grease.
Another natural, all purpose cleaner is plain vinegar. Vinegar & hot water are perfect for
mopping floors. It leaves no residue, doesn’t streak & the little bit of vinegar smell dissipates
once it dries.
And we can’t forget about baking soda! Baking soda can be used in place of scrubbing powders
to clean your sinks, shower, toilet. It can be added to laundry loads to help brighten whites &
deodorize stinky loads. It can takes stains out of plastic food containers & a baking soda paste
can remove burnt on food from pots & pans. You can also use it to refresh & deodorize
mattresses & pet beds. It’s kind of a cleaning all star.
A super simple, not technically homemade but way cheaper than store bought, liquid hand soap
is to buy the large bottle of liquid Castille soap & mix it half & half with water in a soap dispenser
bottle. It’s the perfect ratio for foamy hand soap & 1 bottle of soap lasts for weeks or more.
Making your own cleaners may seem like too much work or you may just be to ease of premade
chemical cleaners. It’s a bit of a learning curve to switch to & trust homemade cleaners that
don’t contain bleach or dyes or strong fragrances but it is so worth it.
The more studies that are done, the more health issues are linked to household cleaners
especially the ones with strong fragrances.
Many of the chemicals in our cleaners, makeup, shampoos, cooking utensils etc. are known as
endocrine disrupters. Endocrine disrupters have been linked to increased risk of certain
cancers, obesity, infertility, diabetes, asthma, & early puberty, just to hit on some big ones. We
blindly bring these toxic chemicals into our homes & expose them to our families. We wash our
clothes in them. We wash our dishes in them. We scrub our floors with them .We wipe down all
of the surfaces in our home with them.
The expression “know better, do better” is important here. Once we learn of what these toxins
do, we have a responsibility to keep them away from our families. Now obviously we can’t
remove everything toxic from our homes & lives, but we can absolutely make a start & using
homemade cleaning products is a good start. It’s a relatively simple step in the right direction.
Are you willing to take it?
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