Green Living Series: Natural Home Cleaning Recipes
Fancy making your own all-natural home cleaning products? It's not as complicated as you might think it is! These recipes are pretty simple, straightforward and require minimum ingredients that are affordable and accessible to all. The basic ingredients that you’ll need are perhaps even already in your pantry at this moment, such as vinegar, baking soda, lemons, etc. So let’s get mixing and cleaning.
1. All-Purpose Cleaner - can mix ahead of time and just kept an air-tight container to be able to keep it fresh to store for up to 2 weeks.
1 cup Vinegar
1 cup Filtered Water (important to use Filtered Water as some states have naturally “hard water” that will just cause more water stains and streaks if left out to dry.
For the option to add a natural fresh scent to this all-purpose cleaner, you may add the following and will hold up just as well if stored:
1/2 a Lemon
Sprig of Rosemary
3-5 of your favorite essential oil (lavender, mint, citrus-based, etc)
2. Toilet/Tub Cleaner - this mixture is a “make right before use” kind of solution. You can pour borax straight into the toilet or tub and follow up with vinegar. Make sure to rinse and wipe dry.
1 cup Borax (all natural occurring mineral similar to baking soda with additional cleaning properties and power)
1/2 cup Vinegar
3. Glass Cleaner - best and easiest to use if pre-made and stored in a spray container (we’re opting for a glass container over plastic, of course!)
1/2 cup White or Cider Vinegar (cider has more natural acetic acid that helps in keeping the solution streak-free)
1/4 cup Rubbing Alcohol (to disinfect as well as to make it streak-free, will help break-down watermarks)
2 cups Filtered Water
To make it scented, option to add 3-5 drops of your favorite essential oil. Make sure to mix vigorously to ensure the oil is incorporated properly in the overall mixture.
4. Kitchen Cleaner and Deodorizer - best used to wipe down the fridge, kitchen cabinets/storage, hard-to-reach corners of kitchen counters that we forget or even the baseboards near our kitchen that are exposed to regular splatters. If it’s musty, this is the solution for it.
4 cups Filtered Water
4 tbsp Baking Soda
Pro-tip: to keep your fridge or that spice cabinet smell-free, leave a bowl or a container with just plain old baking soda in it. After a few hours you will notice the smells will start to disappear!
5. Grease Remover - can be used for heavily greased pots, pans, oven tops and can even be used to clean oil/sauce splatters inside the oven if the solution is left longer than a few hours, just don’t forget to rinse it off and wipe it down!
3 cups Filtered Water
1 cup White Vinegar
1/2 cup Baking Soda
5-10 drops of Mild Dishwashing Soap (check our last blog for our fave cleaning brands)
6. Marble Cleaner - for best results, use a microfiber rag to wipe it all off clean. Microfibers are the best types of reusable wipes as it is most effective in removing bacteria, dirt and residue.
2 cups Filtered Water
2 drops of Mild Dishwashing Soap
7. Drain Cleaner - we often forget to do a deep clean on our drain, this works best on your sink’s garbage disposal but can work in your bathroom sink and tub drains too. Drains can harbor bacteria and residue buildup so make sure to do a deep clean at least 1x a month!
1 cup Baking Soda
1 cup White Vinegar
Directions for use:
Pour Baking Soda straight to the drain making sure it covers the rim as well.
Pour the White Vinegar.
As the mixture bubbles and fizzles up, cover the drain with a rag to keep mixture in.
Pour hot water in to rinse off the mixture and wipe the outsides clean.
Pro Tip: To keep the garbage disposal extra fresh, drop a used lemon rind, run the water hot and run the disposal until lemon rind is completely gone.
8. Chopping Board - this deep clean on your cutting board works best when you have a wooden board as it is harder to clean (ie can not put it inside a dishwasher).
Baking Soda (use enough to cover your entire board)
Add Lemon Juice in covered area, use the rind to scrub it all over making a paste. Make sure you clean both sides.
Rinse and wipe dry.
Pro Tip: clean your boards first, then use the discarded rind to freshen up your garbage disposal drain (#7 drain cleaner recipe).
For those giving these recipes a go, tell us all about it in the comments section below! We would love to hear from you and what you think. For easily savable versions of our blog posts, please follow us on Instagram @humbleearthinitiative.com, you won’t regret it!
