Household Cleaners

Back in the day, before it was cool to do so, (and I am happy it is cool now) I decided to give up commercial cleaning products for more natural ones. It was so hard to give up some of them. (Liquid Mr. Clean in the lavender scent was my hands down favorite.) I had been trained for years and years by commercials and by watching what family and friends used in their homes what clean should smell like. I bought into all of the propaganda so easily and I faithfully bought the cleaning products that I loved. Comet, Soft Scrub, Mr. Clean, Windex were my go to peeps when I needed to feel that my home was spic and span. But one day, after really taking a look at the back of one of those bottles, I started to wonder how clean my home could really be if there were all of these warning labels telling me not to breath in, swallow, get in my eyes, or get in contact with my skin all of these products I so diligently used year after year? Even more startling was the fact that my kids would be coming into these products even more so as they picked  items off of the floor and put them into their mouths and licked the counters (yes, that has happened in our home). To me being clean didn't mean trading in one potentially deadly situation (salmonella for example) for another (being poisoned).

After much research I decided that I could make my own cleaning products, and still get my house clean without having to worry about the chemicals I am spreading in my home. A while after I started making my own stuff  I cam across a book that is now my absolute go to book when I am looking for a cleaning recipe. It is wonderfully written, easy to understand, and stocked with lots of recipes that can be used in a multitude of situations. It is called, "Little House in the Suburbs - Backyard Farming and Home Skills for Self-Sufficient Living", by Deanna Casewell and Daisy Siskin. I highly recommend this book - it is available at the Cuyahoga Falls Library which is how I first ran into it. I then purchased a copy for my own home because I loved the recipes so much.

One of my most favorite recipe is an all purpose cleaner that I use everywhere. 

Tough Multi-Purpose Cleaner

2 Tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon borax

2 cups hot water

2 Tablespoons to 1/4 cup of castille soap (depending on how dirty your area is)

10-15 drops of essential oil

I bought some empty plastic spray bottles from BJ's and labeled them with the type of cleaner it is (all purpose, wood, window, etc...), and then mix the recipe in the bottle. Voila! Recipe made and ready to go, and you have a MUCH healthier cleaning product (and MUCH cheaper too!).

Obviously, if you are just making the switch away from commercial cleaners to home made one the task can be a bit daunting (it was for me anyway). I wasn't sure where to go for some of the products. Castille Soap comes in both a bar soap form and a liquid one. It can be bought online or in most health food stores. You can buy it scented or unscented the preference is yours. Borax can be bought in most grocery stores, Walmart, Target, etc...Essential oils I have found either online or again, in health food stores. A word of caution on essential oils - there are pure essential oils our there and knock off essential oils. Make sure you read the labels of what you are buying there are synthetic essential oils and real essential oils. You want to try and stick with the real oils. Do your research before buying.