Spring Cleaning: Homemade Cleaners

Over the last couple of months I have been slowly transitioning our cleaners to homemade cleaners.  I love that I know what is going in them and love that the majority of the cleaners main ingredients are things I already have in my pantry.  And, I love that I am saving money!!!  I am still in the process of transitioning all of our cleaners, but I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite cleaners.

Most of the ingredients I already had on hand, like vinegar and baking soda.  A few ingredients I decided to order on Amazon like the essential oils.

After scouring Pinterest for different recipes and trying them out, here is my favorite recipe for an all-purpose cleaner, which I use to clean my kitchen counters daily.

All Purpose Cleaner:

2 cups of distilled water
2 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon dish soap (Blue Dawn soap)

In addition to the cleaner, I use microfiber cloths to clean pretty much anything.  They are like my new best friend and I also ordered a multi-pack on Amazon!  I purchased a few spray bottles from The Container Store with the intent of using them for my kitchen and bathroom cleaners.  Unfortunately, the nozzles on this spray bottle kept sticking so I ended up swapping out the spray nozzle with an old cleaner bottle.

For the bathroom, I use two cleaners.  One is used to clean everything, but the inside of the toilet and shower.  Again, I use one microfiber cloth and my bathroom cleaner to clean the mirror, sink, and outside of the toilet.  I ALWAYS start with the mirror first and a dry microfiber cloth and end with the toilet, then that cloth gets thrown in the dirty pile to be washed.  I also use an old toothbrush to get around the faucet where all the gross nastiness seems to build up.

I used to clean the bathroom with several cleaners and paper towels, but by the end of each bathroom I had a pile of paper towels.  I felt that was a definite waste of paper towels (and money) and can't sing the praises of the microfiber cloths enough!!

Bathroom Cleaner:

5 ounces of distilled water
5 ounces of distilled white vinegar
10 drops of lemon essential oil

You can leave out the essential oil, but I like to "mask" the vinegar smell and love the fresh lemon smell that it leaves behind.  I purchased this 12 oz. spray bottle at The Container Store...tip, it is in the travel section and you can't beat the price at $1.99.

To clean the inside of the toilet and the shower/tub, I use a different cleaner that I call shower magic...mainly for its magic at making the grime disappear from the shower :)

12 ounces of blue dawn dish soap (the clear one works great too, I just like the color)
12 ounces of distilled white vinegar

I usually spray down the inside of the toilet with this first and then while that is doing its magic I clean down the mirror, sink and outside of the toilet.  Then I use the toilet scrubber to give the inside a good scrub down.  To clean the shower/tub I spray down the shower first and let set for at least 15-20 minutes and then use a sponge to wipe down.    

A cleaner that I recently started using and absolutely love the smell of is one I use to wipe down my cabinets, doors, and trim with a microfiber cloth of course!

1 cup distilled water
1 tablespoon lemon or orange castille soap
10 drops of essential lemon oil

Now let's talk about where all this is stored.  I have a cabinet in the pantry that holds the ingredients for my cleaners, which I will share in another post.  Once the cleaners are made I store them in a caddy that is kept underneath my kitchen sink along with my microfiber cloths.  I love my caddy and the ease that I can just grab it and go!  I purchased it from Target about a year ago when it was on clearance so unfortunately this one isn't available anymore, but they always have new options available!

There might be something wrong with me, but I get giddy seeing all the microfiber cloths all organized and ready to clean!!

What about you guys, have you tried any homemade cleaners?  Any tips?  I would love to hear any recipe that you use and love!!

With much love,

Kristin