Green cleaning is all the rage these days and for good reason; it doesn’t endanger you or the environment. However it may seem daunting to make the switch when you already have a cabinet full of commercial cleaning products and you don’t want to spend the money for special pricey green cleaners. The good news is you don’t need to buy special green cleaners. You can get rid of the harsh chemicals and fumes and get started on green cleaning by making your own cleaning products. It’s easy! In fact, you probably already have most of the ingredients you will need to make your own natural cleaners.
Why clean naturally?
It’s safer and healthier for you, your children and your pets! No more worrying about opening windows to air out toxic fumes, locking your kids out of the bathroom while you scrub the tub, or freaking out if your toddler starts gnawing on the freshly cleaned coffee table or licking the sliding glass door. When you make your own cleaners, you also cut down on waste produced from commercial cleaning products/bottles and you will save yourself money.
Things you’ll need to get started:
- Empty spray bottle
- Bowls with lids
- Baking soda
- Distilled white vinegar
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Essential oils (for disinfecting and fragrance) – Lemon, clove, cinnamon, and lavender oils disinfect, clean and help eliminate odors. Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic, germicide, antibacterial, and fungicide.
- Newspaper (crumpled), soft cloths, sponge
- A marker for labeling your cleaning products*
Simple cleaning product recipes
All-purpose cleaner for countertops and floors
- Add ¼ cup of vinegar and 5 drops each of lemon, clove, and cinnamon oils to a gallon of water. Add some baking soda if you have an area that needs scrubbing.
All-purpose scrub
- Mix together a cup of baking soda, a tablespoon of liquid soap, and a few drops of an essential oil like tea tree oil. Dab a wet sponge into the scrub. Add water to make into a paste if needed. Great for bathrooms.
Window and glass cleaner
- Mix equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle. Dry using newspaper (and then recycle it) or a soft cloth.
Wood furniture polish
- Mix two parts olive oil with one part lemon juice. Rub on furniture with an old cloth. Use a soft, dry cloth to buff it. Note: This polish should be made fresh each time you use it.
Toilet bowl cleaner
- Sprinkle baking soda into the bowl, then drizzle with vinegar and scour with a toilet brush. This combination both cleans and deodorizes.
- For toilet bowl rings, sprinkle baking soda around the rim and scrub with a toilet brush.
This is green cleaning you can feel good about. It’s effective, inexpensive and safe for your family and the environment.
*Be sure to label all of your cleaning products and keep them out of reach of children. While these cleaners are much safer than commercial chemical-laden cleaners, essential oils should not be ingested.Treat the oils like medicines that are poison in unknowing hands.
View all of Crunchy Domestic Goddess’ Green Tips.
Have any green tips you’ve recently learned? Please email them to me and I may include your tip with a link to your site or blog in a future post. :)
Stumble it!
Green Tip of the Week #20 - Do It Yourself Green Cleaning says:
[...] Geniusbeauty.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptTreat the oils like medicines that are poison in unknowing hands. View all of Crunchy Domestic Goddess’ Green Tips. Have any green tips you’ve recently learned? Please email them to me and I may include your tip with a link to your site … [...]
May 9th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Marisa says:
Sweet! Thanks for the tip! I’ve been wanting to do this but I can’t afford those enviro-friendly cleaners! Thanks!
May 9th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
yarrow says:
Thanks so much! I am reading “Green Housekeeping” right now, and it is fascinating and I am enjoying learning how to clean and keep my home safe. The inexpense of it is great too.
May 9th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Windows » Green Tip of the Week #20 - Do It Yourself Green Cleaning says:
[...] Crunchy Domestic Goddess wrote an interesting post today on Green Tip of the Week #20 – Do It Yourself Green CleaningHere’s a quick excerpt Green cleaning is all the rage these days and for good reason; it doesn’t endanger you or the environment. However it may seem daunting to make the switch when you already have a cabinet full of commercial cleaning products and you don’t want to spend the money for special pricey green cleaners. The good news is you don’t need to buy special green cleaners. You can get rid of the harsh chemicals and fumes and get started on green cleaning by making your own cleaning products. It’s easy! In fact [...]
May 9th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
yielded heart says:
I also keep a spray bottle with water, vinegar and tea tree oil handy for everyday cleaning in the kitchen.
The kids thought it was so cool when I used that and newspaper-type junk mail to clean bird poop from the window in a matter of seconds! lol
May 9th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
inexpensive essential oil says:
[...] when you already have a cabinet full of commercial cleaning products and you don??t want to spenhttp://crunchydomesticgoddess.com/2008/05/09/green-tip-of-the-week-20-do-it-yourself-green-cleaning/TUanFertilizer Shortage Harms Food Supplies The Lakeland LedgerXUAN CANH, Vietnam Truong Thi Nha [...]
May 10th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Leigh says:
Thank you so much for this information!
May 10th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Greenbaby says:
We have found that plain old borax works wonders when cleaning the shower. Also, I love the assortment of recipes available on a printable card from the Oregon Environmental Council. It’s easy to post it on the fridge to use every time you want to mix up some eco-healthy cleaners.
May 10th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Christina says:
Thanks for the recipes, I’ve been wanting to make some natural cleansers!
May 10th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
chelle says:
Another squawk from the chemist’s wife.
If one mixes Baking Soda with VInegar, one gets SALT! I had no clue until my husband made fun of me for cleaning with salt!
Separate both make great cleaners.
But remember how vinegar is made! You would be surprised (I was!) that vinegar is an oil product!
May 10th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Mandy says:
Excellent post! Very helpful! I am always amazed at what vinegar can do!
May 10th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Dawn says:
nice. can you come live with me for a week and help me?
May 10th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Kim says:
Love this post… can’t wait to give some of these ‘recipes’ a try.
May 11th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Jenni says:
I’ve been making the switch to all chemical-free cleaning (still working on the bathroom), and have found that using microfiber towels works wonders!
They are really expensive if you buy the ones marketed towards cleaning, but I found a huge box of seconds in the Auto department of WMart for under $5.
May 11th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Michelle says:
I love to clean green! Just a note, DO NOT use vinegar to clean granite countertops! It will ruin them, granite is porous. I use a greanite cleaner made by Method.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Green Cleaning « Stewardship Living says:
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May 12th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
p g tips says:
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May 13th, 2008 at 8:42 am
recycle products says:
[...] when you already have a cabinet full of commercial cleaning products and you don??t want to spenhttp://crunchydomesticgoddess.com/2008/05/09/green-tip-of-the-week-20-do-it-yourself-green-cleaning/How to Recycle Ski Wax FasterSkier.comI??m writing this article to show fellow FasterSkier readers [...]
May 13th, 2008 at 9:13 am
amygeekgrl says:
Chelle –
interesting. i had no idea. so many recipes say to combine baking soda w/ vinegar. and i have no idea how vinegar is made. ;)
so what’s wrong w/ cleaning w/ salt? hehe. is it so wrong? ;oP
May 13th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
chelle says:
The salt is not bad per say, rather the combined result is less effective (it isn’t table salt it is sodium acetate) than using them separate if that makes sense. Ok my dork of a husband just did some reading (your blog is an inspiration) combined it makes Sodium Acetate (a salt) which can break down oils and fats (great for cleaning the kitchen & bathroom) So you were right cleaning with salt is not wrong! Oh he is so chewing on some humble pie!
May 13th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
making lavender oil says:
[...] [...]
May 14th, 2008 at 5:41 am
carrie says:
thanks! i am off to try them – i love the idea of putting esential oils in..i love the smell of lavender and lemon. yum!
i have been using the Norwex cloths so I don’t have to use chemicals – the window cloths are amazing! I got them as a gift, I think they are a little expensive if you buy them – but they are pretty amazing. I just wet the cloth, wipe the windows down, and done!
I haven’t been able to find much information about the “environmentally friendly antibac agent” that they use, though? But I’m not using chemicals with them, so it has got to be a little bit better, right?
May 17th, 2008 at 8:39 am
nema says:
What about all the Crunchy Domestic Gods out there?!
April 30th, 2009 at 12:09 am
Robin Smith says:
Important step in finding a commercial cleaning service is checking references. This can be a sure-fire way to hear first hand what kind of company this is, and what kind of services they offer. Make sure when in the evaluation process that you ask for references, and check them out thoroughly. Another step you can take to protect yourself would be to ask the cleaning company if they offer insurance. Many commercial cleaning companies offer certified bond insurance, which is insurance money set aside to be used in case of broken, damaged, or lost property of their clients. Make sure when you’re in the evaluation process that they verify proof of their certified bond insurance.
October 22nd, 2009 at 5:33 am