If you use natural homemade cleaning products.....

[mom2denj]

Could you help me? I want to start using natural cleaning products, but I do not have any recipes for them. I am never sure how much vinegar or baking soda to use. Another question I have is, how long do these concoctions last? Is there a shelf life max for these? I would love to hear what you use for laundry, floors, etc..... Thanks so much!!

 

Kristen:)

Edited March 26, 2011 by mom2denj

[MaMa2005]

Here is a link to laundry detergent: http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/ I use recipe #3, but use 1 C Borax, 1 C Washing Soda and 1 bar Fels-Naptha. Keeps our clothes nice and clean.

[Annie]

My general purpose cleaner is about half and half water and vinegar, maybe a wee bit lighter on the vinegar, with a few drops of tea tree oil. I use it for almost everything, including the floors. I keep baking soda in a shaker container and hydrogen peroxide in an opaque spray container. The hydrogen peroxide does degrade over time if exposed to light.

 

I also keep a container of Lysol wipes for when someone is sick, or I'm making a whole turkey or something and the meat juices start to ick me out. One container lasts me about a year. I also keep a magic eraser for the occasional stubborn stain.

 

That about covers my cleaning supplies!

[annlaura]

:iagree: This is about exactly me. I don't use tea tree oil, although I have been thinking about adding it. My little boys love taking a little sponge or cloth and the spray bottle of vinegar/water to clean their little table or the windows. I also use beeswax polish for wood, and the boys can polish their special toys with it too. I have been using method wood for good on our wood floors, but I'd love to hear what others find works on theirs.

[Xuzi]

Is there perhaps a natural cleaning "recipe book", where all these different recipes are in one place? (like laundry detergent, all-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, etc.)

[Mabeline]

I usually just use a 50/50 mix of water and vinegar with essential oils to wipe down counters and anything else that needs wiping. I keep baking soda in an old parmesan cheese shaker and use that whenever I need to scrub. I haven't used a lot of these recipes but they look really good. HTH

[SailorMom]

Water and white vinegar - for almost everything. I added a few drops of dish soap occasionally, or poured it over salt to form a scrub.

I still use this on our boat, but I hate to admit that I found the stronger stuff to be so much easier to use around the house - and I'm lazy :)

[texasmama]

Here is a link to laundry detergent: http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/ I use recipe #3, but use 1 C Borax, 1 C Washing Soda and 1 bar Fels-Naptha. Keeps our clothes nice and clean.

 

Does this have a scent? We need to use unscented products here.

[flobee76]

50/50 vinegar and water works great for us. I use that for cleaning up anything, including the floors, windows, bathrooms, and inside the fridge!

 

I do keep conventional sanitizing wipes in the bathroom for quick clean-ups if we are sick or if we have guests here.

[mom31257]

:lurk5:

[Findley2]

I love this book. It has a lot of recipes. They are listed according to their uses, and each recipe gives the shelf life.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Clean-Environmentally-Sound-Cleaning/dp/1595910042/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301152373&sr=8-3

[MaMa2005]

Does this have a scent? We need to use unscented products here.

 

The borax and washing soda have no scent. The Fels-Naptha smells like Fels-Naptha, but to me, it really isn't a scent. You can always substitute Ivory for the Fels-Naptha, but then again, I don't consider Ivory really a scent.

[texasmama]

The borax and washing soda have no scent. The Fels-Naptha smells like Fels-Naptha, but to me, it really isn't a scent. You can always substitute Ivory for the Fels-Naptha, but then again, I don't consider Ivory really a scent.

 

Thank you. This would work for us, I believe.:001_smile:

[Susan in TN]

Does this have a scent? We need to use unscented products here.

 

We also need to use unscented/no dye detergents, and I recently made laundry detergent with this recipe -

 

2C A&H Washing Soda

2C Borax

1C Sun ("Walmart Brand" Oxyclean)

9oz grated soap (I used Jergens pure and natural)

 

Blend thoroughly. Use 1-2T per load.

 

It has a very slight soapy scent, but you can't smell it on the clothes. I also add 1/2 C white vinegar in the softener compartment. I've been surprised at how clean and soft our clothes have been.

 

To clean my wood and laminate floors, I filled an old 32oz spray bottle with water and added 2T vinegar. The vinegar smell goes away when it dries.

 

 

Better Basics for the Home by Anne Berthold-Bond is a really well done book. You can see a preview on Google Books.

Edited March 26, 2011 by Susan in TN