If you’ve been around here for a while you’ve seen a few posts about homemade cleaners. Several years back I was seriously tired of spending tons of money on cleaning supplies. Can anyone relate? It’s awful I know! I’d rather buy food. So, I did some research and decided to try my hand at making some cleaners on my own. Did you know that you are paying for mostly water?? Yep, me neither. Over the years I have reverted back to store bought on some products that I couldn’t find a suitable recipe for. But, there are three things that have lasted and the I LOVE. Because they do their job, and because they save me money.
When I first made these I had spray bottles with cutish labels. But over time the spray bottles all stopped working, so I have bought new bottles, but haven’t taken the time to make cute labels for these. Either way, they get the job done. I would recommend spending a couple of dollars more for a little bit nicer spray bottle that might last longer, rather than opting for the $1 version.
First up is laundry detergent. I found this recipe first on The Duggar’s website, but since then I have seen many, many variations all over the internet. I have even added my own variation. Here is the recipe I use. It’s makes 5 gallons of soap which would last our family of six for 3 or 4 months, and now our family of four for about 6 months.
Ingredients
Fels-Naptha Soap – 1/2 bar
Washing Soda – 1/2 cup
Borax – 1/4 cup
Oxy Clean powder – 1 cup
Other things needed
5-gallon bucket with lid
5 one-gallon containers with lids (old laundry bottles, softener bottles, milk cartons, etc. – whatever you have)
Grate 1/2 bar of Fels-Naptha soap. Melt in pot of 2 cups water on stove. Fill 5-gallon bucket 1/4 full with hot water. Pour in soap mixture. Add washing soda, borax, and oxy clean. Stir. Fill 5-gallon bucket to 1/2 full with hot water. Stir again. (Your bucket should only be half full at this time.) Put the lid on the bucket, and let set over night. The mixture will form a gel-like substance. Distribute this into 5 one-gallon containers equally. Each container will be about half-full of gel. Then fill with water to full.
I have a HE washer and have no problems using this. It makes very little suds. I like to give the jug a little shake each time before I measure out my soap. I use 3/4 – 1 cup in every load. Over the years, I have used various containers to hold the soap, and I have to be honest and say that soap or softener bottles work best. Milk cartons, OJ containers, etc. all seem to be made out of a different kind of plastic because they develop leaks over time. Just make sure you label your bottle somehow so your family knows what’s what. 😉
Oh, and a little side tip – this bar is a pretty amazing stain buster. Check out this post to see what I mean!
Next up is one of my all-time favorites. This grease cleaner seriously works and smells so good.
Ingredients
2 cups water
1/4 cup castile soap (I use peppermint, but pick the scent you like)
Because castile soap comes in so many different “flavors” you can surely find a scent you like! This does the work for you! Swirl it around to mix it up a bit and you are good to go. Spray it on and let it soak for 3 or 4 minutes and most stubborn spills will wipe right up with little to no scrubbing!
This last one is new to the blog, although again, you may have seen it elsewhere. A tub and tile cleaner made with just two ingredients. I read over and over how this stuff was magic, and honestly I just didn’t believe it. But, I thought it was worth a try. Well, it is pretty awesome. Maybe not magic, but pretty awesome. It does the work of some harsher and smelly sprays without the smell, and without the cost.
Ingredients
1/2 vinegar
1/2 BLUE dawn dish soap (do not substitute)
Heat vinegar in the microwave for 90 sec. Pour into spray bottle and then add dawn dish soap. (Not 100% sure what benefit heating the vinegar creates. It seems to work the same when I pull it out a week later and it’s no longer hot. But, that’s what the recipe called for so…) Same as with the grease cleaner – swirl around to mix it up, spray it on, let it soak (this one for at least 10 or 15 minutes), and wipe it off – clean with little to no scrubbing 😉 .
Well, there you have it! I hope you try one or all of them for your home! If you do, let me know! Have a great day friends!!
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