Cut out the chemicals with these DIYS for all natural cleaning products you can try at home. We’ve put together eight simple tips and tricks you can use to clean your home with non-toxic products that you can mix up yourself.
1. All Purpose Cleaner
If you’re looking to ease your way into chemical free cleaning, start with an all purpose cleaner that you can use in every room of your house and on multiple surfaces. Mix up a bottle of this spray from HGTV to use on your countertops, sinks, and floors.
- 1 tablespoon clear, non-sudsing ammonia
- 1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid
- 2 cups water
2. Bathroom Cleaning Wipes
No one likes cleaning the bathroom. It’s dirty, germy, and gross. But you can create a homemade wipe to make this chore a little easier. This DIY natural cleaning product from Pop Sugar can be used for your bathroom countertops, sink, and mirror.
- Combine ½ cup water, 1 cup vinegar, 1 tablespoon rubbing alcohol, and ½ cup lemon juice
- Mix in 1 teaspoon baking soda (this should make it a little foamy) and 1 teaspoon dish soap
- Cut a paper towel roll in half and place one half inside a 64 ounce plastic container
- Pour the mixture into the container and let it soak into the paper towel roll
- Add a lid to the plastic container and cut a small, circular hole in the top that you can feed the paper towels through
3. Garbage Disposal
Garbage disposals are easy to get dirty and hard to clean. And no one wants to stick their hand down the sink (yuck!). While you can put lemon and orange peels down the disposal to make it smell fresh, here’s a great way to clean the blades from TheSmartMama.com:
- Pour 1 cup of vinegar into an ice cube tray
- Fill the rest of the tray up with water
- Let the mixture freeze
- Put a few ice cubes down the disposal and let it run until they are crushed
4. Glass Cleaner
Glass can be a pain to clean without leaving streaks or smudges. Use this all natural recipe from Real Simple:
- Combine 2 cups water, 2 tablespoons rubbing alcohol, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, and 5 drops peppermint essential oil
- Pour mixture into a spray bottle and shake to combine
- Spray onto a microfiber cloth to use
5. Dishwasher Detergent
Instead of spending a lot of money on name-brand dishwasher detergent, make your own with the help of Keeper of the Home:
- Combine 2 cups baking soda, 2 cups Borax, 1 cup salt, and 1 cup of Lemi-Shine
- Move into an airtight storage container
- Pour 2 tablespoons of detergent per load
6. Wood Polish
Space can be tight in an apartment, and cleaning supplies take up a lot of room. Instead of buying or making an entire bottle of wood polish that you rarely use, make a single batch with this Apartment Therapy mixture:
- Juice 1 lemon
- Mix in 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon water
- Shake the mixture until the water and oil combine
- Pour some of the liquid onto a cloth and start polishing
7. Tile Cleaner
It’s hard to get down on your hands and knees and scrub your tile — but it has to be done every once in awhile. Rodale’s OrganicLife has an easy mixture you can make yourself:
- Pour ½ cup baking soda into a bowl
- Slowly stir and mix in liquid soap until it looks like frosting
- Add in 5 to 10 drops of your favorite essential oil to make it smell fresh
- Scoop the mixture onto a sponge, and then scrub and rinse your tile
8. Oven Cleaner
When your oven needs a little elbow grease, Organic Authority suggests turning your attention to salt, water, and vinegar. Here’s what you need to do:
- Heat your oven to 125 degrees or turn on the self-cleaning setting
- Spray any caked on areas with a water and vinegar mixture
- Pour salt onto the messy areas and let it sit
- Turn off your oven and let it cool down
- Use a wet towel to scrub the salted areas and get any other messes (like all those tiny crumbs) out
It’s pretty easy to make DIY natural cleaning products, and you probably already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen.