Eco-Friendly Homemade Cleaning Solutions

Now that Spring is upon us I am inspired to start my Spring cleaning projects. Growing up my mom would have a spray bottle filled with water and vinegar in it and this was always her go-to spray for cleaning. Now that I'm a mom, I experiment with eco-friendly homemade cleaning solutions using ingredients such as baking soda, essential oils (lavender, eucalyptus, tea tree, peppermint and orange) lemons, salt, and vinegar. Here are some tips on making your own cleaning products.

Baking Soda
Baking Soda is great as a deodorizer, use to remove stale odors from carpets by liberally sprinkling with baking soda,  wait a few hours and then vacuum. Leave an open bowl of baking soda in the fridge. Soak plastic containers in warm water and baking soda overnight to eliminate lingering food smells. Sprinkle some baking soda at the bottom of your kitchen trash can before putting in the garbage bag.

Baking soda also works great as a cleaner on the counter, bathtub, sink and tile cleaner. Liberally apply baking soda with a damp sponge or rag, let it sit for a few minutes then scour and rinse.

Lemons
Put some lemon peels or any citrus peels (my favorite is clementine) through the garbage disposal to eliminate odors.

To clean the microwave, fill a bowl with 1 cup of water and few tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Place in a microwave and turn it to a high setting to allow steam to condense on the walls. Carefully remove bowl of water and wipe the inside of the microwave with a warm damp rag.

Salt
Salt is great for great for preventing red wine from setting into the carpet and rug. Pour a generous amount of salt over the spill for a few hours and then vacuum once it's absorbed the red wine.

For those pots and pans that have stubborn and hard to remove grease, sprinkle some salt onto the cookware to absorb the excess grease then dump out the salt before washing. Salt should not be used on nonstick cookware.

Vinegar
Vinegar makes for an excellent all-purpose cleaner. Mix equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle and can be used to clean most surfaces around the house. Be sure to test a small surface before cleaning as vinegar should definitely not be used on marble.

To make your own toilet bowl cleaner, pour 1 cup of vinegar into toilet bowl with approximately 1/4 cup of baking soda, watch the mixture foam and then scrub and flush.


There are countless number of homemade cleaning solutions out there but these are just a few that I often use. I also will sometimes mix essential oils to the solutions for a little aromatherapy and an extra perk is that many of the essential oils I use also have antiseptic properties. What is your favorite homemade cleaning solution or must have item(s) when cleaning? Would love to hear your tips and suggestions.

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