Common ingredients include: Vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, washing soda (aka sodium carbonate), Borax (sodium borate), table salt or kosher salt, olive or vegetable oil, beeswax and a liquid vegetable or castile soap.
Extras are essential oils, like tea tree, sweet orange, lavender, rose, eucalyptus and sandalwood, for scent.
To create simple homemade, organic cleaning products, some recipes have been provided below:
All Purpose Spray Cleaner: ½ tsp Washing Soda (sodium carbonate), ½ tsp Borax (sodium borate), ½ tsp vegetable based soap, 2 T vinegar and 2 C hot water. Shake until well-blended and all small bits have been dissolved. You can add essential oil to give it a pleasing odor, like sweet orange, lavender or tea tree.
Second All Purpose Spray Cleaner: In a straight spray bottle, combine three tablespoons Dawn dish detergent, 1/2 cup white vinegar and fill the rest with straight water. Cuts grease on appliances and countertops.
Second All Purpose Spray Cleaner: In a straight spray bottle, combine three tablespoons Dawn dish detergent, 1/2 cup white vinegar and fill the rest with straight water. Cuts grease on appliances and countertops.
Drain Cleaner: ½ c baking soda and 1 c white vinegar. Pour the ½ c baking soda in and slowly add the vinegar a bit at time until the fizzing stops. Rinse drain with hottest tap water from faucet.
Window Cleaner: ½ tsp vegetable based soap, 3 T vinegar, 2 cups water. Put inside a spray bottle and shake well to blend. Use old newspaper for a streak-free shine.
Disinfectant: 2 C water, 3 T vegetable based soap, 20-30 drops tea tree oil.
Stainless Steel Sink, Oven and Countertop Cleaner: Make a paste of baking soda and water and apply to surface areas. Let set for 15 mins and then scrub off.
Silver Cleaning: Line sink with aluminum foil, put your tarnished silver in the sink. Pour boiling water over, a cup of baking soda and a dash of salt. Let sit for a few minutes and the tarnish will transfer from silver to the aluminum foil, which can be recycled.
Creamy Soft Scrubber: Pour ½ c baking soda into a bowl and add enough vegetable soap to make a texture similar to a glaze. To keep it moist for future use, add 1 t olive oil to the recipe, or just make as much as you need for any particular occatsion.
Furniture Polish: ½ c oil, like olive or vegetable, 1t lemon juice. Mix ingredients in a glass jar. Use a soft rag to wipe onto wood surfaces.
Dishwasher Liquid: ½ c castile soap, ½ c water, 1 t lemon juice, 3 drops tea tree extract, ¼ c white vinegar. Mix ingredients and store in a squeeze bottle, use 2 T per load.
So, there you have it. Some easy, simple and very green recipes for organic cleaning products that anyone can make for pennies and using common household items that anyone can easily obtain. Many of these homemade cleaning product recipes can be made and stored in bulk, with a minimum of planning. All of them work as good, if not better than their non-organic, store-bought counterparts. Good luck with the organic cleaning product recipes and happy cleaning!
