Any easy way to make the holidays healthier, is to stop using harmful chemicals to clean with. Here are some easy natural cleaning tips and recipes. The extra nice thing about these recipes and tips, is that they save you money!
Multi-Purpose Cleaner
1. Fill a bottle with 1-2 cups vinegar (depending how strong you like it).
2. Add a few drops of tea tree oil or orange essential oil.
3. Fill to the top with water.
Homemade Laundry Detergent
1. Start with a (clean) 5 gallon bucket
2. Add 3 gallons of warm/hot water
3. Add 2 cups of baking soda
4. Add 2 cups of borax (found on the laundry aisle)
5. Add 1 bar of soap (shred it with a cheese grater) to a pot of almost boiling water. Make sure it doesn’t boil, and keep stirring until the soap is dissolved (3-4 min).
6. Add soap mixture to your 5 gallon bucket that already has the previous ingredients in it.
7. Top off with warm water and mix until well blended.
Total cost: Approximately $1.29 for 5 gallons of laundry detergent (less if you use coupons on these items).
Soap Nuts are also a great natural laundry alternative, and you can make body wash and shampoo out of them as well.
Surface Scrubbing Cleaner
Just plain baking soda works well for great scrubbing power. It gets rid of soap scum. You can also use a citrus fruit with salt.
And if you want a little fizz action (great for the toilet bowl), add a little vinegar or lemon juice to your baking soda. You can even get rust off of your silver or stainless steal utensils with lemon and baking soda.
Natural Cleaning Gift Idea
Be sure to check out this “Have a Green Christmas” gift basket.
Christmas Homeschool Fun: 1+1+1=1
Christmas Decorations: Songbird
Tips for a Healthy Holiday: The Thrifty Mama
Saving Money: Surviving the Stores
Travel Tips: Mom’s Travel Tales
Christmas Recipes: Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures
Christmas Family Fun: Life as Mom
Homemade Christmas Gifts: The Happy Housewife
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I am really interested in making my own detergent. Can this recipe be used in HE washers?
I have an HE and it works fine.
But how well does it work? Is it comparable to tide or all?
ty
Don’t forget glass cleaner! Mix vinegar, water, and a squirt of dishsoap (one like 7th Generation if you want to be totally eco-friendly) makes my windows shine!
I have been using the Laundry Detergent and it smells fantastic and cleans everything well. And it is tons cheaper than the store brands. My only problem is storage. Does anyone have any good ideas on how to store 5 gallons at a time?
Do you have a big five gallon bucket with a lid?
I don’t but I was thinking about looking for one. Or maybe 5 1 gallon Large Glass containers with lids. I just need to find a good frugal deal first.
Lowe’s sells lids for 5 gallon buckets for about $1 – $2 dollars a piece!
I have a quick question — how much of the detergent do you use PER load? 1/2 cup?
Usually it’s about a tablespoon for a front loader. Top loader may be a little more.
Aw, Susie homemaker is sharing tips?? Lol jk
Does the multi-surface cleaner of vinegar, oil & water act as a disinfectant / kill germs?