The following is a guest post from Laurie at Everyday Notions.
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Funny, when I first began making my own cleaning products, my first thought wasn’t “I’m going to save the earth!” No, my first thought was, “I’m going to save oodles of money!” But along the journey the need to eliminate chemicals and reduce my own carbon footprint became just as important to me as saving money.
It is amazing how green and frugal can go hand in hand, one fueling the other.
Just two years ago the thought of making my own cleaning supplies was so intimidating. I knew that baby steps were necessary in order to avoid giving up on my quest as a result of failure and frustration. I began with laundry soap. After getting that down, I slowly added carpet deodorizer, hand lotion, shampoo, dishwasher detergent (this one took MANY trials and errors to find one that works for me), shower spray…..the list goes on.
Each time I’d run out of a store-bought, chemical-laden product, I would start my search for a recipe to replace the product. Pretty soon all my products were homemade!
That’s a good feeling.
My favorite products that I DO buy which can be used in numerous recipes are: Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Castile Soap, borax, washing soda, baking soda, lemons and vinegar. Here are two recipes to get you started:
Homemade Laundry Soap
Ingredients:
- 2 gallons of water
- 1/3 cup grated soap (fels naptha, homemade bar soap or other mild soap)
- ½ cup washing soda
- ½ cup borax
Directions:
Heat one gallon of water on the stove and add grated soap. Once soap has dissolved, remove from heat, add washing soda, borax and an additional gallon of water. Stir well and let sit overnight. The liquid will turn to a runny gel. Use ¼ – ½ cup of laundry soap per load.
Really. It’s that easy.
*Time saver: Double the recipe. Doubling the recipe means I don’t have to make my laundry soap very often. I store the laundry soap in an old, clean litter container.
Natural Shower Mildew KILLER
Ingredients:
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup hydrogen peroxide
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
Directions:
Mix ingredients in a spray bottle and completely cover mildew with the mixture.
Do you make your own cleaning products? Why or why not?
Laurie Byrne, a homeschooling and daycare mom, dreams of owning a hobby farm full of animals….someday. But for now she is content with dabbling in homesteading practices while living in a small Midwest town. She writes about her journey and her everyday experiments at Everyday Notions.
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iDreamOfClean
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I have been toying with the idea my only fear was if they do not clean as well I am all for saving moolah and the planet
I’ve seen a lot of posts on homemade laundry detergent but have yet to try it (it’s on my list of to-do items, lol). But I am definitely going to try the natural mildew killer- so simple so I’d love to see how well it works.
Thanks for the recipes! One question: in the paragraph before the ingredients, you mentioned Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap, but the ingredients called for a solid soap bar. Have you ever made this recipe with liquid soap instead? If so, I’d love the recipe! Thanks very much.