In these last few days, we have all been forced to make some tough decisions to ensure the health and safety of our families, employees, and community. Trying to adhere to the recommendations made by our local governments for social distancing and sanitizing common surfaces can be overwhelming—especially when you go to the store and the shelves are empty! Well, you’re in luck! I have a few recipes for very effective household cleaners that are made from items you may already have around your house or overlooked items at the grocery store. These include kosher salt, vinegar, and baking soda. All you need is a clean, empty spray bottle, airtight plastic container, and a clean, empty gallon jug.
These recipes are safe to use in the home with babies, small crawling children, and pets. I use these recipes in my own home to protect my family naturally with much success. As some of you may know, my son and I both have auto-immune diseases. Because most commercial cleansers have harsh solvents, dyes, and perfumes that would further compromise our immune systems causing more harm than good, we use these natural cleaners at home.
Many of us may be experiencing allergic reactions to these harsh chemicals and not realize the symptoms are connected to these potentially dangerous products. The use of these homemade cleansers may help decrease symptoms related to allergies, migraines, and unexplained skin irritations.
Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 2 Tbsp baking soda
- 10 drops of tea tree, lavender, or lemon essential oil (for their disinfectant properties)
Mix the vinegar, essentials oils, and a little water before adding baking soda in a clean spray bottle. Then fill to top with water. I use a 12oz bottle. Gently shake to mix ingredients and then spray. Wipe with a clean cloth and allow to dry.
Homemade “Soft-Scrub” cleaner
- 1 ½ cup of baking soda
- ½ cup of Dr. Bronner’s Pure- Castile Soap
- Add several drops if desired of essential oil such as tea tree, lavender, or rosemary
Mix baking soda and soap in a bowl and stir vigorously to combine in to paste. Add essential if desired. Store paste in an airtight container. If the mixture begins to dry out simply add small amounts of water and stir.
Homemade Disinfectant Wipes
- Clean empty wipe container or a large mason jar
- 15-20 squares of scrap fabric, old t-shirt, or dish rags
- Fold and layer fabric squares into the container
Mix 1 cup white vinegar, ¼ cup of water and 8 drops each of tea tree, eucalyptus, and lemon essential oils in a cup or bowl. Pour mixture over the fabric and soak. Ready to use in minutes. Launder with towels or cleaning cloths and reuse.
Homemade Liquid Dish Soap
- ½ cup warm distilled water
- 2 tsp of kosher salt
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ½ cup Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds
- 1 tsp of lemon juice
Start with a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine ½ cup warm distilled water with 2 tsp of kosher salt, stirring until it’s completely dissolved.
In a separate bowl, combine ½ cup white vinegar, ½ cup Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds, and 1 tsp of lemon juice. Mix with the saltwater mixture and stir until thickened. Again, you may choose to add 10-15 drops of essential oil for scent and disinfectant properties. Pour mixture into recycled dish soap container or liquid soap pump.
Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 2 cups baking soda
- 2 cups Borax or washing soda
- 1 cup of Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds
Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container. This will last forever and does a great job cleaning dishes! Only uses 2 Tablespoons per wash and keep vinegar in the rinse agent compartment.
Homemade Handsoap
- distilled or filtered water
- 2 Tablespoons of Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap, unscented or scented
- ½ tsp of olive oil for moisturizing
- 2 drops of essential oils of your choice
Finally, what the good of having all these natural cleaning products if you still use chemically treated hand soap? Here is a quick and easy recipe for homemade hand soap. The only special item you may have to purchase is a foaming hand soap dispenser. Feel free to recycle one if you already have an empty one.
Fill dispenser within an inch of the top with distilled or filtered water. Add at least 2 Tablespoons of Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap, unscented or scented. Add ½ tsp of olive oil for moisturizing and 2 drops of essential oils of your choice for scent and disinfectant purposes.
I hope these recipes help bring you a sense of peace knowing you’re caring for yourself, family, and co-workers with quality cleaning products that disinfect without the use of harmful chemicals. As always, if I can be a resource to you and your family please feel free to reach out anytime. Stay clean, healthy, and clam, my friends. This too shall pass.
