Rather than spending money on shop bought cleaning products why not try your hand at making your own? You probably already have many of the ingredients in your kitchen already so why not take a look around and see what everyday cleaning products you can make yourself?
Glass cleaner:
Mix one part vinegar to three parts water into a spray bottle and shake. Add some lavender oil or other scent to give a nice smell.
Oven cleaner:
Instead of buying overpriced oven cleaner, simply make a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water, and leave it at the bottom of your oven for a few hours before washing off.
Tile grout cleaner:
Tile grout can get extremely dirty, extremely fast. To make a quick cleaner, mix 2oz of Borax with 4oz of bicarbonate of soda and a spoon or two of water. Mix it so it forms a paste, apply it to the grout and scrub. Rinse it off, and voila!
Dishwasher cleaner:
All you need to do to clean your dishwasher is put a glass of vinegar on the top shelf, and run a normal cycle.
Disinfecting spray:
To save money on disinfectant, mix 8oz water, 2oz liquid castile soap, and 15 drops of tea tree oil. Shake it all up in a spray bottle.
Liquid laundry detergent:
Get one bar of castile soap (it’s up to you whether you want it scented or not), grate it, and melt it in a saucepan with 80fl.oz of water. Then, in a separate saucepan, heat up 20 litres of water until it reaches just below the boiling point. Stir in 8oz of Borax and another 8oz of soda crystals until completely dissolved in the plain water. Add the soapy water to the 20 litres, then pour it into a lidded bucket and leave it overnight. The next day, you can either leave it in the bucket or pour into a separate storage container.
Dry laundry detergent:
You use the same ingredients as in the liquid laundry detergent above, but without the water. Grate the bar of soap until it is incredibly fine. In a separate bowl, combine two parts Borax and two parts soda crystals. Add in half the amount of grated soap to the borax and soda crystal mix (for example, if you used 4 spoons of each, use 2 spoons of soap). Pour into a lidded container and use the same way you would use a shop bought detergent.
Carpet detergent:
Mix 4oz of an all-purpose cleaner (with NO bleach) with 4oz fabric softener, 8oz of ammonia and 4.5 litres of warm water. You can use this in either a carpet cleaner or scrub it by hand. Hoover up any residue that resides when the carpet is dry.
Clean up your microwave:
Cut a lemon in half and squeeze out the juice. Mix this with between 12oz to 16oz of water. Microwave it for 10 minutes and then wipe the appliance with a soft cloth.
Toilet bowl cleaner:
Get rid of tough stains with this easy recipe. You don’t need to mix anything, as all the ingredients go straight into the toilet bowl. Pour in 6oz of bicarbonate of soda, about 10-12 drops of tea tree oil, and then 8oz of vinegar. Leave to soak for 15 minutes, then scrub it and flush. Enjoy your gleaming toilets!
Now you can feel better about cleaning your home, knowing that all of your products are homemade, natural, and environmentally friendly too!