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Sunday, May 9, 2010

Homemade cleaning products made easy

For the past couple of years I've been making my own cleaning products and laundry detergent.  Here are a few of my favorite recipes.  Enjoy!

Laundry Detergent:
4 Cups Borax
4 Cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1 bar (grated) Dr. Bronner's bar soap

Mix together and use 3 Tbsp per load

Fabric Softener:
16 oz. Vinegar
20 drops lavender oil or tea tree oil (both of these are great at preventing moths)
3 Tbsp will do the trick here, too

Furniture Polish:
1 part Lemon Juice
1 part Canola Oil

Put in a spray bottle and polish away... Very good at getting up what little hands leave behind!

All Purpose Cleaner (windows, countertops, etc.)

2 T ammonia
1 t dish detergent
1 pint rubbing alcohol
4 drops food coloring (I use 2 red and 2 blue to make it look like 409)
favorite essential oil (I like lemon, orange or lavender)
fill remainder of a gallon jug with water

Glass cleaner
1/2 c ammonia
2 c rubbing alcohol
1 tsp dishwashing detergent
fill remainder of a gallon jug with water.
(add blue food coloring if desired)
I like to add a little lemon or orange essential oil just to hide the alcohol scent.

Another great way to clean your windows that keeps them from getting streaked is just mixing a couple of tablespoons of corn starch into a gallon of warm water.  I put it in a bucket, use a lint free cloth to wash the window and immediately dry with a second cloth.  This works very well for the outside windows.  Plus it costs next to nothing!

Hope you all have as much fun as I'm having!
(You save quite a bit of $$$ too!)

5 comments:

  1. Dana, would you mind clarifying the amount of oil to use for fabric softener?
    Thanks,
    Amy

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  2. Sorry! I corrected it to read 20 Drops of lavender or tea tree oil. You can modify it to how much fragrance you like. :-)

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  3. I need to try this. I use dryer sheets right now, but I've heard they are bad for your drier--not to mention a lot more expensive than vinegar! Thanks!

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  4. Hey Dana!! Does olive oil work just as well as canola oil??

    ReplyDelete
  5. Olive oil actually works better, but costs more. :) I usually just use whatever is on hand or use the cheapest olive oil I can find for cleaning only.

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