Creating your own cleaning products for pennies!

Being creative in the kitchen is always fun for me but I have found a way to be even more creative by customizing my own cleaning products.

I am not a flowery scent lover and most cleaning products have too much perfume or chemical toxicity to them. Even ones that claim to be green or natural aren’t entirely that natural so to be safe I have begun making my own. In the end I choose the scent if I want scented and it ends up costing me a whole lot less than buying pre-made stuff.

The multi purposes for baking soda! There are any uses for baking soda and this is my favourite cleaning product by far. I create a large batch of baking soda and essential oils for use on my carpets for deodorizing, scrubbing my pots and pans and tubs and for adding to laundry to freshen and clean. I get a large container with a tight sealing lid and a whole lot of baking soda from Costco. I mix up about 3-4 boxes at a time of baking soda with lime, lemon and tea tree essential oil (about 15 drops of each) and shake well. Seal with lid and let sit for 24 hrs before using. For laundry add 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup with 1/2 a cup of vinegar along with laundry detergent ( I will teach you how to make that next) to your laundry load and run through. Clothes are softer, less static-y, cleaner and fresher! For pots and pans I simply sprinkle the pan with baking soda and add some dish soap and a tiny bit of water, using a scrub brush I am able to clean them spic and span getting all the stuck on food off with just a little elbow grease. I also do the same for a bath tub and it does get rid of soap grime!

For DIY homemade laundry detergent for PENNIES go to this site..There are 10 recipes for laundry detergent http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/ but keep in mind you need a very large bucket(at least 5 gallons) and a long handled mixing stick or spoon.

For fabric softener if you add vinegar to your wash load you won’t need fabric softener and you will be helping to keep your machine clean at the same time. If you like fragrance from your fabric softener add a few drops of essential oil to a scrap of damp cloth into your dryer load for fragrance.

Steam mops are a fantastic invention! I use mine to not only steam the floors but my shower stall, mattresses, pillows, my sofa and carpets. Mine comes with washable microfibre pads that I always add a few drops of essential oil to to freshen my home while I steam. For ultra clean change the pads with every room.I also suggest when buying a steam mop that you look for ones that don’t soak the pads from the get go as this makes drying time a lot longer. My mop is the Smart Living mop and I highly recommend this mop. I always steam mattresses and pillows etc during a bout of illness to help slow the spread of germs and most of the time thwart the spread altogether.

I also make my own cleaning spray with 1/2 cup of vinegar in an empty, clean spray bottle fill the rest with water and put 15 drops of lemon essential oil. Cleans everything nicely and the scent is fresh.

I hope you find these household cleaning product tips useful and money saving! I would love to hear yours!!