DIY Green Cleaning

I think that marketing companies have done a great job in making consumers think that they need to buy a myriad of  expensive products-all full of toxic chemicals-to effectively clean their homes. This simply is not true.

White vinegar is a great natural bleach. Because of it's high acidic content it makes an  unpleasant habitat for many micro organisms. I use vinegar as a rinse aid in my dish washer and in the rinse compartment of my washing machine, only a tablespoon or 2 is needed. I also use it when cleaning the toilet.

Bi-carb soda has an abrasive quality, making it perfect for scrubbing sinks and shower screens.

I've mentioned before that I make my own laundry gel and stain remover. I also make a great cleaning spray which is a cheap homemade alternative to "spray and wipe" type kitchen cleaners. I do not use any commercial cleaning products in my house as Mr 9 and I are asthmatics and sensitive to chemicals, I instead use vinegar and bi-carb soda. The best thing about this spray is you probably have all the ingredients already in your pantry!

There are many different recipes out there but this is the one I use:

Cleaning spray recipe

Empty spray bottle (I reuse an old Method spray bottle for this)
8 TBS white vinegar
1 small squirt of dish liquid
1 tsp baking soda
10-15 drops of essential oil (my favourites are eucalyptus, orange, lemon or lavender)

Add the dish liquid and essential oils to the spray bottle. Then add the vinegar and bi carb soda and shake it up. Top up with water and you're done!

I also make a homemade room spray. Several years ago when the teens were small I helped out a friend who was running her own aromatherapy business. In exchange for helping her bottle her products she taught me some basics on using essential oils and how to make room sprays. Although these days I only have a few different oils so make very basic blends. I am very grateful for this and I have been making my own ever since!

Room Spray Recipe

Empty spray bottle (the amber one pictured above, I've been reusing for 10+ years)
Essential or fragrance oils
Solubuliser

Add 10 drops of your oil of choice to the bottle. My favourite is lemon. I also sometimes use fragrance oils that I have for candle making which are a bit cheaper then essential oils.

Then add 2-3 drops of solubuliser, add the lid and shake. The solubuliser just helps with bending the oil and water together. I bought mine online and because you only need a small amount if lasts for years. I have heard that dish liquid might work in the same way but haven't tried it out yet.

Here are some essential oil blends which smell lovely:

5 drops lemon and 5 drops tea tree oil

5 drops lavender 5 drops rosemary

5 drops eucalyptus 5 drops lemon

I also will add a few drops of scented oil to a few cotton makeup remover pads and add them to my lined cupboard, which make our towels and sheets smell delightful.

I have recently started making my own furniture polish as well after finding some cheap bees wax. It works better than any polish I've ever used.

Beeswax Furniture Polish

2 TBS grated beeswax
6-8 TBS olive oil
10 drops of lemon oil (optional)


Put the beeswax into a saucepan and melt over a low heat. Once melted add the olive oil and lemon oil. Stir well and pour in a small glass jar.

I originally found this recipe here 

2 pots of furniture polish will last ages.

 

Homemade Stain Remover

Image courtesy of:  morguefile.com.

Because I only like to go grocery shopping once a month, I need to be organized to ensure my family are stocked up with items that are regularly used so we don't run out. You can imagine my annoyance when Mr 13 presented me a white tee shirt which had been hiding in the bottom of his wardrobe for quite some time with a big dirty stain on the front. I reached for my stain remover to find only a dribble left...nooooo! I  decided to consult with my friend Mr Google for a homemade stain removal recipe and found a cracker of one! This was originally posted as an answer on the Thrifty Fun  website. Honestly, this stuff works far better than any other stain remover I've used, even the high end brands. It even works on old stains. Best of all I already had the ingredients in my laundry cupboard.

You can purchase spray bottles for around $1 at a hardware store or I just washed old my old one and poured my homemade liquid in there. This recipe will make about 400ml of stain remover.

To make your own stain remover you will need:

1/3 c dish washing liquid (any brand will do)
1/3 c cloudy ammonia
2 TBS bicarbonate of soda
1 cup water

Mix all the above ingredients in a jug and pour into a spray bottle. 

I tend to give this a good shake to make sure the bi carb distributes evenly, before spraying it on. 

The ingredients I buy to make this are the following brands:

Coles Smart Buy lemon dish liquid 1 litre- $1.09
Coles Smart buy cloudy ammonia 1 litre- $1.58
Woolworths home brand bicarbonate soda 500g- $1.59

Total- $4.26

These ingredients are enough to make 12 refills of stain remover, for only 50 c a bottle!

Why not try making some yourself?

Homemade Laundry Gel

There is something really satisfying about making your own laundry gel. To me, it is reminiscent of a simpler life in times gone by, when household products were made from scratch. These recipes would be passed down through each generation, helping to keep family traditions and memories alive. I get vivid images of colonial times whenever I make this, and that makes my heart happy.

It is much cheaper to grate your own soap than buy soap flakes

I have been making my own laundry gel for a few years now and will never go back to buying store bought because making my own is pretty easy and I really enjoy doing it. Plus it is eco friendly, but the biggest draw card is how cheap it is to make. Each batch of  this homemade laundry gel costs $1.90 and makes a massive 10 litres. Working out only a meager 19c per litre! Because this recipe makes so much, you will need at least a 12 litre bucket for mixing and empty bottles for storing the gel once it is done. Glass or plastic both work well, I save our empty 1.25 litre soft drink bottles for this reason. Yay for repurposing!

Now, to be fair, you do need to buy all the ingredients at once, which in Perth costs me $15.27. However I see this as a frugal investment that will save me heaps of money later on as it will make several batches of gel and I only need to make it about once every 6 months. Yep, 6 months. Well... you must hardly have any laundry, I hear you proclaim! 

Unfortunately not. I wash my family of five's clothes 3 times a week and will do 2-3 loads each time. The trick is with this stuff you only need to use a quarter of a cup for each wash. I also use a tablespoon of vinegar in the rinse cycle instead of  a fabric softener. Vinegar is a great natural anti microbial and natural softener and despite my initial doubts it doesn't leave my washing smelling like a fish and chip shop either. Winning!

The recipe for the laundry gel I originally found on the Down To Earth website, which if you haven't checked out yet, please do. Rhonda's simple living journey is truly inspirational. for anyone who is looking to live well with less. I have modified this recipe slightly over the years, sorry for the lack of pictures I forgot to take some of the actual process. 

Only 3 ingredients are needed

You will need:

1 cup of soap flakes or grated laundry soap

1/2 C washing soda

1/2 C borax

1 and a half litres of water

Measure all of the above ingredients into a large pot and place on a medium heat, stirring occasionally until the soap has completely dissolved.

Let it cool down and then add this mixture to your 12 litre bucket, along with 8 litres of warm water. Give it all a big stir and leave it to sit overnight. 

In the morning the gel will appear slightly separated, so use a stick blender to break up any solid soap chunks and blend it all into a nice gel. 


I now use a ladle and a funnel to pour the laundry gel into each bottle, leaving a bit of room at the top. Because this mixture tends to separate, leaving extra room in each bottle allows you to give it a good shake before using. Any you are done!

Seven bottles filled and one given to a friend

With the laundry soap, you can buy Lux soap flakes and I have so so in the past, but have found the most cost effective way of making this is with laundry soap grated by hand. I will sit down and grate all 4 bars at one and store it in a container for ease of use later. I also add 10ml of Eucalyptus oil to each bottle of laundry gel for fragrance and it's anti bacterial properties. You could add any essential oil you wish as long as it is water soluble, or leave it as is. Adding the eucalyptus oil, does bump the price up by 28c, making a 1 litre bottle cost 38c which is still very economical. The cheapest brand of laundry liquid on the market is Earth Choice which costs $2.64 for 1 litre. You could make more than 10 times of your own for that price! Some people have reported that this recipe leaves their whites dull, but I have never had that problem.

Here are the price breakdowns for this recipe and the brand of each product I buy. I do mention Coles in this post but am not sponsored by this company in any way. I shop at a few supermarkets and choose the brands mentioned, simply because they are the cheapest in my area I have found. The washing soda was purchased at Coles and the borax from Bunnings purely because I heard that supermarkets no longer stocked it. I later found this to be false and all of these items can be purchased in the supermarket cleaning aisle.

Coles Smart Buy Laundry Soap 4 pack    $2.63
1/2 c per mix- 65c

Glitz Green Borax 1kg                               $8.40
100g per mix- 84c

Washing Soda 1kg                                      $4.24 
100g per mix- 42c


Would you ever consider making your own laundry gel?