Natural Cleaner Recipes

cultivated by community
for MotherSpirit

Simple Washing Powder
16 cups of baking soda
12 cups borax
8 cups of grated castile or glycerin soap flakes
3 Tablespoons lavender, lemon, or grapefruit essential oil.

Combine baking soda, borax and soap flakes. Add the essential oil and mix with a wire whisk. Use 1/8 cup of powder per load. This recipe makes enough powder to last a family of four for one year.

Pre-Wash Stain Spray
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup baking soda
2 Tablespoons ammonia
3 cups of water

Stir together and fill a labeled spray bottle. Spray on heavily soiled spots just before washing (test a hidden spot for colorfastness first.)

Bleach/Brightener Substitute
1cup hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup lemon or grapefruit juice
12 cups of water

Store in a labeled plastic jug. Add 2 cups per load.

Liquid Laundry Soap
1 bar castile soap
1 cup water
1/2 cup baking soda (if you have hard water)
1 cup wasking soda
10 drops essential oil

Grate a bar of castile soap. Melt it in a warm cup of water on the stove over medium heat til the soap is completely melted. (If you have hard water add in 1/2 cup of baking soda to your soap.) Pour this in a bucket full of water (the size is up to you), add one cup washing soda and stir. It will magically gel up as it cools. Add in 10 drops essential oil of your choice once cooled and stir well. The less water you use in your bucket the more concentrated the soap. A one gallon bucket requires 1/2 cup per regular load (up to 3/4 cup for heavily soiled loads).

Remove-All Laundry Stain Remover
5 gallons of very hot water
1 cup Powdered Cascade or generic equivalent
1 cup Clorox ll or generic equivalent

Mix together and use while hot to pre-treat stain. Works great on food stains, and removes virtually anything. Whenever you want to use the solutions, heat it again. Store in a tightly covered container.

Homemade Pre-treating Stain Remover
1/2 cup Ammonia
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup baking soda
2 tbs. liquid soap
2 quarts water

Mix all ingredients in a spray bottle. Spray on stain and let sit for a few minutes. Launder as usual.

Homemade Scouring Powder
1 cup Baking Soda
1 cup Borax
1 cup Regular Salt

Combine all 3 ingredients and keep them in a tightly closed container. Use like you would any scouring powder.

Fiberglass Cleaner
1 cup Borax
Vinegar to moisten

Place borax in a bowl or container, add vinegar to moisten. Using a rag or sponge, rub borax mixture into fiberglass until clean. Rinse well.

Tile Cleaner
1 cup Washing Soda

Use a sponge or a rag, rub washing soda onto tiles and rinse well.

Window Cleaner
1/2 tsp. Liquid Soap
3 tbs. Vinegar
2 cup Water
1 Spray bottle

Combine all the ingredients into a spray bottle, and use like any window cleaner. TIP: Using newspaper is great for cleaning windows and it's cheap with no lint residue or streaks.

Disinfecting Scouring Powder
1 cup Baking Soda
1/4 cup Borax

Blend ingredients in a blender. Use as any souring powder. (Baking Soda doesn't scratch)

Multi Purpose Cleaner
1 tsp. Borax
1/2 tsp. Washing Soda
2 tbs. Vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 tsp. liquid soap
2 cups very hot water!
1 spray bottle

Combine all ingredients in a glass measuring cup or spray bottle itself. Add the hot water last and gently shake or stir until all ingredients are mixed and dissolved. Spray onto area you want cleaned. Wipe with a sponge or rag.

All Purpose Cleansing Paste
1/2 cup pure soap flakes
1 cup chalk
1/2 cup baking soda
3 tbsp glycerin

In a small bowl, crush the soap flakes into a powder with the back of a spoon (or whirl them in a blender). Thoroughly mix in the chalk and the baking soda. Stir in enough of the glycerin to form a thick paste. Spoon the mixture into a widemouthed screw-top jar or other container. Keep covered when not in use.

Furniture Polish
*mix fresh before each use*
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 tsp essential oil of your choice (I used lemon)

Mix together and apply sparingly with a soft rag. Wipe dry with a clean soft cloth.

Floor Cleaner
1/2 cup soap flakes
1/4 cup washing soda
1 cup salt
2 cups water
2 tsp essential oil of your choice (I used pine this time)

In a saucepan, place the soap, washing soda, salt, and water and heat gently, stirring until soap, soda and salt have dissolved. Cool the mixture to lukewarm, then add the essential oil. Stir well and pour into jar or other container.

To use, pour two to three tablespoons of the mixture into half a bucket of hot water, stirring well. For large areas, you may need to double the amount. After cleaning, rinse the floor with half a bucket of clean water into which you have poured a cup of white vinegar.

Bath Salts
1 part borax
2 parts epsom salt
2 parts sea salt
4 drops essential oil, (I mix the essential oils with the borax in a mortar/pestal and then blend it all together)
You can also add food coloring to the essential oil/borax misture to make the salts look pretty.

Links for more recipes
Spring Cleaning the Frugal Way
Better Basics
How I Clean My House

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