Household Cleaners | Easy Ways to Make your Own (All Purpose, Oven Cleaner, Carpet + More)

For many of us, cleaning our house is something that must happen daily. Although we don’t necessarily like doing it, it’s something we all need to do.

We can usually pick up cheap household cleaners every so often at various stores, but this is a great resource should you ever just want to make your own.

I find it easy to use Vinegar – I can grab 2 jugs at Costco for just under $3.50 and it lasts me such a long time. Instead of having bottles and bottles of sprays on the shelf, Vinegar takes care of everything for us – we use it for Fabric Softener, Floors, Cleaning Showers & also eliminating Weeds outside.

This is what we have at home:

• Borax
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Castile Soap
• Ivory Soap
• Lemons
• Vinegar
• Seventh Generation Dish Soap
• Blue Dawn Dish Soap (not pictured)
• Arm & Hammer Washing Powder
• Essential Oil (not pictured)  I use Orange, Lemon, AND Thieves

If you are interested in making your own homemade cleaners, it’s rather easy – as long as you have the items above… here are just a few that I use around my own house:

All Purpose Cleaner 1/2 C. Vinegar, 2 tsp Borax (or, 1/4 C. Baking Soda), and 1/2 Gallon Water – mix, store in spray bottle and shake as needed. (I use this in the bathroom, mirrors, counter tops, etc).

Carpet Cleaner:  we don’t have to clean it too often but when we do, I usually mix equal vinegar and water in a bottle and spray on the carpet. If the stain is just that bad, I’ll mix 1/4 c. of Borax and Vinegar, and Salt (equal) and spread on as a paste before vacuuming a few hours later.

Fabric Softener:  1/4 C. Vinegar in the rinse cycle.

Dishwasher:  Equal parts of Washing Soda and Borax, you will have to adjust depending on how hard your water is… so do a few trial runs.

Drains:  Pour 1/2 C. Baking Soda down the drain, follow with 1/2 C. Vinegar.. let sit 15 minutes then pour boiling water – should clean them out – but, fair warning, don’t do this if you have plastic pipes!  You can also use Alka Seltzer Tablets down the drain – follow with 1 C. Vinegar and then flush with 1 C. Hot Water 10 minutes later.

Floor Cleaner:  1 C. Vinegar to 1 Gallon of Water….. you can add essential oil if needed.

Cleaning your Oven:  3/4 C. Baking Soda mixed with 1/4 C. Salt and 1/4 Water, blended together makes a great paste.. spread it in the oven and let it sit over night – then wipe off.

Microwave Cleaner:  Heat up a dish of water to boil – (2-3 minutes).. once the beeper goes off, cut a lemon in half and scrub the inside of the oven, then wipe clean.

Orange Cleaner:  Super easy – make it yourself!  Keep ALL of your orange peels, and put them in a ball canning jar (or, a clean spaghetti sauce jar with a lid).  Fill up the jar with peels, and add Vinegar to the brim. Put the cap on and shake the jar gently each day for 10 days. After the tenth day, take the peels out, and add the liquid to a spray bottle, top off with water & you have your own (cheaper) version of orange cleaner.

Shower Cleaner:  Heat up 1 C. Vinegar, pour in spray bottle (careful!), Add equal amount of Blue Dawn Dish Soap, turn to blend (not shake). Spray in shower after every use (don’t have to re-heat up).

Weed Killer:  1 Gal. of White Vinegar, 1 – 2 Tbsp of Dawn Dish Soap – mix well, spray on weeds. Does best when you don’t have rain in the forecast; sprinkle the salt first, then spray with the concoction.

Stain Remover (Makes 2 C.):  1 C. Hot Water, 1/2 C. Baking Soda, 1/2 C. Hydrogen Peroxide – mix what you can use as you need it, it loses potency. Add clothes, soak 20 minutes then wash.  Make sure you test prior to using on your colors.

Laundry Soap:  1 C. Ivory (Grated), 1/2 C. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not baking powder!) and 1/2 C. Borax – store in sealed container, use 1 Tbsp for small loads … 2 Tbsp for heavier loads. You can use Essential Oil if you like too.

Air Freshener:  Few drops of essential oil in a spray bottle of water works great. For the kitchen, toss old orange peels (or lemon) in a stove top pot of water along with cinnamon and boil.

Some more tips –

• Baking Soda is a great scouring powder – just on it’s own – for toilets, stove tops, and more.
• Vinegar is a great window cleaner … use newspapers (black and white only!) or cotton rag.
• Scented Oil on cotton balls in cabinets make for fresher smells… put oil on cotton balls and tuck in your vacuum bag for fresher carpet too.
• Castile Soap is not only a great body wash, hair shampoo – you can use it mixed with some damp warm water to clean your leather sofas. Buff your sofa with Olive Oil (small amount) every so often to keep their shine.

And lastly – your garbage disposal – throw in those old lemon and orange peels along with ice cubes – smells amazing and works super.

**Lastly – if you are worried about having a substance like Boxed Borax at home – not to worry.  It does pose a health hazard, when ingested – but is not absorbed through the skin so as long as you keep it out of reach of the kiddos you’re fine.