Homemade All Purpose Cleaner

As is the case with my natural curiosity for making everything at home, one day I decided I wanted to make my own cleaning supplies. I had heard about it before but had never actually done it. I did some research online and came across a neat website Mormon Chic. I am not mormon, but this website has some great tips under Deal Diva Chic and one of those was making your own cleaning supplies.

I wanted to make this week all about homemade items that are useful in your kitchen, but the issues with my car has thrown me off all week. Luckily my car (also known as Bert) just had a bad battery and is now fixed. Thank goodness! Car issues are always stressful when you depend on your car as much as I do.

Now back to the all-purpose cleaner, which I do make at home and use in my kitchen to wipe down everything. You will need a 16oz empty spray bottle. I bought one at the store for about a dollar. You can also use an empty one from a store-bought cleaner. You will also need:

Castile soap – I bought this at my local health food store. If you cannot find Castile soap you can use a mild dishwashing liquid such as Ivory or Palmolive.

Borax – available at Wal-mart or your local grocery store in the laundry soap aisle.

White vinegar

Essential oil – optional as this is for smell only. I found essential oils at my health food store as well. They are expensive for a small bottle but you only need a few drops.

Distilled or purified water – you will need this if you live in an area of hard water.

In a two cup glass measuring cup mix two tablespoons of white distilled vinegar and one teaspoon of borax. Add 1 cup of hot water and stir until the borax is dissolved. Let this mixture cool a few minutes and then pour into the spray bottle. Add more water to the bottle leaving enough room to add 1/4 cup of castile soap OR 1/8 cup of liquid dishwashing detergent. To scent, add 15-20 drops of your favorite essential oil. The scent will not be as pure when mixed with an already scented dishwashing detergent.

Because this cleaner does contain a small amount of borax it is slightly toxic. Be sure to label it accordingly. When ready to use just give the bottle a little shake to activate the suds and spray away!

So is it worth it? I haven’t done the calculations, but according to Mormon Chic, making this cleaner only costs you $0.31 cents per bottle. Store-bought cleaners usually cost at least $3.00 per bottle so that’s a significant savings. It doesn’t take up a lot of time to make either. My verdict – YES it is worth it. I have been making my own cleaning supplies at home for almost a year now and I love it. It’s all natural so it’s better for the environment and better for you and your family. Plus it saves you money! The ingredients you buy like Borax, white vinegar and castile soap are useful in other ways around your house as well and will be the topic of future posts. Stay tuned!