When it comes to keeping your home and spaces clean, it may feel like a constant uphill battle. There are always new cleaning products coming out promising to work miracles in the war against dust and grime. This means you probably have a shelf full of cleaning products that you barely use.
On top of the wastage, you may be surprised to know that most cleaning products can be harmful to you and the environment. Even the cleaning products you swear by may be packed with toxic chemicals!
That’s why so many people are turning to DIY to make their own eco-friendly cleaning products. These are friendly on your wallet, to you, and to the environment so it’s a win-win-win. They’re effective without being difficult to make. In fact, there’s a pretty good chance you have all the ingredients you need for your new favorite cleaning product in your kitchen cabinet right now.
Don’t believe us? Keep scrolling to see five of our favorite DIY cleaners that will make cleaning…cleaner!
Bleach
Bleach is used all the time to disinfect surfaces and sanitize your laundry, but it can also cause irritation in your eyes, skin, and more because of what it’s made from.
Thankfully the eco-friendly alternative to this substance is just as effective at softening your clothes and battling stubborn stains.
You’ll need:
– 1 and a 1/2 cups of 3% hydrogen peroxide
– 1/2 cup of lemon juice
– 1 tablespoon of citric acid (optional)
– Almost 1 gallon of distilled water
– 10-30 drops of lemon essential oil (or any other essential oil of your choice)
Just combine all your ingredients, apart from the water, in a jug and stir. Then add your distilled water and it’s good to go!
Take a look at the full method of putting this cleaner together, right here.
Carpet refresher
Sometimes running your vacuum over the carpet just doesn’t cut it.
If your carpet’s looking worse for wear and no amount of vacuuming seems to make a difference, this cleaning product is a quick fix that can breathe new life into your space with very little effort.
Once you have your mixture ready, spray it on your carpet, let it sit overnight, and then vacuum it up in the morning. It’s just that easy!
This cleaning product only needs:
– 1 cup of baking soda
– Essential oil (optional)
Just mix these two ingredients together, and then spritz them onto your carpet.
Take a look at the full method here.
All-purpose cleaner
If all-purpose cleaners are your favorite cleaning product, then this method for an all-purpose cleaner that’s tough on dirt but gentle to you and the environment is what you need.
All you need to do is dissolve borax in hot water before mixing in the rest of the ingredients below. Then transfer your mixture into a spray bottle for easy access.
For this cleaner you need:
– 1/2 cup of vinegar
– 1 tablespoon of borax
– 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide
– 2 cups of hot water
– 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
– Essential oils (optional)
Adding essential oils to this mixture will not only give your home all the benefits of essential oils, but also leave your space smelling much more fragrant.
Take a look at the full method, here.
Stainless
steel cleaner
If you’re struggling to keep your stainless steel surfaces clean then this one’s for you. Keeping these surfaces as good as new can be tricky. You want to lift off stains without scraping these fixtures, which can be a fine balance to strike.
Eco-friendly cleaners are just the right amount of tough to get the job done without being too abrasive on your stainless steel.
Keep those surfaces shiny by combining baking soda, vinegar, and essential oil together in a spray bottle. Then fill up the bottle with hot water and shake all the ingredients together.
You’ll need:
– 1 teaspoon of baking soda
– 1/8 cup of white distilled vinegar
– 10 drops of lemon essential oil
– Hot water
This cleaner is best used right away. So, the next time you’re gearing up to clean, make sure you whip up a fresh bottle.
Here’s the full method.
Grease
cleaner
Most likely found in your kitchen, grease is one of the more unpleasant substances you’ll find yourself cleaning out of your space.
So, you may be surprised to learn that a two-ingredient concoction can help you make light work of this task. Just wipe your surfaces, from your stove hood to your oven racks with this mixture of sudsy ammonia and water, and then rinse them clean with water.
All you need is:
– 1/2 cup of sudsy ammonia
– Scant 1 gallon of water
If your surfaces have some particularly stubborn grease stains, soak them in the mixture with a little extra ammonia to get rid of them.
Check out the full method, here.
These are 5 ways to make cleaning your home as easy as possible, but there are plenty more eco-friendly cleaning hacks out there.
Just remember that if you do choose to DIY your own cleaning products, be sure to label your containers with their ingredients in case children or pets can get to them. Also make sure you do your research when you’re mixing ingredients together to stay safe while you experiment.
It really is that easy to keep your cleaning green this new year!