I have a hormone imbalance and allergies. Cleaning around the house is, of course, important - but so is HOW the house is cleaned. I have been exploring the wonderful new (to me) world of homemade cleaning recipes. Let me assure you, these really work and cost pennies, maybe dimes, on the dollar compared to other store bought, chemical based cleaners.
My store bough laundry detergent is $5.36 for 32 loads. My homemade laundry detergent $2.85 for 44 loads. Seriously!! The detergent I made works really well. My clothes smell fresh, are very soft, and do not irritate my sensitive skin. I even have homemade fabric softener. I keep it in an old, empty bottle of my former store bought fabric softener. I like the irony and it help my DH and I remember which container it's located in.
Laundry Soap
- 3 bars ivory soap, grated – $1.29
- 1.5 cup Borax – $0.63 (Per box - $4.00 - 9.5 cups)
- 1.5 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Powder – $0.66 (Per box - $3.00 - 6.875 cups)
Total for one recipe = $2.85 for 44 loads
(Initial output of $8.29)
Use: 2 tablespoons per load
Don't use your food processor to grate the soap unless you have a grating disc in place. It just makes a globby mess otherwise. And and be careful not put the food processor or grater in your dishwasher with very much soap left on it. You could have a foamy accident!
Fabric Softener
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 cup baking soda
- Shake well
- 1 cup white distilled vinegar
Both are suitable for sensitive skin. The ingredients are all natural and gentle to your skin.
All Purpose Spray Cleaner
Quick and inexpensive spray clean with easy to find ingredients. It cleaned the inside of my microwave with ease and cuts through grease with no trouble! If you need to scour a surface, use baking soda and a spray of this cleaner.
Add the following to a spray bottle:
- 2 cups hot tap water
- 3 tablespoons Borax (shake well with water to dissolve)
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 10 drops of your favorite essential oil. (I used 5 drops orange and 5 drops grapefruit oils.)
I use soap nuts with borax and baking soda for our laundry. On occasion i will add white vinegar as a fabric softener, but usually i don't bother. My MIL has commented on how soft our towels are.
ReplyDeleteI use vinegar/water for just about all cleaning. In the kitchen i also use baking soda, salt, or on occasion Bon Ami as scrubs.
I also use salt, baking soda, or Epsom salts (crushed to be finer) as a body scrub when i shower. I don't make my own shampoo or soap (tried the "no 'poo" method for hair and didn't find it worked well with my type hair), but i do make my own tooth powder (baking soda/xylitol), my own deodorant, and my own moisturizer.
Life is a challenge with sensitivities and allergies!
I hope you didn't find out the hard way. Getting the extra soap off of your processer parts before putting them in the dish washer i mean. lol my boys put regular dawn dish soap in the dish washer once. Needless to say my kitchen floor was never cleaner :)
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