Thursday, August 23, 2012

Homemade Cleaning Products

Thank you for joining me for my very first Thrifty Thursday! Today's post is about one of my new favorite things...homemade cleaning products. These can save you an absolute TON of money.



So, pictured are my finished (and a few used) cleaning products. I got my recipes from a Sarah at littlemsrobinson.blogspot.com

Here is what you will need:

5 - 24 oz Spray Bottles
White Vinegar
Dawn dish soap
Laundry Detergent
White Ammonia
Rubbing Alcohol
Fabric Softener
Baking Soda
Bleach
Essential Oil
(optional & of your choice)

I know some of you are now looking at that list like, "wow," but look closer...you already have most of it in your house. When I did an inventory, all I needed were the spray bottles (97c each at Walmart, or get cute colored ones I found at the dollar store last week after I finished this project) and the White Ammonia ($1.97 at Walmart).

First things first...NEVER, and I mean NEVER mix ammonia and bleach. The fumes are very toxic.

Now that you are aware, here we go....

Blessing In A Bottle

12 oz. White Vinegar
12 oz. Dawn Dish Soap
1 tsp. Laundry Detergent

The Laundry Detergent is to mask the Vinegar smell and may be omitted if you so choose.  According to Sarah, this is fantastic in tubs, showers, and sinks. I use it to clean up toddler meal messes in the dining room. This one is a little thick going through the spray bottle, so I am planning to alter the recipe a little next time to make it easier to spray.

Window Cleaner

1 oz. White Ammonia
4 oz. Rubbing Alcohol
1 drop Laundry Detergent
Fill bottle with water

Water! Can you believe that! I love this way better than I could ever love Windex again. If you want to add some blue food coloring to make it look like Windex, you can. As you see in the pics above, I added purple and blew my 7 year old's mind. Every girl needs purple window cleaner.

Air & Fabric Freshener

1 oz. Scented Liquid Fabric Softener
2 Tbsp. Baking Soda
Fill bottle with water

More water! I use this all the time. Honestly, you can buy so many more scents in fabric softener than you can actual Febreze. The baking soda in this recipe leaves the scent light and airy instead of heavy like air freshener. I use it on rugs, couch pillows, throw pillows, and on mattresses on sheets day.

Bleach Cleaner

2 oz. Bleach
1 tsp. Laundry Detergent
Fill with water

I am truly amazed at how much we pay in store for products that are mostly water. This is an exact match to my previous bleach cleaner in look, smell, and cleaning ability. I bleach the bathrooms literally every week at my house, so we go through this bleach cleaner quickly.

The Cure-All

5 oz. Rubbing Alcohol
3 oz. White Vinegar
1 tsp. Laundry Detergent
1 tsp. White Ammonia
2 drops Essential Oil (optional)
Fill with WATER!!

I use this for everything I didn't already list a use for. This is my multi-surface cleaner. It is fantastic on countertops. The essential oil is to mask the vinegar and ammonia smells, but they really dissipate quickly if you don't want to do the essential oils. I added some food coloring to mine just to make it different, but you don't have to. I go through this one almost as fast as the bleach cleaner.

Lastly, for those stylish printable labels, please visit Sarah's page by clicking right here.

They can be printed on Avery shipping label template 5163 and stuck directly to the bottles. They look ADORABLE on the colored bottles from the dollar store.

Now! That feels awesome! Not only did I just make all of my own household cleaning products, but I just saved us some serious money around the house. Come back next Thursday for more Thrifty Thursday ideas. Don't forget to check in for Fabulous Friday to see what I'm up to.

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