My Guide to DIY Natural Cleaners
I started DIY-ing my own cleaners in 2022, when I received the book Simply Living Well by Julia Watkins. Before looking through this book, I had never thought of making my own cleaners, and many of the other DIY tips she provides in the book. Through out the last couple years I have continued to make more and more cleaning items for my home. Sometimes it can be hard to know where to start or even what all is possible when it comes to making your own cleaning supplies. I wanted to create this list of my favorite cleaners to show all that you can do with just a handful of ingredients. Here is a list of 10 products I make that I love to use in my home. Please note that you do not need to purchase all these ingredients to get started making your cleaners from home. Find one thing you would like to make, and gather those ingredients. You may also have many of these ingredients in your home already!
All Ingredients You’ll Need:
Distilled White Vinegar
Good quality essential oils
Lemon, eucalyptus, and lavender are good scents to start with
Baking Soda
Washing Soda
Cornstarch
Epsom Salt
Sea Salt
You Might Also Need:
All Purpose Cleaner
Ingredients: citrus peels (lemon essential oil could also work), distilled white vinegar, water, glass spray bottle, glass jar
How to Make:
Collect citrus peels from lemons, oranges, or other citrus fruits. Place them in a glass jar (like a mason jar), fill the jar to the top with the peels, and then fill with white vinegar. Let jar sit for 2 weeks, the citrus peels will begin to cut the vinegar smell. After the 2 weeks, strain the peels, and keep the vinegar. Use the infused vinegar to fill your glass spray bottles, you can dilute the infused vinegar with water up to a 1:1 ratio.
Window & Glass Cleaner
Ingredients: 2 tbsp rubbing alcohol, 2 tbsp distilled white vinegar, 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 1/2 cups warm water, essential oils, glass spray bottle
How to Make: Mix all ingredients together in a glass spray bottle. The cornstarch will fall to the bottom after a while, just shake before using.
Tile Cleaner
Ingredients: 1 cup sal suds, 1 cup distilled white vinegar, baking soda
How to Make: Mix sal suds and white vinegar into a spray bottle (this is the same thing used for the bath/shower cleaner). Sprinkle baking soda on the floor tile you are cleaning then spray with cleaner. Let sit for about 10 min then scrub with a cleaning brush. You can use a mop or towel to wipe up the baking soda/cleaner.
Basic Floor Cleaner
Ingredients: 2 drops castile soap, 2 cups water, essential oils
How to Make: Either mix all ingredients together in a bucket for traditional mopping or use to refill bottles on spray mops.
Notes: I use the Bona Spray Mop and refill it with the DIY cleaner. Also make sure the essential oils you use are pet/child safe, since you will be spraying it on all your floors.
Bath/Shower Cleaner
Ingredients: 1 cup sal suds, 1 cup distilled white vinegar, essential oils, glass spray bottle
How to Make: Mix all items together into a glass spray bottle. Spray on shower/tub. Let sit for 10-15 min. then scrub!
Notes: Nothing has worked better to clean my shower then this!! I like to use a lemon essential oil.
Toilet Cleaner
Ingredients: 2 cups water, 1 1/3 cup baking soda, 1/3 cup liquid Castile soap, essential oils
How to Make: Mix all ingredients together (preferably) in a squirt bottle. Spray around the toilet bowl, let sit for just a few minutes, scrub with a toilet brush, and flush.
Drain Cleaner
Ingredients: 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup distilled white vinegar, boiling water
How to Make: Sprinkle baking soda down the drain, then pour down the vinegar. Let it bubble more a few minutes, it’s working its magic. The rinse it all down the drain with boiling water.
Notes: If your drain is seriously clogged with hair or another big blockage, this cleaner will not fix the problem. Unfortunately, you will have to pull that stuff out of the drain. This cleaner will work for small blockages, as well as get rid of odors.
Dish Soap
Ingredients: 1 cup water, 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar, 1 cup sal suds, 2 tbsp jojoba oil, 1 tbsp vitamin E oil (optional), essential oils
How to Make: First, pour the water and vinegar into your soap dispenser (you may want to use a funnel). Cap the bottle and shake well. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Do not shake once the sal suds has been added or it won’t stop foaming. Instead, gently turn the bottle upside down and back up a few times to mix the ingredients.
Dish Washer Pods
Ingredients: 1 cup washing soda, 1 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup citric acid, 1 cup kosher salt, a few drops essential oil, 1 cup water, distilled white vinegar, silicone mold
How to Make: Combine the washing soda, baking soda, citric acid, salt, and essential oils in a bowl. Slowly add in the water, pouring in too fast could make the rest of ingredients react. Mix well but slowly. Scoop into a silicone mold and let dry. This will take about an hour. Use 1 tablet each load with 1-2 tbsp vinegar in the rinsing compartment.
Notes: To get extra shiny silverware add half a lemon into the silverware compartment. I use fresh lemon juice often in cooking so I simply put the remainder of the lemon (after I have gotten all the juice out I can) into the dishwasher for the next load. Bonus, the fresh lemon scent that comes from the dishwasher is amazing!
Laundry Soap (Powder)
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups baking soda, 1 1/2 cups washing soda, 1/2 cup epsom salt, 1/4 cup sea salt,10-20 drops essential oils (optional but nice)
How to Make: Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Store in an airtight glass jar. Use 1-2 tbsp in the laundry powder compartment of your washing machine.
Notes: My clothes smell amazing, and feel so much cleaner since I started using this recipe.
