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Cleaning Products

If you are new to natural products it can seem overwhelming at first. Here are some basic things you can start with.  As my sister and I discovered, this is a process and doesn't happen overnight. You can start small, and gradually make more of your own products to replace the expensive, commercial products. 
Here are some cheap and easy things to get you started with some basic cleaning products.
  • vinegar and baking soda
Mix water and vinegar 50/50 in a spray bottle, I found spray bottles at the dollar store but you can find them just about anywhere.  Pour some baking soda in a shaker bottle, I use a glass sugar shaker I got at Wal-mart for .97.  (You can also re-purpose an empty Parmesan cheese shaker.) You can sprinkle this on any hard surface, toilet, counter tops, bathroom sink etc. You can either scrub with a sponge or rag with a little water or spray your vinegar mixture and rinse.  You can add essential oils to this if you don't like the vinegar smell, but once it dries the vinegar won't smell.
  • Castile soap
We like Dr. Bronner's but there are others. Target has this in the cosmetics area, on a bottom shelf but grocery stores have it also and can be ordered online too. There are many uses for this, including hair and body soap, but that will be a blog another day.  You don't need to use much, it is very concentrated.  It comes in bars or liquid and comes in several different scents and also unscented.  Fill a spray bottle with water and add a few squirts of soap.  Now you have a multipurpose cleaner.  If you buy the unscented soap you can add a little Tea Tree oil, this is a great disinfectant usually found in the vitamin aisle at most  stores.  * Note: Don't mix vinegar with the castile soap; they don't mix well. 
  • Essential oils, these can be ordered online or found in most stores.  They come in lots of scents so pick what you like. Tea Tree is a good one to have on hand, it is also used as a disinfectant.  I also use sweet orange, lemon and peppermint a lot.  You can add these to your homemade dish soap, laundry soap and cleaning sprays.
We will have more ideas and products to make coming soon, but this will start you on your way to a more Simple Homemade life!

 Angie

Some ideas adapted from liverenewed.com
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