Keeping your home clean is often a beast of a necessity…there I said what we are all thinking…lol. I know it can be tempting to grab a few store-bought products from the shelf to keep your house clean, but all of those chemicals can begin to take a toll on you and your family, believe me. If you’re looking for a more natural way to not only get your house clean, but keep it clean, you’re in luck because I have a “master list” of Natural Cleaning Supplies to keep on hand.
Making them at home is not only better for the well-being of your family, it’s also very easy!
In fact, you probably already have most of the supplies you need to make your own cleaners in your kitchen.
These 10 simple ingredients (many are probably already something you keep are all you need to make your own natural cleaning products.
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Alright, here they are, 10 Ingredients You Need To Add To Your Natural Cleaning Supplies List:
White Distilled Vinegar, one of the most versatile all natural cleaning products:
The staple to cleaning almost anything in your home naturally is white vinegar. It’s the basis of most DIY natural cleaning products, so you’re going to want to make sure you have plenty of vinegar on hand when you start mixing your recipes.
White vinegar is perfect for cleaning because it naturally contains acetic acid, which is a powerful solvent. That means it works well at cleaning a variety of common household messes, including tackling tough issues like mold, mildew and killing harmful bacteria.
There are so many different ways you can use vinegar throughout your house, including:
- Making an all-purpose cleaner. Simply fill a spray bottle with vinegar and water (equal parts of both) to instantly create a cleaner that is natural and tough on grease and grime. And if that strong vinegar smell bothers you, don’t worry! It will dissipate after a few minutes, leaving the room smelling fresh and clean.
- Soften your clothes. Vinegar isn’t just great in the kitchen, it also works well in the laundry room. Skip the fabric softener and instead add a cup of vinegar during the rinse cycle when washing your clothes to make them softer and reduce static.
In addition to replacing your store-bought all-purpose cleaner and fabric softener, vinegar can also help you clean your cutting boards, deodorize your dishwasher, clean your showerhead, and descale your coffeemaker.
Here are some of my past cleaning posts that I use Vinegar (some are a combination of vinegar and baking soda):
- How To Clean A Stainless Steel Sink Like A Pro
- How To Remove Counter Stains, Even Rust
- What To Clean When There Has Been Sickness In Your Home
- How To Make Your Slow Cooker Clean Itself
Baking Soda, is one of the best super eco friendly products!
After vinegar, the next natural cleaner you’ll need in your DIY natural cleaning products arsenal is baking soda.
While vinegar is acidic, baking soda is a neutralizer, making it great for deodorizing. And its fine grit makes it wonderful for scouring without the risk of scratching.
Whether you use baking soda on its own or combine it with other natural ingredients, it’s one pantry staple you will use often when making your own cleaning supplies.
Baking soda will come in handy when making:
- Carpet deodorizer. Combine baking soda with Borax to make a carpet cleaner that not only deodorizes but also helps keep rodents and bugs, like fleas, at bay.
- Drain cleaner. When combined with vinegar, baking soda works well as a drain cleaner. The fizzing action of the baking soda and vinegar helps unclog and deodorize your drains without the need for harsh chemicals.
- Oven cleaner. Skip the harsh oven cleaner next time your kitchen appliance is looking dirty. Instead, clean it with a paste of vinegar and water. Allow the mixture soak overnight, then wipe the paste away with a damp rag to clean your oven.
- Soft Scrub. Add a little water to some baking soda to create a paste, and use it to soft scrub any surfaces that need a good scouring.
Olive Oil, maybe one of the more surprising household cleaners.
If you have lots of wood surfaces in your home, olive oil is one of the must-have natural cleaners. From shining wood furniture to cleaning wood floors, olive oil is a great alternative to those chemical-filled wood cleaners you find on the store shelves.
Use olive oil when making:
- Furniture polish: Combining three parts olive oil to one part vinegar makes a wonderful natural wood furniture polish. Simply rub a little bit of the mixture on a rag to dust and shine your wood.
Lemon, maybe it’s surprising, but it’s one of the best organic cleaners.
On top of making your home smell amazing as you clean, lemon is also a powerful natural cleaner. The lemon juice’s acidity makes it great for cutting through grease and grime. And the lemon’s peel contains limonene, which is another amazing degreaser.
You can use Lemon, or Lemon Essential Oil, in a variety of natural cleaners, including:
- Soap scum remover. Rub a halved lemon over soap scum in your shower and let the juice soak in for a minute. Then, scrub the soap scum away with a scrub brush.
- Scented all-purpose cleaner. Add a splash of lemon juice to freshen your vinegar-based all-purpose cleaner to make it smell amazing and enhance its degreasing power.
Salt, one of my favorite green cleaning products!
While salt may make your food taste better, there are a variety of other amazing uses for it around your home – especially if you plan on making your own DIY natural cleaning products.
Salt is great for scrubbing without the risk of damage and it makes a great stain remover.
You’ll definitely want some extra coarse salt on hand for making these natural cleaners:
- Coffee stain remover. If you have stained coffee mugs at home, instantly remove the stains by rubbing a paste of salt and vinegar over the stain.
- Cast-iron cookware cleaner. Do you love cooking in your cast iron pans? Make sure you keep them clean without damaging them by scrubbing stuck-on food and grime away with a little bit of course salt.
Rubbing Alcohol, not just for your first aid kit, make sure to have some in your cleaning supplies too.
This medicine cabinet staple is also a great addition to your cleaning cabinet. It’s great for disinfecting and cleaning a variety of surfaces. It leaves a streak-free shine when you’re finished wiping.
Use rubbing alcohol to make:
- Glass cleaner. Mix rubbing alcohol with vinegar and water to create a streak-free glass cleaner.
- Floor cleaner. Rubbing alcohol is also great for cleaning laminate and linoleum. Mix equal parts alcohol, water, and vinegar to create a natural floor cleaning solution.
Hydrogen Peroxide, is one of the more surprising cleaning solutions.
Another drug cabinet must-have, hydrogen peroxide is also a great alternative to bleach. If you want to disinfect your home, be sure to have a bottle of hydrogen peroxide on hand.
Use hydrogen peroxide when making:
- Disinfectant spray. Skip the harmful bleach and use a bottle of hydrogen peroxide to kill the germs in your home. Just place a spray bottle lid on top of your hydrogen peroxide bottle to use as a disinfectant spray.
Borax
Also known as sodium borate, commonly referred to as borax, is traditionally used as a laundry booster. But there are a variety of other ways you can use this handy natural ingredient outside the laundry room. You can usually find a box of borax in the laundry aisle of your favorite store.
You’ll want to be sure to have Borax on hand to make these DIY natural cleaning products:
- Dishwasher detergent. Combine equal parts baking soda and borax to make your own powder dishwasher detergent.
- Insect repellant. Keep bugs and rodents out of your house by mixing equal parts borax and sugar. The mixture will kill a variety of insects and help repel rodents from entering your home.
Castile Soap, one of the best cleaning products for natural cleaning.
All the cleaning ingredients on this list are great when combined with other natural ingredients, but sometimes you just need a good soap to get the job done. If you’re looking for a natural soap option, castile soap is your best bet.
This vegan and eco-friendly soap is made from vegetable oil and is a great natural way to clean dirt and grime.
Use castile soap to make these handy natural cleaning solutions:
- Window cleaner. Mix one teaspoon castile soap with water and vinegar to create your own natural window cleaner. Simply spray the solution on your windows, then wipe away for a streak-free shine.
- Laundry detergent. When combined with borax, castile soap is a great alternative to store-bought laundry detergent.
My favorite cleaner, the best all purpose cleaner, is a cousin to castile soap, and I wrote a huge list of uses for it, if you would like to read that, go here.
Various Essential Oils can be added to your homemade cleaners.
While all the natural ingredients are amazing at cleaning up messes throughout your home, some of them, like vinegar, don’t leave the best smell behind. To freshen up your DIY natural cleaning products, add a few drops of essential oil.
In addition to giving your cleaners a nice, fresh scent, some essential oils can also help enhance the cleaning power of the recipes. Essential oils, like tea tree oil, are known for the antimicrobial properties. And other oils, like orange oil, are great at helping cut through grease and grime.
Some of my previous posts, in which I use essential oil, are (I know one isn’t a cleaning post, shhh!, but I love that tutorial so much so I included it):
- Copycat LemiShine Detergent Booster Recipe
- Best Headlice Treatment Spray For Upholstery
- Copycat Lemi Shine Dishwasher Cleaner Recipe
- How To Make Bath Bombs With Hidden Jewelry Inside
**That’s about all I have to share with you all today, If you liked this post, you need to check out my entire cleaning section, as well as my DIY section.**
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*This post was originally shared to this site on August 3, 2020 and has since been updated.