DIY Super Effective Green Cleaning Products

Believe it or not, cleaning is becoming so much more fun and enjoyable for me now, because…

I am in love with our homemade all natural and green cleaning products!

Although I bought a couple of nice books on green cleaning (see resources at the end ) a few years ago, I never tried to test these recipes because we were already buying all natural cleaning products, and, to be honest, part of me was wondering: “Can it be this simple?  Is it possible that homemade cleaning products are just effective as commercial brands?”

Finally, I decided to test a bunch of recipes, due to the allure of being able to simplify our cleaning closet, and to blend my favorite essential oils with homemade cleaning products.

I am happy to report: yes, these simple to make cleaning products work amazingly well, cost very little, and smell so refreshingly delicious!

I love them so much that I even designed a bunch of beautiful printable labels to share with you! The labels have recipes on them so you can make these wonderful green cleaners easily anytime. =)

You only need a few basic ingredients to make your own all-natural cleaning products. Today we will use-

• liquid Castile Soap: all natural vegetable oil based soap. Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap is my favorite. Some are scented with essential oils, which I love too!
• Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds : also organic and bio-degradable, made with plant-based surfactants and conifer essential oils. If you cannot find Sal Suds in your country, just follow the recipes using liquid castile soap.
• distilled white vinegar: a great disinfectant, also acts as a deodorizer and cuts grease.

Recipe 1: Sal Suds All-purpose Cleaning Spray

Add 1/2 tablespoon Sal Suds to 16 oz water and mix well.

You can find lots of 16 oz spray bottles on Amazon!

That simple, really? Here is a great example of how a simple cleaning spray can be so effective.

Lisa at Going Green with a Bronner Mom was shocked to see the carpet in her son’s room. Here’s the before-

The Sal Suds spray on her carpet plus a little steam vacuuming left here speechless!

I will add that it has worked wonders on our carpet and many other things too!

Just make sure to add Sal Suds to water instead of the other way around to prevent too much suds.

Recipe 2: Castile Soap All-purpose Cleaning Spray

Often it is easier to find liquid castile soap. Here’s a great all purpose cleaning spray:

Add 2 tablespoon liquid Castile soap to 16 oz water and mix well. Castile soap is gentler on the skin than Sal Suds, so you can use it on pets too.

Recipe 3: Glass & Tile Cleaning Spray

Thanks to this spray, our mirror became sparkly clean with no streaks!

It so simple, just mix 1 part white vinegar and 4 part water together in a spray bottle.

For extra dirty surfaces such as exterior of windows or kitchen back splash, the following two variations are diluted versions of our All-purpose Cleaning Sprays great for glass and tile surfaces. If you see streaks, just follow them with the vinegar spray in Recipe 3.

Recipe 4: Sal Suds Glass & Tile Cleaning Spray

Add 1/2 teaspoon Sal Suds to 16 oz water and mix well.

Recipe 5: Castile Soap Glass & Tile Cleaning Spray

Add 1/2 tablespoon liquid Castile soap to 16 oz water and mix well.You can also add a few drops of your favorite essential oil.

Recipe 6: Antiseptic Soap Spray

Add 2 tablespoon liquid Castile soap to 16 oz water and mix well. Add 20 drops of Tea Tree essential oil.

This spray utilizes the antibacterial power of tea tree oil. It is great for fridge door handles, bathroom floors, toilet seats, etc.

Recipe 7: Hand and dish soap

In a squirt bottle ( reuse a shampoo bottle) , add 1 part Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap to 6 part water and mix well.

This soap works beautifully on dirty hands and greasy dishes, It also rinses off easily.

Even after using these DIY cleaning products for a while, I still cannot remember all the recipes.

These labels have made life so much easier!

To make them, take a sheet of white 8.5 x 11 mailing labels like these , print the labels using your home printer, and brush 2 coats of mod podge on it.

Let dry. Cut each label, peel off the backing and add to each bottle. For extra protection, add one more coat of mod podge to make them even more water resistant.

Download these cute labels:

Tips and resources:

1. If you are new to green cleaning products, no need to overwhelm yourself with too many choices. Just start with Recipe 1, 2 and 3, which is a great first step.
2. The two natural cleaning books I love are Clean House, Clean Planet by Karen Logan , and The Naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel . The third book I love ( not exactly on cleaning, more on decluttering ) is The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up , it is life changing, and I will write more about that!
3. The Castile Soap and Sal Suds are very concentrated, which gives them a long shelf life. When we dilute them, they need to be used up in 1-2 months. So, only dilute a small amount of soap / Sal Suds at a time, enough to fill a 8oz or 16 oz bottle.
4. I have seen recipes in which soap and vinegar are mixed together- don’t do it! Here is a great article by Lisa Bronner explaining why. Her site has lots of great information on green cleaners!
5. Remember to add soap / Sal Suds to water instead of the other way around to prevent too much suds.

Next week I will share 3 amazing scrubs, and how they made our tough-to-clean oven door looking like new!

Related articles you may like: Grow your own natural Luffa kitchen and bath sponge and eat it too ! ( really )

Make your own all natural and effective mosquito repellent in two ways!

Happy creating!