Kimberly Uy's Blog: Stock Your Home with Natural Cleaners : 7 Ingredients that Clean Just about Everything

Using green cleaning products is not only better for you and your family and the air you breathe in your home, it will simplify your spring cleaning as well. Why spend all that time cleaning with products that can potentially do more harm than good? With just a few key ingredients and hard-working products you can spring clean your entire home and I’m willing to bet that you’ll find some favorites too.

CLEANING SOLUTIONS

Choose ingredients with multiple uses and you’ll be able to mix and match to your heart’s content. One of the bonuses of DIY’ing cleaning recipes is that I have what I need on hand AND each batch costs just pennies to whip up. Run out of a cleaner, mix up a batch and keep cleaning. Simple ingredients, nothing harmful for humans or pets.

BAKING SODA
My favorite use is my Nightly Sink Scrub but that same recipe works for a Bathroom Scrub or general scrub too! Use it to freshen and deodorize carpet and mattresses and/or add a little water and soap for a scrub. Simple, yet effective, I use it so many different ways throughout the year but when it’s spring cleaning season it really shines.

WHITE VINEGAR
Think of white vinegar like a cleaning concentrate – you can use it in your carpet cleaning machine (equal parts warm water : vinegar), in an all-purpose cleaner, in an all-purpose disinfecting cleaner, to clean and polish wood, and a fabric softener. There are so many ways to use it – just keep it away from stone (granite, marble, silestone).

OXYGEN WHITENER
If you haven’t tried Oxygen Whitener yet, here’s a post with 12 uses – it’s not just for whitening laundry! I put it in a small mason jar and keep it handy for cleaning and I also keep a jar in the bathrooms to add to toilets for a little extra cleaning power.

CASTILE SOAP
It’s amazing what you can clean with warm water and a squirt of castile soap. Baseboards, doors, and floors, you can even add it to water and a foamer for hand soap.

RUBBING ALCOHOL
Put a little rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad to wipe down remotes and door knobs. The rubbing alcohol effectively cleans and kills germs. I also use it in my stone cleaning spray and window + glass cleaning spray – it helps dry the surfaces quickly while adding a little cleaning and disinfecting power. I also recommend using vodka in my Lemon + Lavender Fabric Freshener, my Daily Shower Spray and my Disinfecting Spray Cleaner.

HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
Put a sprayer on a hydrogen peroxide container and you have a powerful disinfectant at your fingertips. Great for sinks and areas that need disinfecting. I spray it on my toilet brush after I’ve used it – see my method here. You can also use it to whiten grout and get rid of minor mildew in the bathroom. DON’T take it out of the brown bottle – it loses its effectiveness after about an hour of being in the light.

ESSENTIAL OILS
I love a little scent while I’m cleaning but I like to add it myself so I know it’s 100% natural and not synthetic or an artificial fragrance. Enter essential oils. I’ve talked about them quite a bit – you can see how I use them in most of my DIY recipes. Of course, use caution around children and pets.

Want to DIY your cleaners? Check out my labels, spray bottles, and jars here. You can also see my Favorites Page here and my Spring Cleaning favorites here.

If you’re looking for an in-depth cleaning guide, my brand-new PDF packet, Clean Mama’s Guide to a Clean Home: Finding Peace in Your Routine has amazing checklists, a quick-start guide, DIY cleaning recipes and more. Check it out here.