Making your own cleaning products for the kitchen is both economical and good for your health. When you're using baking soda, vinegar, and water, you can feel pretty confident that the cleaning you're doing isn't hurting you or the environment.
What You Need
Ingredients
Vinegar
Baking Soda
Lemon
Essential Oil (optional)
Water
Dish soap
Equipment or Tools
Spray bottle
Bowl
Sponge
Scrub brush
Measuring spoons
Instructions
All-Purpose Cleaner Using funnel, put 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon dish soap, and 2 tablespoons vinegar into your spray bottle. Give it a stir/shake. Let it sit for a minute, now fill bottle with warm water and shake it up. Give it a few more minutes to calm down, and add a few drops of essential oil if desired.
Garbage Disposal Freshener Take the pulp from a lemon (preferably one you've squeezed to use for something else) and toss it in the garbage disposal, along with a few thin strips of the peel. Run water and turn on disposal.
Sink or Stovetop Cleaner Put a 1/3 cup baking soda in a bowl. Mix in enough warm water so that you get a nice moist paste. Put paste on sponge or brush and scrub away. Make it as you need it.
Microwave Cleaner No need to reinvent the wheel. We always follow's Jonathan's advice. His post on cleaning the microwave is the best we've ever found.
Additional Notes: The one thing we haven't found are good instructions on how to naturally clean an oven. Do you have any tips?
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(Images: Stephanie Kinnear)
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I know this may sound creepy, but, for the last couple of months, I've been washing my hair and face with a baking soda/water mix. My daughter discovered this idea online. Even at 60, I'm prone to acne, and most shampoos make my face break out, but my face has cleared up! You'll have to experiment with the "shampoo"--It just takes a small bit of baking soda, diluted in water. Wet hair, run the mixture through your hair, and rinse. Even if you don't like that idea, try washing your face with it, as diluted or paste-ish as you wish. I bought a huge bag of baking soda, poured it in a large plastic container, put a scoop in it, and set it near my tub. It looks like bath salts. Sometimes I get REALLY crazy and sprinkle some in my bath water.
smellofsawdust,
That is called "No 'Poo". Re-Nest posted about it awhile back.
Re the oven: I use the same method as the microwave suggestion for the oven. Usually after I'm done baking something, I just put in a big pan full of water, vinegar, some lemon juice and leave it on high heat for about an hour. Switch off, door closed, about half an hour later clean with a cloth.
Gets the pan clean at the same time... :)
Has anyone got any advice for everyday dishwashing?
For really bad oven guck you can sprinkle on baking soda and spray on vinegar just like your high school science project. Breaks it up pretty well, especially if it is baked-on dried-up guck. It is easier to do if you put the baking soda in something besides the box (like one of those cans with holes in the top you might use for powdered sugar) and the white vinegar in a squirt bottle so that you don't end up with huge piles of baking soda stuff to wipe off. But yeah, just sprinkle, spray, go do something for ten minutes. Come back and wipe off. If it's really bad you MIGHT have to scrape at it with a spatula a little bit, but usually you can just wipe it out with a scrubber sponge or something.
I just tried your DIY drain cleaner.That was amazing stuff!!! I noticed the shower drain was not draining well over the last 2 weeks.So, I decided to "go green" instead of buying those chemicals to do the job. I was impressed!!! It immediately cleared the drain and it sure was cheaper than calling the plumber. =) Thanks!