Homemade Cleaning Solutions & Get Real Frugal Friday #6

To wrap up this week’s Natural Home Challenge, I’m going to share a few more homemade cleaning solutions to help you get the chemicals out of your home.  These are simple to make and are made up using things that you probably already have at home.  Making your own cleaning solutions is not only healthier for your family, but it’s also really frugal.  Homemade cleaners are MUCH cheaper than those you purchase at the store.  Especially if you use natural or organic cleaners.

All-Purpose Cleaner & Deodorizer

4 tablespoons baking soda
1 quart warm water

Great for: Kitchen counters, appliances, and inside the refrigerator
How to use: Pour solution on a clean sponge and wipe.

Heavy Duty Scrub

Half a lemon
1/2 cup borax

Great for: Rust stains on porcelain or enamel sinks and tubs
How to use: Dip lemon into borax and scrub surface; rinse. (Not safe for marble or granite.)

Glass Cleaner

2 cups water
1/2 cup white or cider vinegar
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol (70 percent concentration)
1 to 2 drops of orange essential oil, which gives the solution a lovely smell (optional)

Great for: Windows and mirrors
How to use: Combine ingredients and store in a spray bottle. Spray some solution on a paper towel or soft cloth first, then on the glass. To get smudge-free glass, rub vertically on one side and horizontally on the other. Hint: Don’t clean windows on a hot, sunny day, because the solution will dry too quickly and leave lots of streaks.

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Get Real Frugal Friday is a blog hop hosted here at Real Food Real Frugal. The focus is on tips and ideas to help you live the real food and natural living lifestyle on a budget. Eating real food and living a natural lifestyle does not have to be break the bank! Come by each week and share how you are making better eating and lifestyle choices in a frugal budget minded way! Get Real Frugal Friday is a place to share money saving tips, ideas, and recipes for:

• Real Food (made from scratch, not full of processed foods)
• Allergy Conscious Diets (gluten-free, etc.)
• Natural Living (make-your-own cleaners, homemade hygiene items, etc.)
• Home Remedies and cures
• Self-sufficient Living and Homesteading
• Homemaking and Menu Planning
• Stretching Your Hard Earned $$

In short, Get Real Frugal Friday is all about how to save money while sticking to a more healthy and self-sufficient lifestyle. I hope you’ll join us!

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Featured Posts:

Each week, I will feature 3 posts from last week’s entries. These posts will be determined by the readers. The 3 entries with the most visits will be featured. If you’ve had a featured post here on the Get Real Frugal Friday, then you are welcome to post our “Featured at” graphic below on your blog. It’s just a fun little way that we want to recognize you for your excellent featured post.

If you’ve been featured, please feel free to download this graphic for your website/blog.

Featured Posts for 02/015/13

Congrats go out to the following people for the most viewed posts shared in last week’s Blog Hop!

Mellow over at A Life Unprocessed is in the #1 spot this week!
She shared her post for Fresh Berry Jam

We had a tie for 2nd place!

Tessa over at Tessa the Domestic Diva is one of the posts in the #2 spot this week!
She shared her recipe for Double Chocolate Muffins or Cupcakes- Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Vegan

Elizabeth over at The Messy Organic Mum is the second post in the #2 spot this week!
She shared her post Death of a Microwave

Jessica over at Scratch Mommy is in the #3 spot this week!
She shared her post Let My Freezer Debacle Save You From Yours

I want to thank everyone of you who have linked up with us today and in the past. You are what make this blog hop a success! I also want to thank all our reader that help to pick out who we feature each week! Now on to the HOP!! Add your links below:

Orange Peel Vinegar & All Purpose Cleaner

I wish I could say that this idea was all my own, but I actually first saw this on Pinterest. I thought it was a genius idea and had to try it for myself. Making it was pretty easy and I love that I am using things that I would normally toss in the compost pile! But why go to the bother of making this? I plan on using it in my natural all-purpose cleaner. Not only does it smell fabulous (really hides the vinegar-y smell), but it also has some other benefits. The orange oil derived from the orange peels is a natural, non-toxic disinfectant. Vinegar also has some really great benefits for cleaning in a non-toxic, natural way. It is an excellent cleaning agent, especially when it comes to cutting grease. It’s a wonderful antibacterial disinfectant, as well as a natural deodorizer. So the combination of the orange oil derived from the orange peels and the vinegar make for a powerful natural, non-toxic household cleaner!

Making Orange Peel Vinegar is really simple and easy. All you will need is a large mouth canning jar, orange peels and plain white vinegar. What I did was start off with the peel of 1 orange in the jar and then covered it with white vinegar. Then over the week, I had my family save all their orange peels and I added them to the jar along with more vinegar to cover. I did this until the jar would hold no more orange peels and vinegar. Then I stored it on the window ledge and shook it several times per day to make sure the orange peel was constantly in contact with the vinegar. I also would store the jar upside down every-other-day to help ensure that peels were constantly in contact with the vinegar. I smelled it everyday to see how it was smelling. That’s how I judge whether or not it was “done”. When it smelled more like oranges, then vinegar then I was happy with it and it was done. This was 7 days. After 7 days, it looked like a cloudy orange juice. As you can see from the picture on the right.

Now pour out the contents of the jar into a bowl. Then I washed the canning jar and lid. I also grabbed a clean bandana and a rubber band. I placed the bandana over the mouth of the canning jar with the rubber band to filter out any solids in the vinegar. I wanted the vinegar to be as clear as possible so when I used it for my all-purpose cleaner that it would go through the spray bottle without clogging it up. So now, I poured the liquid through the bandana into the jar. I kept putting pressure on the orange peels to make sure I extracted all of the vinegar. When no more liquid would come out, I squeezed the bandana into the jar to make sure I got out all the vinegar.

I ended up with 1-1/2 cups of orange peel vinegar in the jar. Now because I wanted to make sure that no mold or grody stuff grew, I added 1-1/2 cups more of the plain white vinegar. I was worried that this would bring the strong vinegar smell back, but actually it really didn’t. The Orange Peel Vinegar still smelled more like oranges than vinegar. Still a very pleasant smell and now it was ready to use in my all-purpose cleaner. And let me tell you! I absolutely LOVE IT. It makes cleaning with vinegar an absolute pleasure! No more does my house smell like vinegar for hours after cleaning, but now has a pleasant orange smell that really makes me smile!

Now, I’m going to show you how I use it! Not only does it smell fabulous (really hides the vinegar-y smell), but it also has some other benefits. The orange oil derived from the orange peels is a natural, non-toxic disinfectant. Vinegar also has some really great benefits for cleaning in a non-toxic, natural way. It is an excellent cleaning agent, especially when it comes to cutting grease. It’s a wonderful antibacterial disinfectant, as well as a natural deodorizer. So the combination of the orange oil derived from the orange peels and the vinegar make for a powerful natural, non-toxic household cleaner!

Making it is super simple. You will only need 3 items: an empty spray bottle, your Orange Peel Vinegar, and plain old water. The first thing you will do is pour in 12 ounces of Orange Peel Vinegar into the spray bottle. The one I have has markings for different measurements and I just filled it up to the 12 ounce line.

Once you’ve added the Orange Peel Vinegar, you just fill the spray bottle up to the 24 ounce mark with plain water. To use, just shake and spray. I use this on all my counter-tops, tables, stove, microwave, refrigerator, etc. It cuts grease so well and leaves a nice, clean orange scent behind. I love that I can make this cleaner using inexpensive, natural, and non-toxic ingredients. Also since I’m using the peels that I would normally just toss in the compost, the Orange Peel Vinegar in practically free! Sure beats having to purchase orange essential oil do to the same thing!

Frugal Homemade Cleaning Products

One of the easiest and most frugal things I have done recently is stopped buying commercial cleaning products. I have found that I only really need 4 inexpensive products to do the majority of the cleaning around my house. I also add essential oils in some applications, but these are optional.  They are:

White vinegar
Hydrogen Peroxide
Baking Soda
A good organic/natural soap (Dr. Bronner’s is my favorite)

With these 4 items I can clean just about anything. Add to this a homemade wood cleaner and homemade laundry detergent and I’m set.

The white vinegar is great for cleaning glass, stainless steel, and for cutting grease. I keep a spray bottle full of vinegar and I use it like I’d use 409 or Windex. This stuff seriously does great. The smell does dissipate after time, but if it really bothers you, you can add some essential oils to it to help make it smell better. I also use it in the washing machine as a fabric softener.  I just fill my “Downy” ball with it and add a few drops of essential oil to add a nice scent.  The vinegar smell does not last on the clothing after they are dry.

I put the hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle as well. I use it to disinfect things. This stuff is natural and non-toxic and beats Lysol at disinfecting! Plus it MUCH cheaper than Lysol. I can get a big bottle of it at Wal-Mart for $0.98; you can’t get Lysol for that at all! I spray it on toilet seats, counter-tops, cutting boards. It doesn’t produce the noxious fumes that bleach and Lysol produces.  I also use it in my washing machine as a whitener.  It’s much healthier for the environment than bleach.  I just add 1 cup to my whites and then let them soak for about 15-30 minutes before finishing the load.

The Baking soda, I use for scrubbing. I use it to clean sinks, stovetops, bathtubs, toilets, etc. Plus when you mix it with the vinegar it foams up to really clean. It’s great for keeping the tub, sinks and toilets nice and white. It’s safe to use on nearly any type of surface, as it doesn’t scratch them. It’s also great for using in the washing machine to help take out smells in clothing and for stain removal.  I use it as a weekly drain cleaner as well.  Simply pour some down my sink drains and then pour in some vinegar.  Close the drains with the stopper and let it do it’s thing.  I come back later and rinse with hot water.

The organic/natural soap is used for any really stubborn grease. I also use it on kitchen and bathroom floors when they get really dirty. This is my “heavy duty” cleaning product.  It also works great on kitchen walls, stove tops, and anywhere you really need to cut grease.  On kitchen floors, I use it and then do a final rinse/mop with vinegar.

With these 4 products, I can clean my entire house for the most part and save money doing it. Not only that, but these products are all natural and non-toxic, so I don’t have to worry about my family being exposed to potentially hazardous things!

Linking With:

Natural Home Challenge Week 2 Cleaning Supplies Linky Post

Good morning everyone!  Today is the second week of the Natural Home Challenge!  This week our challenge will focus on Cleaning Supplies.  What are you doing to get rid of the chemicals in your cleaning routine?

There are really many different reasons for using homemade cleaners. In this blog post, I am going to talk about the two that matter the most to me: they’re frugal and they are safer for your family. Most contain items that you may already have in your home, such as hydrogen peroxide, vinegar and baking soda. They are simple to mix up and use. But the most important thing is that they CLEAN your house effectively.

Homemade Cleaners are Frugal

Homemade cleaners are so inexpensive and frugal. Most “recipes” call for simple ingredients that may very likely already be found in your home. I’ve been making my own for some time and RARELY purchase commercial cleaners. This has saved me a ton of money over the years. I make my own scouring scrub, glass cleaner, multipurpose cleaner, laundry detergent, laundry aids and so much more. Homemade cost pennies on the dollar compared to commercially made ones. So making your own can save you a lot of money!

Homemade Cleaners are Healthier for Your Family

Let’s face it, the majority of commercial cleaners contain all sorts of chemicals which are hazardous to humans. Yet, we’re still expected to use them to “clean” our homes. Our homes may then be clean of dirt and bacterial, but now they are filled with the fumes of those chemicals. More and more people each year are finding themselves having allergies to all sorts of chemicals. Many of them are harmful to our skin and are known carcinogens. Do you really want that in your home? Making your own homemade cleaners ensures that you know just what is going into them.

What are YOUR reasons for using homemade & natural cleaners?

Share all your natural cleaning tips, recipes, and ideas on your blog this week and then come by and link the post up!!  I look forward to seeing what you share and hope to get some new ideas!!  I’ll be sharing a few of the recipes that I use for cleaning later in the week!

The Rules are simple:

1. Link back to this post on your site.
2. Linked posts need to be related to the Natural Home Challenge theme of the week this week it’s LAUNDRY AIDS.
3. Please link the URL of the actual blog post, not just your blog’s home page.
4. Please leave a comment after linking up and check out some of the other links, you will learn a lot from others!

Now link up!!

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