Search results for label/Home%20Made%20Cleaners

Tip 3: Make your own cleaners

April 3, 2009 Homemade Cleaners, Homemaking, Stretching a dollar One comment

Tip 3: Make your own cleaners

Currently I make my own dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, all purpose cleaner, toilet cleaner and glass cleaner. Here is a post that I’ve done in the past that has all the recipes.

I find that making your own cleaners is MUCH more cost effective, plus I know what chemicals I’m allowing to enter my home. I don’t have to worry about the harsh toxins/fumes that come from many retail cleaners.

All you really need is:

  • Borax
  • Baking Soda (Arm & Hammer Washing Soda is preferred but not as easy to find)
  • Oxi Clean (this isn’t necessary, but is recommended)
  • Fels Naptha Soap (Substitute Ivory if you can’t find this item)
  • Vinegar (it’s recommended to use essential oils to mask the vinegar scent if you don’t like it)
  • Cascade (not necessary, but really helps to clean the dishes)

That’s it! Not too difficult and it will save you TONS of money!!! When I buy all these things I typically have enough laundry detergent to last for 3 months (and I do 3-5 loads a week), and enough dishwashing detergent to last 2 1/2 – 3 months (I do a load daily).

Liquid Laundry Detergent vs. Powdered Laundry Detergent:
I often hear people say they don’t like powdered laundry detergent and I’m not sure why this is. When you buy liquid laundry detergent you are usually purchasing a container that’s over half water! I feel that my powdered laundry detergent goes a long way for so little. When you make your own detergent you can easily turn it into a liquid detergent by adding boiling water…and a LOT of it! So essentially what you are doing is watering down your detergent. Not only that but it’s more work! Also it takes up much more space! You will probably want to mix a large batch which will need about a 5 gallon bucket, it’s also quite heavy to move so you would need to transport your boiling water to the bucket in the laundry room.

Homemade liquid detergent doesn’t have the same consistency as store bought detergent. After you add the boiling water to the powdered blend and mix well the mixture will congeal. It’s not quite a liquid and not quite a solid. It’s a gooey watery detergent that has the consistency of runny pudding. As it sits the water will begin to separate from the soap leaving the thicker mixture to settle at the bottom. This means that there will be stirring of the detergent before each use. So for all the work involved I just don’t see the benefit.

If you have any concerns about the powdered detergent just give it a minute or two to dissolve in the washing machine before you add your clothes. No problems there! You may see some soap bits on your clothes and this would be due to the shredding of the soap bar. The finer the pieces of shredded soap in the mixture, the better. I use a simple cheese grater from the dollar store and it works great for me! No need to go out and by a food processor just for shredding soap!

For a breakdown on cost check out this post by Lynnae. One load costs about 6 cents!!!

So that’s it! Leave me a comment and share with me your experiences with homemade cleaners!!!

EcoStore USA

February 25, 2009 Product Reviews for the Home No comments

Recently I was contacted by EcoStore USA to try out some products and give some feedback on them. I jumped at the opportunity! I love the idea of using all natural, chemical free products for many reasons. I love the idea that I’m helping the environment by using less harmful chemicals, but my main reason is allergy related. I am allergic to almost everything under the sun, (lol!) and my youngest son seems to have similar allergy issues. So if I’m presented a product that is free of the chemicals that cause us to have an allergic reaction…I’m all for it!

Lyne is the VP of Operations for EcoStore USA and a Mom, so she understands the challenges we all face when trying to keep the home clean and safe for our children. She blogs about it too! They sent me 3 products to try, a Natural Citrus Spray Cleaner for the kitchen, Natural non-toxic laundry liquid, and Eco Friendly Baby Bath Wash. I’ve had these products for over 3 weeks now and I feel terrible about taking this to get this post out, but I really want to give these products a chance, which means that I need time to really use them. So Lyne, sorry this has taken so long. :-) The Natural Spray Citrus Cleaner is awesome! No exaggeration here! The smell is so pleasant that my trained nose is convinced that it can’t actually work!!! I’ve always used cleaners that leave your nose burning and your eyes watering, at least that was the case until I started making my own cleaners. My own concoction consists mostly of vinegar, it doesn’t smell great but the smell convinces me that it’s working. The Eco Store cleaner is SO MILD that I found myself spraying WAY too much just to get a stronger smell that I wrongly thought was a sign of an effective cleaner. I was wrong! A little bit of this stuff goes a long way. It cleaned the grime off my stove top with very little elbow grease. I couldn’t be happier!!!
Next up is the Laundry Liquid. When I first used it I didn’t enjoy the scent. It smells like melaleuca products. Not scented of course, but the smell was something I worried would transfer to my clothes. I was WAY wrong! I’ve been using this for 3 weeks now, about once a day. Now that I’ve gotten used to it I’m enjoying it more than ever. My clothes come out smelling very fresh and clean. I contacted Lyne about maybe adding scent to this product and the response was: “The amount of perfume required to overpower the Eucalyptus would be substantial and this may cause compatibility issues with the formulation”.I still think it would be possible to add a few drops of essential oil to the water when doing your laundry, but after consistent use I can confidently say that it’s not necessary. Also, I noticed that no where on the packaging does it say how many loads this one bottle will do so back to Lyne I went! She says that one bottle will do 27 loads. The formula is so super concentrated that using less will get you the same result. After doing about 15 loads from my bottle I’ve not even used half! I’m sure that this one bottle will last nearly 2 months! That would be 5 loads a week for 8 weeks! This product really delivers!!!

Lastly I have to share with you the Anytime Bath Baby Wash. Here’s a snippet from their website: The incredibly mild and cleansing formulation will leave your precious child’s skin soft and silky. What is good for your baby is good for the planet too. The scent is soft and mild. Just what you would expect from an all natural eco friendly product. Because there are no harsh chemicals it left my boys skin very soft. In this dry cold weather my boys usually need quite a bit of lotion following a bath, but not so with this stuff! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a cure all for dry skin, but it made a significant difference in the condition of their skin. I noticed that their knees were not “ashy” like they usually are. How great is that! No chemicals, and mild enough to be effective. Unheard of isn’t it? Not anymore.

These products are a little more pricey than what you would pay for at your local superstore, and in this economy when pinching pennies is on all of our minds, the EcoStore USA is offering products that won’t break the bank. These products will outlast the products you’re currently using due to the concentration of their formulas AND you get to do your part to help the environment. It’s a win-win situation for everyone! So head on over to the EcoStore USA and read all about their mission going green and their products. If you want to read more about Lyne check out her blog. Tell her you heard about their products from the Homemade Mom so I don’t disappoint. :-)

Oh yeah, one more thing, these products just hit the shelves in the Midwest and are available at all 185 Meijers Retailers!!! Just thought you’d want to know. :-)