Today’s topic: Thrifty Tried and True Home cleaning recipes

First and foremost, as a Thrifty Homemade cleaner Mom, there are a few things you must always have on hand. They are; White Vinegar, Baking Soda, Peroxide, Lemons or lemon juice (I prefer the fresh but juice is usually fine too) and rubbing Alcohol. Some other things that are good to have on hand for these recipes are olive oil, non-suds ammonia, Tea tree oil, Essential oil (I, personally, like lavender), Vegetable glycerin, liquid castile soap, Ivory Soap Flakes and Borax. If you have ALL of these ingredients, you can clean your home with effective, non-toxic, economic cleaners. Make sure to visit the dollar store for lots of $1 spray bottles!

My favorite all-purpose cleaner is a simple mixture of 1 part vinegar and 1 part water. I use this cleaner for almost everything on a daily basis. I use it to clean our table after dinner, to wipe the counters in between “sanitizing” cleans, to wipe up spills made by my children, to wipe finger prints off of random things, to clean the refrigerator, to clean the faucets in the bathrooms and the kitchen, among hundreds of other daily uses. Put a couple tablespoons of lemon juice in for a better smelling cleaner.

Vinegar is the most commonly used cleaning supply I have. Check out http://www.vinegartips.com/scripts/pageViewSec.asp?id=7 for 1001 uses for vinegar. There are some wonderfully clever uses for my go-to cleaner!

A new cleaner I have just recently tried is a furniture polish made of olive oil and lemon juice. I’m told baby oil also works. We might try that next. Mix ½ cup olive oil with ½ cup lemon juice. Mix well. Apply to cloth and polish furniture. I’m also betting the essential oil (if you have it) would actually mix with the oil better. My wood looks wonderful after using this polish!

Here are a few other recipes we’ve used:

Every Day Glass Cleaner
1 cup rubbing alcohol
1 cup water
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Spring Cleaning Glass Cleaner
1 cup rubbing alcohol
1 cup water
1 tablespoon clear, non-suds ammonia

Strong All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe
1 tablespoon clear, non-suds ammonia
1 tablespoon clear laundry detergent
2 cups water

Deodorizers
Use baking soda here, there, and everywhere -- down the drain, on baby spit-up, in diaper pails, refrigerators, cat litter and the kitchen sponge. It's easy and simple.

Toilet Cleaner
Make a paste of borax and lemon oil. Make sure paste is not too runny. Brush around rim of toilet bowl, let sit 2 hours. Scrub and Rinse.

This week we are trying a homemade dish detergent. This is normally one of my “only buy brand name” items… so if this works, it would save us a lot of money. If you are interested in trying it yourself before I review it, the recipe is as follows: 1 cup Borax, 1 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup kosher salt. Use one tbsp for pre-wash and wash, and use vinegar in the rinse dispenser.

Don’t use these cleaners with paper towels. Buy some cheap hand towels. I, personally, like the micro fleece towels in Walmart’s auto section. They work wonderfully and are pretty cheap. Just use and throw in the wash.

More tomorrow on household re-usable products.