Easy Homemade Household Cleaner Recipes
Spring is in the air and I don’t know about you but it makes me want to freshen up my whole house.
While I try to keep up with my household deep cleaning all year I do enjoy cleaning more when the sun is shining and the windows are open - it’s just inspiring!
If you are feeling the same and want to do some deep cleaning but also don’t want to spend money on extra cleaning products or if you are looking for more natural ways of cleaning your home I have some quick and easy recipes for you that you can make at home with products you probably already have.
Cleaning products were actually the way I was introduced to and fell in love with essential oils. First I love versatility. I’m a bit of a minimalist and I love things that are multi use. So when I discovered that essential oils were not only beautiful fragrances but also effective disinfectants I was sold! I was already becoming aware of safety issues with chemical cleaning agents and I dove into this new way of cleaning my home with no looking back. Then I discovered that this method of cleaning also saved me money and minimized the amount of cleaning products I needed it was a done deal for me. If you love and use essential oils already, like me you can add them to these cleaning solutions for even more cleansing and freshening power than the base recipe.
Today I don’t buy cleaning products outside of this On Guard cleaner concentrate and I use it throughout my whole house every week. (One bottle lasts me an entire year!) So I love it for convenience but I also make my own solutions for dusting spray, glass cleaner, tub & tile cleaner, and more! I’ll also provide a recipe for you for a simple all purpose cleaner if you don’t have the OnGuard concentrate on hand and want a natural alternative. At first glance you may think you don’t have time to make your own cleaning products and would rather just buy something, but I can assure you that it takes little to no time to make your own, it’s a great place to save money in your budget and natural products also are better for your health, your kids and pets health too.
When I was younger I grew up with a Bohemian grandma that used nothing but vinegar and water to clean her whole house. She was depression era and they learned to do things simply and inexpensively. So when I had my own family I did know that was an option, but honestly I don’t love the smell of vinegar in my cleaning products so I try to avoid that ingredient in my own solutions when I can. (Although it works amazing and many people love it - so if you like it definitely use it). Instead, I will often substitute either rubbing alcohol or vodka for vinegar because alcohol also disinfects & deodorizes but the smell isn’t as strong.
Why Consider Essential Oils for Cleaning?
I am one of those people who needs my cleaning products to smell good - it’s part of the clean feeling and the satisfaction piece of cleaning so it was important to me from the beginning to make cleaning products that not only worked but helped me to enjoy the cleaning process by smelling amazing. Essential oils tick both of the boxes for me when it comes to cleaning - they smell incredible and they are amazing cleansing agents - often proven to be even better than the commercial products I use to use, but without the toxic ingredients.
You may not be aware of the potency of essential oils to clean and disinfect so here’s some quick info:
Citrus oils: Lemon, Grapefruit & Orange are traditionally used in cleaning products because of their disinfecting, grease & grime cutting, and fresh scent. These are often also used for cleaning and conditioning wood.
Tree Oils: These have antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial properties. Try Tea Tree, Firs, Eucalyptus (caution not great around pets), Cedarwood.
Mint Oils: Peppermint, These are antiseptic, antimicrobial, and mood boosting. Try adding peppermint essential oil for cleaning especially in bathrooms! It will disinfect and freshen at the same time.
Herbs & Spices: These are antibacterial. Try Clove, Thyme, Oregano (better in a premade blend like On Guard because it’s very strong), Rosemary, Lavender. They add some of the highest disinfecting power to your solutions along with fresh herbal aromas.
So here you go! Now is the fun part! Just little by little give these a try as you run out of your traditional items and when you find something you love I suggest keeping the recipe in the notes section of your phone so you have it for refills. Part of this process is also the fun of it. Play with these mixtures until you find what you love and you will have your own unique creations that give your home your own personality. Enjoy!
A quick note on citrus essential oils: because of the nature and potency of citrus essential oils it’s important that you don’t store them in plastic bottles as they will disintegrate the plastic and that can mix into your solution. So use glass spray bottles when you use citrus essential oils.
For all solutions shake to mix before each new use
All Purpose Cleaner 3 Ways:
In an 8oz glass bottle
1/4c Vodka, Rubbing Alcohol or Vinegar
10 drops essential oil of your choice
Fill bottle with distilled or filtered water
OR
If you prefer a cleaner a little bit more soapy solution you can substitute the vodka, alcohol or vinegar with 1/Tbsp either a castile soap, or dish soap. It’s important to never mix castile with vinegar because it will ruin the solution. So pick either or.
Some of my favorite essential oil combinations to add to boost cleansing and disinfecting:
5 drops Lemon / 5 drops Rosemary
5 drops Wild Orange / 5 drops Peppermint (Favorite Bathroom Blend)
5 drops Tea Tree / 5 drops Grapefruit
5 drops On Guard Immunity Blend / 5 drops Eucalyptus
OR
1/2 Tablespoon On Guard Cleaner concentrate mixed with 8oz water (you can also add any mixture of essential oils to this if you want to add freshness - I use any of the above!)
Glass Cleaner
In a 16 oz glass bottle
1c rubbing alcohol
1T white vinegar
10 drops lemon essential oil
Fill the rest of the bottle with distilled water
Tub & Tile Cleaner
In a 16 oz glass spray bottle
1T On Guard Cleaner Concentrate or dish soap (don’t use castile soap with vinegar)
1/2 c vinegar, vodka or rubbing alcohol
1/2c hydrogen peroxide
10 drops tea tree essential oil
10 drops lemon essential oil
Fill the remainder of the bottle with distilled water
Multi Surface Dust Spray
In 8oz bottle
2 T castile soap (I used the eucalyptus scent)
1/3 cup vodka or rubbing alcohol
15 drops each doTERRA Balance & lavender essential oils (or 30 drops of your favs)
Fill the rest of the bottle with distilled water
Mix well and store in a spray bottle
Wood Polish
In a 16oz bottle
1c olive oil
1c white vinegar
15 drops of arborvitae or cedar wood essential oil
15 drops lemon essential oil
Mix well before each use & test in an inconspicuous place on wood furniture before using
Steam Mop
I steam mop my tile floors and I always add 5 drops of lemon and rosemary essential oils to both sides of the mop before I begin.
Easy Microwave Cleaning Hack
In a microwave safe glass dish add 1 cup of water and 3 drops of lemon essential oil. Heat the water in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes and let it sit in the microwave for another 2-5 minutes.
Remove the cup with essential oil and with a warm wet rag or sponge wipe out the microwave. It will all wipe easily away and your microwave will be clean and fresh. Pour the water with lemon oil down your disposal sink to add a boost of freshness there or add the water to your sink with warm soapy water to wash the glass turntable down.
There you go! I hope you try and love these recipes and get in the rhythm of simple cleaning. If you want to try essential oils and need some help feel free to contact me! I have also put together a beginners cleaning kit for you. Just click the link to check it out and begin your essential oil journey with me!