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#FloridaBlogger | Unschooling mama | Adoption x5

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Household Cleaners I've Made

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I’ve been doing this for a long, long time, mainly as a simple way of saving money. Another benefit being that household cleaners on the market today can be harmful to your health and are not environmentally friendly. Over the years, I’ve collected a lot of information from various sources. Some of these I have tried (the glass cleaner), others I haven’t (the laundry detergent). I usually make large batches of it ahead of time and store it in empty water jugs. Before you begin, keep in mind…NEVER MIX BLEACH AND AMMONIA TOGETHER! This combination is deadly!

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ALL PURPOSE CLEANER:
½ cup ammonia
¼ cup vinegar
¼ cup baking soda
Mix the above ingredients with 1 gallon of warm water and use for basic cleaning jobs around the home.

WINDOW CLEANER
3T Ammonia
1T vinegar
Put in spray bottle and fill the rest of the way up with water.

JEWELRY CLEANER
1/4 cup ammonia
1/4 cup dishwashing liquid
3/4 cup water.
Mix all the ingredients well, then soak your jewelry in the solution for a few minutes. Clean around the stones and designs with a soft-bristle toothbrush. Buff dry. (Caution: Don’t use this with gold-plated jewelry; with soft stones such as pearls, opals, or jade; or with costume jewelry, because it could ruin the plastics or loosen the glue.)

TOILET CLEANER
1 cup borax
1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice
Combine the ingredients to make a paste. Apply it to the inside of the toilet bowl, let sit for 1 to 2 hours, and scrub.

LAUNDRY DETERGENT
In a large heavy-duty plastic container, combine 1 cup soap flakes, 1/2 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load of laundry. Use with cold and warm water washes, with cold water rinse.

FURNITURE POLISH
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white vinegar
4 cup water in spray bottle
swipe with cloth.

Essential Cleaning Oils
·* Lavender disinfectant, calming scent to ease tension and anxiety.
·*Lemon, Orange and grapefruit oils are tough degreasers with refreshing scents.
·* Eucalyptus is a disinfectant and relieves a stuffy nose.
·* Tea Tree Oil is anti-bacterial, anti viral, and anti fungal. Use as an all purpose disinfectant, especially when there is illness in the home, also eases congestion.
·* Pine oil is a degreaser and disinfectant.

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Filed Under: Home Sweet Home

About Joanne Greco

Joanne Greco is a wife, mom to five and pet mama to four cats. On her family lifestyle blog, Life With Joanne she writes about Florida living, adoption, homeschooling, family fun and more.
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Comments

  1. Joanne says

    May 11, 2012 at 10:05 pm

    Roberta – if you have a WalMart near you, try there, but your best best is online. Here’s the link to buy it on amazon: Soap Flakes

    Reply
  2. Roberta says

    May 11, 2012 at 9:37 pm

    Re: laundry detergent

    where do you find soap flakes to make homemade laundry detergent?

    Reply

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