Sometimes, there’s nothing quite as nice as a clean, fresh house that smells bright and lovely.

{Image via ApartmentTherapy}

However, getting there isn’t always so easy.  And with all the cleaning products available today, it’s almost impossible to choose one that doesn’t smell overly strong, is effective, affordable, and not harmful for the environment.  Well get ready for this…a whole slew of all-natural cleaning possibilities with just a handful of good, old-fashioned products.

I’ve been using these “recipes” for the last few years.  I was motivated to find an alternative all-purpose cleaner after cleaning my bathtub one day, inhaling a few too many fumes, and deciding that it just was NOT healthy to have that floating around the air in my home!  I’ve found that the biggest hurdle to using these types of cleaners was that they didn’t have that Clorox-y clean smell that we’re all used to associating with “clean.”  If you choose to try any of these recipes and encounter the same problem, try adding a drop or two of eucalyptus or tea tree oil to make it smell more fresh and bright!

Without further ado…you will need: (to clean your ENTIRE HOUSE!)
-Baking Soda
-Borax (found in your grocery store’s laundry detergent aisle
-Tea tree oil
-Lemon oil
-Lemons or lemon juice
-Toothpaste (paste, not gel; with no tartar control or whitening properties)
-Table salt
-Distilled white vinegar
-Castile Soap

Sinks/Dishes:

-Stained mugs/cups: Sprinkle salt on the outside of a lemon peel and scrub stains until gone.  Or, fill with 1 part baking soda and 2 parts water and soak overnight.  Rub and rinse!
-Stinky garbage disposal: Cut a lemon into fourths and run through the disposal with water.
-Dirty drains: Pour vinegar down drain, wait 30 minutes, flush with cold water.
-Washing dishes (by hand): Add 1 cup of vinegar to the rinse water for spotless glasses.
-Tarnished silver: Use a dab of toothpaste on the tarnish, rub with a soft cloth, rinse with water and dry.
-Dirty dishwasher: To disinfect, put 1/2 cup of vinegar into the soap dispenser and run an EMPTY cycle.  It will smell a bit funky at first but it fades within 30 minutes.
-Dirty china (including delicate pieces): Soak in a sink or pan filled with 1/2 cup borax and warm water. Rinse after soaking.
-Dirty pots/pans: Scrub with damp sponge and Borax, rinse as usual.
-Fore limescale buildup on faucets: rub lemon juice onto taps and let sit overnight. Wipe off in the morning.

Countertops

-For dirty marble: Mix 1 tablespoon Castile and 1 quart warm water.  Apply with soft cloth to surface, rinse, and dry with a clean cloth.
-To clean countertops (do NOT use on marble or other delicate stone):  Cut a lemon in half and dip in baking soda.  Rub lemon on countertop, wipe with a damp sponge, and dry.
-For grout stains, squeeze lemon juice to a teaspoon of cream of tartar, apply with a toothbrush, and rinse.

Stovetop

-Mix Castile (a few squirts of the bottle) with 2 cups of hot water.  Apply to stovetop, burners, vent hood to cut through cooking grease.

Carpets

-Sprinkle baking soda on carpets to absorb odors.  Let sit for as long as possible (1-2 hours minimum) and then vacuum.  The odor will be gone!

Floors

-Create a solution with 1/4 cup Castile and 2 gallons warm water, mop floors with solution.  For greasy floors add 1/4 cup vinegar to mixture.
-For scuffed floors, apply 3 or so drops of tea-tree oil to the scuffs, wipe oil with cloth, and rub in distilled white vinegar.

Toilets

-Add 2 teaspoons tea tree oil and 2 cups water to spray bottle; spritz along the inside of the toilet rim.  Scrub after 30 minutes of soaking.
-Pour borax into bowl and let sit overnight (make sure you keep the lid down if you have pets who drink out of the yucky toilet–borax can be toxic to animals).  Go over bowl using toilet brush in the morning and flush.  **good for rust stains

Walls/Windows

-To clean dirty walls and baseboards, use a mixture of 1/2 cup borax in 1 gallon of hot water in a spray bottle.  Spray generously on surface, wipe down with a damp cloth.  This mixture can even be saved for use again!
-Spray vinegar on moldy walls and let sit for about 15 minutes.  Rinse and let dry. Vinegar cleans mold really effectively, and even though the smell may linger for an hour or so, it will smell fresh and clean quickly thereafter!
-To wash windows, mix 1/4 cup vinegar, 2 cups water, and a squirt of liquid Castile soap in a spray bottle.  Wipe with a crumpled up sheet of newspaper, which won’t leave streaks.

Baths/Showers

-For dirty shower doors, wipe with a few drops of lemon oil twice a month to prevent buildup.
-To clean your shower, tub, and ceramic tile, create a soft scrubber  mixture of 1 tbsp. Castile and 1/3 cup baking soda.  Use sponge to apply to surfaces, scrub, and rinse.

Etc.

-Add half a cup of lemon juice to the rinse cycle to whiten whites!
-Throw 1/2 cup of Borax in with your laundry to heighten the effectiveness of your laundry soap.  It’ll also soften your laundry, eliminating the need for dryer sheets, which can be harmful for the environment.

Hope you all enjoyed these little cleaning tips! Many are incorporated from RealSimple, which may make you feel a bit more safe using them.  :)  Give them a try…you’ll soon be hooked. And with these few inexpensive ingredients (most of which you probably already have!), you can get rid of all the bottles cluttering up your cabinet.  You can even use your old spray bottles (rinse them out) to house your new earth-friendly, homemade sprays…or at least, just recycle the bottles.

Do you all have any other good tips for all-natural household cleaners?

Much love,

-B