Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner

I've been wanting to experiment with homemade household cleaners for a while now. Not only are they non-toxic and safe for you and your family, but they are usually cheaper and often work better than the commercial stuff! I finally found a great company, doTERRA, who would send me free samples of their essential oils (www.trydoterra.com) so I could try them before I purchase them. I received my samples in the mail today of lavender and lemon grass essential oils. Both of these oils can be used in homemade cleaning products because they add a great natural fragrance and mask the smell of using vinegar.

The first thing I made with the lemon grass essential oil was a natural all-purpose cleaner recipe that I found online (http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/171/1/All-purpose-green-cleaner.html). You take a spray bottle and fill it half with water and half with distilled white vinegar. Add 2-3 drops of natural dish soap (I used the Seventh Generation dish soap that I recently purchased). Add several drops of lemon grass oil and shake the contents. The article says you can use in on granite, mirrors, windows, porcelain in the bathroom, etc. There are also a number of comments and reviews. I was really worried that it would smell like vinegar, but the essential oil is the key. You don't have to use lemon grass oil...a lot of reviews said people used tea tree oil, lavender, rosemary, etc. I read, however, that lemon grass oil has antibacterial properties and I like the smell of lemon, so I figured it was a win-win for cleaning.

I wiped granite with micro-fiber cloth to get dust off.

Left no streaks!

The first thing I cleaned was my granite counter tops. There was really no vinegar smell and the lemon grass smell was very pleasant. I wiped my counters dry and there was no residue or streaks. I've read that once vinegar dries and evaporates, the smell goes away. I also tried the all-purpose spray on the toilet seat in the bathroom. It, too, had no vinegar smell and only the lemon grass smell was present. I also cleaned the inside of the sink. I was reading some of the reviews and one woman said that she sprinkles baking soda on her stove top and sprays it with the all-purpose spray and it is really easy to clean. I tried this on my stove top and was pretty amazed at how well it cleaned!

Baking soda sprinkled on my stove top.

I sprinkled extra baking soda in tough to clean spots.

Scrubbed in circular motions with an old sponge.

I wiped it clean with the sponge.

Had to be sure to get off all the baking soda.

I sprayed streaks with extra cleaner and wiped with towel.

My stove top sparkled once it was wiped clean.

Clean stove top! : )

I used an old towel so I wouldn't waste paper towels, which is good for my budget and better for the environment! I can just toss it in the wash when it needs to be cleaned and don't have to worry about chemicals getting onto my other household towels!

I also cleaned my glass patio doors with this all-purpose cleaner and was literally AMAZED at how clean it got them! I have two dogs who always bark out the windows and there's dog slobber everywhere. When I used to clean the windows with Windex cleaner and paper towel, I would have to really scrub and put some muscle into it. It would feel slimy as I would go over it and I would really have to scrub until it squeaked to finally make the window completely clean. Plus, the chemical smells got to be unbearable as I would sit there and rub the window. I literally just sprayed this all-purpose spray on, wiped it with the towel and barely had to scrub and the windows were completely slobber-free and streak-free! Plus, I don't have to worry about my dogs going over there and licking the glass or anything (sometimes they chase flies and chomp at the window - lol). I'm definitely going to use this on my patio doors a few times a week!

This is the before picture. 

This is the after picture.

I am definitely happy that I took this step to start making my own cleaners. I am putting together my new "green cleaning" caddy to take around the house.

The preliminary stages of my "green cleaning" caddy!

You should definitely give this home made all-purpose cleaner a try! I am loving the smell of lemon grass oil in my kitchen. It smells so fresh and very clean! I'd love to know what you think!

- Ashley