Homemade Household Products

Years ago, my mom gave me recipes on how to make my own household cleaners....little did I know that I would still be using them today! Here are a few easy cleaners that are great to have around. (Oh, and they're cheap too!)

Let's start with the basics. The following is a list of items that I ALWAYS have in stock at our home. These few items can be used for a variety of applications and they are inexpensive too.

1. Vinegar

2. Ammonia (I buy the clear ammonia for making my products, but any kind will do.)

3. Rubbing Alcohol

4. Dishwashing Detergent

5. Baking Soda

6. Newspapers

A list of other uses for vinegar can be found here on my vinegar post. Enjoy!

All-Purpose Cleaner

1 c. Vinegar

1/2 c. Ammonia

1 c. Rubbing Alcohol

1 tsp. Dish Soap

1/2 tsp. lemon essential oil (optional)

2 drops of food coloring (optional)

1 gallon jug

Place all ingredients in a one-gallon jug. Swish jug to mix. Slowly fill the jug up with water. Place cap on tightly. Use in a spray bottle. Works great on countertops, floors, walls, stoves and more!

Window Cleaner

1/2 c. Ammonia

1 c. Vinegar

1/2 c. Rubbing Alcohol

2 drops of food coloring (optional)

1 gallon jug

Place ingredients in jug. Swish to mix. Fill jug up with water. Place in a spray bottle. I use newspapers to dry my windows with. They work great and they are lint-free. This recipe will leave your windows nice and shiny!

Labels: We are without a working printer in our house right now, so I just wrote the ingredients on a post-it note and taped it to the jug. A fun, computer-generated label looks MUCH nicer than my post-it notes! LOL.

Dust Cloths

1 pint of hot water

1/4 cup of lemon oil

Lint-free rags

Mix water and oil in a small dish. Dip rags into the solution. Remove the rags and let air dry. Store in a tightly covered container.

Oven Cleaner

Pour 1/2 cup of ammonia into a small bowl and place in over overnight. In the morning, wipe off grease with a rag or paper towel.

TIPS: Always label your container with the ingredients. I write out the recipe and tape it to the side of the jug. This way, if accidental ingestion were to happen, Poison Control would know exactly what was in it and how much. ALWAYS keep cleaners out of the reach of children.