Natural Cleaning Recipes

Okay... so those of you who know me realize that I am not exactly on the "go green" bus, but since I was a wee lass I have loved all things natural. Mom and Daddy always took me to the local health food store as a kid and I would marvel at all of the vitamins, oils and other purely good for you stuff lining the shelves of Grace's store. I liked going there better than McDonald's!

With that spirit in mind, I would like to share some natural household cleaning and care recipes with you. I got most of them off of Amy Bayliss' site http://amybayliss.com/ and everything I have made seems to work nicely and is just pennies to make, usually, and is so much better for our health. No more nasty chemicals!

I will try to post one or two recipes at a time. I hope this helps some of you save time and money and keeps you all healthier and happier. Enjoy!

I got this great apothecary jar for around $10.00 at WalMart!

Homemade Laundry Detergent Powder

What you’ll need:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda (This is NOT baking soda, it’s found in the laundry aisle. I found it at WalMart right next to the Borax.)
1 1/2 cups Purex Crystals (optional) or scent with 30-50 drops Essential oils of your choice
1 bar of Soap – Fels Naptha laundry soap, Ivory or other soap, as long as it is not a moisturizing or “beauty“ bar ( I used my homemade soap!)
Box Grater or food processor ( this is much easier)
essential oil (optional)
1 wide mouth container
1 tablespoon or small tbsp scoop

Directions:

1. Grate the soap. I use the medium grade side.You can use the smallest grade if you want, but it takes longer. Or cut soap into smaller chunks and huck in food processor with grater and chop attachments.

2. Pour all dry ingredients into food processor with soap. Mix together until blended. Let dust settle in processor with lid on so you don’t breathe it in. After dust settles pout into container of choice. (I used my empty Purex Crystals Bottle with the label taqaken off and it was the perfect size for the batch and it has measurements in the lid.) This makes about 3.5 cups of detergent, BUT you don’t need to use as much as you would if you were using conventional detergent. You could always double or triple this recipe if you want.

How to use:
Small loads – use 1 tablespoon of powder per loads (or first line of Purex cap) Normal loads – 2 tbsps (second line on cap)
Heavy loads – 3 tbsps (third line on cap)

This soap powder does NOT gets very sudsy because there are no sulfates in it and it is safe for HE washers. Don’t worry, your clothes are getting clean. My sheets come out so much cleaner using this detergent. NOTE: If you make a double batch, if using the food processor, only blend one batch at a time. It can bog down your machine if you blend too much.

Natural Dryer Sheet and Fabric Softener

Recipe:

1 part Vinegar
1 part Baking Soda
2 parts Hot Water

Place a pail large enough to hold double the amount of ingredients in the kitchen sink or bathtub. Mix the baking soda and water in the pail, stir till the powder is dissolved. Then add the vinegar.
Remember that baking soda and vinegar reacts with fizzing, so use a big pail to account for this. Once it’s stopped fizzing, pour into clean bottles, cap, then use 1/4 cup per rinse cycle.
Updated Info: The baking soda won’t be completely dissolved, just shake the bottle to mix the batch up before adding to the rinse cycle.Scented Version:


Ingredients:

1 cup baking soda
1 1/4 cups warm water
8 cups white vinegar
Essential Oils

Directions:
First mix the vinegar and water together then add the baking soda gradually, stirring the whole time. You will want to make sure to use a large pail to accommodate the fizzing activity from the baking soda and vinegar reaction.
Use a funnel to pour this mixture into a washed, gallon sized milk jug (plastic), add 1/3 teaspoon of your favorite essential oil, cap and seal then shake well.
To use: Shake each time before use, adding 1/2 to 1 cup at the start of the rinse cycle.

For essential oil ideas, consider germ fighting gems like Eucalyptus or Tea Tree. If scent is what you’re after, consider lavender or even citrus favorites like orange or lemon.

Reusable Dryer Sheets To Make

(my favorite)

You will need:

Flannel pieces, old t-shirts or sheets work, too
4 TBS liquid softener
10 TBS water

Cut fabric sheets from old flannel pajamas or leftover flannel fabric from sewing and cut into 3″ x 5″ strips (approximately).
Stack flannel strips in a cleaned margarine tub (large size) or plastic container (cleaned baby wipes container works well too). Mix the liquid softener and water together, then pour evenly over top of stacked flannel strips.
Seal container and shake well.

You can use several dozen strips with this mixture. Leave sealed for 2 or 3 days, then use one flannel strip per load–squeeze out excess if necessary (it should be just damp). Keep container sealed at all times.

I made a version of these with the fabric softener only and it seems to work just fine. Simply add liquid to container and shake when sealed. I then hung them to dry. This version can be used 12-24 times before re-soaking.

*Thanks to Savvy Brown, Amy Bayliss and the others whose blogs/sites I pulled from. If your name is not mentioned here, contact me and I will be glad to. I researched way too many places to keep track!