Cleaning services, cleaning sprays, and other products can be expensive, so why not clean and make cleaning products yourself? You can keep the essentials on hand like Clorox, Glad garbage bags, paper towels, and disinfectant wipes, but everything in between can be made from natural ingredients at home! Here’s 7 natural cleaning hacks you can do to refresh and clean your home:
1. Natural air freshener
Most store-bought aerosol air freshener sprays are packed with chemicals and are bad for humans to inhale. For a natural air freshener, you mix 1 cup of water with ¼ cup of witch hazel (this will purify the water and make the solution last longer), and add 5-7 drops of your preferred essential oil. Pour into a spray bottle and shake before each use. Great essential oil scents to use include lavender, lemon, eucalyptus, and peppermint.
2. Essential oils
Essential oils are more than just relaxing scents you can diffuse into your home—however, we do recommend them as opposed to wall-plug fresheners or candles packed with chemicals! You can also use essential oils to your advantage by soaking a cotton ball or paper towel in a few drops of your favorite scent and putting it underneath the garbage bag in your can. You can also dilute basil essential oil in water to clean your grout and tile as basil is a natural antiseptic with antifungal properties.
3. Get rid of stainless steel spots
To clean stainless steel, there are many options. Wipe your stainless steel appliances down with seltzer water, or rub with oil and wipe down with a white vinegar dampened cloth, or work coconut oil into the stainless steel and simply wipe away with a clean cloth—use whatever you already have at home and what is convenient for you!
4. Yellowed clothing
If your most-worn white pieces of clothing have started yellowing at the collar, it’s totally normal—but it doesn’t have to stay. If your Clorox isn’t doing the job, try the lemon hack: dab the yellowed areas with lemon juice, leave them out to sit in the sun and bleach naturally, give them a wash, and ta-da! Your clothes will be back to a bright white.
5. Tarnished metals
If you have copper or silver in your home, there’s no doubt you have experienced some tarnishing over the years. For copper, cut a lemon into wedges, dip them into salt, and rub onto the copper—rinse when done and dry with a cloth for sparkling copper! For silver, toothpaste works wonders. Simply rub a toothpaste, not a gel (you need something with a bit of grit), onto the silver, rinse, dry, and it will look brand new.
6. DIY disinfectant spray
If you’ve reached the bottom of your disinfectant wipes and don’t want to go to the store or are simply looking for a more natural option, try this: in a spray bottle combine 2-3 lemon peels, pour in 1.5 cups of vodka, and let sit for 2-3 weeks to allow the vodka to absorb the oil from the lemon peels. Shake well before each use and simply spray your natural disinfectant and wipe with a paper towel to clean your surfaces.
7. Cast-iron pan cleaner
If you have a cast-iron pan, you know how picky they are with what you can and cannot use to clean them. If you pour a layer of salt onto the pan’s surface it works as a non-stripping scrubbing agent, just use a dish cloth or paper towel to work the food away, and rinse.
