All Natural Baby

Conversation between my husband Levi and myself via texts

He thinks he's funny. But I think I am funny so we balance each other out!

But really I have been considering for awhile to make some homemade cleaning products. We already cloth diaper and one of my reasons is I believe in doing my part to help our environment. I personally felt convicted about how much waste we produce and wanted to do something in my own life to change it. I understand that I am just one person and I will not change things by myself but I am doing my part. Nor do I look down on anyone who uses disposables. I am making my own choices due to convictions in my own heart. On top of the cloth diapers we use cloth wipes while at home. It is pretty basic, just a wipe that we wet with a witch hazel, castille soap, and water combination from a perry bottle. Super simple! We use disposable wipes when we are out!

I did some research (really I looked things up on Pinterest) on how to make homemade cleaning products. It seemed extremely simply. Most called for white vinegar, baking soda, castille soap, and essential oils to mask the white vinegar smell. My problem with the essential oils is that I don't have any and I don't have the money to buy any. My friend Courtney and I were talking about making cleaning products and she sent me a link for infusing white vinegar and not having to use the essential oils. So that was my first step! I used the peels of 3 oranges, 2 lemons, and 1 lime and also added some sage leaves. We had an old glass water dispenser that I decided to use to let the mixture sit in.

For about 4 dollars I bought a gallon of white vinegar. I placed the peels and herbs at the bottom and filled the glass container to the top! I left it sitting for about 36 hours. The blog that I read says you can do as little as 25 hours. I stored it in a cool dark place for that time. I honestly have no idea why that is just what the instructions said to do!

After a couple failed experiments with some of the recipes I found this is what I ended up with!
Descriptions and suggestions can be found below.

Toilet bowl cleaner- I used baking soda, infused vinegar, castille soap, distilled water. 

I am not sure how I feel about this one. The baking soda kept sinking to the bottom and when I tried to get it in the toilet bowl only the vinegar came out. I may remake the solution w/out the baking soda and sprinkle the baking soda in the bowl and then spray it with the solution. That is what I ended up doing with the shower spray...

Shower Spray-After I made this one I figured out it was literally the same as the all purpose cleaner...whoops! haha

It was a simple equal parts white vinegar and distilled water with a few drops of tea try oil. I found that after spraying the shower and tub and letting it sit, it didn't get the scum out. Even when I scrubbed. So I sprinkled baking soda in the tub (much like you would comet) and then sprayed it with the solution. I let it sit for a few minutes and it worked great! 

All Purpose Cleaner-as I mentioned above this solution is the same as the shower. I used it to mop the lament floors. I put hot water in the sink with about 1/3 cup of the cleaner and wet the mop. I mop my floors in sections. So I mopped one part and rinsed out the mop in the empty side of the sink and then soaked it again in my solution. It worked great! Below is a before and after picture of the floor. 

Window Cleaner-white vinegar and water! I sprayed on the mirrors and wiped it down with a micro fiber cloth and it did the job! I was skeptical but it worked great! 

Disinfectant Spray-Rubbing alcohol, infused vinegar and water. 

I forgot to mention that you are suppose to strain the peels from the white vinegar. What I did was used the nozzle to drain the liquid into a different container. No straining involved for me. 

Overall I am glad I made the switch. I will have to try something different with the toilet bowl cleaner or just do what I did for the shower. 

I only spent 10 dollars on all of this because I had all the other ingredients at home! I was able to buy the spray bottles from the dollar store. They are a little flimsy but will get the job down until I can afford some glass bottles. 

This is my first time blogging about how I made something. If it is a little confusing bare with me. I am learning something new! 

Link to infusing white vinegar-https://brendid.com/how-to-make-scented-vinegar-for-cleaning/

Link to cleaning solutions (I just skipped the essential oil steps)- https://blog.paleohacks.com/natural-cleaning-products/