More Homemade Household Cleaners

So we've talked about Homemade Laundry Soap and Making Your Own Foam Soap, so I thought I'd mention a few other cheap and easy ways to make your own household cleaners.

For mirrors and windows, I use the following:

1 cup rubbing alcohol

1 cup water

1 T vinegar

Mix ingredients into empty spray bottle.

That's it.

And I really like it. It doesn't streak and it cleans really well. Rubbing alcohol is a great sterilizer and vinegar disinfects and deodorizes as well as removed mildew and grease.

Speaking of grease, one great way to clean greasy areas of your home, like a stove top, is by using 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup vinegar. The soda not only deodorizes, but it works as a mild abrasive that helps when scrubbing a surface without scratching. This combination will leave a white residue, but can be wiped off with a damp cloth.

One more: Wood Polish!

Mix 1/4 cup lemon juice and a few drops of olive oil.

Apply onto wood with soft cloth.

Love using this on my piano. It makes it shine and it smells yummy too!

For more information and recipes, click HERE to see my handout.

72-hour kit: Clothing

As far as clothing goes this is what I recommend for EACH family member:

1 shirt
1 pair of jeans (I use old, holey ones)
1 pair socks
1 pair of underwear (or 12-16 diapers for baby...and don't forget wipes!)
1 sweater
1 pair shoes

You can get clothing from your local thrift store. I save ALL my boys' clothes, so most of the stuff is used from their older brother. For my daughter, I have some pajamas that are the size bigger than she is currently in.

In the image above, I had all the clothing in a large, rolling suitcase. Since I took that photo, I have made separate kits for each member of the family. Do what works for you.

I also have a set of clothing in the car for each of my children, as well as a bunch of diapers and wipes. There have been MANY times that I have needed a new pair of underwear and pants for one of my kids who got in mud or had an accident while at a friend's house or even out doing errands.


While you're thinking of clothing for you 72-hour kits, you may want to consider the following items as well:

Ponchos
Blankets
Work gloves
Hats

This is Step 3 on the PLAN 9 pamphlet put together by the Southwest Utah Public Health Department.

Previous Steps...
Step 2: Food
Step 1: Water

Homemade laundry soap

For the last TWO years, I have not bought laundry soap. I make my own. It is easy, it's fun (in a nerdy way) and it's CHEAP!

Here's the "recipe" I use:

 

 

 

Homemade Laundry Soap

1 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated       

1/2 to 1 cup washing soda*            

1/2 to 1 cup Borax

5 gallons water

5 gallon bucket and lid

 

Boil 4 cups water. Turn to medium heat. Add grated soap til all soap is melted. In the meantime, fill 5 gallon bucket half full with hot tap water.

 

 

Add washing soda and Borax to water. When soap mixture is melted, add to water as well.

Fill rest of bucket with hot tap water and let sit for 24 hours, covered, before using.

 

 

Use 1/2 cup- 1 cup of soap for a regular load of laundry.

*Washing soda and baking soda are different, but baking soda is cheaper. To convert baking soda into washing soda, bake baking soda at 250 degrees for 1 hour.

 

 

EASY, right???

Here's some more info and photos...

 

Fels Naptha is a bar of soap that can be found with the stain removers.

Borax is a natural cleaner that can also be found at the store with the stain removers.

 

Grated Fels Naptha (looks like cheese!) and box of Borax.

4 cups water with grated soap...

 

 

 Baking soda turning into washing soda....

TA DA!

 

 

 

 

You can use the soap straight from the bucket, you funnel it into old liquid detergent bottle.

 

Some recipes say to dilute the mixture with water and then use it. I just use a little less of the undiluted soap.

 

For normal cleaning, I use about 1/2 cup of soap for a load. For rags or other dirtier loads, I use from 1 cup to 1  1/2 cups of soap.

I do A LOT of laundry, at least 10 loads a week, and a 5 gallon bucket of soap lasts me about 3 months. I figured that without the initial cost of the bucket and lid, spend $12 a year on laundry soap.

 

FOR REAL!

And I really like it.

I have had several friends try it and they don't like that there is no scent to it. I just use nice smelling drying sheets and that's enough for me.

3-month supply: Cleaning supplies

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

 

Let's talk about a 3-month supply of CLEANING SUPPLIES!!

 

OK, first of all...why store extra cleaning supplies? If you remember my post from earlier this year titled, "Why I Prepare," you'll have the answers.

 

Here's a summary. With food, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, etc., it is always CONVENIENT to have extras on hand. Even someone who plans ahead might reach for the window cleaner and find that it's almost gone. I don't know about you, but I don't go to the store for ONE product. I try to wait until I absolutely HAVE to go. But because I have extras on hand, most of the time that works out for me.

 

Also, you cannot plan for a natural disaster or economic hardship to come along. If you stock up on cleaners that you use most commonly and have a month of unexpected expenses, you may not have to worry about spending precious resources on a box of laundry soap.

 

A personal example with convenience as well as something unexpected: A while back, our church building was vandalized. There was paint and other things all over the walls in the hallway as well as in many of the rooms. The damage was pretty extensive. Several members of our church were asked or volunteered to go in and do some initial cleaning before the professionals came in to clean, repair and replace. With little kids at home, I wasn't able to help, but a friend who was helping there called and asked if I happened to have any if those cleaning pads that "erase" marks on walls. I had 3 or 4 from a box I had purchased on Amazon, so I was able to contribute those to the clean-up effort. It wasn't inconvenient for me to give my extras away and no one had to run to the store to grab some.

 

In addition, if you watch sales, you can purchase several of one product at a lower cost than going out and buying the product every month.

 

So WHAT kind of products should you store?? Every household will be different, depending on the preferences of those doing the cleaning. Here's my list:

 

Laundry soap*

Stain removers, dryer sheets, and other laundry items

Glass cleaner*

All-purpose cleaner

Toilet bowl cleaner

Disinfectant wipes

Dish soap

Dishwasher detergent

Bleach

Vinegar

Rubbing Alcohol

 

*You may want to make your own cleaners, so you would need to store the products necessary to make them. I will post more about homemade cleaners soon.

 

Once you have determined WHAT you want to store, you can decided HOW MUCH of each items to store. The best way to get started is to simply have ONE extra of each item. From there, you may find that you need more than that for a 3-month time period.

 

Remember, keep it simple! Do what works for you.