DIY Cleaning Supplies for Around the House

Posted on Dec 1 2016 - 12:48pm by Mary G.

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Since we’ve already talked about DIY cleaning supplies for the kitchen and bathroom as well as DIY supplies to survive laundry day, it’s time to wrap up the rest of the house! Not only does making your own cleaning supplies help to keep your home all-natural, it’s insanely cost effective.

Glass Cleaner

  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
  • 2 cups hot water
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • A spray bottle

I consider myself a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to cleaning, so its no surprise that I am picky when it comes to glass cleaner. I’ve decided this one is good enough for me, it must be the cornstarch as a secret ingredient!

I definitely recommend adding your cornstarch to hot water first so it doesn’t end up chunky, but for a detailed breakdown of the steps AND the cost of the cleaner, check out Crunchy Betty‘s page.

Carpet Stain Remover

  • 1 cup vinegar
  • 2 cups warm water
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 15 drops of essential oil – Make sure it’s a clear oil
  • Storage container

I have to keep carpet stain remover handy to keep up with my accident-prone self and my pets. This does pretty well on fresh stains, but for super dark liquids like red wine or grape juice, I recommend soaking the spill in salt and running over it with a vacuum first.

**You can easily make a dry cleaner by combining 25 drops of essential oils with baking soda. This is great to quickly freshen up your house, but you can leave it on stains overnight, too!

Furniture Polish

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 10-15 drops lemon essential oil
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • Plastic storage container

I hate the smell of store-bought furniture polish, and its not very cheap if you want good quality! A lot of homemade polishes are oil-heavy, which I think leaves a film on my furniture, so I opt for more lemon oil and lemon juice instead. You can experiment a little bit with this mixture until you find the perfect blend, but make sure you don’t add more than the 1/4 cup of vinegar.

Air Freshener

  • 3 tbsp of fabric softener (your own mixture will do)
  • 2 tbsp baking soda
  • Warm water
  • Large spray bottle

Like the cornstarch in the glass cleaner, you’ll probably want to add the baking soda to warm water first. Other than that it’s simple, just add the fabric softener and fill the rest up with warm water, mix, and enjoy! Your fabric softener should have some fragrance to it, but if you’d like a more potent smell you can definitely add more essential oils. And you can add some vinegar to make this a great wrinkle release spray!

These are just a few extra cleaning supplies that I make at home to save money! The air freshener may have been my biggest lifesaver, as I’ve been known to overspend on candles and scentsys— I’m a sucker for a great smelling house!

By now you can see that making your own cleaning supplies has lots of overlapping ingredients, which makes it extra cheap. Plus, now is the perfect time to start— just make double batches and gift the extra supplies!

How do you save money while keeping the house clean? Share with me in the comments below!

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