Maybe, it’s just me who is a complete sucker for cleaning stuff, but I suspect I’m not alone … go on, I challenge you, count all the products you’ve got … hmmm, I thought so 😉
I guess we fall for these products because most of us suck at cleaning.
But, something had to change and I have SLASHED the 25 right down.
AND what a result!!!
With the help of 7 low cost natural cleaning products I cut out 20 other products!!
That’s a whole load of money AND space saved.
So here’s my take on what you do and don’t need and how to combine the 7 super essentials easily to tackle just about EVERY cleaning job in the house.
7 Essential Natural Cleaning Products
These seven are my war horses that let me declutter AND save money!
- White Vinegar (UK)
- Baking Soda / Bicarbonate of Soda
- Cream of Tartar
- Salt
- Citric Acid (UK)
- Hydrogen Peroxide (UK)
- Micro Fibre Cloths (UK)
If you can’t find them locally in bulk, you can get them on Amazon.
If you haven’t used micro fibre cloths before I totally recommend e-Cloths – they clean … AND kill bacteria … super quickly with just water.
Which means you’ll save even MORE money in the long run!
What You Need for Each Cleaning Job
| Cleaning Product | Keep? | Replace With |
| Anti-Bacterial Spray | N | Micro-fibre cloths, vinegar, hot soapy water |
| Cream Cleaner | N | Paste of baking soda & water |
| Lime Scale Remover | N | Vinegar, lemon juice |
| Oven Cleaner | N | Baking soda or cream of tartar & water, mix to paste + leave overnight Scrape off with spatula. Then wipe with microfibre |
| Stove Cleaner | N | Micro fibre stove scrubber Or paste of cream of tartar & water |
| Wood Polish Spray | N | Equal parts olive oil & water with squeeze of lemon |
| Dusting Spray | N | 1/2 tspoon olive oil, 1 cup vinegar, 3 cups of water |
| Floor Soap | N | Equal parts white vinegar & warm water |
| Quick Floor Cleaner | N | Micro-fibre mop |
| Glass & Mirror Cleaner | N | Vinegar & micro fibre cloth |
| Clothes Detergent | Y |
You can make your own from grated soap, washing soda, baking soda, salt & citric acid … the fab Jessi from Practically Functional has a recipe. I am just not there yet … |
| Fabric Conditioner | Y |
Vinegar in the rinse cycle. Or half a cup of a solution 6 parts vinegar to 1 part baking soda. I am still using fabric conditioner but very, very little per wash & everything is much less crusty!! |
| Stain Removers | N | A stain removal kit of dish washing liquid, baking soda, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and surgical spirit (or vodka!) will tackle almost all stains |
| Toilet Cleaner | N | 1/4 of a cup of citric acid & same of baking soda |
| Dish Washing Liquid | Y |
Hot soapy water is brilliant for getting rid of all sorts of germs. And dish washing liquid is great on stains. But check the chemicals in your brand … Google them … and you might want to go greener. Eco Me gets the highest A rating from the Environmental Working Group |
| Dish Washer Tablets | Y |
You can replace with a mixture of 1 cup of washing soda and 1/4 cups of citric acid & coarse salt as per this recipe from My Healthy Green Family Make your own washing soda by baking a baking tray of baking soda at 400f / 200c |
| Rinse Aid | N | Put vinegar in the rinse compartment |
| Anti-bacterial soap | Y |
Yes you need to buy soap but it doesn’t need to be anti-bacterial. Ordinary soap just as effective. Unnecessary use of anti-bacterial soap may contribute to rise of super bugs. |
| Anti-bacterial gel | Y | As a mum, I think you need this when you’re out + a long way from soap + water. Accidents happen!! |
| Hand stain remover | N | Get dried paint off your hands by rubbing them with oil, lots of hand lotion or butter (!) + wash well. |
| Drain Unblocker | N | 1/2 cup of baking soda followed by cups of vinegar & hot water. Leave then rinse with boiling water |
| De-scaler | N | Boil 3/4 full kettle. Add 1/5 cup of citric acid. When stops bubbling rinse thoroughly with cold water. |
| Ant powder | N | Boiling water on nest. Vinegar. Baking soda. |
| Fly & wasp spray | N | Spray with hot water and dish soap |
| Moth sachets | N | Sachets of dried mint, rosemary, lavender & cloves will repel moths |
| Grout Cleaner | N | Solution of 2 parts water to 1 part hydrogen peroxide sprayed on & scrubbed with tooth brush |
I do hope this helps you cut down on your cleaning clutter.
What an awesome list! Thanks so much for sharing!
Tenns @ New Mama Diaries
I just can’t believe I spent so much money all those years!
What a great round up of cleaning supplies! This is interesting information…now I want to go count how many I have!
Thanks for sharing at our Weekend Wind-Down Party! =)
Just want to let you know that I am featuring this link on our Weekend Wind-Down party Friday night at 6pm! I hope you’ll come grab our feature button and link up some new posts. =)
What a great list and once again thanks for sharing it with us at #WWDParty.
Great info I need to clean my oven soon and you just saved me from those breath stealing fumes. Thanks for sharing!
Certainly worth noting! It’s easy to be confused with what to start with in cleaning; different products and appliance jockeying for your attention with its guaranteed stainless and ‘100%’s. It’s important to know the fundamentals with their respective purpose, far as these are concerned, then upgrade from there.
Leonard Brush & Chemical
Thanks for sharing such wonderful information. I’ve pinned it! 🙂
Blessings,
Kim @ Curtain Queen Creates
Alice, this is such a great list- and I LOVE the substitution chart you provided! Thank you for sharing this at Treasure Box Tuesday- pinning! 🙂
Great resource! We love making a lot of our own cleaners here at home. If you are ever looking for another linky, we’d love to have you over at Tuesday Greens! Thanks for sharing all of this and have a great week! http://www.craftygardenmama.com
What an awesome list Alice…I really need to start cleaning in a more natural way! Thank you so much for sharing with us at Best of the Weekend. Pinned to our party board! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this on MMM link up this week! This is such a great list!! I am printing it out so I can remember all of them! I shared this today on Adventures in Mindful Livings FB page and my own personal one.Have a great week!
YES! Thank you for sharing these wonderful cleaners. I plan to use some of these very soon.
very informative. thank you. do you have this chart in a printable form, per chance? thank you
These are great frugal tips, along with being better for you! Thank you for linking to the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party. Hope to see you next week.
What a great idea for a post! I am going to have to bookmark this one 🙂 Thank you for linking to PoCoLo x
Those are some great ways to use those 7 items, and I hadn’t heard of a few of them. Thank you for sharing.