Ready Nutrition – by Tess Pennington
After taking steps to live a more conscious existence, I have found that shopping is overrated. The satisfaction that I find from making my own household products far outweighs buying the “brand of the month.”
My reason to make my own products stem mainly from the ever increasing prices as well as the harmful chemicals present in store bought brands. After using store bought chemicals for years, I noticed my eyes would burn and lungs would hurt after cleaning with them. I knew the chemical cleaners were doing more harm than good, and would much rather preserve my health and not pollute our water supply any further.
I have found many of these homemade cleaners and products use similar ingredients, therefore, purchasing them would be a lucrative investment.
1. Laundry Detergent
- 1 bar (or 4.5 ounces) of shaved bar soap (a homemade laundry bar, Dr. Bronner’s, Ivory, ZOTE, or Fels-Naptha)
- 1 cup of Borax
- 1 cup of washing soda
- In a large container, thoroughly stir all ingredients together for 5 minutes and enjoy the results!
- Use 1 Tbsp per load (or 2-3 Tbsp for large or heavily soiled loads).
2. Fabric Softener
- 1 gallon distilled white vinegar
- 30-40 drops of essential oil (popular scents include: lavender, a combination of lemon and citrus for an energizing pick me up or invigorating peppermint)
- Combine all ingredients and shake well. When ready to use shake mixture and add to rinse cycle.
- For small or average loads add 1/4 cup to the rinse cycle, or a little more for large loads.
3. Dishwashing Detergent Tablets
- 1 cup washing soda
- 1 cup baking soda
- 3 packages unsweetened lemonade drink mix
- 1 cup of kosher salt
- 1 cup water
Mix all dry ingredients together.
- In a large bowl, add water to dry ingredients, wait for fizzing to stop (about 1-2 minutes).
- Add your mixture to ice cube trays, pressing with your fingers or back of a spoon.
- Allow mixture to dry in a warm and sunny spot for 24 hours or until completely dry. Remove and add to an airtight container.
- Add one tab to the dishwasher dispenser. Also use vinegar or jet-dry in your rinse dispenser too.
4. All-Purpose Cleaner
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- Juice of lemon
- 1/2 gallon water
- Shake well and apply for removal of water deposit stains on shower stall panels, bathroom chrome fixtures, windows, bathroom mirrors, etc. Or use a citrus-based natural all-purpose cleaner.
5. Drain Cleaner
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 4 liters hot water
- Add ingredients and pour into drain. The resulting chemical reaction can break fatty acids down into soap and glycerine, allowing the clog to wash down the drain. After 15 minutes, pour in hot water to clear residue.
Caution: do not use this method after trying a commercial drain opener–the vinegar can react with the drain opener to create dangerous fumes.
6. Oven Cleaner
- 3/4 cup baking soda
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1/4 cup water
- Use a moist sponge to wet oven surface.
- Combine ingredients to make a thick paste, and spread throughout oven interior. (avoid bare metal and any openings)
- Allow to sit overnight. Remove with spatula and wipe clean.
- Rub gently with fine steel wool for tough spots.
7. Toilet Bowl Cleaner
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1 cup vinegar
- Mix ingredients and pour into basin.
- Allow to sit for a few minutes. Scrub with brush and rinse.
8. Window Cleaner
- 2 ounces water
- 10 drops lavender or lemongrass oil
- Add ingredients to a spray bottle. Shake bottle to mix ingredients together and spray on surface to wipe grime off windows.
9. Floor Cleaner
- ¼ cup liquid Castile soap
- ¼ cup distilled white vinegar
- 10 drops peppermint essential oil
- 2 gallons warm water
- Add ingredients to a bucket and mop floors.
10. Furniture Polish
- 1 c. olive oil
- 1/2 c. lemon juice
- Spray bottle
- Shake well and apply a small amount to a cleaning rag or cloth.
- Spread evenly over furniture surface. Turn cloth to a dry side and polish dry.
{Shopping List}
- 5-6 bars of soap (a homemade laundry bar, Dr. Bronner’s, Ivory, ZOTE, or Fels-Naptha)
- Borax
- Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
- Distilled white vinegar
- Essential Oils
- Baking soda
- Unsweetened lemonade drink mix
- Kosher salt
- Castile soap
- Lemons
- Olive oil
Tess Pennington is the author of The Prepper’s Cookbook: 300 Recipes to Turn Your Emergency Food into Nutritious, Delicious, Life-Saving Meals. When a catastrophic collapse cripples society, grocery store shelves will empty within days. But if you follow this book’s plan for stocking, organizing and maintaining a proper emergency food supply, your family will have plenty to eat for weeks, months or even years. Visit her web site at ReadyNutrition.com.
This information has been made available by Ready Nutrition
Thanks for posting this. Hopefully, Cascade will be an expense of the past, if the recipe for dishwasher soap works. Will post the results once it’s tried.
Some real good stuff too know Paul, yep, good post. This is a simple start that a lot of people would never think about when it comes to preppin`. 🙂 To be able to make your own cleansers is very important. Yes, this is only scratching the surface but is good/much needed info for sure.
Nice list of homemade cleaners. Thanks, Paul.
I would only make a couple changes in the list:
One would be to leave borax off the shopping list and double the washing soda in the laundry detergent recipe. While borax does soften water and boosts the cleaning power of the soap or detergent you’re using without fading color as much as washing soda, it does accumulate and is not good for septic tanks or gray water discharge.
I’m currently using the last of a box of borax I have to kill weeds that take root in the joints of my concrete driveway and sidewalk; it doesn’t take much and works very well (it’s also toxic to the fireants that try to set up house under the driveway).
The second change would be for washing towels: Eventually the buildup from natural soap will reduce water absorbancy. To launder towels, use only washing soda in a hot water wash with vinegar added to a hot water rinse, or washing soda plus a liquid dish detergent:
6 tablespoons washing soda
2 tablespoons Dawn dish soap
8 cups water
Dissolve the soda in hot water, then stir in the dish soap. Use 1/4 to 1/2 cup per load.
Enbe, thanks for the additional info.. I like the soda, dish soap thing. Will use it.
Have tried the laundry soap method,beyond hitting stains with a premix realized the laundry soap or just straight water worked basically the same,will give other products a shot but only home made that has worked for me is white vinegar as a glass cleaner.
These lists are great.
So much useful info.
Thanks,
-flek
I know this was about household products, but:
Homemade toothpowder: mostly baking soda and a little sea salt.
Homemade deodorant: a light dusting of baking soda after your shower.