Green Cleaning Recipes (Quick and Easy) (2024)

A little more about the ingredients:

Ingredients for Homemade Cleaners

Before I share recipes, let’s briefly overview each ingredient:

Vinegar

White, distilled vinegar is great for deodorizing, degreasing and general cleaning. It’s also extremely inexpensive and readily available.

The smell of vinegar does dissipate fairly quickly, but if you dislike it a great deal, try scenting it. To create scented vinegar, simply add 75 drops of lavender or tea tree essential oil to a one-gallon jug of white vinegar (this combination came from Clean House, Clean Planet by Karen Logan, page 254-255).

Castile Soap

Castile soap is a gentle soap is made from vegetable fat/oil such as hemp, palm or olive (opposed to tallow). It is a versatile cleaner that works well with other ingredients as well as alone.

Baking Soda

The texture of baking soda makes it useful as a mild abrasive. It is also an excellent deodorizer. Many of us already have an open box of baking soda in the fridge to absorb smells, but it can also be used to scrub sinks and clean toilets!

To freshen carpets, add a few drops of essential oil to a box of baking soda, stir to combine, sprinkle on the carpet and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Then vacuum.

Essential Oils

These concentrated plant oils contain powerful antibacterial, antiviral, antibiotic and anti-fungal properties. While they can sometimes be expensive, one small bottle will last a long time. They add a lovely fragrance to your homemade cleaners, which provides psychological benefits too!

My favorite essential oils for cleaning are:

• lemon
• sweet orange
• peppermint
• lavender
• tea tree
• pine

Simple Recipes to Clean the Whole House

These quick and easy recipes will allow you to clean every room in the house.

Simple All-Purpose Cleaner

Use this vinegar-based cleaner for countertops, walls, door knobs, sinks, and more. Ingredients

• 3/4 cup vinegar
• 3/4 cup water
• 10 drops lemon essential oil

Instructions Add essential oils to aglass spray bottle. Pour water and vinegar into bottle and close with lid. Shake to blend.

Floors

My favorite floor cleaner is made by adding 2 to 4 tablespoons of Castile soap and 10 drops of lemon essential oil to a large container. Fill with 1 gallon of hot water and stir to mix. If the floor is greasy, add up to 1/8 cup of vinegar.

Walls

The above floor cleaner will work well on walls too. If you wish to disinfect walls (or door knobs and so on), mix equal parts vinegar and water. Add 5 to 10 drops of essential oil, per 16 oz of the mixture, if desired.

Mirrors

Want more shine (and germ-killing power)? Combine 1-½ cups of water with ½ cup of vinegar in a spray bottle and shake to mix. Add 5 to 10 drops of sweet orange or lemon essential oil for extra cleaning power and added fragrance.

Countertops

I often keep leftover floor cleaner in a spray bottle and use it on the countertops. It works very well.

If this is not available I will make some disinfecting spray with lavender and peppermint essential oil and water. Adding two tablespoons of Castile soap to this mix will help loosen dirt or grime if necessary.

This citrus peel vinegar is also great for countertops.

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 4 drops sweet orange essential oil

Instructions Mix all ingredients and pour into an airtight container. To use: Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the mixture into the sink and use the scrubby side of a sponge to clean the sink.

Drain Unclogger

Ingredients

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1 cup white vinegar

Instructions Pour 1 cup of baking soda down the drain (I let it sit for a few minutes because it absorbs odors, but you don’t have to). Pour in 1 cup of vinegar. Allow to fizz and bubble. Leave for 20 minutes. Pour boiling water down the drain (about 1 quart).

Toilets

Pouring a little straight or scented vinegar into the toilet bowl is a great way to clean and deodorize.

For regular toilet seatwipe downs, keep some vinegar in a spray bottle. (Because it’s non-toxic and safe to use, why not give kids the job of swishing and swiping each day!)

Another option is to sprinkle baking soda into the bowl and scrub with a sturdy toilet brush.

Bath and shower

The best way to keep the shower clean is to regularly spray the walls with vinegar, this helps prevent soap and scum from building up.

Use a squeegee to remove excess water (a few times each week) will help keep build up at bay, especially on glass doors.

Notes:

It is always a good idea to label your homemade cleaners.

To make refills of your homemade cleaners, write the recipe on the container.