I decided to stay with the Spring Cleaning theme this week and feature a DIY all-purpose cleaner. Now as I mentioned in Monday’s post, I don’t like to clean. At all. Many of my friends find it relaxing. Me, not so much. Don’t get me wrong: I enjoy having a clean house, but in my dreams — someone else cleans it for me. Every time I get it Martha Stewart ready, it manages to get destroyed within five minutes. I blame Max. He blames me. He is probably right.
A Clean Mind Equals a Clean Home
All joking aside, I have noticed the cleaner my mind is (not that kind of dirty, ya pervs), the cleaner my apartment is. This is probably not a coincidence, even if the X-Files part of me is screaming “CONSPIRACY!”. When I’m feeling mentally healthy and strong, my environment naturally reflects that state of mind. It’s also why I am able to stay focused on my get healthy goals, even after I completely bombed them last month. This stronger Tanya is happier and more focused.
And cleaner too, which should make my Mom proud. She maintains a very clean home and has the super power of eliminating stains. Seriously, I’m 40 years old and still need my Mom to work her magic on my stubborn stains.
A Healthy Alternative to Commercial Cleaners
As much I don’t really like cleaning, it is a necessity since my budget doesn’t allow me to hire a cleaning service, although I sincerely look forward to the day it becomes possible. And I plan to apologize profusely for my messy home.
Meanwhile, I grumble my way through cleaning my apartment and noticed over time that certain cleaners bothered me. While they did a great job cleaning, they didn’t make me feel good. I would get a burning sensation in my throat if I breathed in the fumes and headaches too, which I rarely get. These were just regular, old cleaners and it didn’t seem right that I was so sensitive to them.
But I did some research and found similar complaints from others. Some of the chemicals used in various cleaners are quite harsh. A clean house shouldn’t come at the expense of your health. While many commercial cleaning products don’t bother me, one of my favorites really did, so I had to find an alternative and decided to use my own two hands to make it. This DIY all-purpose cleaner allows me to control the ingredients and ensure they don’t leave me feeling nauseated afterwards.
DIY All-Purpose Cleaner
With just two ingredients, this is both economical and effective.
Items You’ll Need:
- Dawn dish soap
- White vinegar
- Empty spray bottle
Directions:
- Mix together equal parts Dawn dish soap and white vinegar.
- Carefully pour mixture into an empty spray bottle.
Success Tips
This DIY all-purpose cleaner does a great job in the bathroom and kitchen and is often referred to as Kitchen Magic. It cuts through almost anything and is a really good, all-purpose cleaner. I did not have a problem with the scent, but if the vinegar smell bothers you, add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil to mask the smell. Also, the vinegar smell will disappear once it dries and actually helps eliminates odors too.
The DIY All-Purpose Cleaner: To Make Or Not?
Definitely give it a try. It’s very cheap to make and does a great job cleaning. I found it to be just as effective as commercial cleaners. Plus, for me, it has no side effects (breathing issues and headaches) and now I’m a spritzing fool when I get the urge to clean, which is probably not as often as my Mom would like. 🙂
Do you use commercial or DIY (or natural) cleaners? What are some of your favorite DIY cleaning recipes?
Tanya
We do the vinegar and water thing but maybe adding the Dawn will make me house smell less like a salad when I clean it. Something to think about.
It would definitely help mask the vinegar odor. I’m one of those weird people who actually like the smell of vinegar, so it’s never bothered me!
I totally hear you about commercial cleaners. The same thing would happen to me and then I would also get a monstrous headache from the fumes 🙁 I currently use the Method line of cleaner which is at Target. No fumes 🙂 But your DIY cleaner sounds good and I like the idea of adding an essential oil!
Because I am a rocket scientist, it took me longer than it should have to realize what was causing the problem. Of course, I initially wanted to use it as an excuse to get out of cleaning, but … sadly, that last for too long. 🙂 I think you’ll like the cleaner – it’s easy to make and really low-cost, which are always big wins in my book.
I used to make my own but mostly use Mrs. Meyers now. I trust the brand.