Spring Cleaning product PICS?! - soaps, laundry, cleaners, etc.

[ChickenPotPie]

It's Spring! And Spring cleaning time..... How 'bout we inspire each other with pics of what we've made to clean or freshen....everything!

Herb Vinegar household cleaner. The amounts in the recipe need not be exact but here is what I used.

8 cups - White vinegar
2 large handfuls - Fresh Rosemary, roughly chopped
6-8 - Peppermint tea bags

Warm part of the vinegar and let the tea steep before adding peppermint vinegar and teabags to the rest of the ingredients. Let brew for about two days. Strain out herbs. I put mine in spray bottles.
Can be used full strength for tough jobs or half strength (herb vinegar/water) for regular cleaning. LOVE it.

FYI: The herbs (especially the rosemary) are for boosting the cleaning power but also seem to cut the sharpness of the vinegar smell. I found it more pleasant than straight vinegar but it is still very strong. I used it full strength on my greasy stove top, half strength for countertops, and for scrubbing floors.....1c. herb vinegar, 1 gallon water, few drops of dish soap. You can also put in your laundry, dish washer, to clean windows (diluted), stop mold, etc., etc.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

And the goat milk & honey soap I made.

This is my 2nd attempt at making soap. I reeeeally hope it turns out. You can see my 1st ever attempt in the background. Yup, the practically charred-looking stuff.

 

[BarredBuff]

We made orange scented cleaner a few weeks ago and it was awesome!

Instructions:

Fill a quart jar loosely with citrus peels. Cover with vinegar. Let set for ten days, and you will have some awesome smelling cleaner.

 

[moolie]

I don't use much in the way of "cleaners", other than my Tub & Shower Cleaner (equal parts Sunlight dish soap and vinegar in a spray bottle).

Most of the surfaces in my home are cleaned with hot soapy water and a cloth, or just water.

I do pour a bloop of vinegar into the mop bucket for the wood floors because I was told to years ago when I first moved into a home that had hardwood floors.

And I make my own laundry soap: 1 bar Sunlight laundry soap grated, melted into a 2 quart pot of hot water on the stove, then dumped into a 5 gallon bucket with 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup borax, then filled to the 4 gallon mark with hot hot hot tap water. I keep some in a gallon jug (about half full) so we can shake it up each time before adding 1/4 cup to each load.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Oooh, I'm going to try the citrus vinegar, BarredBuff. We go through citrus like crazy here so why throw them away, right? I think my boys will like the smell of the citrus better then the rosemary mint. Maybe they won't protest cleaning so much.

And I guess I'm on the right track with my floors, Moolie. We have hard wood floors, too.

 

[Marianne]

Pictures? Every cleaner I make goes into some kind of recycled bottle or a mason jar. Some of them are downright ugly.
But your pics are nice, chickenpotpie!

I do all the typical green-homemade cleaners that most of us make. My favorites lately are:

Homemade Window Cleaner

1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent
2 cups of water

Combine all in a spray bottle. Shake to blend, spray and wipe dry with newspaper or rags.

AND

Homemade Laminate Floor Cleaner

1 part Water
1 part White Vinegar
1 part 70% Isopropyl (Rubbing) Alcohol
Few drops of liquid dish detergent

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a fine mist spray bottle. I use some thicker material on my Swiffer wand to do the mopping. Easy to wash and reuse.

 

[hqueen13]

We made orange scented cleaner a few weeks ago and it was awesome!

Instructions:

Fill a quart jar loosely with citrus peels. Cover with vinegar. Let set for ten days, and you will have some awesome smelling cleaner.

Or let sit until you remember to strain it into the spray bottle...

I love my citrus vinegar. I really prefer to use it on the stove to get the grease off. It works much better than plain vinegar.

I make my own laundry detergent - 1 bar fels-naptha grated, 4 cups Baking Soda, 3 cups Washing Soda, 1 cup salt (water softener)
Once the fels is grated, I put it in the blender with some of the other ingredients to get it blended up really fine. If you don't mix other ingredients with it, it will cake in the bottom of the blender, which is bad!
I use one scoop which is probably approximately 2 TBSP per load. Vinegar goes in the rinse.

For the bathrooms I use vinegar with a few drops of liquid soap added, and back it up with baking soda.

The walls and cabinets get washed down with Murphy's Oil Soap.

I read several things recently on cleaning with Ammonia, and have yet to try it but am looking forward to trying to get the grates on my gas stove clean. I also have seen a few recipes for different cleaners using ammonia that help cut the smell, and apparently ammonia cleans REALLY well... Looking forward to trying that!

 

[nelson castro]

WOW! The Herb Vinegar household cleaner would be great help in cleaning..

 

[~gd]

We made orange scented cleaner a few weeks ago and it was awesome!

Instructions:

Fill a quart jar loosely with citrus peels. Cover with vinegar. Let set for ten days, and you will have some awesome smelling cleaner.

Or let sit until you remember to strain it into the spray bottle...

I love my citrus vinegar. I really prefer to use it on the stove to get the grease off. It works much better than plain vinegar.

I make my own laundry detergent - 1 bar fels-naptha grated, 4 cups Baking Soda, 3 cups Washing Soda, 1 cup salt (water softener)
Once the fels is grated, I put it in the blender with some of the other ingredients to get it blended up really fine. If you don't mix other ingredients with it, it will cake in the bottom of the blender, which is bad!
I use one scoop which is probably approximately 2 TBSP per load. Vinegar goes in the rinse.

For the bathrooms I use vinegar with a few drops of liquid soap added, and back it up with baking soda.

The walls and cabinets get washed down with Murphy's Oil Soap.

I read several things recently on cleaning with Ammonia, and have yet to try it but am looking forward to trying to get the grates on my gas stove clean. I also have seen a few recipes for different cleaners using ammonia that help cut the smell, and apparently ammonia cleans REALLY well... Looking forward to trying that!

Ammonia Attacks greese [converts greese to soap] Vinegar helps remove waterspots caused by minerals in your water. Vinegar and baking sode destroy each other but does fizz

 

[hqueen13]

Ammonia Attacks greese [converts greese to soap] Vinegar helps remove waterspots caused by minerals in your water. Vinegar and baking sode destroy each other but does fizz

Ahha... going to have to use Ammonia. Must remember to get some this weekend. A good soaking of the stove grates is much needed! They're so disgusting I didn't realize how disgusting they were until I started looking at them.

If vinegar and baking soda destroy each other but fizz, how does that help unclog my drains? I don't know what it does, but it does work to free up a drain. I put baking soda in it, pour vinegar in, and then as soon as it starts to settle, plug the drain to force it downward. It always helps open it up. Could it be the fact that the bubbles expand that opens the drain?