Green It Yourself (GIY)

In Part I of 5 DIY House Cleaning Secrets, I shared some reasons why we should reduce or stop cleaning with nasty chemicals and clean safely with non-toxic nice smelling green cleaning products instead.

It takes less than five minutes to make your GIY house cleaning products. Heck, you can make housecleaning wipes during a commercial break. Are you ready to go green?

While we can’t get away from everyday exposure of chemicals and pollutants, we can reduce what we allow in our homes.

I have been a fan of Dr. Bronner’s since I was a kid. The brand prides itself stating on the packaging there are 18-1 uses. Until recently I didn’t know you could make green it yourself cleaning products.

I currently buy a 128-ounce bottle of peppermint and almond and use it for hand wash. I switch back and forth throughout the year.

Peppermint in the fall/winter and almond in the spring/summer. One 128-ounce bottle lasts up to 2 years for hand wash. Local stores only sell the 32-ounce bottles so I buy 4 bottles and refill as needed. The bottles get reused to put my cleaning products in and put a label on each one.

Looking for more options to going green, I came across Dr. Bronner’s granddaughter Lisa Bronner’s blog, Going Green with a Bronner Mom and YouTube channel. During one of her instructional GIY videos, she made an interesting point about house cleaning products that I never considered.

There are no federal laws overseeing what goes into the formulation of household products and there are no laws requiring any labeling.

Recipe #1: Window/Glass Cleaner

Ingredients

• 1 c. (240 mL) water filtered, distilled, or boiled then cooled water
• 1 c. (240 mL) white distilled vinegar (not apple cider vinegar, that is for salad dressing)

Directions

Pour equal parts in a spray bottle 16-ounce glass spray bottle. Use the mixture to clean bathroom mirrors, glass, the inside and outside car windows.

Recipe #2: Soft Scrub

Ingredients

• 1 c. (240 mL) Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap OR ¼ c. (60 mL) Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds (my favorite scent is peppermint)
• 3⅓ c. (800 mL) baking soda
• 1 c. (240 mL) water
• ¼ c. (60 mL) white distilled vinegar (not apple cider vinegar, that is for salad dressing)

Directions

In a big bowl, combine the baking soda with the Castile Soap OR the Sal Suds. Mix it with a fork until well blended and no lumps remain. Add in the water and mix thoroughly again. Add in the white distilled vinegar and keep stirring until no lumps remain.

Pour the solution into an empty quart bottle, using a funnel. To use this, squirt it over the surface and wipe with a damp microfiber cloth. Rinse with a wet cloth.

Source: Going Green with a Bonner Mom: GIY Soft Scrub with Dr. Bronner’s

Recipe #3: Fizzing Toilet Powder

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. (360 mL) baking soda
• 1/3 c. (79 mL) citric acid
• 10 drops lavender essential oil
• 10 drops peppermint essential oil

Directions

Pour the baking soda in a bowl. Add the essential oils and stir with a fork. Make sure both ingredients are mixed before adding the citric acid. If you mix the baking soda, essential oils, and citric acid together all at once, fizzing will activate.

Source: Saved By Grace: DIY Fizzing Toilet Powder

Recipe #4: Housecleaning Wipes with Dr. Bronner’s

For Reusable Wipes: an old t-shirt or two cut into wipe-sized squares For Disposable Wipes: a paper towel roll cut in half (an electric knife works best) A Glass or Plastic container

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. (360 mL) filtered, distilled, or boiled then cooled water
• 1 tbsp. (15 mL) Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap or 1/2 tbsp. (7.5 mL) Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds
• 1/4 tsp. (20 drops) tea tree essential oil
• A Glass or Plastic container

For Reusable Wipes: an old t-shirt or two cut into wipe-sized squares

For Disposable Wipes: a paper towel roll cut in half (an electric knife works best)

Directions

Put the wipes in your container. Mix up the solution ingredients and pour it over the wipes. Let them sit for 20 minutes or so to soak up all the liquid. Now they’re good to go! These have a shelf-life of 1 to 2 weeks.

Source: Going Green with a Bonner Mom: GIY Housecleaning Wipes with Dr. Bronner’s

Recipe #5: Baby Wipes

Ingredients

• 1 ½ c. (360 mL) warm distilled or filtered water
• 1 tsp. (5 mL) Dr. Bronner’s Baby Unscented Castile Liquid Soap
• 1 ½ Tbsp. (22 mL) Dr. Bronner’s Organic Coconut Oil (warmed to a liquid)
• 9 drops tea tree essential oil
• 4 drops lavender essential oil

Directions

Add all liquid ingredients to a jar and shake well to combine. For Disposable: Place half a paper towel roll in a jar and pour the solution over. After a few minutes, pull the cardboard tube out of the middle.

Wipes dispense from the middle. For Reusable: Pour the solution into a small spray bottle. Spray baby’s bottom, and wipe with a soft cloth or place soft cloths in a container or wipe warmer and pour the solution over them.

Source: Going Green with a Bonner Mom: Going Green Baby Wipes

Making my own GIY products has cut down the amount of time spent cleaning. I actually get excited about cleaning the house! No more allergic reactions from mystery ingredients from popular household cleaners.

I have gone a step further and used the Dilutions Cheat Sheet for Dr. Bronner’s Castile Pure-Castile Soap for additional GIY tips and ideas and clean the interior of my car.

Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Hemp Pure Castile Liquid Soap 32 – 128 fl. oz. and Sal Suds All-Purpose Cleaner listed above can be found on Lucky Vitamin.

Here is one last idea I will share. Ditch the paper towels and switch to microfiber cloth dish towels. A pack of 30 towels online for less than $10 you can use over and over again. Cost for a pack of six paper towel rolls costs around $15.

Are you ready to go green?

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