Many of the cleaning products we use to keep our homes clean are jam packed with harmful chemicals (for both us, and the environment) and can be costly, too. Fortunately, there are plenty of cheap and environmentally friendly, natural cleaning ingredients that you can use to help keep your home clean; below are 8 of the most popular:
- Baking soda
- Essential oils
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Lemons and/or oranges
- Olive oil
- Fresh herbs
- White or apple cider vinegar
- Boiling water
Now that you have a list of cheap, safe ingredients to buy (you may already have some at home), here are some top tips for using them to clean your home:
Sparkling windows on a budget
With just a tablespoon of vinegar per cup of water, you can keep all windows and mirrors sparkling clean without harming anyone or anything. If you don’t like the smell of the vinegar, simply add a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil or a squeeze of lemon juice.
Clean carpets cheaply and safely
Rugs and floor coverings should ideally be taken outside and shaken off from time to time to get rid of dust and debris, and carpets should be vacuumed regularly. For deep and intense carpet cleaning, sprinkle baking soda over your carpets at nighttime and vacuum it up in the morning to help sanitize and deodorize rooms. You can even rub baking soda into fabric with a little hot water to remove light stains.
Dishwashing soap doesn’t just get your dishes clean
Powerful to remove food and oil, while gentle enough to be used on kitchen items, dishwashing soap can also clean couches and upholstery. All you need are the following things:
- A quarter cup of white vinegar
- ¾ of a cup of warm water
- Half a tablespoon of dishwash liquid soap
Combine the above ingredients in a spray bottle and spray the contents liberally over your upholstery, before gently cleaning with a sponge or cloth. You can also use a combination of essential oil or lemon juice, with a quarter cup of baking soda and water to spray lightly over furniture to help freshen it up.
Spotless walls and window trims with softener sheets
Dust often builds up in these areas, but it can be easy to overlook this when cleaning. To make dusting these areas easier and quicker, simply grab a fabric softener sheet and wipe until your walls and window trims are gleaming again! You can even do this with used sheets to save even more money.
Water and vinegar can keep your shelves shiny
This versatile, simple and incredibly affordable solution of water and vinegar can be used to remove sticky labels, walls, counters, bedframes and shelves, and because it’s safe for both humans and animals, it can be used all over the home for cleaning purposes.
While these tips will make cleaning your home cheaper and safer, you still have to put the effort in, and find the time, to clean your home from top to bottom. Why not use a cleaning company to help, and you’ll find that most of them use natural cleaning products too, so they’ll be cleaning your home safely, as well as efficiently.
