Squeaky Clean.

I’ve gotten a couple of emails asking me how I made my homemade cleaning supplies.

I’m going to be completely honest: I stole recipes from my awesome friend Jen.
{Although, in all fairness, she shared it on her blog, so I think it’s okay.}

I’m actually going to take them from her blog & share with you here.
{Of course, with my commentary & stories. You don’t get far without those.}

But first, let me tell you the story of these cleaning supplies.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought all the ingredients to make them, but {in keeping with my procrastinating nature} hadn’t done it until, well, 10:30 p.m. on Monday night.
I went to brush my teeth, & that was it. I couldn’t look at that shower again. It had to be cleaned.
I refuse to use the chemical cleaners & bleach to scrub our bathroom, knowing the toxicity there.
John willingly cleaned the shower for me, about 6 weeks ago. He’s promised to do it again.
I don’t even want to smell that stuff, though, & how often is he home that I’m not?

See, John & I wear flip flops. Like, a LOT.
Like, our big toes are about an inch away from our other toes because we kinda live in flip-flops.
{Which, I must say, is legitimate since we live in this hellish weather.} This is great.
Except that means the bottom of our feet get dirty & that dirt cakes up on the floor of the shower.
& The shower is my obsessive must-stay-clean-or-I-will-have-a-mental-breakdown compulsion.
{Also, bed sheets. Bed sheets must stay clean, which means our feet must be clean before bed.}
You can see my problem.

I opened Jen’s blog, got ingredients, made the cleaners, & we went to work {together} on the bathroom.

General Cleaner:
3 cups of hot water
4 Tblsp of white vinegar (use the cheapest you can find)
1/4 tsp of Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Castile Soap*
2 tsp of Borax {about $3 for a big box at Publix, in the laundry detergent section}.
2 Tblsp of lemon juice {She says it’s optional. It makes it smell delicious!}
1 tsp of Tea Tree Oil {Again, optional. Again, delicious! & anti-fungal.}

I was amazed at how well it worked! It smells wonderful, too!

I bought my spray bottles from Dollar Tree. Clear bottles with colorful sprayers. $3.
I bought Pink, Green & Yellow {just in case you were interested}.
I would add that you need masking tape + sharpie to label your bottles…
Just in case you don’t remember the color coordination.

{I can hear myself now…}
Did I choose pink for “p” meaning toilet cleaner? Or did yellow mean “pee” for toilet cleaner?
Hmmm. I’m glad I labeled them!

Glass/Window Cleaner
4 cups of water
2 Tblsp of vinegar
1/2 tsp of Castile Soap

*Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Castile Soap. Cheapest at Publix in the Greenwise section.
I bought both the peppermint & tea tree oil kinds. They smell great!

Soft Scrub {sink, tub, counter stains}
Sprinkle baking soda {& from experience, you won’t need as much as you think you do}.
Small dab of castile soap : enough to make a frosting like paste
Scrub, & rinse!

While he cleaned the shower, I cleaned the toilet.
If I haven’t mentioned how wonderful my husband is, let me say it again: he’s truly fantastic.

Toilet Cleaner
Sprinkle Borax & pour in lemon juice
{ OR }
Sprinkle baking soda & pour in vinegar
Then…
Let  it sit for a while, then scrub it down!

I wish I would have taken before & after pictures. Our filthy, black, grimy, gag-worthy shower is now shimmering & shining so much so that I like to leave the shower curtain open so I can admire my {husband’s} handiwork.

{Which reminds me… I still need to clean the mirror.}

Mildew/Mold Stain Cleaner {on tile in bathroom}
If you opted into using Tea Tree Oil in your general cleaner, dip a Q-Tip in your Tea Tree Oil & use this on mildew stains. It works well! If it’s a really serious stain: use hydrogen peroxide.