How to make your own natural cleaning products

Because indoor air is said to be up to 100x more polluted than outdoor air.

Making my own cleaning products has been on my to-do list for years, but it wasn’t until cleaning products became a scarcity at the height of the pandemic that I made the change. I started to think: why is it so normalized for me to bring chemicals into my home? I hate the smell of cleaning products, so lining up for hours to find the ONE grocery store that had some in stock was pointless. In the end, I decided to dig deeper into the cleaners I was using, and finding all-natural swaps. After a few weeks (and a little help from Amazon) I came up with my perfect recipe for an all-natural cleaner.

There’s a range of benefits to making your own all-natural cleaning products, but the main ones I’ve found are: it’s cheaper, all-natural, environmentally friendly, uses local ingredients, less dangerous than traditional cleaners, and avoids VOCs entirely.

Why I started making my own all-natural cleaning products

Environmental Defense, a leading advocacy organization, conducted a study into the dangers of Volatile Organic Chemicals or VOCs in our everyday household cleaning products, which are recognized as a health hazard and are known to raise indoor pollution levels. According to Environmental Defense “VOCs are a group of chemicals that have been linked to serious health problems like asthma and can impact fetal development.” The study found that in nine homes — where they used conventional cleaners — the level of VOC rose by an average of 120%. Alternatively, the three houses using green products with full disclosure had their VOC levels rise by an average of 35%. Traces of these dangerous chemicals are left behind when we clean ur homes. As a matter of fact, indoor air can be up to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air (source).

I’ve been using my own all-natural homemade cleaning products since April, and all I keep asking myself is why didn’t I start making these sooner! I buy all my all-natural ingredients in bulk and I use two reusable spray bottles, making it one of the easiest things to make. Plus, my house smells like lavender instead of chemicals!

Reasons to make your own natural cleaning products

Better for your home

There’s something comforting about being able to read and understand all the ingredients in your cleaner, am I right?! Aside from my all-natural cleaning product recipe having no effect on your indoor air quality, the recipe is gentle enough to use on virtually* any surface. I use my cleaner on my granite and marble countertops (kitchen and bathrooms) and my wood furniture. It cleans without leaving any damage!

*While I use my all-purpose cleaner for everything, I say virtually because for some surfaces (like my RH dining table) I only use warm water.

I also have much more space in my home. I only use two cleaners (labelled all-purpose cleaner and glass cleaner) so instead of having an entire under-the-sink cupboard filled with cleaning products, I have one small basket filled with my cleaners and wipes.

Lastly, my all-natural cleaners are safe for anyone that enters or lives in my home.

Better for the environment

Many of the so-called “recyclable” liquid containers are actually not recyclable. The ones that are, need to be washed several times in order to remove the chemical residue in the containers. Using all-natural and all-purpose cleaners means that you can keep everything from manufacture to usage and disposal confined to your own home.

You’re essentially saying no to:
the release of chemicals during the manufacturing process
the transport waste created when cleaning products are transported from manufacturer to holding facility to store to your home
the linear consumer pattern – buy, use, dispose; keeping your cleaners in a glass reusable bottles lets you engage in a circular consumer patter – buy, use, reuse over and over again until it breaks

More Cost effective

Do you know how much I saved by switching to my own all natural and all purpose cleaner? Surprisingly it turns out to be astronomical in the long. Creating my own cleaner costs approximately $3 per bottle compared to the $10 – $15 bottles at the store. Plus, since I buy all the ingredients in bulk, I have enough ingredients to last appx. 24 months.

You can be creative with your scents

It’s customizable! That’s right, unlike your toxic cleaners with scents and fumes that might give you a headache (I get horrible headaches when I smell traditional cleaners), your all natural cleaning products can be customized with your favourite scent. I put lavender in mine, but most recipes online use tea tree oil (I don’t do tea tree oil because its toxic to dogs and I have London).

Here’s the recipe I use to create my all-natural and all-purpose cleaner.

How to make your own natural cleaning products

What you’ll need:
Liquid Castile Soap
Distilled water (can be purchased from any grocery store or your local Walmart)
Baking Soda
Essential Oil (I got mine from NEOB Lavender farm in Niagara-on-the-Lake)
Re-usable glass bottles
Label maker

Castile soap Have you heard about Castile soap? It’s what your cleaner is. An all-natural and all- purpose soap made from vegetables that can be made in both liquid and solid form. For animal lovers! It means there are no animal fats present in the product.

This might be the most versatile all-natural product ever! In fact this product has multiple uses (26 to be exact). This includes acting as a deodorant, wound cleansing solution, face/body wash, pet washing solution and many more.
All Purpose Homemade Cleaner

1 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 cups distilled
5 – 10 drops of essential oil of choice

Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner

2 tablespoons mild dish soap
28 oz distilled water
5 drops essential oil lavender

If you have any questions on where I got these items or on the recipe, feel free to comment or reach out to me on Instagram. Happy cleaning!

Do you make your own natural cleaning products? Share your recipe below!

XoXo,
Tee