Top 10

My quest to natural cleaning products in my home has caused me to take notice of some things.

The average home has somewhere between 20-30 cleansers lurking in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, and garage. That is A LOT!

It seems as though there is a product for every little thing that needs to be cleaned. If anything, going to natural homemade cleaners has eliminated my home's need for several different types of cleaners made up of several different types of chemicals. The homemade cleansers repeat many of the same ingredients.

I also believe that it is a lot cheaper to make your own cleansers too. I started off doing this for reasons other than financial, but I've loved the added bonus of being cost effective too! On average, a bottle of cleaner from the store costs anywhere between $3 and $4. I bought a box of Borax for that price and I've used borax in my detergent, sink scrubbers, and toilet cleaners. I'm still not done with the box.

When I first started looking into this, I thought that I was going to have to sacrifice in being a perfectionist because my thought was that the homemade cleaners were not going to be near as efficient as the store bought ones. I have actually had the opposite results. I feel like I've had to scrub less to get the grit and grease off, spray less to clean a surface off, and 'Biff' less to achieve a clean floor. Jason even noticed how sparkling our sink was last night- that my friends is proof!

This literally has not taken any time! I've avoided going down the long aisle of cleansers and reading every label. So, I figure that it has taken me about the same time to create something in a bottle.

Another thing I've loved is being creative with how my products end up smelling. I'm a huge sniffer. The sense of smell is a powerful thing for me. I haven't even built up a huge collection of essential oils either.

If you are wondering where to even begin with all of this stuff, I've made a list and condensed it down to 10 things that anyone can go to the store and purchase to get started making their very own homemade cleaners.

TOP 10 List of Get R Done Ingredients

1. Baking Soda- by the BIG box

2. White Vinegar- gallon size jug

3. Borax

4. Murphy's Oil Soap

5. Liquid Castile Soap (I use Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps)

6. Bar of Ivory Soap or Bar of Pure Castile Soap (I bought Kirk's at the Health food store in Bryan for 1.49)

7. Essential Oils- the most common used are eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, sweet orange oil, mint, rosemary, tea tree

8. Containers- get creative and have fun with this, you can also recycle lots of containers you have finished using

9. Citrus Seed Extract- I use Grapefruit Seed Extract as a disinfectant in a lot of my cleaners. GSE is an antimicrobial. If you read a little bit about this stuff you will soon discover that its uses are amazing and endless. I've even used this when Kaylyn had thrush as a baby. It is good stuff. I did have to order mine online. But, health food stores should have this. I've had my bottle a little over 2 years. Since it is has preserving agents in it as well, it doesn't go bad for 10 years or something crazy like that.

10. A creative nose and mind! If you like to homemake anything, this will be fun for you! You will enjoy using these products everyday knowing that you came up with the smells and they are also non-toxic to your home.

As you can see by this simple list, we've taken something complicated that requires a whole entire aisle at the store and have made it simple and fun. With these ingredients on hand in your home, you can clean virtually anything from your clothes to your bathrooms.

I will posting some of the recipes that I've found or created in the upcoming days ahead. Stay tuned!