Last year I was on a mission to save us some money AND healthy up my house. My sister and I started using all natural, homemade cleaners. I was shocked at how easy and how frugal it was to use homemade cleaners.
Now, I am a confessed, reformed, cleaning supply lover. I used to coupon clip for exciting new household cleaners. All those shiny colors and comic strip starred 'WOW! All New Formula!" call to me like a siren's song. I also loved those pre-packaged towels with disinfectant super powers. I was a sucker for smelly, linen-scented sprays and sprinkles. Something to scrub the bathroom sink and a different one to scrub the shower. A toilet cleaner, a floor cleaner, cleanser, and window spray all for just the bathroom. Oh yeah, and the blue smelly bar to make my toilet water blue because it somehow seemed cleaner.
One day while teaching Prince Ray which cleaner was for what so he could do his bathroom 'quick clean' chore (Yes, they take turns quick cleaning the bathroom because it is NOT me or the Princesses that pee BEHIND the toilet. Just sayin'.)I got a wake up call. Prince Ray gives me this slightly confused look and in all his boyishness type honesty says "Why do we need so many!?"
Good question. Do I really need a separate cleaner for the floors and the baseboards? Do I need to have cleanser, and toilet scrubby, and window cleaner, and electronics cleaner, and dust spray, and wood oil, and all purpose cleaner, and de-greaser, and dish soap, and grout cleaner, and... well you get the idea.
Better question is: Do I need to be spraying all of these ridiculous chemicals into the air daily that can affect my family's breathing? Do I need all this fake air freshener and surface disinfectant? What are we breathing into our bodies?! YIKES!
If you don't believe that your bought cleaning supplies could make you sick all you have to do is a quick google search and be amazed at the number of people whose health has responded positively by dropping the store bought, chemically laden cleaners. I can attest that my asthmatic child is breathing better and using his inhaler 1/3 of the time he was using it. We changed how we eat and we changed how we clean and it has made all the difference in the world. This is of course our personal experience, but it might be worth a try!
On to the recipe! So easy you will be on board for trying it with the next orange you eat!
Orange Peel All Purpose Cleaner
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| Peel the oranges! I did 4 this day. |
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| Give the yummy oranges to your children for breakfast! |
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| I use most all the Orange peel. Sometimes I save some out for making Dried Orange Peels. |
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| Place in a glass jar that has a tight fitting lid. This is a canning jar but I have used any glass jar that is available. |
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| Pour in straight white vinegar to the top. Cover the orange peels. |
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| It is ready to be used when it is orange in color and the peels have begun to sink a bit. |
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| Here are 3 different stages of 'brewing'. Three weeks, two weeks, and just made. |
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| I like to strain it through a small sieve before placing in my spray bottle. |
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| Ready to clean! |
Note* I have also thrown in grapefruit, lemon, or lime peels as we have them. They can be a bit acidic but all citrus has natural cleaning and disinfectant qualities. See here for more information.
Always Blessed,
Gretchen :)
Possibly Linking With:
Frugally Sustainable
Raising Homemakers
Far Above Rubies
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Wholehearted Home
Growing Home
Raising Homemakers
Far Above Rubies
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Wholehearted Home
Growing Home
I started doing this a couple of months ago--and love it! I too can't breathe in the commercial cleaners--they make me cough. I've even used this in my humidifier to condition the water instead of buying the "descaler."
ReplyDeleteoh! Great idea! It is so easy to do once you start! My floors feel cleaner! Thanks for stopping by! :)
DeleteHmmmmm...I often use vinegar for cleaning but more often get lazy and use Windex or Lysol.I actually don't use a lot of different kinds of things but mostly dish washing soap or cheap shampoo for the tub. I am going to try this!! It looks so easy that I can do it. Thanks Gretchen for linking up over at WholeHearted Home this week.
ReplyDeleteI have a suggestion for you :-) The print under your pictures could be bigger, like the normal size for easier reading. I really loved your pictures and comments.
Thank you for the tip Judith!
ReplyDeleteIt is so very easy! And practically free. :)
The orange color doesn't stain white porcelain, does it? I'd love to try this!! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't have any porcelain but my sister hasn't had any trouble with it. If you are worried I would suggest trying it out on a small little 'hide-able' spot. :)
DeleteI used to only make the vinegar, alcohol, and water recipe which got most people in the family complaining about the smell and saying I should just use the flowery store-bought cleaners. The only problem I had with either cleaner were the streaks left behind, but I've been told that adding cornstarch to the mix solves that problem. -Ricardo @ Gem Window Cleaning
ReplyDelete