My preference is to purchase quality, non-toxic cleaning supplies, but I’ve been dabbling in some homemade recipes for the past year or so for a couple cleaning tasks, like washing hardwood floors. Today I’m starting a little series of homemade cleaning recipes. If you’ve been making cleaning supplies for years or if you’ve never tried to make your own cleaning supplies, hopefully you’ll learn something new and be inspired to clean a little differently. {If I am sharing a recipe here, I’ve tested it in my own home and like it enough to share it with you.}

Over the next couple weeks I’ll be sharing my favorite cleaning recipes with you and of course there will be some freebies to go along with the series.

Today I’m going to share my ‘must have’ ingredients for making some basic homemade cleaners. Yes, there are other ingredients you can purchase and use, but if you want to try it out without spending more than $25 or $30, just start here.

  • distilled white vinegar
  • baking soda
  • essential oils (my favorite scents are lemon and clove)
  • castile soap – liquid and bar soap (you can find this in different scents and unscented – my favorite is Dr. Bronner’s Citrus orange)
  • lemons or lemon juice
  • Borax
  • Arm + Hammer Super Washing Soda
  • containers
  • water

What would you add to the list? Any favorite ingredients that you must-have?

Click here to see all the posts in this series.