I have gradually started to get rid of all of my chemical cleaning products and I am working on using natural product for my body (and our family) too. I don't like to be wasteful so it has taken some time to use up some of the product I already had to get to this point. I'm starting to finally get a nice collection of homemade goods and I thought I would share a few that I love and a couple that didn't really work out for me.
I didn't really see a purpose of taking pictures of my boring containers of product, but I will include the links of the websites that I used. I can pretty much say I found most of these sites through pinterest!
Main Ingredients used for homemade cleaning and body product
Baking Soda
Castile Soap
Lemon Juice
Distilled Vinegar
Essential Oils
Water (sometimes distilled)
Empty containers, spray bottles, & jars
Household Cleaning Products
Mopping Solution: I've really enjoyed using this product. I recently bought one of those inexpensive mops that you can put your own solution in it and you can rewash or buy new cleaning cloths for. It works great and I would totally recommend it. The actual mopping solution has grapefruit juice in it so it has a lot fruity smell that is not overwhelming at all. Overall the solution is pretty scentless. I've had good results on my floor and plan to continue to use this recipe in the future. I just used a gallon milk jug, which will last me quite a long time!
Tub Scrub: I have been using this tub scrub mainly to use up my dish soap that I hardly ever use. I'll probably try to find a different recipe that doesn't include the dish soap once I run out of dish soap. Any suggestions? I also use diluted vinegar spray to clean the shower and pretty much everything in our house!
Orange Vinegar: Since vinegar can be a strong smell that can take some time to get use to I did use this site to make a batch of orange vinegar, which smells much better!
Garbage Disposal Cleaner: I have used similar methods to this one. Using lemons in my disposal seems to always take the funky smells away!
Carpet Deodorizer: We are still working on some "potty training" with Francis (our sweet Beagle). She is getting much better and giving us better signs about going outside when she needs to go to the bathroom. She has been quite a few times on the floor and I found a carpet deodorizer that I like and seems to help keep her away from the area she likes to mark. It contains Eucalyptus oil and from what I've read dogs are not a big fan of this smell. I have noticed when I used this product I don't smell any odors and Francis pees less in these two areas. I am also going to make a spray version of this when I have time!
This
site looks like it has some great ideas that I would like to try soon!
I also haven't found a good
dish detergent or
washing detergent that I like yet. I'm trying to avoid using Borax, because I've heard so many negative things and it doesn't seem like it is actually a green product. Until I find solutions for these two I try to buy more green product that contain more natural ingredients. I eventually want to make homemade
air freshener when I have time. I have a few recipes saved for that. I'd love suggestions if anyone has any!
Hair & Body Product
Shampoo (FAIL!): I have tried two fairly similar recipes that just haven't worked for me. They seem to work fine for Chris, but he has short hair. The two recipes that I have used have made my hair way too oily. I didn't even add as much olive oil as they suggested and avoided putting too much on the top part of my head, because that's were my hair tends to get oily. I'm still on the search for a product that will work best for my hair type. Next time I'll search for shampoo specifically for oily hair! The funny thing is sometimes I deal with dry scalp too. I need to figure out how to solve two problems in one!
Body Wash: We are on our second batch with this recipes. I use the liquid glycerin. I've only been able to find this product at a health food store. It can be expensive, but you never use a lot so it's lasting. Also, I didn't really see the purpose of using the blender so the second time I made it I didn't use it and the results were the same. I will say we have to be careful on how much we pour onto our cloths because it not thick and does not lather like most body washes do. As long as I feel clean from it I say that it's a success. I'm still open to finding other body wash recipes.
Face Toner: This has really help prevent breakouts for me. I use it in the morning and at night. I can't find the link to this one right now, but the ingredients are basically which hazel, lemon juice, and water.
Hair Moisturiser: This doesn't really have a formal name, but I use this product once a week on my hair. All it is is 1/4 lemon juice and 3/4 water (according to the size bottle that you use). I found this simple recipe from a book. When I'm in the shower I just use enough to cover all of my hair and let it set for a minute or two before I rinse it out. It makes my hair super soft and shiny. In the summer time it also made my blonde hair pop out even more!
Other products that I want to make are homemade deodorant (which I'm now in search for a easy recipe!), face scrubs/wash, and face moisturiser.
The green onions at the top aren't just completely random. Eventually I want to be more "green" friendly in what I eat to! I feel like right now I'm some where in between. I'm not the worst eater or the best eater. I have a little more slack since I'm pregnant, but I won't be able to use that excuse much longer! I'm also eating meat right now and I am planning to go back to eating a meat-free diet at some point after Jude is born. With that said, I'm sure many have seen the green onion tip on pinterest. Basically after you use a green onion if you save the bulbs and place them in a jar (see above) the green onions will regrow! This does indeed work. Though by the fourth or fifth use I did start to see mold on the bulb so I need to figure out of there is a possible solution to prevent that. I may just need to take the bulb out and rinse the jar out really well each time the water runs out! Since I don't have any boring pictures of my household and body product the green onions are just a bonus!
