It takes me a long time to walk the length of the cleaning products aisle at the grocery store. There are products with labels that promise maximum force, triple power, instant stain removal and ultimate cleaning. It’s confusing! I don’t know whether I need heavy-duty, commercial, professional or industrial strength cleaners. Is the wisest choice a gel, a cream, a spray, scrubbing bubbles, a cleaning wand, a cleaning pen or a complete cleaning system? What is a complete cleaning system anyhow? And then there are the magic sponges and miracle cleaners. Is it even ethical to buy Mr. Clean or the Janitor in a drum? Would he need room of his own? So many choices, so many chemicals with long and unfamiliar names.

I’ve discovered that I can make cleaning products, with non-toxic chemicals from my pantry.

In a chemistry lab they would be called sodium bicarbonate, acetic acid, citric acid, sodium chloride, surfactant and H₂0 but, in my kitchen, they’re called baking soda, white vinegar, lemon juice, salt, liquid soap and water.

My first homemade cleaning solution was pretty amazing. I was eight and, inspired by the Mr. Wizard television show, I wanted to be a scientist. When I learned that a lemon and salt would make copper sparkle, I couldn’t wait to try. I sprinkled a spoonful of salt onto a lemon half and rubbed the tarnished kettle. It was magic. The kettle was transformed from a dull brown to an embarrassing pink. I was hooked. After the kettle, I cleaned the copper bottoms of the saucepans and then all the pennies I could find. I still clean copper with a lemon and salt, and now I have an assortment of homemade, multi-purpose cleaning supplies.

Homemade kitchen and bathroom supplies don’t come in fancy packages with fantastic promises, but they are economical, safe and they work. It is important to label what you make.

Click here to down load labels you can print for your homemade cleaning supplies.

Here’s how I made them: … read more