(Almost) free cleaning supplies!

I haven't bought laundry detergent or housecleaning products for over two years now. You might be thinking, "Egads!" Right now, but I promise I didn't stop buying them because I just stopped cleaning. I stopped buying commercial cleaning supplies because I started making my own! Making your own is not only cheaper, better for the environment and better for your health...It's fun too! Here are my favorites.

Earth Scrub
1C baking soda
1/4C liquid soap (I recommend dr. bronners liquid soap. It's kind of expensive, but it works great and it's completely non-toxic.)
1/4C water
2Tbsp vinegar
essential oil (optional)
Mix together the baking soda and liquid soap. Add the water and mix until combined. Add the vinegar LAST and mix until smooth. If you are using unscented soap, you might want to add a little essential oil just for fun! I like using about 10 drops of orange or lemon. This scrub works GREAT on bathrooms, kitchen sinks and anything else where you need an abrasive cleaner.

Window Washer
1 empty spray bottle
1/2 bottle water
1/2 bottle vinegar
essential oil (optional)
Take an empty bottle and fill it halfway with water and halfway with vinegar. Add about 15 drops of essential oil (if using). My favorites for this are: Peppermint or tea tree, but you can use whatever you want. Now start cleaning those windows! This spray also works great on mirrors and floors.

All purpose spray
1/4C liquid soap (again I recommend dr. bronners)
1tsp borax
2Tbsp vinegar
Essential oil (optional)

Place the borax in an empty spray bottle. Add the 2Tbsp vinegar and fill up the bottle 3/4 of the way with hot water. shake it well and then let it sit for a minute to dissolve the borax. Add the soap last. For this recipe, I like to add 15 drops of peppermint or lemon or tea tree essential oil.

Laundry soap!
4.25 oz bar of soap, grated. (I like to use dove unscented soap. I grate the soap in my food processor.)
1/2C washing soda (You can buy this in the laundry detergent aisle)
1/2C borax (Also in the laundry detergent aisle)

Place the grated soap in a large saucepan. Add 6C water and heat until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and borax and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat. Pour 4C HOT water into a large, clean floor bucket. Add the soap mixture and stir. Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir again. Now put the bucket in an out of the way place and let it sit for about a day. Now your laundry soap is ready to use! I store it in a large Tupperware container with a lid. I use 1/2C per load of laundry coupled with 1/2 of borax for water softening and deodorizing.
Note: This laundry soap will not look like commercial detergent. It will be a watery gel, not a solid gel.