Simplify

When you simplify the ingredients you allow into your household you quickly realize that a handful of common ingredients are incredible workhorses when it comes to cleaning and sanitizing. These ingredients are versatile, cheap, and easy to come by at your local grocery or drug store.

I have been on a journey the last several years to reduce the amount of chemicals and toxins that my family comes into contact with on a regular basis. Going product by product takes time, effort, research, and trial and error to figure out what works and what does not. Really what it comes down to is SIMPLIFY. Simplify the ingredients, simplify the process, just look for the simplest, most basic option. Not only is it safer, but it is almost always cheaper to make your own cleaning products. And I promise you, IT WORKS! 

I have scoured through books, blogs, magazines, etc to find different cleaning products and methods. Trust me, I have tried them all! As I tried out different recipes one thing became very clear to me in this natural cleaning process. There are a handful of ingredients that are absolute workhorses. They are versatile, hard working, and cheap! When I realized you can do so much with just a handful of different things it was game over. I began buying those products in bulk and I never went back. I am going to give you my top 6 Natural Cleaning ingredients to keep on hand as well as another 5 ingredients that are great additions to your Natural Cleaning stockpile.

10 Staple Ingredients for Natural Cleaning

1. Baking Soda: This pantry staple isn’t just for cooking and deodorizing. Sodium Bicarbonate is slightly alkaline and is great to clean, scour, polish, soften water, cut grease, and remove stains. You can use baking soda to clean everything from the kitchen to the bathroom and everything in between.
2. Washing Soda:Washing soda is just sodium Carbonate and you can make this using baking soda see how Here. This will help you cut grease, soften water, remove stains, clean surfaces, and is powerful in Homemade Laundry and Dish detergents. 
3. Rubbing Alcohol: Rubbing alcohol is fantastic at killing germs, getting rid of mold and mildew, as well as giving that “sparkle” to chrome and glass.
4. Distilled Vinegar: Cuts grease, gets rid of tarnish, odors, soap scum, mineral deposits, stains and wax buildup. It can also fight mold, mildew, and bacteria.
5. Castile Soap: This is a mild soap made from natural plant based ingredients. It is highly concentrated and needs to be diluted in most recipes. You can use this in Laundry Detergent, Dish Soap, Hand soap, Counter cleaners, as well as body care products and so so so much more. 
6. Borax: Borax is a naturally occurring white mineral that can be used to clean, get rid of bugs, boost laundry, and acts as a natural fungicide. I know that borax can be a heavily debated ingredient but after my own research I have concluded I am comfortable using it in my house. 
7. Hydrogen peroxide, 3%: A weak acid that will bleach, and remove stains as well as disinfect and sanitize. 
8. Salt: Softens hard water and clothes, helps to remove stains, scent booster, as well as an abrasive in scouring pastes.
9. Citric acid: Removes soap scum, hard water stains, calcium deposits, lime and rust.
10. Sals Suds: A detergent that is a tougher version of castile soap. You can use it to boost your Homemade Laundry Detergent or for any surface around your home that needs a good clean.
11. Essential Oils: Can have antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antiviral properties as well as add a safe and natural scent boost to your cleaners. See below for a list of helpful Natural cleaning essential oils.
12. Olive or coconut oil: These oils are wonderful wood polishers, can remove labels, buff stainless steel, and remove residue from surfaces.

Essential Oils for Natural Cleaning

1. Lemon: A strong food acid that can disinfect & sanitize, cuts grease, remove stains, bleach, and when mixed with salt makes a fantastic scouring paste. 
2. Tea Tree: Is one of the few oils that contains terpinen-4-ol. This oil has antibacterial, antifungal, anti-microbial properties. It is perfect for use in all-purpose sprays or counter cleaning sprays.
3. Lavender: This oil is great to use to prevent mold and mildew. I love to use it in my laundry products or add a few drops to your wool dryer balls.
4. Grapefruit: Has great disinfectant properties! This one is a must in your bathroom cleaners.
5. Conifer oils: like pine are full of potent monoterpenes, like α- and β-pinene. These oils fight viruses, fungi, and bacteria
6. Clove bud oil: This oil is rich in eugenol! Eugenol has been shown to destroy bacteria, fungi, and viruses (including the cold sore and flu virus).
7. Thyme oil: This oil contains thymol and has powerful antimicrobial properties!
8. Mint: This oil is great at deterring bugs around the home. You can buy or make your own peppermint spray, my husband uses this regularly during the summer to battle sugar ants. 
9. Eucalyptus: This one is a great antiviral and antibacterial. Combine it with tea tree and they will work together to ensure your surfaces are clean and sanitized.
10. Oregano oil: This oil is a powerful antimicrobial that has been shown to be able to kill the norovirus.