This post is sponsored by The Motherhood and Kimberly-Clark.
It’s Spring cleaning time! With a new baby in the house, a clean home is especially important to me. Also because of our sweet new bundle of joy, I’m trying to cut down on the amount of chemicals I use in our day to day lives. What has the most chemicals? Cleaning products! So I researched and tested several ways to clean the house chemical-free. I thought I’d share for any other like-minded moms! Here are my chemical free cleaning tips:
Apple Cider Vinegar:
I have a 946 mL bottle of apple cider vinegar that I dilute with 20 drops of lavender essential oil (gets rid of that pungent vinegar smell). I use it in the following ways to clean the house:
- Shower/Bathtub Cleaning: I mix one cup hot water and one cup apple cider vinegar in a bowl. Then I dip a sponge in the mixture and scrub scrub scrub! It’s a surprisingly strong and easy cleaner to use!
- Cleaning the washing machine: One cup ACV poured into the detergent slot and press the clean machine cycle. Say goodbye to mildew and mold!
- Freshening stale clothes: I add 1/2 cup vinegar to a load of laundry if it’s especially pungent or stale. Whether it’s all of our gym clothes or my winter jackets that have been sitting in a box for several months. This get’s rid of that musty smell.
- Degreasing surfaces: ACV to the rescue! Do the same 1:1 mixture as used in the shower/bathtub cleaning and you can degrease just about anything. I do this once a month to my countertops, grill, and stovetop.
- Removing stains: Whether it’s from clothing or carpet, just a couple drops of ACV will remove that spot.
- Extra-clean dishes: Is your dishwasher leaving your glasses and plates spotty? Add1/4 cup apple cider vinegar to your wash cycle and they’ll be good as new.
- Glass cleaner: 2 cups water and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar.
Baking Soda:
- Keep your fridge fresh: This is an old trick- leave a box of opened baking soda in the fridge to eliminate odors.
- Burnt food stuck to pots/pans: Sprinkle with baking soda and add warm water. Let soak overnight and it’ll come off with a morning scrub.
- Unclogging drains: Pour 1 cup baking soda then 1 cup hot apple cider vinegar and BOOM it’s unclogged.
- Freshen carpets: Sprinkle baking soda on carpets, let sit for at least 15 minutes, then vacuum up.
- Marks on walls: Sprinkle a little baking soda on a sponge with warm water and scrub. Fast and easy way to remove Juniors greasy fingerprints and cartoon drawings!
Coconut Oil:
- Polish wood furniture: 1/4 cup melted coconut oil, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, and 5 drops lemon essential oil. Use a rag or strong paper towel and rub into the wood for a gorgeous shine.
- Remove labels: Melt coconut oil and rub generously on labels. Wait at least an hour then scrub off.
- Oil hinges– Remove pin, lubricate with melted coconut oil, and place back in hinge.
Not only are these cleaners easy to make, they’re also easy to purchase. You can get everything you need for Spring cleaning from Walmart! First, of course, stock up on toilet paper and paper towels, as well as the cleaning products needed above. For toilet paper I bought both Scott® and Cottonelle®. Because a clean house is awesome, but so is a clean bum! I love that Cottonelle® has CleanRipple technology, especially now that Hudson is mostly potty trained. And who can say no to Scott® 1000 tissue rolls? That’s a serious deal.
Viva® towels are my favorite to clean with! I use them for everything- cleaning dishes, wiping down countertops and even dusting. They’re super soft so I don’t have to worry about scratching any surfaces, but they’re strong enough to withstand some serious scrubbing. It’s like cleaning with a cloth that I can just throw away.
I hope you found this cleaning post useful. Yay for clean houses!
Thank you for these tips. I am going to start using apple cider vinegar for my cleaning.
So much information in one post, definitely will be using this when I start my cleaning!
I love chemical free products especially with my children. it’s even better with DIY stuff
I have a shirt that has a nasty grease stain. I’ll have to try to Apple Cider Vinegar on it. Nothing else has worked yet!
I love using baking soda in my cleaning routine, but have never used apple cider vinegar, what a great idea! Thanks for sharing! I definitely need to use that in our master bath shower stall.
Love these tips! Will definitely be swapping out some of my cleaning supplies for these chemical free ones!
I need to use some of these! I worry about chemicals now that I have a daughter getting into everything!
Karin | truncationblog.com
Great tips! I’ve used a solution of vinegar and water to clean before but haven’t used ACV for cleaning yet. I’ll have to try adding some lavender essential oils to it so it doesn’t smell so bad lol.
We clean a lot with vinegar and baking soda. I haven’t tried the furniture polish though. I think we have everything to do that.
These are some fantastic tips! I have never tried heating the vinegar before pouring down the drain. Thank you for the tips 🙂
Great tips!! Definitely pinning. Thanks!
Great post! I try to use the least amount of chemicals as possible while cleaning
I love this post! I didn’t realize how many different things you could use with ACV! My favorite use was the furniture polish! I am almost out of my chemical filled cleaner and would prefer to switch to a chemical free option. Thank you for sharing!
Love all the tips! Especially all the uses for ACV, I use ti for everything! I’m going to have to try the lavender mix, thanks!
These are great tips. I’m going to have to try some of these. I would love to cut down on how many chemicals I use.
I love using ACV and essential oils for cleaning!
Ahhh! Thank you! I was looking for a post like this! My son is really sensitive, so, this is a great reference post!
These cleaners are key when you wanna go chemical free! My mother passed this down to me as it was to her, great post! xo
I’ve heard there’s so many uses for Coconut Oil! I should really get some 🙂
Awesome tips that everyone can refer to. Thanks for sharing it’s helpful particularly on carpet cleaning.