Make Your Own Household Items

Continuing on from my last hub I wanted to again focus on items you can make yourself to save money in these tough economic times.

I don't know about everybody else, but I know whenever I run out of cleaning supplies it seems to really add up at the checkout. There's laundry detergent, softener, dishwashing liquid, floor cleaner and fridge cleaner just to name a few.

We still need to keep our houses clean and livable even when money is tight, but it's the last thing you want to spend your money on. With the recipes below you now have some very simple and cheap ways to keep your house spic and span.

You'll need:

-2 cups of liquid castile soap
-1/2 cup of water
-1 teaspoon of lemon juice
-1/2 cup of white vinegar
-5 drops of essential oil of your choice (Sweet Orange or Lime or Lavender work well)
-Squirt bottle or empty shampoo bottle etc

1. Place liquid castile soap into a squirt bottle.

2. Add water, lemon juice, vinegar and essential oil.

3. Cap the bottle and shake mix before each use.

You'll Need:
-1/4 cup soap flakes
-2 cups hot water
-1/4 cup glycerine
-1/2 teapsoon of scented essential oil (eg lime, orange, lemon)
-Empty bottle for storage

1. In a mixing bowl combine soap flakes and hot water. Make sure the water is hot enough to melt the soap flakes to avoid clumping.

2. When all soap flakes are dissolved allow the mixture to cool until it is luke warm before continuing.

3. Stir in the glycerine and essential oil, allow to cool. As it cools it will become gel-like.

4. Break the gel down by stirring it with a fork and then place into the bottle. It's not ready for use.

Before I show you how to make your own hand soap you can try the following to make your current handsoap last longer:

1.Get an empty squirt bottle

2.Pour about 1cm of your hand soap into the bottle

3.Fill the bottle with water and then put the top back on and shake it up.

This should make your soap last a lot longer and your hands will still get clean. You can also make handsoap this way using some dishwashing detergent or bubble bath as the soaping agent.

You'll need:

*1 Bar of soap
*1 Tablespoon of honey
*1 Teaspoon of glycerine
*Water

1. Grate the bar of soap into flakes and pour into a blender.

2. Add 1 cup of boiling water and whip.

3. Add in 1/2 a cup of room temperature water and stir in the blender.

4. Add the honey and glycerine and stir again.

5. Allow the mix to cool for 15 minutes and then whip again.

6. Your mixture should now be about 2 cups. Top with cool water until the mixture is between 5 and 6 cups and whip.

7. Pour into container and allow to cool. Don't put the lid or cap on until you have let the mixture cool for about an hour.

The mixture is now ready to use and should have thickened up. Shake before use.

You'll need:
*Lots of leftover slivers of bar soaps, small hotel soaps or large soaps chopped into chunks
*A large jar
*Boiling Water

When you have enough soap to fill half the jar add boiling water. Mix well until all soap is melted.

Once cool this will make a soap jelly that can be used to pretreat laundry.

Simply mix 4 ounces (115 ml) of glycerine and 4 ounces (115ml) of water in a spray bottle and shake before use. Spray onto stains and then rub the liquid into the fabric. Leave for an hour and sponge with warm water before washing.

or

Mix:
*1 cup hot water
*1/2 cup baking soda
*1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

Then store in a spray bottle. Spot treat stains then soak overnight.

To make an easy starch spray you'll need:

*1-3 tablespoons of cornflour
*Cold water

1. Mix the cornflour and water in a 1 pint (570ml) spray bottle. (Or mix in a bowl then pour into 2 smaller spray bottles)

To use simply shake and then spray clothing before ironing immediately. Keep the ironing spray out of reach of children.

You'll Need:

*1 cup of washing soda (eg Arm & Hammer)
*1/2 a cup of borax (optional)
*1 bar of soap (whatever is cheap)
*3 gallons of water
*A container for storage (a 5 gallon bucket with a lid works well)

1. Add 4 cups of water into a pan and heat on the stove on high until boiling. While the water is heating take a bar of soap and cut into little bits or grate it to make soap flakes.

2. When the water is boiling reduce to medium heat for simmering and add the soap a little at a time and then stir until it's all dissolved. Eventually the water will turn the colour of the soap that you've added.

3. Get your container and add 3 gallons of warm tap water to it.

4. Add a cup of the washing soda and the soap solution you made and stir. If you are adding borax stir that in as well. You'll now have a bucket full of soapy water.

5. Let the soap sit for 24 hours, preferably with a lid on it. After 24 hours it is ready for use.

Please note depending on the type of soap you have used it can look very different. It might be watery looking or firmer like jello. Either way it's fine and will produce clean clothes so don't worry about the texture.

Use one cup per load of laundry..

You'll need:

*1/2 cup of Washing Soda
*1/2 cup of borax
*1 shaved/grated bar of soap (try laundry bar soap)

Each batch makes 16 ounces so double the recipe etc if you wish to make more.

Simply stir all ingredients together for 5 minutes and place in a container. It can be used for front loaders or top loaders.

Use 1 tablespoon of detergent per load (you can use 1-2 scoops for heavily soiled loads).

You may be surprised but white vinegar makes a great fabric softener. Simply add a 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the last rinse of your washing load and your clothes will smell clean and fresh and be soft too. Make sure you only use white vinegar though as cider vinegar etc can stan your laundry.

Another simple recipe for fabric softener is to mix 1 gallon of white vinegar with some cheap hair conditioner. The shampoo will help make the fabric smell nice and you can use it either in the final rinse or pour onto a terry cloth and put in the dryer with the rest of your load.

Please do not use these methods in a load that has been bleached as the bleach and vinegar will emit toxic fumes when mixed!

You'll Need:
*1 cup of baking soda
*6 cups of distilled white vinegar
*7 cups of Water
*10-15 drops of essential oil (Optional)
*A large container that can hold at least one gallon.to mix fabric softner
*Old Fabric Softener bottles or containers.

1. Add baking soda to the container and then pour in water. This will dissolve the baking soda without stirring.

2. Slowly pour in 6 cups of vinegar. This will cause the baking soda to fizz (this is why you need a large container). Let the mixture fizz for a few minutes then add 5-6 more cups of water to stop the fizzing.

3. Stir and if you would like to add essential oils do so now.

4. Pour your fabric softener into your chosen storage bottles or containers

Simply add 1 cup of your fabric softener to the final rinse of your laundry.

You'll need:
*Spray bottle(s) or containers
*Water
*White Vinegar

1. Depending on the size of your bottle or container you will need to measure out the appropriate amount of vinegar. It takes about 8 ounces of vinegar per gallon of water.

2. After you have added the appropriate amount of vinegar fill the rest of the container with water and shake or stir.

To use simply spray, wait a few moments and then wipe off. For tough stains spray on then leave a few hours before wiping off.

Mix together 1 teaspoon of liquid soap, 1 teaspoon of borax, a squeeze of lemon juice and a quart of warm water for a lemony fresh cleaner

Or

Mix a 1/4 cup of baking soda, 1/2 cup of borax, 1/2 cup of vinegar and a gallon of water for a great scouring cleaner for heavy duty cleaning.

It really depends on what type of floors you have as to what recipe you use for floor cleaner but to help you reduce the amount of time you have to mop/clean your non carpet floors try vacuuming them to remove loose debris

Laminate Floors: 1/4 cup of white vinegar in a spray bottle to sprits areas that are stained. Create a solution of 1/2 vinegar 1/2 water with a few drops of dish washing detergent for an effective floor cleaner.

Ceramic Floors: Are very low maintenance and you can usually get away with just water and a damp mop to clean them. If they still appear soiled try water and detergent.

Wood Floors: Pour 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and 1/4 cup of white vinegar into a large bucket. Add 2 gallons of warm water and use your mop to mix the ingredients.
Note: If your floor is varnished skip the vegetable oil and just use vinegar. Make sure the room is well ventilated while cleaning as the vinegar can be overpowering.

You'll need:
*2 ounces of beeswax
*1/2 pint of turpentine
*1/4 ounce of essential oil of your choice

1. Heat a pan of hot water and use a bowl that fits in the pan. Remember turpentine is flammable so you need to be careful.

2. Grate up the beeswax and place in the bowl with the turpentine and heat until it all melts. Take off the heat and allow to cool.

3. Just before it hardens add some essential oil for a nice aroma. Lavender, lemon or Vanilla for example.

4. Once it has cooled it should look like a thick cream. With a bit of effort you will get a good shine and the turpentine smell will diminish in a few hours.

If you're like me then you can go through a bottle of Febreez pretty quick (on your other half's smelly shoes for example). It's pretty costly so here's a few ways you can make your own.

For regular scented febreez place 4 tablespoons of Ultra Downy fabric softener into a 32 ounce spray bottle then fill the rest with water leaving a bit of room at the top. Give it a shake and its ready to use.

If you want to have scented febreez try experimenting by using the febreez brand scented fabric softeners as the base.

This one's for my future mother in law who loves hand sanitiser. I admit I love using it after I've handled money as it always leaves my hands feeling grimy.

You'll need:
*1/4 of a cup of aloe vera gel
*1/4 cup of grain alcohol
*10 drops of essential oil
*1 drop of food colouring

Simply combine all ingredients and store in a spray pump bottle to use. Or you can take it with you on the run by filling one of these little key ring hand sanitiser containers from Amazon (see right)

You can make a simple air freshener with the following:

*2 cups of white vinegar
*1 cup dried or fresh herbs
*1/2 a teaspoon of peppermint or vanilla extract

1. Put all ingredients into a glass or enamel pan and bring mixture to the boil.

2. Simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes and then once cool pour into a large glass jar.

3. Close the jar tightly then shake once or twice a week for 4 weeks. If the jar has a metal lid place a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the jar before screwing on the lid.

4. After 4 weeks strain and reserve the juice. Pour the liquid into a pump spray bottle and spray the air to freshen it.

It may seem as if a lot of these recipes are expensive to make because of the price of the ingredients, but a lot of the recipes use the same ingredients so you will get lots and lots of use out of them and when you weight your home made cleaning products up against brand name products you'll find that in the long run you will save a lot of money, as well as help save the environment by making your own.

That's it from me, but be sure to check out these links below to view some other hubs on the topic:

Make or Buy Organic Cleaning Supplies
How To Save Money On Cleaning Supplies
Non-Toxic Household Cleaning Supplies You Can Make Yourself

Also please share your stories if you try any of these recipes. I love to hear from my readers. Comments and feedback are greatly appreciated.
Cheers,

Listerino