Spring is almost here! Just a few days until the official start of spring and I can’t wait! I think spring is my favorite season, especially this year since it has been cold for so long. Usually, here in Texas, it is warmer much earlier, but this year it seems like winter has lasted forever. We are expecting warmer weather at the end of this week and I can’t wait.
I don’t know if it’s the warmer weather, spring cleaning, or the beautiful flowers and plants that start popping up but I do love this season, probably because of a mixture of all of the above and also the fact that my favorite holiday, Easter, is coming up soon.
With spring comes spring cleaning, so today I decided to put together this simple recipe for DIY cleaning spray that I use for just about everything. I normally use Norwex and water to clean (if you’ve never heard of Norwex, they are great non-toxic cleaning products) but I needed an easy cleaning spray that wasn’t full of toxic chemicals to clean up nasty messes that I didn’t want to use my Norwex cloths on.
I use this spray for everything from the bathroom toilet to kitchen counters & floors and especially potty-training accidents. It works great and it’s non-toxic so I don’t have to worry about headaches or passing out from inhaling chemical fumes. I don’t have to worry about my kids helping me with cleaning either! Plus, it only has a few inexpensive ingredients that I always have on hand anyway so I always have an affordable cleaning spray if I need it.
DIY All-Purpose Cleaning Spray
What you need:
- Empty spray bottle
- White Vinegar
- Dish Soap (or omit completely if you want)
- Orange Essential Oil (or your favorite essential oil)
- Water
Instructions:
- Fill your spray bottle halfway with vinegar
- Add 1 Tablespoon dish soap (less if you have a smaller spray bottle)
- Add 10-15 drops of your favorite essential oil.
- Fill the rest of the bottle up with water.
- Put the top on the bottle, mix, and it’s ready to use!
Some helpful tips:
I bought a few large spray bottles from Walmart a few years ago. Obviously, you can see mine is 32 oz but if you buy smaller ones, just make sure to decrease the amount of dish soap and essential oils or it might be a bit overpowering. I have been using the same spray bottle for many years and just refill it!
White vinegar is used for all kinds of cleaning and cooking around so I always buy the huge gallon bottle from the store. It lasts awhile, is affordable, and I always have some on hand.
I’m sure Dawn dish soap isn’t the most non-toxic soap but my husband bought a huge bottle from Sam’s because he uses it to wash his hands after doing mechanic work. I like to have some sort of soap in there to get extra grime off but feel free to omit it completely or use an organic/all natural version. I don’t like to waste so I’m just using whatever I have on hand especially since it’s for cleaning anyway!
I used to make this without essential oils but it smells very vinegary as you probably can guess so recently I decided to add some essential oils to it and it smells so much nicer! The vinegar smell will always dissipate but I like things that smell nice haha. I normally use orange since it is a common ingredient in many cleaning supplies and it smells amazing but you can use whatever kind you like! I’ve hear Thieves is a good one and I have sometimes used lemon and ylang ylang.
I hope that helps! This cleaning solution has been a great replacement for us for things like 409 All-purpose spray and Clorox wipes (don’t even get me started on how toxic those are, blegh). Let me know if you give it a try!
