Cleaning our homes is one of those never ending chores, and if you have young children, you definitely know what I mean! While keeping our homes clean is important for many reasons, we should be able to do so without negatively impacting our health and the health of our family. Non toxic cleaning doesn’t have to be difficult or costly.
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I’ve always been super sensitive to the smell of cleaning products and get a migraine just walking down the laundry detergent aisle at Target.
But it wasn’t just the smells that would make me ill. I would break out in an itchy rash if I washed my clothes with scented detergent and my hands had terrible eczema if I ever quickly cleaned a mess without gloves.
I switched all of my cleaning products to those labeled “natural” or “green” which was quite expensive! So you can imagine my frustration when cleaning my house STILL gave me a migraine, rashes, and asthma attacks!
When I was pregnant with the twins, I decided to do some research on my new “natural” cleaning products and was pretty disappointed to learn that many products labeled as “green”, “natural”, and even “organic” emit just as many hazardous chemicals as the standard products.
Well that just wasn’t gonna fly! No way would I be exposing vulnerable new humans to these dangerous chemicals!
CLICK HERE TO READ: 10 REASONS YOUR HOUSE STILL DOESN’T LOOK CLEAN
Obviously, we can’t boycott house cleaning, especially the kitchen and bathrooms where really scary germs live. But there are many effective chemical free cleaning products you can mix up yourself (with things you probably already have) that are much healthier alternatives for home cleaning.
You can always check the safety of products or ingredients you are using at the EWG website. EWG stands for Environmental Working Group which is a non profit organization dedicated to protecting our health and the environment.
Related: GMO Food Dangers: How to Protect Your Family
Here are some of the best non toxic cleaning products that you can make yourself!
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Non Toxic Cleaning Ingredients
Many of these items non toxic cleaning supplies you probably already have on hand. If not, they are inexpensive, easy to find, and last a long time.
- white vinegar
- baking soda
- sea salt
- hydrogen peroxide
- lemons
- Dr. Bronner’s castile soap
- Microfiber cloths
- spray bottle
- essential oils
- magic erasers
Bonus Tip: Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap can be used for everything! I keep this cheat sheet handy to reference dilution recommendations for the many different uses.
And it’s never too early to teach kids to be responsible for some of the household chores!
Easy Homemade Cleaning Products Recipes
Homemade All Purpose Cleaner
You only need 3 simple ingredients for a safe and effective all purpose cleaner!
- 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar
- 2 cups water
- 15-20 drops essential oils (my favorites for this recipe are orange and lemon)
Pour all ingredients into a spray bottle and get to cleaning!
NOTE: Do not use on granite or marble. The acidity of the vinegar will eat away at the surface.
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Non Toxic Glass Cleaner
Cleaning windows is sometimes a daily job at our house with all the grimy fingerprints little boys leave behind. I certainly needed something natural and non toxic to keep the kids safe and also because they love to help clean windows!
This homemade glass cleaner not only gets the dirtiest windows sparkly clean, it’s safe for the kids to use. We use microfiber cloths for a streak free clean!
- 2 cups distilled water
- 2 Tbsp white vinegar
- 10 drops essential oil (I like lemon with this recipe)
Pour all of the ingredients into a spray bottle and give it a gentle shake.
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Cleaning Cookware
Cleaning pots and pans is never fun, but you don’t need harsh chemicals to get the job done. (did I just make a rhyme?:-)
You only need 3 ingredients to have your cookware looking shiny clean!
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1 tsp Dr. Bronners Castile soap
- 2 Tbsp hydrogen peroxide
Mix the ingredients in a bowl to make a paste. Spread the paste mixture over the pots or pans and leave it for several minutes. I use a magic eraser to work the cleaner into the pan until it’s all clean.
Hydrogen peroxide is also quite effective for disinfecting and for removing stains. I keep a spray bottle of peroxide to use on cutting boards and counter tops.
To clean copper dishes or cookware, I use two simple things:
- sea salt
- lemon
I slice the lemon in half and use it to scrub the salt into the copper. Leaves copper clean and looking like new!
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Cleaning the Toilet and Bathroom
With a house full of boys who seem to have poor aim, this is my most dreaded chore! Here’s a super simple way to clean your toilet without the toxic fumes.
Homemade bathroom Cleaner
- 2 Tbsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap
- 2 Cups Water
- 10 drops essential oil (I like eucalyptus for the bathroom)
Pour all of the ingredients into a squirt bottle and shake it. You can re purpose an empty bottle or find one here. When ready to clean, just shake the bottle and squirt the cleaner around the inside of the toilet bowl. I let it sit for a few minutes before scrubbing with a brush.
Have you heard?
Have you heard of this life changing toilet paper? It’s made of 100% bamboo instead of trees making it the most sustainable, eco-friendly toilet paper you can find!
RELATED: How to Clean Toilets to Eliminate the Little Boy Pee Smell
Want Non-Toxic Cleaning to be Even Easier?
Non-Toxic cleaning is extremely important to me, but so is convenience. I like to make life easier whenever I can! Instead of dragging out all of the ingredients to mix up cleaners, This All Purpose Cleaner has simplified my cleaning routines.
I use it to clean:
- floors
- windows
- dishes
- sippy cups and parts
- showers
- toilets
- make up brushes
- carpet/rugs
- laundry stains
- kitty litter box
- liquid vitamin dosing syringes (Beckem goes through a lot of these)
- toothbrushes
- sinks
- countertops
- stove top
- dusting/cleaning furniture
- smelly shoes
RELATED: How to Save Money: Things I Quit Buying to Save Over $10K
$30 Off Force of Nature Natural Cleaner
If you decide to give any of these cleaning solutions a try, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
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All content here should be considered as opinion only. Always seek the advice of your own health professional for any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health or the health of others See full disclosure
This is awesome! I’m always looking for non-toxic cleaning supplies for my classroom the most!
Thank you, Bianca! Happy cleaning!
Thanks a lot for this great and practical post! Money saving, eco-friendly and keeping our lives out of danger caused by toxic cleaning products.
I’m so glad you found it helpful! Thank you so much for reading!
I cant wait to try out these suggestions. I have 2 little ones and been wanting to switch to non toxic cleaners for a while. Plus these will allow my almost 4 year old to help with cleaning chores too…something we haven’t allowed in the past because she would be exposed to dangerous fumes. Thank you!