Serves: 5

With all the chatter about “white sales” and New Year’s resolutions to clean up around the house this is the perfect time to look into making our own cleaners. You can cook up more than just delicious eats in that kitchen of yours. There are a lot of benefits to this DIY skill, but the following list will highlight a few of the best reasons to give it a try.

1. Knowledge – When you make your own cleaners you know what goes in to them. It isn’t a huge list of strange chemicals that you have never heard of. Rather, you have the choice to use ingredients you are familiar with and that you feel are safe and effective for use in your home! This gives you the power to decide what chemicals or other ingredients you are comfortable with and just how “homemade” you are willing to go. It is just fine to use other cleaners, but this puts YOU in the driver’s seat.

2. Savings – The financial savings can be tremendous. This will vary greatly on how many different items you want to make on your own, but the more you choose to replace purchased detergents and soaps with homemade ones, the more the savings will tally up!

3. Safety – This goes back to the knowledge reasoning, but is important enough that I thought it deserved its own little highlight! When you make your own cleaners and detergents you can choose to keep harmful, toxic chemicals out of your home in exchange for recipes you are more comfortable with. This is important in any home, but it is particularly helpful and reassuring in homes where pets and young children live!



4. Environmental Friendliness – When you are using harsh chemicals in your house, you are sending them out of your house too! Whether that is in the garbage can or down the sink you just scrubbed – they end up out there. Choosing more natural ingredients puts you in the driver’s seat and allows you to decide what you are comfortable with flushing down that drain! An added bonus – the more you make at home the fewer of those large plastic detergent and cleaner bottles there are sitting at the dump!

5. Self-Reliance – There is just something about knowing how to do things for yourself! This one may not seem all that life altering, but it could really come in handy in the right (or wrong) circumstances.

6. They work! – We have been led to believe that only the cleaner in the flashiest bottle cleans well. Commercials and a whole lot of well paid psychologists make sure that the designs, colors, scents, and catch phrases sell us on their power above all others! The truth is, you can make cleaners that work just as well (or better) than the brightly-packaged equivalent at the store. And you can do it for much, much less! If you are just really attached to the pretty packaging you can always make your own fancy label! Some markers, a toddler, and some paper and you’re your cleaner will out shine all of theirs! What do we think, “Wanda’s Window Wash”, Calli’s Cleaning Concoction”? Bad, I know!

Now we know why, but where to start? The internet is full (to put it mildly) of opinions and ideas on everything from A to Z, and cleaning solution recipes are no exception. I will share some simple starters with you all and if you are looking for more you can find anything you could dream of out there in the vast land of “Google”!

***Make sure to keep all home-made formulas well-labeled, and out of the reach of children.***

More Recipes from the 2011 HomeCook'n Collection Cookbook:
HEADLINE RECIPE: Oven Processed Homemade Soap
TOP ARTICLE: Snow-Made Ice Cream
FEATURED RECIPE: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
FEATURED RECIPE: White Peach Lemonade
FEATURED RECIPE: White Castle Copy Cat Burgers
FEATURED RECIPE: Yogurt Yeast Rolls
KITCHEN REMEDY: For Your Gluten-Intolerant Friends
KITCHEN REMEDY: Cook Up A Clean Kitchen
TABLE TALK: White House Favorites
TABLE TALK: White Chilies and Chowders
JEST FOR FUN: Women Drivers
JEST FOR FUN: Interesting Spaces
JEST FOR FUN: A Little Too Much Fun with Snow
JEST FOR FUN: Christian Comics
REFRIGERATOR DOOR: Cake Bite Versatility!
REFRIGERATOR DOOR: Old Fashioned Ham 'n Beans
Vanilla Snow Ice Cream
Pink Strawberry Snow Ice Cream
Chocolate Snow Ice Cream
Snow Frozen Ice Cream
Gluten-Free Blueberry Pancakes
Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies
Gluten-Free Trail Mix Snack
Gluten-Free Banana Bread
Ronald Reagan's Macaroni and Cheese
Pat Nixon's Meatloaf
Bread Pudding
Jackie Kennedy’s White House Hot Fruit Dessert
Rosalyn's Peanut Butter Pie
Pilgrim's Pride Turkey
Dunkin Donuts Old-Fashioned Cake Doughnut Sweet and Savory Stuffing
Bob Talbert’s White Chili
New England Clam Chowder
White Bean Chowder
Slow Cooker Corn Chowder
Vegetarian White Chili