This is saving us so much $$$! We were using a “natural” store bought cleaner that had over 15 ingredients and some I had never heard of before. It was about $6.00 a bottle. The first ingredient was WATER! If you are new to reading labels most labels are organized in descending order. So, I was paying six bucks for mostly water. Crazy! And because I have obsessive tendencies to wipe down an entire kitchen if I see a crumb, I was going through a 16 oz bottle in a little over a week. I also used it to wipe down tables and chairs. So, I made my own. I’ve known about vinegar being an all purpose cleaner so I just diluted it with WATER and added some essential oils. How easy! It literally takes me 2 minutes max to make. It lasts me over 2 weeks. Love it!

UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM OF POST!

Ingredients

3/4 Cup of Cleaning Vinegar

10-15 Drops of Lemon Essential Oil

10 Drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil

10 Drops of Lavender Essential Oil

Fill the rest of your bottle with WATER

Instructions

1. Measure your cleaning vinegar and pour into your glass bottle.

2. Add your essential oils and fill the rest of your bottle with water.

3. Shake it up gently and it’s ready to use. Wipe away!

I spray this on all my kitchen surfaces like countertops, dining tables, chairs, inside the kitchen sink, fridge, pantry…microwave if you use it (no judgement, just concern)! It does not need to be rinsed off.

I wipe with microfiber towels (no paper). Darker colors hide stains better. Use these for drying and wiping all surfaces in your home just make sure you have separate ones for bathrooms.

If you need some scouring action just sprinkle some baking soda before you spray then scrub away. You could also use coarse sea salt.

I use these amber glass bottles to retain the power of the essential oils. Essential oils can wear down some plastics and clear bottles let in too much light. Notice essential oils always come in dark glass bottles. We are trying to eliminate all plastic in our home (that will be a post for another day). We do try to get ALL organic essential oils because we do diffuse these oils in our home and use them on our bodies so we want the best quality with no nasty pesticides or additives.

Check these bottles out! They work awesome! I ordered a couple sets and have not had any issues. Saving the planet one plastic bottle at a time!

Function of Ingredients

Vinegar can be bought at your local grocery store or online. I usually buy gallons of it. I also use it for a laundry boost. Vinegar is natural and non-toxic. It is cost-effective. You can buy cleaning vinegar which is usually 6% acidity or white vinegar which is 5% acidity. The more acidic the vinegar the better it will work on sanitizing your home. Either way it needs to be diluted with water because it can be harsh on skin and some surfaces.

Lemon essential oil is purifying and it is also acidic so it helps naturally clean your most important spaces like countertops.

Tea tree oil for everything! Tea tree essential oil is magical. It is antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal making it the star of this show.

This lavender oil is pricey but I promise we will use it for so many other things it will be worth it! Lavender…ahhh…just typing that word makes me so relaxed and peaceful. Lavender is not only a soothing oil it is less commonly known for its disinfecting properties. It is a natural antimicrobial cleaner.

Since you are making our own cleaner you can combine other essential oils, you can also increase or decrease the amount of a specific oil to your liking.

Orange essential oil not used in this recipe can be added for its degreasing properties.

Ingredients to Avoid/ Check Your Label

Whenever “fragrance” is listed as an ingredient just know that one word could actually represent over a 100 different chemicals. EWW!

Quaternary ammonium compounds (Quats) are a very strong disinfectant. In fact, we use it in the beauty industry to disinfect our tools like combs, clips, and brushes. It kills bacteria, viruses, and fungi. I teach my cosmetology students that they must never touch the quaternary ammonium compounds with their bare hands. They must take special precautions when using the disinfectant. This disinfectant is found in popular kitchen sprays that are used to clean surfaces that we place our food on. No way! This disinfectant has the potential to cause reproductive harm, respiratory effects, and endocrine disruption.

If you have stone countertops like granite, I would not recommend this cleaner as the vinegar is acidic and could break down the finish.

UPDATE: You can use vinegar all by itself to clean countertops. The vinegar smell will dissipate once it dries.

You could also use hydrogen peroxide diluted with water. This is what most doctor’s offices use to clean not alcohol.

Leave on an area for 5-10 minutes and then wipe away.

I’d love to hear what blends you have tried!