Anyone trying to save money, use less chemicals in their homes and minimize the amount of trash their family puts in the landfills every year, might already be making homemade cleaning solutions—for everything from the kitchen to the bathroom and everything in between. In fact, if you have a bottle of white vinegar and a box of baking soda, you can get just about anything clean.
One of the easiest cleaners to make is by mixing white vinegar and water—-you can play around with the measurements and 
make it stronger or weaker according to your needs. I like to put it in a plastic spray bottle and use the solution to clean my sticky counter-tops, spills and splatters off the hardwood floor, the grime on the stove top, and the fingerprints off of door frames. It’s so gentle I even use it to wipe down the leather couch. Vinegar doesn’t smell after it dries and due to it’s high acidity, it kills germs and bacteria. It’s also environmentally friendly and very inexpensive.
We have a stainless steel sink and the best way to get it clean? With the mild abrasive properties of baking soda. I make a thick paste by mixing baking soda and water (or you can add a few drops of dish soap) and scrub it around with my hands. It rinses off easily and leaves the sink sparkly clean. It does the same for the stubborn ring of kid-grime left in the tub after numerous weekly baths. It’s abrasive enough to clean but gentle enough that it won’t scratch (most) surfaces. Baking soda also makes a great a natural deodorizer–it absorbs smells instead of masking them. Sprinkle it on your rugs and let it sit before vacuuming, sprinkle the bottom of your cloth diaper pail with it–you can even sprinkle baking soda on your dog before your brush him to help get rid of the “doggy smell!”
There are dozens and dozens of more ways to use both baking soda and vinegar in your home and not just for cleaning the house—but that’s another blog altogether. Do you make any of your own cleaning products and if so, which ones? Do you do it to save money or to use less chemicals or because it’s better for the environment?
I use vinegar to clean everything in my home and i love that it is baby-safe.
I am using up some of my last 7th gen products and then switching to using vinegar and water. I love that it’s chemical free and safe for everyone in the family!
I also use vinegar in a spray bottle around doors and windows to keep ants out!! No pesty chemicals… works GREAT!!!
-I use baking soda to clean my sinks and tub as well. It does kill germs, after 10 minutes, but needs to be sprayed on full strength.
-I also use 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup of white vinegar to routinely clean my drains.
-To take the itch and pain out of insect bites, make a paste of baking soda and water and spread on the bite.
-You can dilute 2 tblsp. cider vinegar in 1/2 gallon water as a hair rinse, for shine and lift.
-Use 1/2 cup white vinegar in the rinse cycle for natural fiber cloth diapers or inserts.
Awesome post! My hubby got a squirt bottle of vinegar and water to train the dogs from running out of the front gate. (just spray up into air -not at them- and it breaks their attention).. well i’ve been nesting and using it to clean (he wonders why its always half empty when he gets home from work).. and i can say I truly love it and i feel totally safe using it pregnant or my kids touching it. WIN!
I use lots of vinegar. I also use orange halves and kosher salt to scrub my shower. I then use the peels from the orange and vinegar I use to clean the coffee maker (once a month) to make orange vinegar. Orange vinegar is my cleaning go to. I use it on everything from counters to floors to the barbecue grill to kid toys. I refuse to use cancer causing and planet killing chemicals around my children. The cost is just a bonus.
I love using vinegar and baking soda. I use the soda paste in my toilet then use the vinegar and let it bubble. Then flush and done.
I have recently been replacing our household cleaners with safer, and more economical options. I love the versatility of vinegar and baking soda!
I use vinegar and baking soda for everything, especially cleaning the bathroom and laundry. I use a lot of Borax too. I’ll mix up a combination of Borax and vinegar and add some essential oil to wash my floors. It smells so good and I can use whatever scent I feel like that day!
Vinegar and baking soda can stop your pets from having accidents in the same spots repeatedly on the carpet and it is safe for the pets and babies to walk/crawl on after it dries
I JUST bought a book from half.com titled 500 Uses For Baking Soda. Brilliant!
We like a cleaning product called Simple Green. Whenever we clean with Lysol it seems like you might was well just use water because the Lysol doesn’t clean a surface any better. Simple Green is effective.
I recently started switching to natural cleaning products. One tip was to not reuse old bottles that had cleaners in them. You don’t know what residues are left in the old ones and don’t want to mix chemicals.
I use a combination of 50%blue dawn and 50% vinegar to clean my kitchen and bathroom. Cleans away soap scum and limescale very easily and leaves a nice shine.
Really good idea. I’ve heard of using it before but was unsure of the amounts.
I’ve had a “green housekeeping” book for years but it is only now with a little one in the house that I am finally getting around to actually putting the recommendations to use. And now that I will be staying at home I’m also looking for money saving ideas!
I am both trying to save money and use less chemicals now that I’m expecting. Thanks so much for this article!
Loved the article….you can use 1 part white vinegar with 3 parts water and wash all of your fruits and veggies, especially good if you make your own baby food!
has anyone tried vinegar and baking soda on grout? or on the soap scum that builds up on the plastic flooring in a stand-up shower? these are things i’ve not been able to remove the stains from in the whole six years we’ve lived in our house…
I love being reminded of all the uses of vinegar for cleaning! I want to start using it more and eventually replace the conventional cleaning products in my home.
So informative! Thanks for the tips
Thanks for writing about all the uses. I can’t wait to use some of them!
I am going to start making my own laundry detergent once I run out of our current liquid Tide. I am excited that it will be more cost effective and am also hoping it does a much better job at getting clothes clean!
I’ve been using left over dill pickle juice to clean my stove top and it cuts through everything pretty quickly. The kitchen will smell like pickles for a little while, but the smell does go away.
I have to start using it! Thanks for the post
Thanks for posting the tip about cleaning a stainless steel sink. Sounds like a great idea and I’m going to give it a shot. I always use vinegar to clean dirty toilets and it works great – no sticky residue on the toilet seat.
i love vinegar too to clean the kitchen. gotta give baking soda a try.
I use vinegar to clean sinks, counters, and I even use it for dusting! I love that I can use it while I’m pregnant, and I will continue to use it when my son arrives, with no worries!
Thanks for sharing these useful tips!
I have been using vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, and peroxide (not all together!) in many ways to do many cleaning tasks around our home, to save money and to avoid nasty ingredients around my babies. I also tried making my own laundry detergent (baking soda, washing soda, Borax, mild soap) with a recipe I found online. It seems to do just as well as my previous store-bought stuff. I don’t use it on my cloth diapers, though, since I didn’t know whether it’s okay for them or not.
Love, love, love this. I wish more people used mild for the environment and our health (yet powerful cleaner) solutions like this. I don’t know why those harsh cleaners are still widely commercialized. People have got to stop buying them and use their money more wisely.
We use white vinager for cleaning and santitizing floors and counters, my landlord actually asked we use vinager on the floors with water becuase harsher chemicals would take the finishing off. And i use it in the washer now and then…just a cup of vinager and then a normal wash with nothing in it.
The only downside is my husband HATES the smell, it makes him sick…so i usually wait till he is out of the house or i am able to clear out any trace of smell.
Such a convenient, safe and cheap go to cleaner. Love using vinegar around the house.
These are great ideas! I’ve just noticed we have a couple ants sneaking in the front door so I’ll be using a solution described above and see if that works. Thanks for all the tips!
hmm this looks an interesting idea, I am going to see if I can source some baking soda in the UK and give it a try.
Anything that saves money is worthwhile! especially when you have four kids.
I just found this website today and so far it has been very helpful. I am expecting my first child in march and still have a lot that I need to learn. I want to do things as natural as possibly especially when it comes to cleaning. This blog was very helpful since my husband don’t have a lot of money to spend on safe, yet powerful, cleaning products. Thanks for the info!
I agree that vinegar is my go-to cleaning product. It is so versatile from cleaning the bathroom to disinfecting the washing machine. Very cost effective. Best of all, it works phenomenlly.
I use vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice and water to wash fruits and veggies. I mop the floors andnclean the windows with vinegar/water.
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