Do you really save money with homemade cleaning products?
And do they work as well as the ultimate and superior products on the store shelves?
I am not the worlds biggest fan of cleaning by any means but I do like a clean home so I understand why you would feel you have to buy cleaning products.
But it pains me to see how much money you could be spending on cleaning products when there is no need.
No need.
Let’s take a walk together down a typical grocery store cleaning aisle.
What do we see?
Each of these products can vary between $1-$6 (£1-£5).
If you bought all of these not only would you have a bulging cleaning cupboard, but you’d be poorer by upwards of $80.
Yikes.
With that level of cost to your tight budget it makes sense to consider cheaper alternatives.
And what can be cheaper than making your own?
Homemade cleaning products can be made for pennies in comparison to the premium/ultimate/superior cleaning products we get dazzled by in the grocery store.
Or you could spend that $80+ every year and achieve the same clean result.
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DIY Natural Cleaning Products
If you want to focus on buying and using natural cleaning products then these come at a premium too.
I am sure their contents are better for the environment (although not many seem to come in non-plastic packaging) but they are no better for your purse.
That’s for sure.
In fact I often find that trying to find eco friendly natural cleaning products is very difficult for those who are on a tight budget.
And just because you don’t have the money doesn’t mean you should have to use chemicals to clean your house or spend too much on standard cleaning products.
DIY natural cleaning products solve both the problem of keeping your spending down low and being environmentally friendly.
These posts have more eco friendly money saving tips:
50 Frugal Habits That Are Also Eco Friendly
How To Go Green When You Live A Thrifty Lifestyle
My Frugal And Simple Cheats Alternative
What if you are not confident about making your own DIY cleaners?
How can you save money, focus on being frugal and eco friendly when the DIY isn’t going to happen today?
Likewise, if you don’t have the storage for large quantities of your newly homemade cleaning products, or you feel finding the time to make them will stop you from doing this.
If the idea of making your own homemade cleaning products is likely to remain just that, an idea, then I have a simple and extremely frugal shortcut you will love.
And I’ll be honest, this was my go to way of saving money on cleaning my home for many years.
I just didn’t feel confident enough to start making a batch of say homemade all purpose cleaner.
What if I did it wrong? Or couldn’t find the right ingredients?
Not only will my shortcut still save you a lot of money, you can be more eco friendly and get rid of 90% of the products above.
FRUGAL SHORTCUT – Turn a concentrated cleaner into a homemade all purpose cleaner.
I used a homemade all purpose cleaner made from a concentrated cleaning product to clean my kitchen, bathroom, shower, toilet, floors, tiles.
You name it, I cleaned it with my (diluted) concentrated cleaner.
And how much does a concentrated cleaner cost?
Anything from £1 to £10 a bottle, depending on brand and shipping.
My concentrated cleaner of choice has always been Stardrops which you can buy from Amazon.co.uk if you can’t find it anywhere else.
Frugal Tip – In the UK most bargain home stores stock Stardrops cheaper than Amazon.
In the US, Biokleen is a recommended concentrated cleaner.
Again, look for it in home stores, it could well be much cheaper than Amazon.
The Frugal Way To Use A Concentrated Cleaner
To get maximum value out of your concentrated cleaner you will want to create your own ready to go diluted homemade all purpose cleaner spray.
Get yourself a clean, (reused) spray bottle and follow their instructions to make up your cleaning spray.
For instance Biokleen instructions say to use 1-2 capfuls per gallon of water.
Your spray bottle won’t hold a gallon so reduce accordingly.
If you are using Stardrops then my recipe is to fill a standard 500ml spray bottle with about 2cm of Stardrops then top up with water.
One bottle of Stardrops will last me an entire year of cleaning bathroom and kitchen, tiles and all.
My last but one bottle cost me 99p from HomeBargains.
And yes I did clean everywhere at least once a week – honest!
99p for a years worth of homemade all purpose cleaner – super frugal don’t you think?
Homemade Cleaning Product Ingredients
The great thing about these recipes is that most of the ingredients are items you could already have in your store cupboards:
The main ingredients you will need for the recipes are:
White vinegar
Essential oils
Baking soda
Castile soap
Washing soda
Borax
These are the standard products that were in every households cupboards in the olden days.
Followers of old fashioned living keep these products in their cupboards for a multitude of different uses.
Not just cleaning.
9 Homemade Cleaning Products For Your Frugal Home
Firstly, my super frugal tip for all homemade cleaning products – don’t buy glass or spray bottles for your DIY products, use old spray bottles that you have washed out.
My concentrated cleaner spray is in a bottle that is at least 3 years old now.
I keep them going until they fall apart. Which doesn’t happen often because plastic (or glass) lasts forever.
1. All Purpose Cleaner
Personally I prefer an all purpose cleaner.
It means less bottles cluttering up my cupboards, although I do often end up having a bottle each for upstairs and downstairs so that defeats that plan!
I like this recipe because it’s a homemade cleaning product with essentials oils so smells great with the lavender and orange oils added.
Frugal Tip – if you have empty plastic spray bottles then use these to save your pennies, don’t buy a glass one as suggested.
2. Laundry Detergent
This is the one I have shied away from to be honest.
Every recipe I read back when I had a family of four to wash for talked about 5 gallon buckets of liquid.
I really couldn’t see myself storing such a large quantity, or making it.
However this recipe looks a game changer. It’s a powder not a liquid and much more easily stored.
Frugal Tip – there are a few comments that suggest using 2 tablespoons, not one, of the detergent works best.
It’s a case of see what works best for you.
3. Fabric Softener
Disclaimer – I’m not a great lover of fabric softener.
I think it stems back to reading somewhere that if you use (too much?) fabric softener then it reduces the absorbing powers of your towels.
And of course it’s one less thing to buy if you don’t use it.
But if you do use it then a 3 ingredient homemade natural product makes perfect sense.
4. Dishwasher Tablets
Now this is a recipe I don’t mind trying given how every dishwasher tablet you can buy is now encased in some form of plastic.
How companies can think soluble plastic is a good thing I really don’t know.
Extra Frugal Tip – I do as she does and have used vinegar as a rinse aid for many years.
5. Heavy Duty Kitchen Cleaner
To cut through grease you might need to substitute your all purpose cleaner for a dose of this heavy duty cleaner.
Grease, especially more than a drop, can require a bit more and this does the trick.
6. Homemade Wood Floor Cleaner
As much I try to use an all purpose cleaner for every task, including floors, sometimes you need something specific, without vinegar, especially when it comes to wood flooring.
The easiest way to solve the wood floor cleaning jobs is to use a homemade floor cleaner designed to cut through grease without damaging your floor.
And this is just the ticket.
3 ingredients plus water, what could be simpler?
7. Toilet Cleaner
This is an all natural home made toilet cleaner with just 2 essential ingredients. That’s my kind of simple and easy.
8. Shower And Bathroom Cleaner
I love it when my shower glass doors are clean and shiny but in our previous house that was a once a week treat on my cleaning day.
We had hard water and others in my home (mentioning no names in case DD2 is reading) seemed incapable of wiping down after their shower.
This shower and bathtub cleaner will cut through the (too many) soap suds left behind by girls who use too much product.
And leave the glass shiny which is exactly what I like.
UK Frugal Tip – Fairy liquid would seem to be a good alternative to Dawn Ultra.
9. Dusting Spray
Dusting is my least favorite cleaning job, hence leaving this cleaning product until last. I’d rather clean a dozen toilets than dust.
But dusting has to be done (occasionally) and this spray can help keep the dust down a little so less dusting.
Homemade Cleaning Products
Making your own DIY cleaning products makes so much sense in many ways.
You save a ton of money and you reduce your use of plastics and chemicals.
If you are a little fearful of making your own products then take heart from me. I didn’t make my own for very many years.
But I still saved so much money by using my Stardrops diluted all purpose cleaner around my home.
Do what works best for you and your money.
For more help with being frugal at home and saving your pennies then do check out this posts:
18 Fundamental Items In My Frugal Home You Need To Have
11 Best Ways To Boost Frugal Living To The Extreme
How To Be Frugal: 200+ Best Frugal Living Tips To Save Money
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Last Updated on 14th July 2020 by Emma
