Natural Cleaning Recipes

Mass marketing campaigns have convinced most people that detergents are necessary to clean our clothes, floors, bathrooms, and kitchens. That couldn't be further from the truth. Below I am sharing the recipes I created and used over the past 30 years to clean my home and businesses. Not only are these recipes all natural and very effective, they're also easy to make and smell fantastic! Thank you for taking care of yourself and our environment by choosing a natural lifestyle. We might not have it all together, but together we have it all. <3

This is pretty much all you'll need... 

• Cleaning Vinegar* (sourced from plants)
• Witch hazel* (from a tree)
• Baking soda* (from soda ash)
• Hydrogen Peroxide* (hydrogen and oxygen)
• Natural soap*
• Essential Oils*
• Fortify Plant Serum* (skip this item if you aren't interested in disinfecting)
• Other supplies - Spray bottles, mop*, gloves, scrubbers, and cleaning cloths.

(sources for most of these supplies are listed at the bottom of the page)

Plus, there are benefits...

• Simple Ingredients: You can exercise increased control over the ingredients that go into your products, ensuring they are truly natural.
• Save money: Homemade cleansers are often more cost-effective than store-bought options, saving you money in the long run.
• Better for your health: Avoiding harsh chemicals commonly found in store-bought cleaners can be better for your well-being and long-term health.
• Better for the environment: Creating and using your own cleaners means you can reduce the amount of plastic bottle waste that ends up in landfills or harsh chemicals polluting our waterways.

The Basic Cleaners

If you are truly enjoying your home, then you probably need to clean up a myriad of different messes everyday. Using the recipes below you can eliminate the need to bring harsh chemical cleaners into your home by making natural products form simple ingredients. Not only can you be 100% natural, but you'll be surprised at how well they work!

Disinfectant Spray Cleaner:

This recipe will clean almost anything - kitchen counters, toilets, floors, etc... The ingredients will separate quickly, so make sure to shake your bottle every time before using it.

• 7 oz Water
• 4 oz Cleaning Vinegar
• 4 oz Witch hazel
• 4 pumps of any natural liquid soap (of course I use Alywillow's UDC's)
• 5 drops each of Tea Tree and Eucalyptus essential oils
• To create a disinfecting cleaner, add 10 drops of Fortify.
• Just mix this recipe, shake, spray, and wipe.

Mold and Mildew Spray Cleaner:

Mix the recipe below and spray any area with mold and mildew, allowing it to soak for at least 5 minutes. Then scrub, rinse and repeat until all the mold is gone. Also look for ways to reduce mold and mildew from forming, such as installing a dehumidifier or spreading trays of baking soda around the area.

• 7 oz Water
• 4 oz Cleaning Vinegar
• 4 oz Witch hazel
• 4 pumps of any natural liquid soap (of course I use Alywillow's UDC's)
• 5 drops each of Tea Tree and Eucalyptus essential oils
• 20 drops of Fortify*

Scrubbing Powder

No hands down, Baking soda is the best way to clean showers, sinks, toilets, and tubs! There's no reason to buy any other scrubbing agent. Just don't use too much water or you'll weaken it's scrubbing potential. Think like this, baking soda is for scrubbing & water is for rinsing. It's gentle enough not to damage surfaces, but it's strong enough to take off many greasy, stubborn stains and dirt.

• I save empty Parmesan cheese bottles, fill them up with peppermint flavored baking soda, and stash them under every sink so they are ultra easy to access.
• Toilet bowls - sprinkle baking soda, scrub, and rinse.
• Sinks - sprinkle baking soda but do not add water. Instead, use a moist wash cloth or scrubber to rub away the scum, then rinse.
• Heavily soiled areas? Mix baking soda and water and allow it to soak into the soiled area for a few minutes. Then scrub and rinse.
• Need a Disinfecting scrub? Just add Fortify to baking soda.
• Need lifting abilities? Apply baking soda and then pour vinegar on the baking soda. The chemical reaction is great at lifting stains. (It also makes a great volcano for first grade science projects.)

Cleaning Floors:

Since my home has both ceramic and wood floors and the recipes are slightly different for each, I keep two mop* devices. They have a spray bottle attached to the handle and each time I press the trigger, it releases the cleaner onto the floor so it's easy to wipe up.

• Ceramic Tile and most other floors: Use the same Basic Cleaner recipe above.
• Wood: Use the same Basic Cleaner recipe above, but add 1 Tbsp of any light oil (such as sunflower oil or even canola oil). This will help prevent the wood from drying out and it won't leave a heavy residue or buildup, but don't use this on non-absorbent floors or they might be slippery.

Stinky Shoes:

What causes this horrible odor? Germs! These germs can go everywhere, but they thrive mostly in the moist areas of your body. This is why your armpits, shoes, and other moist creases of your skin can build up odors. We have an entire page devoted to naturally eliminating Body Odors. Check it out!

Dishes:

Did you know you can use our UDC's to wash your dishes? You don't need to add anything to them. They are sulfate-free, don't contain lye or harsh ingredients, and they cut grease better than many dish soaps I've tried. So, it's all I use in the kitchen... for my hands and for the dishes. Plus, every Alywillow product is made or pure plants and no synthetic ingredients. They are gentle on your skin and strong enough for your dishes. It's different than anything you've used before.

• Just put 1/2 squirt on a single dish and use a wash cloth or scrubber to rub it around loosing all the dirt and grease. Don't add water until you're ready to rinse. 
• For anti-bacterial benefits, choose Warrior, Sagerow, Lemon Laughs, or Firefly. If you have arthritis in your hands, choose Riverflow or Minty Relief.
• Our UDC's don't harm our drinking water or waterways. And, you can order refill bags for when they're empty. This way your bottle will last and last.

Laundry:

Laundry Cleaner - for clothes & linens

Do you want your laundry to smell and look clean? I've been using this recipe to wash clothes for a few decades. It's probably more gentle on your clothes than anything you've ever used. It's also great for keeping your whites, colors, and blacks bright. But, adding the essential oil is important so you have fresh scent.

• Add 5-8 drops Peppermint Essential Oil to 1/4 cup Baking Soda.
• Then, pour this mixture onto your clothes in the washing machine. Close the door and start the wash.
• You clothes will be clean and smell great!
• If you don't care for the scent of peppermint, try Lavender, Lemongrass, Clove, Sage, Eucalyptus, or Wintergreen instead.

Supercharged Laundry Cleaner - for extra dirty clothes

Are your kids always covered in piles of dirt or caked on mud? Maybe you cleaned out the garage over the weekend and grey dust is covered everything you were wearing. Sometimes our clothes are dirtier than normal and we need a little extra boost. This is the same recipe as above, but with the extra cleaning action of vinegar.

• Add 5-8 drops Peppermint Essential Oil to 1/4 cup Baking Soda. Pour this mixture onto your clothes in the washing machine.
• Then, add 1/4 cup Cleaning Vinegar, close the door, and start the wash.
• If you don't care for the scent of peppermint, try Lavender, Lemongrass, Clove, Sage, Eucalyptus, or Wintergreen instead.
• If you have smoke residue, add 1/4 c of Borax as well.

Killer Laundry Cleaner - to kill off fungal issues

Do you have itchy skin issues related to fungi or dermatitis or do you sweat a lot, go to the gym, or work in the garden? Warm, moist environments are a perfect breeding grown for fungal infections and active fungal infections are usually highly contagious. It's important to avoid skin contact with someone who has an active fungal issue, and don't wear their clothes, or you may become infected too.

Fungi can also hide in fabrics and surfaces, so it's important to treat everything that comes into contact with an active fungal infection. (If you have fungal or dermatitis issues on your body, check out all the ways Alywillow products can give you relief. We are skin experts and have spent years helping people find lasting relief.) This formula should be used as long as a skin fungal issue exist and then for 6 months afterwards to help prevent reinfection from your clothes.

• Add 10 drops FORTIFY Plant Serum to 1/4 cup Baking Soda
• Pour this mixture onto your clothes in the washing machine.
• Then, add 1/4 cup Distilled White Vinegar, close the door, and start the wash.
• You clothes will be clean and smell great! Plus, they won't keep reinfecting you with an active fungus.
• If you're unable to wash your infected clothes, you can stop the fungus in the fabric by spraying them with DisinfectNOW.

Blood:

It's easier to clean blood when it's fresh. The fresher the better. Just pour a little hydrogen peroxide on the blood and it will lift out of the fabric. The hydrogen peroxide has a chemical reaction and the bubbling of that reaction pulls the blood out. All you need to do is wipe it off. DON'T RUB IT. Instead, use an absorbent cloth and wipe it across the surface.  If more scrubbing is needed, you can use lemon juice, baking soda, and an Alywillow UDC to scrub it off.

*Ingredients & Tools

I hope you'll enjoy the peace of mind that comes from making your own cleaning supplies. When used together, these few items can give you years and years of cleaning power with no waste and no harm to the environment.

Since many people often ask me where I get these items, I've listed sources for many of these things below, but most can be found in your local grocery store or drug store too. Also, I recommend setting up a cleaning station in your home where you can store everything together. It's actually quite fun to do the mixing.

• Baking Soda: I normally buy sodium bicarbonate in 50 lb bags (paid link) and then add a bottle peppermint essential oil to the entire bag. Not only does peppermint keep the clothes and bathrooms smelling fresh, but every time I walk past this bag, I smile. It's amazing how certain scents can have such a positive impact on our mood.  If you don't like peppermint, choose an Essential Oil you prefer. Here are some of the best options for cleaning... try Lavender, Lemongrass, Clove, Sage, Eucalyptus, or Wintergreen instead.

• Bleach: I'm often asked if it's necessary to use bleach against mold or for disinfecting and no, it isn't. I've listed a recipe above for fighting most molds and mildew, and it makes the need for bleach obsolete. However, if you choose to use bleach don't mix it with anything except water. Usually, one cap full per one gallon of water is enough.

• Spray Bottles: Why amber bottles? Time, heat, sunlight, and air can all cause formulas to degrade quicker. To help your cleaners stay fresh, keep the lid tight, the bottle out of the sunlight, and use amber colored bottles. Why so many? Well, have you ever looked for a cleanre and couldn't find it. It's great to keep a bottle under each sink, in the laundry, in the garage,... so you can always find it. Plus, there's a discount when purchasing in volume. This set of glass spray bottles (paid link) includes a funnel and labels. Just add some silicone sleeves (paid link) for protection and you'll be ready to start mixing.
  

• Hydrogen Peroxide - Is this natural? Yes it is. Hydrogen peroxide is made through the catalysis of the reaction of hydrogen (H₂) with atmospheric oxygen (O₂) to produce hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). We don't use it in our Alywillow products, but it's great for cleaning products. Especially for pulling blood out of fabric.

• Witch Hazel - Witch hazel is sourced from the witch hazel tree and usually contains alcohol, however, this brand of witch hazel (paid link) is alcohol free and contains no acetates, polysorbates, gluten, dyes, or sulfates! Plus, it helps your cleaning solution dry up really quickly.
  

• Mops: After being a stubborn mop and bucket user for most of my life, I must say I adore my Bona mops (paid link). Each one has an attached bottle that will spray the cleaning solution onto the floor when you press the trigger. You won't need to buy their cleaning solutions because you can fill the bottles time and time again from the recipes I've shared above. What about shaking the bottle? Well, the simple action of moving the mop across the floor keeps the solution mixed. Even when I had a large bed and breakfast, these mops made it easy to quickly clean a floor. 

• Cleaning Vinegar: This cleaning vinegar (paid link) doesn't leave a residue. Used on it's own you don't even need to rinse it off. It's great on multiple surfaces, including food surfaces, plastic, grout, porcelain, metal, stainless, painted or sealed wood, sealed stone, baseboards, ceramic... Plus, it made by a small business - and you know we like that!

• What is BORAX: I remember my mother helping a family savage their clothes after a house fire back in the 80's. They washed and washed those clothes, but the smoke smell wouldn't come out. I was about 10 years old then and that's when I learned about Borax. It's a combination of boron, sodium, and oxygen and it's often found in dry lake beds in places like California's Death Valley, where the water evaporated and left behind deposits of minerals. If you have smoke or minerals on your clothing (like coal dust), adding borax to your wash will clear out even the toughest odor. Many of our grandmothers used it, but it can be hard to find nowadays. This option is a small business brand.
  
  
  

• Natural Soaps: We make our foaming soaps from pure plants. Even the scents, colors, and preservatives are sourced from plants. There is no lye, no sulfates, and no artificial ingredients. Due to the pure nature of our UDC foaming cleansers, they should be flipped upside down to blend the plants before using. This is why we call them Upside Down Cleansers, or UDC's.
  

• Essential Oils: Any grade of essential oil will work for cleaning. At Alywillow we only use and sell organic and therapeutic grade essential oils. Please use gloves when handling essential oils. Some of them are so strong they'll leave a chemical burn. If your skin does start burning, add an oil - NOT WATER - to the burning area.

• Fortify:  Almost every Alywillow product is designed to nurture your body, but not FORTIFY. It's a complex formulation of natural chemicals that attack many forms of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. These "killer plants" are great at getting rid of the things. It’s one of our most versatile products and so helpful that many of our customers won't leave home without it. DisinfectNOW is just a diluted form of Fortify and the bottle can be refilled easily with the latter. Both of these are part of our Medicinal Safety Graded product line and they have many useful disinfecting abilities - sanitizing clothes and shoes, foot fungus, disinfecting the air, ear aches, infections inside and outside the body, lung congestion, disinfecting floors, dishes, and surfaces, ticks, warts, and more...

Thank you!

It's awesome to see that you care about both your own health and the well-being of our planet. I hope you enjoy my recipes. Please contact us have helpful suggestions or would like something more specific.