I’ve been using essential oils for 90% of our cleaning and household needs for a little over 2 years now, and I have finally decided to share more about my system. It’s become such a habit, and I can’t remember the last time I actually purchased anything pre-made from the store or Amazon!

Many people think that making your own household cleaners is hard. The reality, however, is that it is 10x easier than running to the store! I can make my own household cleaners for less effort than it takes to get my kids buckled in their carseats– truly!

Not only is it easier than going to the store, it is also cheap– DIRT cheap (a cleaning pun! See what I did there?). I can clean my whole house (including laundry, toilets, carpets, windows, hands, you name it!) naturally, without harmful or harsh chemicals, for less than $10/month!!

Here’s the cost breakdown. Using just lemon and thieves, you would spend $50/year on oils, and $63/year on supplies. That’s just $10.08/month, for EVERYTHING your house will use!! Add in a few more oils like peppermint and lavender, occasionally, won’t really raise the cost, since you’ll be using less of the other oils to do so (and having peppermint and lavender on hand is always a good idea anyways, especially if you get frequent headaches like I used to). These are also some/all of the items used by Zerorez Jacksonville carpet cleaning services to get the best cleaning result.

None of these recipes or systems are fancy, so if you’re looking for something that Martha Stewart would make, you’ve come to the wrong place!! 🙂 In the interest of having a life, I want to spend my chore time actually cleaning, not wearing myself out by making the supplies. After trial and error, these are what I’ve used to streamline cleaning with essential oils.

My system has been put to the test over the years. I actually refined this system back when we had our foster children, which meant I had FOUR stinky boys to clean up after (not to mention we were staging and selling our house at the same time!) When our foster boys first arrived, our family got sick with some type of bug every other week. Once I started using essential oils to make these cleaning supplies, we got sick only twice more in 6 months. To say it was a night and day difference is an understatement, and I NEVER have to worry about my kids getting harmed by my cleaning supplies!

To make these, you will need Lemon, Peppermint, Lavender, and On Guard/Thieves essential oils in stock. On a strict budget, you could do well with just lemon for everything, since it’s a natural disinfectant that works like bleach (you can actually mix it with hydrogen peroxide to “bleach” just about anything!). If you just used lemon for everything, you would probably need 2 bottles a year. At $10/bottle, this is very cost effective for ALL your cleaning supplies! When you add in On Guard/Thieves ($30/bottle) and Lavender or Peppermint ($20-30/bottle as well), the cost still isn’t bad, since one bottle will last a year when you just use it for cleaning purposes (there are lots of other helpful purposes as well, but that’s another post!). Visit MaidEasy.com.au to achieve the best results.

In addition, all you will need to clean your ENTIRE HOUSE are NINE INGREDIENTS!:

1. baking soda (costs $2/year if you buy a big container from Walmart)

2. Ami powder cleanser ($2 for 3 months worth, totaling $8/year– please do not buy on Amazon! It’s ridiculously expensive compared to Target and Walmart, for some reason!)

3. white vinegar ($5/year at Walmart or Target)

4. witch hazel ($8/year)

5. Bronner’s unscented castile soap ($12 for 6 months’ worth, totaling $24/year)

6. super wash soap ($8/year, just for laundry detergent)

7. vegetable glycerin ($6/year)

8. citric acid ($5/year, just for the dish detergent, so it might even last longer than a year)

9. borax ($5/year at walmart, just for the dish detergent so it might even last longer than a year)

You also need to use GLASS BOTTLES, because the citrus oils attach themselves to toxins and will eat through any plastic containers (yikes!). I got mine for $2/each a few years ago, and they’ve lasted very well!

So, without further ado, here is my system for cleaning with essential oils!

Counters, mirrors, hardware, doorknobs, appliances– basically any surface!

 

For all of the above, I use my “Blue Bottle”. I combine the vinegar with water from the tap, 50/50. I then add 10-20 drops of lemon (or, sometimes, orange!) essential oil. That’s it! It smells AMAZING, and it cleans and polishes everything! No more windex– just one handy dandy bottle that cleans 90% of messes, cuts through grease like nobody’s business, and kills germs on contact!

This bottle works especially well for windows and polishing sink hardware. I used it to make our stainless steel sink back in CA shine whenever we had to show the house.

Kitchen Sink and Bathtub

 

I first sprinkle it all with water, then sprinkle the powder cleanser over it (the initial water spray gets the powder to stick, so I use less). I use my dollar store scrub ducky (reserved only for cleaning sinks and bathtubs– never dishes) to scrub the surface, rinse it, then spray the whole thing down with my “Brown Bottle” (On Guard or Thieves spray– 30-40 drops added to a 50/50 mix of witch hazel and vinegar). Since this essential oil blend is more expensive than lemon, I reserve my “brown bottle” for my dirtier jobs.

Lest you doubt how effective On Guard/Thieves blends are, take a look at this petri dish experiment holding it up to hand sanitizer! Can you guess which one wins?

You know what’s even scarier? Someone did a study a few years ago testing kitchen sinks…and found that they were harboring more dangerous bacteria than a TOILET! Yikes!!! Let’s get those sinks clean, people!

Speaking of toilets…

Toilet

I haaaate cleaning toilets, but it must be done daily when one has boys (no more details, you don’t want them, trust me). I use my “Brown Bottle” for any exterior surfaces, and the Ami cleanser with a toilet brush for the “inside”. Once in a while, I will also throw in some hydrogen peroxide and lemon oil, but it’s not absolutely necessary.

Foaming Hand and Dish Soap

 

You’d think this would be hard, but it’s not! You mix together Castile soap, vegetable glycerin, Thieves/On Guard, and some water, and it makes the most delectable smelling hand soap! After I’ve washed my hands or the dishes, I catch myself sniffing my hands, it’s that good 😉

Laundry Detergent

Did you know that you can make your own Laundry Detergent for pennies? Neither did I– until I started cleaning with essential oils.

This recipe doesn’t even involve grating any bar soap– something common with DIY recipes. But I don’t have time for that, so I like this recipe best! You make it in a huge 5 gallon bucket, and it lasts about 6 months! You just need baking soda, the super wash baking soda, castile soap and a few essential oils of your choosing!

Dish Detergent

Full disclosure– I have not tried this recipe yet, but I’ve been wanting to! I cannot wait to try.

Hardwood Floors and Tile

I use my vinegar/citrus “Blue Bottle” to spray the floors as I mop. I add a bit of orange oil if I really want them to shine! It makes the whole house smell like an orange grove!

Carpet Cleaner/Deodorizer

I used this trick a ton when we were staging our house! Fill a sugar sprinkle jar full of baking soda, then add 10 drops of peppermint and 10 drops of lavender.  Sprinkle the mixture on top of rugs or carpets, wait 10 minutes, then vacuum up! Your house will smell so clean and divine, you won’t even believe it! No more musty carpet smell up close!

Stains in Carpet

You don’t even need the essential oils for this. Just sprinkle on some baking soda directly to the stain and pour baking soda on top! Just like 7th grade science class, the mixture will bubble, loosening the stain. Scrub, wait a few minutes, then vacuum it up! Simple!

All Natural “Febreze”

Just a 75/25 mix of water to witch hazel, along with 5-10 drops of lavender, and you have a pillow and couch freshener! Just spritz the room whenever you feel like you could use a relaxing burst of scent. Mix in a bit of peppermint for combating the germs!

Other/Pests

Peppermint + cinnamon (or On Guard/Thieves) is also very good for keeping bugs away. Just put some in a spray bottle filled with water and spray the door frames– ants, and mice, especially, hate the smell and stay far away!

That’s it! Now you know my “dirty secrets” (another pun!) for cleaning with essential oils on a budget. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I love responding to comments, as always 🙂