Switch and Ditch Your Cleaning Supplies
Detoxing your home is an easy and affordable way to have a major impact on your health. So many of us are on a continuum of wanting to be mindful of the products we use. But if you’re like I was 5+ years ago, I was just in the habit of buying certain things because it was what I had been using for years.
It really took me stopping in my tracks and doing a little research to realize I needed to stop the autopilot of buying the “typical” household cleaners. Before diving into the research, I didn’t even realize that the household (and personal and beauty) products I was using were actually harming my body.
What really struck me was that each little thing you “switch and ditch” will make a difference. It’s just like the realization I had about food - everything I put in my body was either making me more or less healthy. Every product I use in our home or on my body, in the case of personal and beauty care, was making me more or less healthy.
If you’ve been on this path and come to this realization from your own research, lean in and keep going. If you are newer to this journey, I want to invite you to dive in. I am always here to answer questions and help you on your way.
The changes don't happen overnight but the small changes you start making today will add up over time! When you really start to take stock of what is in your home, reading labels, researching ingredients, your eyes will be open. Most products are super toxic and full of chemicals that can irritate our skin and respiratory system, mess with our endocrine system (hormones) and build up in our bodies over time. When our bodies hit a point where the toxic load is too high for our filtering organs to do their jobs, exposure can lead to major health issues ranging from infertility to allergies to respiratory disease and beyond.
It took me about 2 years to completely transition everything in our home to cleaner products. But I can tell you what a relief it has been that I don’t have to hide our cleaning products behind closed doors with baby latches with Charlie around? I remember sitting in our first aid/CPR class when Charlie was about 5 months old and listening to the instructor talk about how most poisonings at home are from cleaners. Nick and I had such a sense of relief that this was a non issue for us. You can truly make your home a safe haven for every member of the family.
I do a mix of DIY products and products I purchase. So before I dive into my favorite household cleaners, I want to share my favorite resources that are sure to help you clean up your cleaning routine.
Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Guide to Healthy Cleaning Database:
This website is great for investigating your current products and finding cleaner solutions. You can type in a product you use, see the toxicity rating and also see what ingredients are causes for concern. Let’s use Tide laundry detergent as an example:
This photo shows what is pulled up when you type in “Tide.” You can see that most products are rated a “D.” When you click on the Tide Coldwater HE Laundry Detergent, you can see the breakdown of why it received that rating.
I remember doing this for the first time and being shocked at how even some of my “green” cleaners rated. “Green washing” is a term used for products that promote “natural,” “organic” or “green” cleaners on the label but aren’t actually toxin free. I fell for it! This website shows you what is really going on!
They also have a database for personal and beauty care items, which I love. I’ll do a post on this soon!
doTERRA’s DIY Blog A lot of the recipes I am going to share below come from doTERRA’s blog. When you have a few basic ingredients, a few essential oils and glass spray bottles and containers, you can really make almost any product you need to clean your home. This was a life saver during the height of the pandemic when all household cleaners seemed to be sold out. I could just head to the kitchen and remake what I needed when we ran out of something.
Let’s dive in!
First, what do you need on hand to make DIY cleaners? The list is pretty simple: 16 ounce glass spray bottles, baking soda, distilled white vinegar, olive oil, essential oils (I’ve curated a shopping cart here), water and labels. A huge bonus here is that once you make the initial investment in these things, you can remake your household cleaners for months, if not years, to come. For example, each bottle of essential oil has 250 drops in it. When you’re only using 10-30 drops per recipe, each bottle of EO will last up to 8 refills! The other ingredients such baking soda and vinegar cost pennies compared to the cleaners you purchase in stores. It truly becomes a budget friendly change!
Here are the recipes that we use in our home along with a few items I will purchase from time to time.
Ingredients:
16 oz. glass spray bottle
1/4 cup white vinegar
1¾ cups water
30 drops essential oil (10 drops each of Eucalyptus, Peppermint, and Wild Orange or 30 drops of On Guard)
Directions:
Add all ingredients to spray bottle.
Shake thoroughly.
How to Use:
This spray is perfect for cleaning hard surfaces in the kitchen, bathroom, etc. Just spray surfaces like you would with a normal, main stream all purpose cleaner to clean up messes and kill germs!
Ingredients:
16-ounce spray bottle
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup distilled water
8 drops of any citrus oil of your choice (could use Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit, Wild Orange, or a combination)
Directions:
Add vinegar, water, and essential oil(s) to spray bottle and shake.
How to Use:
This spray is perfect for all glass surfaces — mirrors, windows, tabletops, etc. Just a few sprays will cut through grease and get rid of smudges and smears!
Floor Cleaner
This is one of the few times I default to cleaner that I can purchase. My absolute favorite floor cleaner is doTERRA’s On Guard Cleaner Concentrate. I add 1/4 cup of the concentrate into the mop bucket with warm water and that’s it! Super simple and cost effective. The concentrate is also my favorite stain remover and another option for a DIY all purpose spray.
I also love the DIY version sold at Scoop here in Singapore. If the stars align and I’m running low on the concentrate and I happen to be at Scoop, I’ll grab this and use it instead.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar
20 drops essential oil (Wild Orange, Arborvitae, or Lemon)
16-ounce glass spray bottle
Directions:
Add olive oil and vinegar to glass spray bottle.
Add 10 drops of essential oil.
Shake well before each use.
How to Use:
Wood furniture looking dull? This spray is perfect for bringing it back to life! The key is getting a fine mist and using a microfiber cloth immediately to achieve the perfect shine. Be sure to avoid puddles of polish and letting the polish sit on wood too long before rubbing it in — the oil can cause stains if it goes on too saturated or sits too long! I like to just spray the cloth and apply that way.
Toilet Cleaner
This isn’t so much of a recipe as it is a dump everything in and scrub… I keep this one super simple. First, I mix 10 drops of Tea Tree and 10 drops of Eucalyptus essential oils into 1/4 cup of distilled white vinegar. Then I add 1/4 cup of baking soda into the toilet bowl and add the vinegar and EO mixture on top. As it bubbles, I use a toilet brush to scrub the inside of the bowl. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes and then flush the toilet. That’s it!
Scoop also has a DIY toilet cleaner that they sell. This is another product I’ll grab from time to time for the ease of it. Simply use it the same way that you would use a traditional toilet cleaner.
There are so many other possibilities with DIY cleaning supplies. Make sure you check out the doTERRA blog for more ideas!
Detoxing your laundry room
Another place where you can make a major impact on detoxing your cleaning routine is in your laundry room. Your skin is your largest organ and will absorb anything you use to clean your clothes and bedding. Thankfully, this is an area where doTERRA and other companies make it super simple to switch and ditch your current products.
Laundry Detergent
Between Nick’s sensitive skin and having a toddler, we need a detergent that is free of all the junk. When Charlie was first born I debated grabbing some Dreft baby detergent because that is what everyone uses for babies in the US. Well, Dreft detergent, marketed to babies, gets an F from the EWG!!! How terrifying is that?
You can always DIY your laundry detergent but I love to switch between doTERRA’s On Guard Laundry Detergent and Molly’s Suds, which you can get on Amazon or iHerb, if you’re in Singapore. Both get great ratings for low toxicity and work well. Even on cloth diapers and toddler stains.
Fabric Softener
This is perhaps the easiest switch and ditch you can do in your home. White vinegar, all by itself, is a great fabric softener. I have never measured exactly how much I add to a load but maybe 1/4 cup? Just put it in the spot in your machine where you would normally add your fabric softener!
Dryer Sheets
Another super simple switch. Dryer sheets are covered in chemicals and synthetic fragrance, which is known to be an endocrine disrupter. I use wool dryer balls and a few drops of essential oils instead. Just add the drops directly to the dryer ball before throwing them in. My favorites are lavender for our bedding and Purify for our clothing. Grab the oils here! The only difference in use is that you want to add the dryer balls for the last 20 minutes of the dryer cycle instead of at the beginning.
Stain Remover
As I mentioned before, doTERRA’s Cleaner Concentrate is amazing as a stain remover. Make sure you keep the stain wet until you add the concentrate directly to the stain. Let it sit overnight and then throw it into your next cycle of laundry. I have seen this remove pretty much anything you can imagine from clothing!
Making your own household cleaners is an empowering experience. I know that I am cleaning our home with products free from chemicals and toxins. I am no longer adding to the toxic load on our bodies. Instead, I can use natural, safe and effective products that are also great for my budget.
If you want to dive in, I’ve curated a shopping cart with everything you need from doTERRA to get started. All the links above send you to the site to purchase the oils and products at retail prices. This cart includes the $35 wholesale membership which drops the cost of everything to the wholesale price (a 25% discount). This way, when you need to replace something, you have the ability to get it at the wholesale price. There is no monthly obligation to purchase from doTERRA so you can pop in whenever you need to replace something and still get the 25% off.
I hope this inspires you to make some changes in your cleaning routine. Even one switch will make a difference. I am here to help if you have any questions!
