20 Natural Cleaning Tips

Using natural cleaning products is a very important part of creating a natural home for you and your family. Natural cleaning will save you time, money, and will reduce harsh chemical exposure. Listed below are 20 great tips for easy, natural cleaning.

1. Baking soda for cleaning the oven

Creating a paste of baking soda and water will clean your oven without the chemicals or the intense heat that a self-cleaning cycle fills your kitchen with. Mix baking soda and water together until the paste is thick, and then spread it on the bottom of the oven. Leave it there for a few hours and then wipe it off for a shiny, chemical-free oven!

2. Save money on magic erasers

Don't spend extra money on name brand magic erasers when you can just buy melamine sponges in bulk from a local store, or from Amazon. You can save some big money by doing this!

3. Switch to microfiber

You can save a ton of money by switching to microfiber. You can literally clean your whole house with just water and it will do the trick! Just use a microfiber cloth for every room--no chemicals, and money saved!

4. Make scouring powder

You can make your own scouring powder with 2 parts baking soda, 1 part salt, and 1 part borax. It will get rid of the very toughest scum!

5. Citrus-infused vinegar

Just fill a jar with citrus peels and pour white vinegar over them. Leave it for a couple of days and then strain out the vinegar to use as a cleaner. It works great as a window cleaner, for mopping floors, and for disinfecting surfaces.

6. Use a checklist!

Using a checklist will help you get the job done. It's also a great way to get the kids involved with doing some chores!

7. Treat stains naturally

Using laundry soaps and stain cleaners is one of the worst things you can do. There are so many toxic chemicals in both products. There are lots of easy natural options that will work really well.

8. Clean your dishwasher

If you want to clean your dishwasher naturally, fill a dishwasher-safe bowl with two cups of vinegar and set it on the top rack. Then, run through a hot cycle with no other dishes in the dishwasher in order to clean and remove any musty odor.

9. Clean your garbage disposal

If you use your garbage disposal a lot, sometimes it gets that icky odor. To get rid of this, there are a few options.

• You can cut a lemon in half, put it down the disposal and grind it up with the water running for about 10 seconds.
• ​You can freeze lemon and orange peels in ice cube trays with vinegar and put them down the disposal, grinding them for 10 seconds.
• Or, you can pour 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of white vinegar down the disposal and let it sit for 10 minutes before running the water.

10. Use natural air freshener

To make natural air freshener, simmer a quart of water with some natural ingredients. Just don't let the water evaporate completely. Here are some combinations:

• One sliced lemon, a dash of vanilla, and two tablespoons of rosemary.
• One sliced lime and one piece of chopped ginger roog
• One sliced orange, a dash of nutmeg and cloves, and one teaspoon cinnamon.
• One sliced lime and two tablespoons thyme

11. Make homemade laundry soap

You can save a ton of money if you make your own laundry soap! Here is a good recipe you can use. It makes enough to last for a long while!

12. Removing urine stains

If you have kids in the middle of potty training, having urine stains on your mattresses can be a common problem. You can make a solution to take care of this by mixing hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap.

13. Cleaning shower heads

You can naturally clean your shower heads by filling a plastic bag with vinegar and then tying the bag around the shower head so that it is covered completely in the solution. Leave it tied up for about 12 hours like this. Remove the bag carefully and then pour the dirty vinegar down the drain--your shower head will be clean and free of hard water residue.

14. Cleaning car upholstery

You can make a very easy solution of dawn, baking soda, and club soda to clean the inside of your car. Depending on how much you need, put equal parts of each ingredient in a bowl or a bucket and mix together.

15. Cleaning toilets

You might think that you can't clean a toilet without chemicals, but that's not true! All you need to do is pour a cup of baking soda into the toilet and let it soak for an hour. Then, pour in a cup of white vinegar, leave it for five minutes, and flush. This will clean it completely without even scrubbing!

16. Stove fan vent

Clean your stove vent fan by creating a solution of boiling water and baking soda. This works even better than those harsh chemicals you can buy at the store.

17. DIY glass spray bottle

Spray bottles are great--if they're glass. The plastic ones don't work as well because usually the substances they hold can break down the plastic, and it just doesn't work out. You can keep glass bottles that you would usually get rid of, and put the spray nozzles in them so they work just like a plastic spray bottle you might find at the store. You can usually find the spray nozzles at the dollar store.

18. Use microfiber to clean your windows

Using microfiber to clean your windows works so much better than paper towel--and you're not killing trees this way!

19. Use vinegar

Vinegar is probably the best natural cleaner out there. You can use it to clean almost anything in your home. The smell is a little strong, so you can add some essential oil to it to clean surfaces. Just put the solution in a spray bottle, and you're good to go!

20. Stock up on some natural ingredients

Having these natural ingredients on hand will help motivate you to do some natural cleaning!

• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Natural salt
• Liquid Castille soap
• Borax
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Lemons
• Microfiber
• Club soda

And there you have it, 20 ways to keep your home clean and all-natural! That's if you like to do it yourself, if you don't you can always hire a service like SimplyMaid to do it for you. Many offer specialized products for non-toxic cleaning. If you have any other tips or you'd like to leave a comment, let us know below!