Most of us are accustomed to going to the store to purchase everything we need for the home. Maybe instead you order online and have the items delivered to your door. Either way, someone far away creates the items you use in your home. But there are so many products you can create yourself instead.
Benefits of Using Products You Can Create Yourself
There are a few terrific reasons to switch away from store-bought household goods to using products you can create yourself. Those reasons include:
- It will often save you money.
- Making something by hand feels satisfying.
- You know exactly what goes in to each product.
- It can be a fun family activity.
10 Items You Can Easily Create At Home
Just to get you started, here are ten of the easiest household products you can create yourself. You might even already have what you need to make some of these.
1. Household Spray Cleaner
Simple distilled white vinegar is one of the best cleaning products you can use in your home. Mix it with water in equal parts to clean countertops and windows. A more diluted version works well as a floor cleaner. You can use the same sponges, mops, and rags that you always use. Yet, you won’t have all of those usual household chemicals all around your house when you clean.
2. Baking Soda Scrubbing Cleanser
When a surface has some stubborn dirt that the above household cleaner won’t take away, you simply need baking soda. In fact, you can use baking soda on its own to deodorize carpet stains and clean your toilet. Mix baking soda with water to create a paste that you can use to scrub tubs and stovetops. It also works on upholstery stains.
3. Homemade Drain Cleaner
Take the two main ingredients above: distilled white vinegar and baking soda. You have a powerful drain cleaner. First, pour a liberal amount of baking soda into the sink drain. Then add an equal amount of distilled white vinegar. Plug the drain and let it bubble up. When it has settled down, run hot water to flush it all out.
4. DIY Brass Polisher
Pour a little bit of vinegar onto a sponge. Then dip that sponge into salt. The combination creates the perfect scrubber for cleaning brass at home. Good Housekeeping notes that you can use lemon juice instead of vinegar if you prefer.
5. DIY Wood Polisher
It’s just as easy to create your own wood polish as it is to make your own DIY brass polish. Mix one part lemon juice to two parts olive oil. Stir well and use it to polish your wooden furniture and cabinetry.
6. Easy Oven Cleaner
Did you know that ammonia is one of the best things that you can use to get stubborn grease stains out of your oven? Mix it with water (about 1/2 cup ammonia to one gallon of water) and scrub away.
7. Yummy-Scented DIY Air Freshener
Stop buying air freshener at the store. It’s filled with chemicals that might not be good for you, your children, and your pets. Moreover, you’re spending money that you simply don’t need to spend. It’s easy and fun to create your own DIY air freshener.
Better Homes and Gardens suggests combining citrus, herbs, cinnamon sticks, and cloves in water on your stovetop. Once it has come to a boil, let it simmer. The simmering smell will fill the home. You can save it and use it again. Experiment with different combinations of citrus (lemon, lie, orange, grapefruit) and herbs (basil, rosemary, lavender) to get a unique scent for your home.
Alternatively, the same source suggests mixing one cup vodka with three cups water, adding about 15 drops of essential oil, and putting it all in a spray bottle as a room air freshener.
8. DIY Dishwasher Tabs
Do you like to use the little tabs that you stick into the dishwasher instead of liquid dish soap? If so, you might be surprised to learn that these are products you can create yourself. Here’s the recipe.
9. Easiest DIY Microwave Cleaner
Did you know that microwaving lemon slices in a bowl of water will make it super easy to clean out the microwave? Here’s more information on how to do it.
10. DIY Fruit and Vegetable Wash
If you want to make sure that your produce is safe for consumption, then you might choose to do more than simply rinse it with water. Instead of buying a chemical product, make your own instead. Here’s a recipe that uses lemon juice, vinegar, and water.
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Kathryn Vercillo is a professional writer who loves to live a balanced life. She appreciates a good work-life balance. She enjoys balance in her relationships and has worked hard to learn how to balance her finances to allow for a balanced life overall. Although she’s only blonde some of the time, she’s always striving for total balance. She’s excited to share what she’s learned with you and to discover more together along the way.