DIY Household Cleaner Recipe – Spring Cleaning in a Bottle

I know there are recipes all over the internet for DIY household cleaner, and probably for close to the same one, but I love this budget-friendly cleaner that costs almost nothing and use it for everything inside and outside my house. For most jobs, I use a spray bottle, but you can scale it up to a bucket if needed. It cleans my mirrors, my floors, my bathrooms, and my kitchen. I even use it to clean my car. The only thing I don’t clean with it is leather, I use this leather balm instead.

Of course, test the surface before you use any cleaner. This mixture doesn’t do anything undesirable to anything in my house, but your house may be different. I bear no responsibility for anything you spray it on.

The Recipe

Fill a standard spray bottle with 24 ounces/700 mL of warm (not hot) water. Add 1/2 tsp. (about 5 drops or one gentle squeeze, it’s forgiving and less is better than more) Dawn Ultra or 1 tsp. (10 drops or a firm squeeze) Dawn Original dishwashing liquid. Add 3 drops essential oil (totally for scent, totally optional, I like eucalyptus). Put on the lid, shake well.

Tips

Don’t add the Dawn first. Add it to the water. You can use Ultra Dawn or Original, I prefer original but they were out of it at my market.

Where to Use It

I spray this on everything, it cuts grease and shower scum and cleans floors like a dream (I spray it on the tough spots, then just use a damp terry cloth towel to finish the floor). I never spray it directly onto my wood floors or wood furniture, I dampen a cloth with it instead. Be sure to rinse well with hot water on floors, bathtubs, and shower floors and rinse well on food prep surfaces, as well.

For Tough Stains

For things I can’t get clean with this spray (pots that are stained, stained kitchen sink, etc.) I use either Barkeeper’s Friend (the powder, which I mix with water to make a very thick paste – not a fan of their liquid cleanser) or a thick paste of coconut oil and baking soda. Let it sit while you clean the rest of the room then elbow grease will remove almost anything. As a last resort, I do use bleach on occasion but have only had to if someone left coffee in the kitchen sink.

Spring Cleaning!

I’m starting spring cleaning this week and the project list is long this year. The RV’s been cleaned and the dining room refreshed. I’ve been working on my closet and getting my wardrobe semi-capsuled. I’m moving on today to the most dreaded part to get it out of the way – the hall closet. I’m doing a major overhaul and organization, it holds all my fabric and sewing supplies in addition to a mountain of other things.

What are your best spring cleaning tips? We can use all the help we can get! I’m especially having trouble getting all the 1940s window casings clean in our old house. I’d love to hear what you do to get in all the crevices. Hope it’s spring at your house soon!