There are recipes all over the Internet, but basically baking soda is what they are all based on, plus other ingredients in small quantities if you don’t like the taste of just baking soda.

Replacing traditional toothpaste this way saves the plastic toothpaste tube, the cardboard box, and the trip to the store, plus you can control what you put in your mouth. Many people have concerns about the health effects of fluoride.

Nice article!!

I don’t currently make my own cleaning products, but I’ve given the matter some serious thought! I think putting the time and effort into actually making a product makes you conscientious of how much you use and waste, which is a good way to avoid wasting money.

I think for me the biggest thing is that all-natural products aren’t slowly killing me and my cats. I have three cats and despite the fact that I clean the litter boxes twice a day, sometimes the air can get a little stale. I air the place out once a week, but during the interim I like to freshen it up a bit. Air fresheners and the like are pretty bad for us to be inhaling, so I’d like an all natural product that works like Frebreeze (only better). Same with the harsh cleaners. I don’t like inhaling them when I clean. I’m definitely considering a switch!

Baking soda is a great cleaner and one that I plan to explore more as time permits. Thank you for your endorsement of it. Also, did you ever find a dishwasher detergent recipe that worked?

You didn’t mention plain baking soda, which does a fantastic job of scrubbing bathroom surfaces, with far less environmental impact than Comet or similar bleach-based scouring powders (and the Arm & Hammer package claims it won’t scratch — though, granted, that’s an advertising claim!). It’s also very cheap — I just bought a 12-pound bag at Costco for $5.59. It will last me at least a year.

I did try homemade dishwasher soap, but it didn’t work and etched our dishes. That one seems very dependent on water quality/hardness in an individual location.

Just today, I blogged about the effectiveness and money savings of making your own deodorant, so I’m totally on board with this method.

I have tried almost all of these (everything but the laundry detergent) and I’ve either gone back to buying most of them – or just not using them anymore.

For things I can buy from the bulk area of my coop, the cost & environmental impact are so close to homemade that the extra time (and attention- careful measuring is not my strong suit) aren’t worth it to me. And truthfully, for most anything you need to clean, a tiny bit of detergent, a sprinkle of baking soda, or a spritz of diluted vinegar will do the trick.

High Efficiency (HE) front load washers require “special soap” for one reason and one reason alone…low suds.

Because they use less water, they require soap that is less sudsy. The good news is, the homemade detergent in my recipe is VERY low suds detergent so you can use it in your HE washer with no worries.

Again, the HE designation is just another advertising mechanism the industry is using to try & swindle consumers into buying “special soap” that they charge unnecessarily exorbitant prices for.

Assuming we wash a load a day we could save around $58.00 over the next year by switching to homemade. ($0.05 per load vs. $0.21 per load for 365 loads). Nothing to sneeze at!

After every shower we spray down the tub and shower curtain, which keeps mildew from developing, and it works great for cleaning counter tops and such.