As you know a few months ago, I tried my hand at do-it-yourself laundry detergent. I have to say that the blog post with the recipe in it has continued to be one of the most clicked-on posts in this blog’s history–whether here on WordPress or back when we were on Blogger. While I’ll admit that I haven’t made a new batch lately and have resorted to using my favorite liquid laundry detergent, which I’d stocked up on when it was on sale a few weeks ago, I still love this idea of making your own cleaners–whether they be for cleaning your home or cleaning your body.
That’s why I was stoked when the folks at Moms Like Me, an online community for moms with 80 local sites within the site, offered to share with the Suddenly Frugal readers three of their DIY recipes–for a glass cleaner, for baby wipes, and for a yummy body scrub. You’ll find those recipes below. Enjoy!
RECIPE #1: WINDOW SPRAY CLEANER
Our Cost: $0.75 per bottle (makes enough for 4 bottles)
Brand-name glass cleaner: $3.79 per bottle
Ingredients
1 gallon of water — free
¼ cup vinegar — $0.99 (16oz)
1 teaspoon of liquid dish detergent — $2.00
Steps:
Mix it all up… put it in a spray bottle.
***another tip about cleaning windows – always use crumpled up newspapers to clean your windows – not paper towels! Newspapers don’t leave streaks!!
RECIPE #2: BABY WIPES
Our cost: $1.69 for 64 wipes (recipe makes enough for 5 packs of 64)
Name-brand Baby Wipes: $3.79 for 1 pack (64)
Ingredients:
Use strong paper towels $1.00
2 cups of water — free
½ cup of baby oil $3.49 (20oz)
½ cup of baby magic baby bath $4.99 (30 oz)
Steps:
1: Cut one roll of paper towel in half – take out core so wipes pull out of the center
2: Mix your solution
3: Place the roll in a container and pour the solution over the towels and allow to soak through.
oz)
RECIPE #3: VANILLA SUGAR BODY SCRUB
Our Cost:$2.16 for one container (makes enough for 5 containers)
Vanilla Kiss My Face Sugar Body Scrub: $10.77
Ingredients
2 cups sugar (don’t use soft brown baking sugar) — $3.29 (5lbs)
Baby oil — $3.49 (20oz)
Drop of vanilla extract — $3.99 (2 oz)
Steps:
1: Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
READ LEAH ON HOME GOES STRONG
I really disagree with some of these recipes – specifically the ones that use ‘baby oil’. Baby oil is made from petrochemicals – the black stuff that comes out of the ground – and is toxic to the system. NO baby should ever have that stuff rubbed on their tiny body. And no adult should use it either. A vegetable oil is much safer.
I appreciate your pointing this out and presenting a different point of view. Thank you for commenting.
Leah
Do you have any recommendations for a diy and safe homemade cleaner for mirrors? I tried white vinegar but was not impressed with the results. Thanks, Leah!