Disclosure: I have included affiliate links in this post.
I spent most of the first 5 years of my marriage buying canned goods, jarred and boxed foods and cleaning supplies that can very easily be made at home.
A few weeks ago, Emily at Live Renewed inspired me to make homemade disinfectant wipes. She wrote her post on it in September 2009. I had stumbled upon it months ago but kept putting it off, thinking making them would probably be long and complicated.
Was I ever wrong!
Making these wipes was a PIECE OF CAKE!
I even had most of what I needed already in the house. In fact, the only thing I had to hunt down was castile soap. (If you are local, you can find it here, or anyone should be able to order it online here or find it at their local health food store.)
I’ve been using these for over a month now, and I must say–they are WONDERFUL.
They don’t create extra laundry because I just throw them in the wash with the other rags. I thought I might have to ring them out, but, no…they are ready right out of their container!
I love these wipes because they:
1. Save my family money.
2. Are much healthier for my family than conventional cleaners.
3. Are great for God’s creation!
Without further ado, here’s June’s “Homemade Homemaking” recipe for reusable disinfectant wipes:
Supplies:
- old baby wipes container (I used Huggies)
- white vinegar (found at Wal-Mart or Target)
- tea tree oil (found at a health food store, but cheapest at Wal-Mart or Target in the supplements section)
- lavender oil
- castile soap
- some of your hubby’s old T-shirts
- water
Instructions:
- Cut up old T-shirts into squares (the size doesn’t matter)
- Put squares of cloth into wipes container
- Mix about a cup of water, a squirt of castille soap, 1/4 c. of vinegar, and 3-4 drops tea tree oil and 3-4 drops lavender
- Pour liquid mixture over cloth
Easy Peasy!
Check out Emily’s blog or her book, Green Your Life, for more great natural cleaning recipes!
Do YOU make any of your own natural cleaners? If so, please share your recipes! I’m so excited about cleaning more naturally–and more frugally! 🙂
Seth, Jen, Hannah, Cailyn, and Isaac
I make my own drain cleaner. I put a couple tablespoons baking soda down the drain, then pour about 1/4 cup white vinegar down the drain. Let sit 1 hour, then flush thoroughly with boiling water. It works great to get nasty smells out of the kitchen sink, or fix a slow drain in a tub, shower or sink.
martha martinez
There is a product Sani-Sticks. All you need to do is place 1 stick in every drain in the house once a month-I put them in every 2 weeks.
The sticks get rid of the odors from the drains and the water drains much faster-you can hear it! The sticks also dissolve the gunk built up in the drains. They are available from Amazon.
Melissa
I make these, too. Absolutely wonderful!
Emily @ Live Renewed
So glad you like them! Thanks for the great review! 🙂
~Emily
Gail @ The Imperfect Housewife
I’m so going to have to try these! I’m going to start a new ‘chores’ system with my kids and my sister said “Use lysol wipes for the bathroom.” This will be even better 🙂
The Humbled Homemaker
Jen–that’s an awesome idea for a drain cleaner!
Gail, I hope you enjoy these as much as I have!
The Fischer Family
I have been looking for a recipe for these! I am addicted to Clorox/Lysol wipes and this makes it even better! Thanks for sharing! I found you via Homemaker By Choice.
The Humbled Homemaker
The Fisher Family, I hope you like them as much as I do! I love using wipes! Check out Emily’s blog at Live Renewed for more great natural cleaning tips!
Jennifer
So do you just wash these and reuse?
Erin
yes!
tousled day
I’m going to make this. Tnx for shareing!
Our Homeschool Reviews
That seems pretty simple. I clean all the counters with vinegar and water so I should just add this to my stash of cleaning products. Thanks and thanks for linking up to the NOBH!
Lea H @ Nourishing Treasures
I love this post!
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own Monday link-up.
Check back soon to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂
Tammy
I found that if I get the scented castile soap I do not need to essential oils
jen
Tea tree oil is a estrogen mocker/enhancer…not good, silver water is a better alternative germ killer to put in your cleaning products… Reserch to see
Laura
Is the lavender oil for the fragrance? Can another one be substituted? Or is it for its own disinfectant qualities?
Erin
It’s for both, but lemon or many other oils would work!
Hilary
Just lemon? Or a lemon oil?
Jaimie Ramsey
I’ve found that mixing castile soap and vinegar doesn’t work very well– the vinegar seems to sort of “break down” the soap which makes it much less effective. Could castile soap be mixed with another disinfecting agent, like hydrogen peroxide, without the same effect, and still clean just as well? Or could the soap be left out all together and basically just use vinegar, a little water and the oils?
Thanks!
Erin
It’s honestly been a long time since I’ve used this recipe! I would probably just try the vinegar. Honestly, right now that’s mainly what I’m using!