Natural Cleaning Alternatives To Save You Money

So I don't know about you but cleaning stuff is so expensive and full of chemicals. I have been slowly transitioning my family too the more natural route. We are at that point with the economy we are just trying to get by. I have been making household products at home because we just don't have the funds for them. These are some items that will either get you by till next paycheck or a great staple. 

Soap Nuts

Soap nuts are a great laundry detergent and/or baby dish soap. I got a 4 pound bag 10 months ago and it is still saving us money. While other detergent has a boat load of chemicals, and depending on if you get liquid detergent it could have more water in it. So instead of buying a big container that is 120 loads for basically $30. You could by a 4 pound bag of soap nuts that is minimum 960 loads for $55. Soap nuts come from a tree, so it's a natural alternative. All you need is 5-7 nuts in a little satchel and you just toss it in like a laundry pod. Except you can use the same nuts for roughly 5 loads. They activate with warm to hot water so separating your darks from your lights is highly recommended. Soap nuts are hypoallergenic so to the people who are allergic to all the laundry detergent under the sun you might have finally found one that will work for you. And since it's a tree if you are lucky like me you will find a seed so you can grow your own and never have to buy laundry soap ever again. 

I know I mentioned baby dish soap and not dish soap in general. That is because the soap byproduct is very watery. It will clean but it will not stick to the sponge/rag like other dish soap. I usually blend a couple with water and let soak overnight to one let the suds settle and two to let the concentrate become stronger. You could also make other products with it but since it's a very thin soap I recommend only using it for laundry, baby dishes, or both.

White Vinegar 

Okay so a lot if you might already know this one but for the ones who don't know white distilled vinegar is gold. You can do a lot with white vinegar but we are focusing on the cleaning aspect. If you put citrus peels in a jar/bottle with vinegar for a little bit you will get a disinfecting all purpose cleaner. If you do the same except replace the citrus with pine needles you will make pinesole. You can also pour a splash in with your laundry and it will neutralize the sent and your clothes won't smell like vinegar either. You can also use it as a stain remover. It will also the best way to kill black mold. Bleach will just create a gas/vapor substance that will make you very sick. Vinegar will kill it. You soak it in the vinegar for 30mins and wipe up the dead mold then you can clean the area like normal. You can get the vinegar that is catered to cleaning since it has a higher acidity but I personally just get the store brand vinegar from the cooking oil aisle in the grocery store. A gallon is only roughly $4 and it will last you a good while and works just as well as the big named cleaning products. 

Baking Soda

As we all know you can put baking soda in the fridge to deodorize, but you can also use it with your laundry. It does the same thing that white vinegar does. A table spoon goes a long way with baking soda. Same as vinegar you can choose your brand they all work the same. Sadly you will have to be a chemist to make baking soda since it's a chemical compound of NaHCO3. But it's a great staple in a natural household. Yes it is a chemical compound but you could technically source it naturally by mining nahcolite. So if you want to really go above and beyond you are more than welcome to take the extra steps. Baking Soda is also a great mild abrasive for pots and pans.

In conclusion you don't have too spend an arm and a leg to have the natural alternatives plus you will know exactly what is in it. I am fairly new to the transition to the natural route. I will continue to share the knowledge the more I learn.