DIY Chemical Free Spring Cleaning Guide

Chemical-Free Spring Cleaning for a Natural Home in 2018

Spring is SO close! I can’t wait till it warms up and the leaves spring back on the trees.
That means it’s also time to prep for some serious Spring Cleaning y’all

Skip to the schedule & recipes >>

This year we’re ditching all toxic chemical cleaners that received a “D” or “F” rating from EWG (the Environmental Working Group) in favor of all natural, and chemical-free cleaners.

After reading through a ton of studies… and losing an entire day of my life to Pinterest (the struggle is REAL), I’ve condensed all that information here in one place so it’ll be easy to find for everyone. Instead of going into everything I found about cleaning, I’ll just include link to that post if you want to read all the details:

Chemical-Free Cleaning the Natural Way >

Y’all – first, let me tell you, there is some BORING stuff about chemicals and cleaners and natural methods out there, especially the more you dig into the science and impact studies… I’ll try not to bore you with too many of those details, but there were a few pretty alarming things that turned up which I’ll share later on.

So, what is Spring Cleaning? It’s basically an annual reminder to go through and do a good deep clean around the house, taking care of those often neglected areas.

Here’s everything we’ll be cleaning:

In the Kitchen

• Coffee Pot
• Oven
• Sink drains
• Dishwasher
• Trash can
• Fridge
• Cabinets

In the Bathrooms

• In and behind the toilet
• Shower head, glass doors, and shower walls
• Sink drains
• Tile grout

In the Bedrooms

• Under the beds
• Pillows
• Mattresses

Around the House

• Mirrors and Windows (inside and out)
• Washing machine
• Furniture
• Under and behind furniture
• Baseboards

Deep Cleaning for Bonus Points

• Walls & Ceilings
• Window & Door hardware
• Window screens
• Window drapes, curtains, and blinds
• Shower curtains

We’re also creating making a Bug Barrier spray to go around all the entry points around the house to keep critters out.

Main Cleaning Ingredients

Baking soda – Even if all you do is open a box and leave it in the back of the fridge this stuff is great. It’s also a natural deodorizer. Great for cleaning, deodorizing, and scrubbing/scouring.
https://www.thekitchn.com/why-is-baking-soda-such-a-good-cleaner-236104

Castile soap – This one is technically redundant as it’s composed of EO. It cleans just about anything.
The Case for Castile soap over baking soda & vinegar: http://www.liverenewed.com/2014/05/vinegar-and-baking-soda-for-cleaning.html

Lemons – Powerful cleaner because of their naturally high acidity. You’re better off using a real essential oil because it’s way more powerful (concentrated) BUT you’re better off using an actual Lemon than a junk, off the shelf, essential oil.

Distilled White Vinegar – Especially great at cutting grease, removing mildew, and destroying odors.

Let me tell you a story about vinegar – Yes, it stinks, but this stuff is awesome. One time I parked my car in the wrong spot before a vacation. I didn’t realize it was sitting right where the sprinklers would hit it. When I came back it was covered with white. Turns out the water was very hard (there was a high mineral concentration). It was so bad I couldn’t even see out the windows. After a good cry I started trying every different cleaner I owned (before I learned about essential oils) and Vinegar was the only thing that did the trick, took it right off. This stuff cleans everything. Before oils it was my go to. Not crazy about the smell though, and essential oils are more powerful, so I hardly ever use it myself anymore. But it’s still a powerhouse so it deserves a place on this list, especially for those who aren’t yet regular users of essential oils.

Hydrogen Peroxide – Good for cleaning mold from tile grout or tub/shower.

Witch Hazel – Use this instead of alcohol or peroxide.

Vodka – …For cleaning, not for drinking.

OK – Now, let’s go over the main sections of the house we’ll be cleaning. For our Spring cleaning, I’m mainly going through the Bathrooms and Kitchen. I’m also giving special attention to Windows and Mirrors, and the Floors and Furniture. Then I’m also doing a Non-toxic Bug Barrier around the perimeter of the house, especially the windows and doors.

Download the schedule, checklist, printable, 30 day plan, 2hr plan, deep clean, quick clean… LM’s

Cleaning Recipes

General All Purpose Cleaner

We’ll be using this all over. This is my mainstay, my staple. Most of the house can be cleaned just with this spray.

This recipe is heavy with essential oils (you just can’t get the same natural cleaning power with anything else out there):

1. 2 Cups Witch Hazel
2. 2 Cups Distilled Water
3. 20 Drops Thieves Essential Oil Blend or 2 Capfuls of Thieves Cleaner
4. 4 Drops Lemon
5. 4 Drops Tea Tree Oil

This makes enough to clean the entire house and still have some left over.

If you don’t have Thieves Essential Oil blend by Young Living, here’s a substitute recipe:

1. 2 Cups Witch Hazel
2. 2 Cups Distilled Water
3. 4 Drops Clove Essential Oil
4. 2 Drops Drops Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil
5. 4 Drops Rosemary Essential Oil
6. 4 Drops Lemon Essential Oil
7. 4 Drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil

The reason we’re using Young Living’s Thieves blend is because it’s been University tested and found to be highly effective against airborne bacteria. If you’re using another brand you trust they probably have a knockoff blend with similar ingredients that might do the trick for you.

No Frills Dead Simple All Purpose Cleaner

Basically just Lemon & Vinegar.
The witch hazel helps the oil blend in and the water dilutes the mix.

1. 8 Drops Lemon Essential Oil
2. 2 TBSP Witch Hazel
3. 2 Cups Distilled White Vinegar
4. 2 Cups Distilled Water

Instructions: Combine the witch hazel and lemon essential oil. Then add vinegar and water. Mix well.

Want to find out if your Lemon Essential Oil will get the job done?
Take this easy test to find out:

Does your Lemon Essential Oil with the Sharpie Test? >

*Notes: A glass bottle is the best container for this, but if you can’t find one, most dollar stores have pretty spiffy metal spray bottles that will do the trick just fine. If you can’t find those, Wal-Mart has a decent plastic spray bottle (Mainstays I think) that should work.

Kitchen

Want to guess what’s the dirtiest room in any house? If you guessed bathroom you’d be wrong. It’s your kitchen.

A group called NSF International did a study in 2011 about household germs and found that coffee makers are amongst the top 10 dirtiest things in your house. Other top offenders are Your kitchen sponge/rag, kitchen sink, counter tops, and cutting boards. Needless to say we will be cleaning all these things. as part of our spring cleaning.

Cleaning the Coffee Pot

There’s almost a 50% chance your coffee maker hast yeast or mold growing inside it… right now. And there’s a 10% chance it has coliform bacteria too.

I never thought about cleaning the coffee pot until I was the one making the coffee. Those things get gross after a while. I guess technically I mean the coffee maker, not the pot. The pot I just rinse out every morning, then wipe down with a sponge once a week. If you do have coffee stains in the pot, maybe the coffee didn’t get finished one morning and just sat there all day. If that does happen, some DWV# will knock it right out, which is what we’re using to clean the whole thing anyway. But did you ever just open up the top where you add the water and look inside? I had hard water deposits from minerals, and some weird colored spots. How do you even clean that anyway? Naturally, of course. This is such a great place to start because most people would never consider pouring bleach into their coffee maker, then drinking coffee out of it, because that’d be so obviously poisonous. Fortunately the only thing you need to clean your coffee maker is distilled white vinegar.

Instructions:

1. Pour 1C Distilled white vinegar inside the reservoir and run a normal coffee making cycle
2. Rinse the vinegar out of the coffee pot
3. Fill the coffee pot with cold water, fill the reservoir, and run the coffee making cycle again. Repeat this step twice for a total of 3 rinse cycles.
4. If you haven’t recently, remove the filter basket, or any other removable parts, and wash normally as you’d clean any dish

*Notes:

STEP 3 is Important! Run it through a regular cycle with just cold water (no coffee) three times to thoroughly rinse it before making coffee again. I learned that the hard way, I only rinsed it out once… it wasn’t enough  🙁

After reading that report from NSF International, cleaning the coffee maker moved from my spring cleaning list to my monthly cleaning list.

Natural Oven Degreaser & Cleaner

1. Distilled White Vinegar
2. Baking Soda
3. 1 Tsp Castile Soap
4. 4 Drops Lemon Essential Oil

Instructions

Fill a spray bottle with undiluted distilled white vinegar. Generously spray the surfaces inside.

Put 4 Drops of Lemon Essential in the Castile Soap, then use that mix to make a paste with the Baking Soda to a small bowl. Use a damp cloth to scrub down all the surfaces inside.

Stovetop

To clean the stovetop we can just use the All Purpose Cleaner we made above. Here’s what to do if you encounter a difficult area:

Spray with the All Purpose Cleaner and let it set for a minute. Then put a pinch of baking soda over the spot. Use your rag/cloth/sponge to rub it in using a circular motion.

If the spot is still being stubborn use a razor blade to gently scrape it off. I had to do this one time when we had family over for Christmas. There was a flurry of activity in the kitchen and best I can figure is that someone spilled sugar on the stovetop, then a plastic wrapper got set down on top of it, and then a hot pan got set down on top of both. To make matters worse, I think the burner directly underneath the area got turned on as well. Needless to say it was a mess, and caramelized melted plastic does not come off willingly.

Stove Hood

It’s easy for grease and gunk to build up on the hood over your oven. All year while you’re cooking little by little it just gets caked up there. The first time I cleaned this I used a single drop of Lemon Essential Oil as a test and wiped the area clean with a paper towel. It was like magic. The All Purpose Cleaner works well here too, but if there’s a really greasy area that’s being stubborn, use some Lemon or Distilled White Vinegar (or both) to break it up.

Microwave

I stay on top of this one monthly now because microwaves can get gross. I suspect it’s my husband, but I won’t point any fingers.

Fortunately this is an easy one. Just fill a small bowl with 1/4 Cup Distilled White Vinegar and 3 Drops Tea Tree Essential Oil. Microwave for 2 minutes. Let sit in the microwave for 10-15 minutes before opening.

Garbage Disposal

1. 1 Cup Distilled White Vinegar
2. 1 Tbsp Witch Hazel
3. 1 Tsp Salt
4. 4 Drops Lemon Essential Oil
5. Ice Cube Tray

Mix the Lemon Essential Oil with the Witch Hazel. Add the Vinegar and Salt. Mix well. Pour into Ice Cube Tray. Freeze. Drop frozen cubes into garbage disposal and turn it on. Pour some Baking Soda down while it’s going to get a good fizz.

Trash Can

Spray the trash can inside and out with the All Purpose Cleaner then wipe clean. My husband insisted on taking it outside and hosing it down… I don’t think it helped, but it made him feel better.

Some people keep their trash can under the sink or in a cabinet. A great way to keep the cabinet fresh is to mix a few drops of Lemon Essential Oil with some baking soda, and just leave it in the back of the cabinet inside a small dish or even inside the baking soda box with the top torn off.

Fridge

While you’re in the kitchen, empty the fridge and clean it out using the All Purpose Cleaner.

Dishwasher

Vinegar something something, castile soap, EO…

That’s all for now. Come back next week for more cleaning tips. As we go through the rest of March we’ll be hitting each section of the house, week by week. Next week we’ll clean the bedrooms, the week after that we’ll clean the around the rest of the house, and we’ll finish off March with some deep cleaning of a few very neglected areas.

Thanks for reading. If you’d like a free sample of Thieves cleaner to try it out message me on Facebook and I’ll send one your way: https://www.facebook.com/ALittleAmazing/

And if you’d like to buy the Thieves cleaning kit, you can get that here: https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/products/thieves-home-cleaning-kit/