This week I was popping some veggies in the oven, and I actually took a good look inside for the first time in a while… Gah- it was so dirty! I can’t be the only one who always forgets that the oven is dirty… when the door is closed you don’t see it. And it’s so easy to be distracted while cooking and not actually look at how dirty your oven is.

But I saw it this time. And man was it dirty. I knew I had to come up with a solution.

So I opened my cupboard to check out what ingredients I have- and I decided to whip up the world’s simplest homemade oven cleaner. It only uses 2 ingredients, and it costs less than 25 cents! You really can’t beat that. Plus- it works!

Can you guess the ingredients?

Baking soda and water!

(and essential oils, if you want, it will make it smell amazing!)

You may or may not know how much I love baking soda… but I’m kind of crazy for it. So just why do these two ingredients work?

When you mix them together, they form a paste that is just abrasive enough to remove set in stains while also being gentle enough not to scratch your oven. Baking soda is great at cutting through dirt and grease.

All right, here are the official instructions:

You may or may not appreciate how difficult the burnt in stains are to remove from your oven, but baking soda really did the trick! I had to scrub pretty hard on some of the worst spots, but my homemade oven cleaner did a great job cleaning.

Just check out the before and after below:

What a difference! It’s amazing how effective such a simple combination of ingredients is at cleaning.

I’m so glad my oven is clean now. Next time I open it up, I won’t have to cringe. Together with a round of my awesome granite cleaner, my kitchen is gleaming and clean!

So what do you think- ready to clean that oven? Let me know how this homemade oven cleaner goes for you!

supplies used in this post

The post Homemade Oven Cleaner: Green, Easy, and only 2 Ingredients! appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Ah, bathroom cleaning. No one likes to clean toilets- it’s just icky. But unfortunately we have to! So if we are going to clean the toilet, we might as well make it fast and easy. This awesome homemade toilet bowl cleaner is green, natural, effective, and takes so little work to use. It is so easy it doesn’t feel like work at all.

After all, who wants to use bathroom cleaners with icky ingredients that make you feel dizzy? before I switched to making my own cleaners, I used to have to take breaks from cleaning, especially in the bathroom. The scents and fumes from the store-bought cleaners would make me feel dizzy! Well, that doesn’t happen anymore!

So if you love green cleaning, and you want a clean home, this green homemade toilet bowl cleaner is for you! If you’re interested, you should also check out my other green cleaning recipes for green cleaning month in March! While you’re cleaning your toilet, you might as well get those tubs and tiles too! But for now, enjoy this awesome toilet cleaner.

I always like to explain why I use each ingredient and why they work in the recipe:

• Borax: disinfects, counteracts hard water stains, loosens dirt, is an alkaline compound, which works well in combination with the acidity of vinegar
• Vinegar: sanitizes, loosens dirt, is acidic, which works well in combination with the alkalinity of borax
• Essential oils (optional): for scent, and depending on the oil can have other properties as well (I used lemon in this recipe- I just love that lemon fresh smell!)

All right, wondering how to do it? It’s simple enough!

Check out that shiny clean toilet! Just how I like them. Now if only they stayed that clean forever…

Well, since that isn’t going to happen, this is the next best thing. I love how easy this solution is to use, and I love when I know exactly what I’m using to clean with. Green cleaning rocks!

Let me know how your homemade toilet bowl cleaner works for you!

supplies used in this post

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We all have tubs and tiles in our home. And they can be a really challenge to clean- soap scum and hard water marks can be tough to deal with. But tub and tile cleaners that you can buy in the store are sometimes made with ingredients that I just don’t feel great about using. So I needed to find an alternative, and I did! This homemade tub and tile cleaner is easy to make, effective, green, and costs less than one dollar! Oh, and it’s safe for marble. You just can’t beat that.

I’m gonna tell you the truth now… Cleaning my tub is my absolute least favorite chore. I would actually prefer to clean the toilet over the tub! For some reason I just hate it. So naturally I want to spend as little time as possible cleaning it, which means I need an effective cleaner. And trust me, this week, I REALLY needed one- which was perfect timing for green cleaning month!

We took our dog Biscuit to the dog park for the first time this week. Now that it’s becoming spring, all the snow is melting, which means MUD! So Biscuit needed a major bath… clearly:

And after he got that major bath, the tub was full of major mud. We did our best to rinse it all out, but we were a little busy keeping the wet dog from shaking all over everything. So the tub was a mess.

It was the perfect time for me to make a new homemade tub and tile cleaner!

I like to explain why I use each ingredient in my recipes, and the thought process behind them. That way you know why it’s made the way it’s made!

Ingredients:

• Borax: dissolves dirt, kills and prevents mold and milder
• Vinegar: sanitizes and gets rid of dirt, balances the alkaline pH of the borax
• Rubbing alcohol: sanitizes and provides a streak-free shiny clean
• Essential oils: for scent, and depending on the oil can have other properties (I used orange in this recipe!)

All right, let’s get to the recipe!

I designed this recipe to be pH neutral, with a pH of 7. I tested it using pH test strips. Since you are using your own ingredients, I still recommend using pH strips if you are using this cleaner on a natural stone.

My tub is happy now, and so am I! If only I never had to clean it again… but if I do, I have the right tools in my arsenal!

Let me know how making your own tub and tile cleaner goes for you!

supplies used in this post

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The leading store-bought window cleaner includes plenty harmful impossible-to-pronounce ingredients:

• 2-Hexoxyethanol causes severe skin and eye burns
• Sodium C14-17 Sec-Alkyl Sulfonate is hazardous to aquatic environments and also causes eye and skin irritation
• Propylene Glycol can cause skin, liver, and kidney damage
• Artificial Fragrances are protected trade secrets that can contain up to 4000 separate ingredients that can be dangerous to health and the environment
• Artificial Colors are sometimes derived from petroleum and are a potential carcinogen

At the very least, you should want to avoid the eye and skin irritation when you clean by making your own green window cleaner. I’m telling you, green cleaning can actually be enjoyable when you aren’t worried about feeling dizzy from chemicals or getting cancer. If you want to learn more about switching to green cleaning, read my 5 step guide.

This window cleaner is guaranteed to save you money and expose you to less chemicals than any cleaner you can buy in the store. One batch of this cleaner cost 32 cents. I could definitely clean all the windows in my apartment with that one batch. You can’t beat that price. And it will also give you a streak free clean!

Here is how you make the cleaner:

The picture above is the before picture. Sorry my photography skills aren’t amazing so I couldn’t totally capture just how dirty the window was- but you can see the line of grimy fingerprints and water spots across the top.

I’m kind of glad you can’t see just how bad the window was because it is kind of embarrassing how dirty we let the windows get!And here is the after picture! You wouldn’t even know it was a window if not for the reflection and screen behind the window. Perfectly clear, clean, and awesome. No more fingerprints or water spots!

What is it about newspaper that makes them so good for cleaning windows and glass? Does anyone know? Because they really do an amazing job of getting rid of streaks.

So, try this window cleaner out. You won’t be disappointed. Your health, environment, and bank account will thank you!

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