Everyone loves convenience. There’s nothing more convenient than just reaching for a wipe and cleaning up a mess. But I always hate throwing them away- it feels so wasteful. So I came up with a solution: reusable cleaning wipes! These wipes are totally green, effective, and washable! Plus they dispense like a dream. I can’t get enough of them. AND the solution that I use to make the wipes cleaning and disinfecting only costs 50 cents.

So I’m ending green cleaning month with a bang! Today I’m sharing with you my favorite green cleaning recipe this month. It is kind of a combo cleaning recipe/ super easy DIY that you green fans will LOVE!

I knew if I wanted my green cleaning wipes to be convenient enough for me, they would have to dispense like kleenex- with the next wipe automatically popping out as you pull the first one out. Well, I’ve made it happen. These reusable cleaning wipes have all the convenience and effectiveness I was looking for! (and if you love convenience… you’ll love my odor eliminator tabs!)

Whats in them you ask? Just great green ingredients that clean, disinfect, and won’t harm your health.

Ingredients:

• Rubbing alcohol: disinfects, prevents bacteria or fungal growth on wipes when not in use, gives a streak free clean
• Borax: kills bacteria and fungi, dissolves dirt and grime
• Baking Soda: dissolves dirt and grime, deodorizes icky smells
• Dish soap: for a little extra bang and dirt dissolving power
• Essential oils: (optional) for fragrance (I used orange)

Supplies:

• Microfiber cloths: to use as the actual wipes
• Tupperware large enough to fit your folded wipes
• A knife: to cut the top of your tupperware so cloths can dispense

Okay! So here is a graphic explaining how I folded the cloths properly. I learned the method from Measuring Flower. I alternated yellow and blue colors to help you understand how they fold.

Essentially, the key is to overlap cloths. You should always place another cloth before folding the one before it, alternating which side you place them on.

And if that graphic doesn’t work for you, I also made a video! This was my first attempt at a video so I hope you like it!

I swear it is simpler than it looks! Once you understand the pattern, folding will be a breeze.

The next step is to cut this shape into the top of your selected tupperware:

I used my trusty cutco scissors to do it, but a knife would work as well. If you have a tendency to scrape yourself you might want to make the corners rounded, but the way they dispense shouldn’t leave you having to stick your fingers in it.

Okay, now that you know how to fold the cloths properly, I’ll share the all purpose cleaning solution I use for them!

DIY Reusable Cleaning Wipes

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups hot water
• 3 tablespoons rubbing alcohol
• 1/2 tsp borax
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 5-10 drops essential oils (optional)

Instructions:

1. Add the baking soda and borax to the hot water and stir until they dissolve. Next, add the alcohol and the essential oils
2. Pour the cleaning solution over the reusable wipes while in their tupperware container
3. Wipe away, and just toss in the washer when you’re done

These wipes are seriously my favorite DIY! I think they are BRILLIANT and they have been working so well for me. I love that I can just pull one up when I need to, and then just toss it in the hamper when I’m done.

I love convenience. I really think green cleaning should be convenient, because if it isn’t, you will fall back on bad habits.

If you love convenience, you’ll also love my homemade dusting spray which prevents buildup of additional dust and makes less cleaning time for you!

I’ve been using these cleaning wipes so much, I think I’m going to need to get a bigger tupperware for it. And even more cloths! I love that they just pop up when you’re ready.

If I had an empty wet wipes container, I would definitely use that. So if you do have one- it’s a great solution for this DIY.

What do you think? Let me know how making your own reusable cleaning wipes go for you!

supplies used in this post

The post DIY reusable cleaning wipes appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

I’m not a big fan of dusting. I especially hate it because I hate creating the waste of throwing the duster away. But, it’s definitely a necessity. So if I’m going to do it, I want to do it as greenly as possible. Enter: the reusable duster. I don’t think it will disappoint.

I didn’t want to squeeze too many words into the title, but this duster requires no sewing, is reusable, AND it’s machine washable! It hit all the things I want on my list for a duster. And I actually think it’s pretty darn cute.

It works perfectly with the swiffer duster handle. Instead of buying more disposable duster heads, just make one or two of these reusable dusters and switch them out between washes. Couldn’t be easier.

And trust me, it’s so easy even you can make it.

Step one: Gather supplies and cut cloths

The supplies you will need are:

• 2 microfiber cloths (mine were 11″x11″)
• Unique stitch fabric glue
• Scissors
• Swiffer duster handle

The unique stitch is the key to making this without sewing. I get mine on amazon and it’s definitely worth it.

Once you have your supplies in order, you need to trim the cloths if they are too big (like mine were). Trim in a U shape, so you will be left with 3 long strips of extra fabric. I trimmed about 3 inches off each side.

Step two: Glue outside pieces

Using the leftover strips from when you trimmed your cloths, next you will make a shorter outside layer. Cut the strips in half and using your unique stitch, glue them along the center.

In the picture above, you can see indentations where the glue is.

These pieces will become the outside of the duster. You might want to break for a few minutes (or longer if you are more patient than me!) to let the glue set a little.

Step three: Glue opening

Turn one cloth over so the small strips are facing down. Using your unique stitch, trace the handle you intend to use on the cloth.

Make sure you leave enough space at the bottom for the handle to go in. I actually ended up widening mine at the lower part so that the handle would fit.

Then just press down your other cloth onto the glue with the small strips facing out and let dry.

You can see what the opening looks like above.

You might want to test that your handle will fit after letting it dry for a half hour or so. That way the glue isn’t completely set and you can still fix it if you made your opening too tight. You want it to be as tight as possible while still having room for the handle.

Step four: Cut strips

After letting your glue dry for at least a few hours, it’s time to cut strips into your duster. Simply cut 1″ wide strips towards the center, without clipping your glue seams.

If you made it too long, now is the time to trim a little off the top. I also trimmed mine so it had rounded edges.

And that’s it!

Now get dusting!

This duster works perfectly with my homemade dusting spray! Say goodbye to swiffer and pledge, because you’ve moved on to better products.

supplies used in this post

The post How to Make a No-Sew Reusable Duster appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.