How I got into non-toxic cleaning and what I use today
Hello my loyal readers!
I hope this post finds you well and slowly adapting to daylight savings time. I know it always takes me a few weeks to get into the swing of things with sleep during the time change, which always makes the first few weeks a little rough. However, this light in the evening is glorious! It makes my evening walks, and sometimes runs, so much more enjoyable knowing that I am not racing the sunset.
Following the theme we have going on in our Monday posts on Instagram with upcoming spring cleaning, I wanted to talk about a part of cleaning that we all have to decide on at some point, and that is what you will clean with.
When you go to the grocery store or your favorite convenience store, and you visit the cleaning isle, what do you notice?
For me I am always overwhelmed by the many options of brands and types of products. I mean do I really need a dedicated toilet bowl cleaner, or can I just use the same product I use to clean my shower with?
I am also overwhelmed by the smell of the cleaning and laundry detergent isle. To me it smells like fake flowers that are on the level of bath and body works. You smell it before you even get to it in the isle!
In this post I wanted to discuss my journey into the natural and non-toxic cleaning world six years ago, and what I use today to tackle every cleaning task on my list.
Making my own cleaning supplies
I was in my second year of graduate school when I started exploring the more natural cleaning world and making my own cleaning supplies. Pinterest was my favorite hobby and a way to pass the time, and one day a post came up about how to make your own cleaning supplies. This was something my mom had mentioned to me before, but she always bought conventional cleaning products so I did as well when I moved into my own apartment.
What I disliked about conventional cleaners was often time the scents. They would commonly trigger up my allergies, or cause me a headache whenever I would clean. I also hated how harsh they were on my skin and how many types of cleaners I had for single purpose jobs.
“It seemed like a waste of money using products that made me not look forward to using them.”
When you already dislike cleaning you don’t want to use a product you hate right? Cleaning is already a task, and even if it wasn’t fun I still wanted to enjoy it somewhat.
So one day in Columbia South Carolina, I decided to take the plunge and start playing around with making my own cleaning supplies. All I had to pick up were some refillable bottles, dish soap, baking soda, vinegar, rubbing alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide. Before I knew it I had replaced all common cleaners underneath my kitchen sink.
It was an exciting and empowering day!
Here is a breakdown of what you use each item for what:
- Dish Soap– This is your base with making your cleaning supplies. It’s what you use to tackle general cleaning like wiping down kitchen counters, to tough jobs like the shower and tub. The strength of it depends on how much you dilute it down with water initially.
- Baking Soda-Great to use when you need powerful grit with some whitening power. I primarily use it in the shower, toilet bowls, and anytime I need extra cleaning power.
- Vinegar– Shines up dull faucets and sinks, and helps tackle hard water deposits. Not great to use on grout so be careful with using it in the shower/tub. Great natural disinfectant!
- Rubbing Alcohol– Good for windows and mirrors, diluted of course.
- Hydrogen Peroxide– A natural bleach! I mainly use this to clean the grout, and to disinfect surfaces since it doesn’t smell like vinegar.
What I use now
I made my own cleaning supplies for a long time after graduating from graduate school. It was cost effective and did the job I needed it to do.
When I got involved with Young Living, which is a Mult-Level Marketing company, I ended up trying out their Thieves cleaner. I loved it and thought it did a great job, plus it had a lovely smell of cinnamon, which I really enjoyed. I used it for everything and every cleaning job I had. However, when I ended up cancelling my subscription I knew I wanted to find a replacement for it in my home.
My partner had moved in and he brought my two sweet fur babies with him. I knew I wanted to have a clean and unscented cleaner that would be safe for my animals, and free of gluten for me. Ideally it would be a concentrate I would just need to dilute down like the Thieves cleaning. I explored Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds, and would have went with it, but it contains spruce which can be harmful to cats. I wanted to play it safe with caring for my two new pets, especially since one likes to lick everything.
Enter the company and brand: Branch Basics.
When researching the internet I discovered the brand known as Branch Basics coming up a lot in searches for “Natural” and “Non-Toxic” cleaners. I really liked the fact it was a concentrate since that was hard to find. They also seemed to make it really easy to get started with their supplies with the starter kit.
I ended up purchasing the Trial Kit in October of 2019 to see how it would perform and if I liked it. I ended up loving it and felt like it did such a great job tackling messes. I also thought the spray bottle itself was really nice, and this was something my fiancé pointed out even when he used it.
Two months later I purchased the Premium Starter Kit and haven’t looked back!
Even throughout the time of Covid, I have remained using Branch Basics, as well as my hydrogen peroxide and distilled vinegar for disinfecting. I was so excited to get the starter kit that I went on a cleaning spree after I made my supplies. It maybe took five minutes to fill up all the bottles and start putting them to use.
Even though I knew I could always go back to making my own cleaning supplies, I didn’t miss measuring out things. This was something even regarding the Thieves cleaner I didn’t like.
Branch Basics makes it super easy to get started with cleaning, and makes dilution easy since the directions are on the labels that are on the refillable bottles. I also really appreciate all the information they have on their blog to help me learn and have healthier habits in maintaining mine and my families health in the home.
If you would like to try Branch Basics yourself you can use my referral code below and get $10.00 your purchase!:
http://branchbasics.refr.cc/stayinspired
I hope that through this post is made you think about what you clean your house with, and how it affects your life and health overall. If you have been wanting to jump into more natural or non-toxic cleaning habit, I certainly encourage Branch Basics as a route you try.
They are affordable, simple, and it works great! Which is all you can ask for in a cleaning product at the end of the day.
Until next time,
