To Recap: this stuff is seriously great - we use it for everything from cleaning out Anya's cage after she has a wee little accident (I threw that little pun in just for fun! and I rhymed - free of charge), to cleaning up our kitchen counters, and bathroom surfaces. Basically for anything you'd use spic-n-span or 409 or stuff like that. We even use it to mop our kitchen floor, since it's cheap linoleum tiles. The best part is, since it's organic and there's no harsh chemicals - I feel much better about using my countertops as a surface for preparing foods (i.e. rolling out tortilla dough). (And for those of you who know me really well, you know I'm a total germaphobe - so now I'm okay with setting down a piece of bread or an apple onto the actual kitchen counter - yay!)
Here's your measurements:
1 28-32 oz. spray bottle (I recommend buying new so there's no residual chemicals in the bottle)
2 c. water
1/2 c. white vinegar
3/4 c. hydrogen peroxide
1 t. Dr. Bronner's
20 drops tee tree oil (not necessary if you buy the Dr. Bronner's with Tea Tree Oil in it.)
Optional: 20 drops lavender essential oil (for the smell)
Just for fun, I thought I'd show you the costs:
Spray Bottle - $1.00
Water - (essentially) free
White Vinegar - $ 0.09
Hydrogen Peroxide - 0.18
Dr. Bronner's - $ 0.01
That's a grand total of $1.28 for 26 oz. of my all-purpose spray. And that includes the $1.00 for the spray bottle, which is a one-time purchase, so from here on out it'll only be $0.28 - you just can't beat that. But let's compare*, shall we?
Fantastik - 26 oz. for $9.75
Fabuloso - 26 oz. for $3.05
Spic-n-Span - 26 oz. for $1.48
Mr. Clean - 26 oz. for $2.92
409 - 26 oz. for $4.05
*These prices came from Amazon - and they don't include tax or shipping.
I think you get the idea - cheap! The closest that compares to the organic stuff we make is Spic-N-Span - which is what Stephen and I used before. We got it at the Dollar Tree, so it was only a buck, which technically makes it cheaper than what we use (at least for the first time purchasing the spray bottle - after this ours will always be cheaper) - but we get the added bonus of a chemical-free cleaner, which Spic-n-Span definitely isn't. And, we've found that the organic cleaner we use cuts through grease, grime, gunk, and soap scum just as well as the Spic-n-Span did (if not better). And if it dribbles on the floor and Anya runs to lick it up (yup - it's happened), I don't have a panic attack worrying if it's going to make her sick. And if you find that it's not quite cutting through grease and grime the way you want it to, just add another teaspoon of Dr. Bronner's (we ended up doing that after making the video, bringing the cost of our cleaner up a whopping ONE CENT) - different dilutions will have different cleaning strengths. For super tough stains or dirt, you can dab it undiluted and it won't harm any surfaces (carpet, tile, wood, granite, formica, etc.) because it's all-natural, baby!
So once again we have economically smart and ecologically safe - two of our favorite things! If you're not at least looking into organic cleaning - you're being silly!
Love,
Vanessa
P.S. When you're making your own surface cleaner (or any type of cleaner), you're cutting down on waste by not buying plastic bottles every time you run out. And Dr. Bronner's soaps come in biodegradable containers - naturally!
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