Years ago, my youngest kiddo and I caught some bug over the winter. Probably a simple cold, but with all the holidays and an unusual amount of company, we couldn’t shake that lingering cough. One night, I woke in the wee hours of the morning, coughing, and trying to be as quiet as possible went to the living room with a pillow, so as not to wake the hubs or the company.
I realized after they had left that I was most likely experiencing a combination of problems- healing lungs, asthma as a child, all the smells & perfumes that everyone was using, being tired and stressed, etc… But after a bit of researching, I came to realize the biggest culprit for my cough was most likely the cleaning chemicals I was using!
Of course, I wanted my home to be clean for the company, but I also tend to be a bit obsessive about cleaning… Think hotel maid level while we have visitors staying in our home. I want them to enjoy their stay and not be grossed out by the very messy (at that time) toddlers happily living in their home!
So, I cleaned out (haha!) the chemicals and found, by trial and error, some great recipes for keeping a home as clean as you can when you have mud-loving children. Our most used, all-purpose cleaner is an orange peel infused vinegar that works on just about everything. I have even used it on glass, but it can be streaky if you don’t wipe it off correctly. (Stay tuned for what I love for cleaning windows and mirrors!) It is also safe for kids to use and isn’t harmful to pets, either. Vinegar has been used for centuries as a natural and healthy cleaner.
Orange Vinegar
Start with a container of white vinegar and some oranges. I usually collect them over a few days, but for this batch I peeled them all at once.
Peel oranges (either by hand or with a vegetable peeler) and place in a large glass jar. Fill the jar with vinegar.
I usually eyeball this part- more orange peels tends to give a stronger orange flavor, but a longer steeping time can do this, too.
Be sure to not get any of the orange juice/ flesh in the jar as this will make the vinegar sticky!
Allow peels to steep in vinegar for a few weeks. I always try to make another jar when I buy oranges, just so I have a batch available.
Strain the vinegar very well! Coffee filter and a small mesh strainer are great. The tid-bits from the pith will clog a spray bottle. (You can avoid some of the extra bits if you peel the orange with a veggie peeler.)
The vinegar becomes thicker and changes to an orange color from the peels. It also smells much better!!
If you notice floaties after you’ve strained the vinegar once, do it again before adding liquid to a spray bottle (I have clogged a few bottles by skipping this vital step…)
Fill a spray bottle with the vinegar and label!
You can add a few drops of essential oils that aid in cleaning, like clove, rosemary or lemon.
Cost Breakdown
- I buy my vinegar at Sam’s for $2.28 per gallon. I use on average 2 cups per spray bottle, which is 1 pint. That comes out to about $0.28 per pint.
- I consider the oranges free since we eat the insides and typically throw away the peels.
- If I add essential oils, I usually do about 5-10 drops from a few 15 ml bottles. Lemon comes in about $0.23 for 5 drops, clove is about $0.26, and rosemary is about $0.28. I don’t typically use 5 drops of each, but if I did, that is still less than $1.00. This is completely optional and the vinegar is great on it’s own without the oils, but I like to vary the scent at times!
If I used all 3 E.O.’s for my pint of infused vinegar, my cost would be $1.05. Of course, I didn’t factor in tax on the items or my time spent peeling, but I do believe this to be incredibly worth every cent! And our lungs enjoy this over the harsh chemicals sold in the store.
Happy Cleaning, Y’all!
I am so trying the orange infused vinegar!!
Great! Let me know how you like it 🙂