Beyond the high price, most commercial cleaning products have toxic ingredients that a growing body of research indicates may be harmful even in small amounts. Your family deserves better; your wallet does too.

This safe, effective, non-toxic cleaning kit is easy to make and inexpensive to use by following these tips for all your cleaning needs.

Vinegar is definitely a versatile item to keep around the house. Besides being effective, vinegar is cheap and widely available. It is non-toxic, lasts a long time without losing strength, and is much safer to have under your sink than bleach, ammonia, or other toxic cleaning products.

1. Clean windows
Instead of spending money on window cleaning chemicals—especially ones that include toxic or potentially toxic chemicals—make your own! Mix distilled white vinegar with water, and dispense into a used spray bottle. Squirt on, then scrub with newspaper, not paper towels, which cause streaking.

2. Get fresher laundry
Toss in a capful of white vinegar into your regular laundry to soften the water and get bolder colors and whiter whites.

Got grass stains? Mix one-third cup white vinegar and two-thirds cup water. Apply the solution to the stain and blot with a clean cloth. Repeat until you’ve removed as much green as possible. Launder as above.

Vinegar is also good at cutting grease.

3. Clean carpets
Tried damp-cleaning that stain and it just won’t lift? Try a 50/50 mix of vinegar and warm water.

4. Wash fruits and veggies
Vinegar helps bacteria and mold and may reduce pesticides and other residues on the surfaces of fruits and veggies. Mix three parts water to one part white vinegar, and dispense in a spray bottle. Then rinse with water.

5. Dissolve stubborn glue
Speaking of produce… that annoyingly sticky label glue dissolves with vinegar. Accidentally glue something together? Try using vinegar as a solvent to dissolve many common adhesives.

Baking soda is a super-effective (but gentle) abrasive and a great natural deodorizer. It’s claim to fame goes beyond baking where it can deodorize and clean even the peskiest problem spots.

1. A foul-smelling fridge
Does anyone not have a small box of baking soda in their refridgerator? Baking soda absorbs smells and keeps a fresh fridge.

2. Alternate fruit and veggie rinse
Mixed with water, baking soda can remove dirt and the waxy coating on produce.

3. Musty upholstery and carpets
Deodorize the soft, cushy places around your house by sprinkling surfaces with baking soda. Let that sit for 15 minutes and then vacuum the powder up.

4. Dingy laundry
Both whites and colors will come out of the washing machine brighter if you add a cup of baking soda to your load. Combined with non-toxic detergent, it helps balance the pH levels to get clothes cleaner.

5. A clogged drain
Clear a stubborn drain: Skip the toxic Drano, especially if you have a leach field that relies on healthy microbes to decompose your waste. Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain. Then pour 1/2 cup of vinegar. Cover with a wet wash cloth to contain the foaming and bubbling. Wait five minutes and then flush with hot water.

Safely handles drain smells too.

Ingredients:

1 cup baking soda
2 teaspoons liquid dish soap
3 drops essential oil
distilled cleaning vinegar (6% acidity)

mason jar with shaker lid
spray bottle
sponges or cleaning cloths

Make the Kit:

1. In a bowl or a food processor, mix together the baking soda, soap, and essential oil enough to make it powdery and not clumpy.

2. Store the powder in a mason jar with sprouting lid or large holes punched in a storage lid.

3. In the spray bottle, dilute the vinegar roughly 50:50 with water. Distilled water is not usually needed unless you have extremely hard or high particulate water. Even most well water, which tends to run hard, is fine to use.

1. General surface cleaning
Sprinkle the baking soda powder over the surface, wet a rag or sponge and wring out excess water. Scrub the powder onto the surface. Let it sit for a few minutes (or longer for tougher messes).

Spritz the vinegar mix over the areas you cleaned, and wipe it down again with a wet rag. Repeat until the surface is free of baking soda residue.

Note: Do not clean marble, slate or other porous substances with anything more than water—especially products bought at your local store that contain acids, alkalis and other chemicals—acids including citrus oils can etch or damage the counter top surface or degrade the sealant leaving the stone more vulnerable to staining. Most common, popular and name-brand cleaners will damage marble. Use a sponge with plain water.

2. Tough jobs
To remove lime scale, rust, or clean the inside of an oven, spray it down with vinegar first and then scrub the baking soda in. Let it sit for several hours, then wash it with vinegar.

3. Greasy jobs
For greasy messes, make a paste with dish soap and baking soda and rub it into the surface. Let it sit, and wash it with vinegar. Even baked-on food is no match for a dusting of baking powder cleaner followed by a vinegar spray and scrubbie.

4. Filthy kitchens and baths
Nearly every surface and dirty spot in your kitchen can benefit from this baking soda scrub followed by vinegar rinse. Clean most counter-tops, stainless steel sinks, stove tops, appliances, range hoods, and cooking utensils.

5. A crayon-covered wall
Your child’s artistic efforts on that painted wall? Scrub lightly with a damp sponge sprinkled with baking soda cleaner and then remove the residue with vinegar spray.

6. A mildew-y bathroom
Scrub your tub, tile, sink and shower curtain with a damp sponge and baking soda. Rinse with vinegar to reveal gleaming surfaces and shining metal fixtures.

About Young Living Essential Oils: After personal inspection of many companies—and there are a number of reputable companies—I elected to become a distributor for Young Living as a provider of consistently high quality and even food quality oils. I’d love to have you join my team and explore the world of essential oils together.

For 24% off the cost of Young Living Oils, sign up here: www.youngliving.com/signup and say member #2838107 sent you.