Homemade All Purpose Cleaner

Ever since Little Smiling Man started enjoying solids as part of his diet four months ago, kitchen cleanliness has been a challenge.  He adores his food, and while he's getting neater, he still eats a bit like a Muppet with lots going into his mouth and lots coming back out.  Imagine Cookie Monster in a highchair next to your kitchen table, and then imagine what cleaning up after his meal would look like.  That is my reality.  Three times a day.  His hands, face, bib, clothing and highchair are soon coated in whatever he's eating (be it from a spoon or a finger food).  And just for good measure he likes reaching over and spreading it anywhere on the kitchen table that he can reach.  Clean up after meals involves a thorough wipe down of his highchair, his tray, the table, and sweeping and mopping the floor.  Then there are the messes that Mini Muffin makes; putting her food directly on the table because Little Smiling Man's food isn't on a plate either, toppled cups or spills from her spoon.  I think it's suffice to say that a quick swish with a dishcloth simply does not cut it for these kind of messes!

Luckily, I came across a recipe for a homemade all purpose cleaner (that isn't a chemical cocktail) on a blog I enjoy - Nashville Wife.  I gave it a try and found it to be very effective; great and cleaning and free of residue!  It cuts through all kinds of messes with ease; yogurt, grease, mashed fruit, and some messes I can't even decide how to describe.  I have made three batches so far, and I'm especially happy with my latest batch.  I think this time I got my recipe tweaks just right, so I wanted to share!  For your reference, the original recipe is here.

Homemade All Purpose Cleaner

1 part white vinegar
3 parts water
squirt dish soap
10 drops essential oil of choice per cup of solution

1.  Add vinegar and water to an empty spray bottle; I use a 1L bottle, so use 1 cup vinegar and 3 cups water.
2.  Add a good squirt or two of dish soap; I use the classic blue Dawn.
3.  Add essential oil; 40 drops for 4 cups of solution.  Lemon essential oil is my personal favourite, but you can find a wide variety of essential oils at health food stores.
4.  Seal, shake and use!  I give the solution a little shake before each use because the oil separates and I like an equal amount of lemony freshness throughout the batch!

The heavy lifter in this mixture is of course the vinegar, also known as acetic acid. It's been a staple for home cleaning for more years than I can imagine, and for very good reason. It's a powerful cleaner, cuts grease, and is even a disinfectant. In other words, it's fantastic for keeping kitchen surfaces clean and free of E.coli, salmonella and other common bacteria like pneumonia according to David Suzuki. The essential oil is basically for scent, but depending on which you choose (for example, tea tree oil) you can even up the antibacterial power of your cleaner with those scent filled drops.  Finally, the dish soap is there for a little more cleaning and grease cutting muscle.

I really enjoy that I know exactly what I'm spraying on my little man's highchair and eating surfaces, as well as around the kitchen.  And equally importantly, I find it works really well... even when it's a few hours before I get back to some of those caked on messes.  I hope you too can find this recipe a good way to reduce chemicals in your home, while keeping it shiny and clean.  As I think you can gather, I'm so happy that I came across that blog post and added this homemade cleaner to my everyday cleaning arsenal!