Ok so choosing the right cleaning products seems to be on everyones list of excuses as to why they get held up or procrastinate in cleaning certain areas. So I’ve decided to give a running list of what my staff n I have in our caddy’s for professional use. BONUS: we only use chemical free options that not only work but smell amazing and double as concentrates to ensure a little goes a long way so that your money gets you further.
Lets start with the basic all purpose cleaner: Dr. Bronners liquid Castile.
Unscented baby mild if you have allergies or sensitivities to scents, or if you just don’t want to complicate cleaning with multiple scents. Otherwise Citrus orange and lavender are other fabulous scents to choose for cleaning. Don’t overcomicate things with too many crazy scents. Yes there are some wonderful peppermint , rose and almond options but they are not the best choices for use in the cleaning dept.
This soap is so versital it can be used on literally ANYTHING in your home, from greasy appliances to washing dishes, countertops, granite, hardwood floors, cabinetry and even on painted walls. I like to think of it as a heavier duty murphy’s oil, but better because it’s more natural AND you can’t use murphy’s oil on tile or painted surfaces😏
Soap n hot water has been the basic cleaning solution withstanding the test of time. You need not look much further than this. Keep a small 4-16oz bottle in your cleaning caddy, and you can apply a few drop to a damp cloth for dusting, a small pea sized amount for countertops and cabinetry or even apply generously for dirty jobs like a greasy stovetop. That’s why I love applying directly to the cloth as I go from task to task vs using in a spray bottle diluted with water; this way I can adjust the strength of the cleaner as I go.
TIP: use this simple soap as a shower gel to eliminate soap scum residue!! Who wouldn’t want to reduce the amount of scrubbing necessary to clean the shower or even HOW OFTEN you need to clean your shower. Regular soaps have moisturizing and foaming agents that leave scum and simple soaps DO NOT, making them excellent cleaning soaps and non soap scum building!!! Note: it can be drying though so be prepared to moisturize to compensate, but I’d rather do that than clean any day lol.
Next up on the best and most versatile things to keep in your cleaning caddy:
WHITE VINEGAR!! I recommend Heinz cleaning strength, which is more potent n this has stronger germ killing power, but any will do. Inexpensive and it shines fixtures, cleans glass, stainless steel, cuts grease, whitens grout, removes toilet stains and kills odor, remove rust/hard water stains, dilute for use on hardwood floors, I can literally go on n on n ON. Keep a 16oz glass spray bottle in your caddy for quick n easy application.
Isopropyl alcohol is an alternative to vinegar, preferred by some because maybe you either hate the smell of vinegar or you are more convinced of the germ killing capabilities of alcohol. If you have granite, vinegar is a no-no and alcohol is a great disinfectant that gives granite a streak free shine but unfortunately UNLIKE vinegar doesn’t do any of the other million dollar tasks like remove limestone hard water stains n rust or even whiten. So vinegar is still preferred when it comes to granite;)
Occasionally when an abrasive cleaner is needed for a little extra scrubbing, generally not needed when using a quality microfiber cloth but IF needed, reach for this other VERY inexpensive, found in almost every super market, BON AMI.
This no scratch powdered cleanser is great for kitchen sinks n tub and SO much more. 5 simple ingredients and averages about $2. Need I say more?
Keep a toilet brush in a container; one with a lid in your caddy so that it is easily accessible while cleaning, especially if you don’t like leaving one beside your toilets. Add a toothbrush to your caddy for tight spaces like around the base of your faucets and sink drains.
Other than an extra spray bottle to mix floor cleaner, you can use these simple things to clean the whole dang house and on a very frugal budget I may add. I did so for 5 years before I started adding what I call the “fu fu cleaners” (is that how you spell that? Who knows…..sorry if it’s wrong) these are the cleaners that smell nice n you just enjoy.
Biokleen has an amazing bathroom spray and soy cream cleaner that I highly recommend, sold in many natural stores like Whole Foods and even on amazon. A little pricier but you can make go far. Remember their just a bonus for a quick n easy spray n wipe or an added scent.
Use the soy cream cleaner anywhere you would a soft scrub. It’s an excellent chemical alternative, that won’t bleach your finger tips and doesn’t require rinsing! Yes that’s right, I just mentioned that you get to skip one less step. Remember that when you whine over the $6 (on average) price tag. It’s worth it. A quarter size amount does a sink or toilet and about half dollar size for tub, including tile walls. It really goes far. It can equip a 3-4 BR house for about 3 months worth of weekly cleans. That’s excellent!
The bathroom spray is an amazing lavender lime fresh scent that just boosts your disinfecting power n leaves the bathroom smelling amazing. This is what I prep the bathroom with by spraying down the elements to sit and have “contact time” with the pathogens, before I even START cleaning, if you happen to have read my bathroom cleaning blog. The soy cream doubles as a toilet bowl cleaner so need to buy another one. Between this n the white vinegar you have all the cleaning/deodorizing power you need.
That concludes the bathroom and the all purpose cleaner whicb pretty much is all you need to cover the kitchen as well, but if you want to add a few more worth while products I use a few from aromatherapynaturals.com that are worth their weight in gold:
1) heavy duty orange, which is essentially a degreaser, that not only degreases stove tops n cleans inside sinks and microwaves beautifully, it also works great on really dirty shower glass, stainless steel and whitens porcelain and grout too, so it’s worth having if you want to up your cleaning collection.
2) lavender linen spray, this is essentially your febreeze replacement, that can also be used as a linen water or ironing mist, or even just an aerosol air freshener.
3) germ spray, this is the legendary blend of four thieves oil that is known for killing MRSA and many other germs. This replaces your Lysol.
4) stainless steel polish, this is for stainless steel, obviously, it nourishes, shines; its pretty much like painting on new stainless steel. I’ve had a bottle last me a year! It goes really far. A quarter size amount on a buff cloth can cover an entire front side of a fridge. It makes appliances bling. It really boasts big impact. Completely unnecessary but sooooo worth it. A bonus is that it resists scratches and even fingerprints if used regularly n we all know what an eye sore finger prints can be on our stainless appliances.
5) floor cleaner, and stop. I am well known and coveted in my business because of this amazing floor cleaner. Vinegar, soap n water does the job just fine but this is just pure royal. Lemongrass scent is spa like freshness that my clients can’t get enough of and it cleans equally well on all floor types alike. Even gentle enough for slate and travertine. Just trust n try it. But only if your not afraid to be hooked. Forever.
So.
Thats really it! Maybe it seems like a lot but it will nicely fill a two sided plastic caddy
with everything you need and not waste space on things you don’t. I do like to keep sponges in our caddies, preferably the plant based cellulose sponges and ONLY because they dry twice as fast as it’s competition which means it hold less bacteria. Which is kinda huge!
TIP: color coordinate your sponges, for infection control purposes. Yellow for the bathroom is typical and green for the kitchen. If you use a blue scotch brite for your dishes, then use a green one for cleaning etc. One of the worst mistakes in housecleaning is for an amateur cleaner to pick up a kitchen sink sponge loaded with all its bacteria n proceed to wipe down the counters with it! 🤢 I have heard of many a naive housekeep fires such simple mistakes. Unfortunate. Simply color coordination could avoid such easy mistakes.
But that’s that! All that’s inside my green cleaning caddy. Simple, yet has it all.
I hope it’s helpful to you in assembling YOUR child/pet safe cleaning caddy that will not be detrimental to your health or your home. Nothing in this caddy will damage sensitive elements or you or your cloths. Not to mention, having a caddy filled like this one takes HALF the ew factor out of cleaning when you don’t feel like you have to protect yourself from the cle Mainers and really has a way of making cleaning more enouable. Go figure, then you suddenly don’t mind doing it more often😜
HAPPY cleaning!!!
Her House 