Homemade {All-Purpose Cleaning Solution}

I finally did it!!!  I have mixed my own all-purpose cleaning solution!  I originally saw the idea just over a year ago when my friend posted the link on her blog here.  I have used straight vinegar water for cleaning in the past, but I loved the added benefits of the lavender and thyme. 

(Photo credit)

I had bought a bottle of all-purpose cleaner from the Commissary soon after we arrived here.  It was supposed to have a lemon fresh scent...but to me it seemed to resemble urine.  Gross.  I was ready to make this happen!  The original recipe is found on Herb Mentor News here.  I took the article's suggestion and ordered what I needed here from Mountain Rose Herbs.  My husband has never been fond of the vinegar scent and I wasn't sure how he would feel about the other two scents I would be adding, but I decided to go ahead and order some Lime Peel Extract as well to add to it.  I also loved that on Mountain Rose Herbs they gave explanations of the uses of each of the extracts as well as what other scents they blended well with.

I received the box about two weeks after I made my order.  Not too bad for shipping overseas.  The recipe states that you need 1 cup of the lavender and thyme, but I wasn't 100% sure on how much to order from Mountain Rose Herbs.  I ended up ordering the 8 oz bag of each and it was plenty!  I can easily get about five more rounds out of them (I think).  (I'm assuming they will last that long.  I have no idea if they come with an "expiration date".  I'm new to this.)  I paid right around $25.00, including shipping.  I'm sure if you look around your area you could find what you need local.  There are some things though where my time is more valuable than my money.  For me, paying the shipping was worth it!  For future use though (as long as it doesn't expire), I would probably even order the larger bags.

I have been using the cleaner for everything!!!  The vinegar smell was still super strong for Tim, so I watered my mixture down a bit and it still does a great job of getting all sorts of messes up.  I have already come to love the smell and easily associated it with my house being clean!  To be easy on my husband though I try to do most of my cleaning during the day when he is gone that way it doesn't bother him.  There are some times that I can't avoid it when he's home, but I'll just try and crack a window in the room and the smell doesn't linger long.

I was having trouble with major streaks on our bathroom mirrors using this solution though.  I'm not sure I strained the liquid well enough before putting in the spray bottle, which might be the problem.  I didn't want to fret over it though, so I just picked up another small spray bottle and just mixed some plain vinegar water and I've been using that for our mirrors/windows. 

One other thing I love about this is that it is a great encouragement to ideas realized!  Seriously.  I marked this ONE YEAR ago as something I wanted to do!  There are still many things on my list of things I want to try...homemade laundry soap, homemade bread, wood projects, vegetable garden, etc.  Not all of them will be accomplished tomorrow, but hopefully, over time, I will get to them.