Homemade Kitchen Cleaners

What is the dirtiest room in your house? I bet you are going to say the bathroom, which you might be right, but for us the dirtiest room in our house is the kitchen!! It is the center of our home, we cook three plus meals a day, it is where we do homeschool, food preserving, and any other project that requires the kids to be sitting. Oh and did a mention we have two dogs and two cats who also eat in the kitchen. The KITCHEN is DIRTY!!!

So in an effort to keep it clean we have established a few routines that keep us on top of the dirt. The first one being that we always clean the kitchen before we go to bed. Our goal is to have a clean sink, counter tops and somewhat clean floor. I do not mop the floor every night but I do run our handheld dyson around the kitchen after we have cleaned it up.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

We also DO NOT use any commercial cleaners, everything is homemade and all natural. Why may you ask?

I used to spend a lot of money on all-natural cleaners from the store. Deciding I wanted to eliminate store-bought chemicals from my cleaning repertoire meant saying goodbye to cheap options and splurging on better products from the organic grocery store.

Once I learned about the magical world of DIY cleaners, though, I was hooked. They work wonders on kitchen counters, save me money, and give me peace of mind knowing exactly what goes into each bottle.

Why White Vinegar?

White vinegar is a natural disinfectant. It contains 5% acetic acid, which has antimicrobial properties. It’s also great at cutting through grease and grime, so it’s perfect for cleaning kitchen surfaces like stovetops, tables, and counters. Vinegar on its own is quite pungent, so I mixed it with equal parts water to help dilute it.

This is a great cleaner for nearly every surface, with the exception of soft stones, like marble countertops. (For marble, I recommend a gentler cleaner of dish soap mixed with hot water.)

Why Essential Oil?

While you can certainly use just the vinegar-water mixture to clean, I always add a few drops or more of essential oil. Many essential oils have antibacterial and antiseptic properties making them great for cleaning and they smell good.

Here are some of our favorite homemade natural cleaners that we use weekly.

All Purpose Cleaning Spray

1 ¼ cups water

½ cup white vinegar

10 drops of your favorite essential oil

To make– pour ingredients into a glass spray bottle, and shake

To use– spray liberally on the surface and wipe clean with a soft cleaning cloth

Liquid Hand Soap

1 cup liquid castile soap

10 drops lemon essential oil

10 drops orange essential oil

1 teaspoon vitamin E oil

To make– combine ingredients in a decorative soap pump, seal, and shake thoroughly to combine.

To use– use a pump of soap, rub hands together, and wash off with warm water

To store– make this citrusy hand soap when needed

Dish Soap

8 oz citrus castile soap

15 drops lemon essential oil

5 drops clove essential oil

Variations– grease-fighting: add a splash of white vinegar to the warm dishwater

To make– pour castile soap and essential oils in a storage container and shake well to combine

To use– add 1-2 squirts to your dishwater and scrub

To store– store indefinitely on your counter or under your sink

Nightly Sink Scrub

2 cups baking soda

10 drops lemon essential oil

10 drops clove essential oil

1 squirt of Dish Soap

To make– add baking soda to a jar or container and scent with essential oils. Stir to combine.

To use– wet kitchen sink. Sprinkle a little bit of the baking soda mixture in sink- up to ¼ cup. Add a squirt of dish soap to the mixture ans scrub with scrub brush. Rinse and air-dry.

To store– store in cool, dark place indefinitely

And these are just some of the amazing Homemade Kitchen Cleaners that we use! By joining our Farmhouse Newsletter you can get access to our Farmhouse Living Resources which includes printable labels for many of your Homemade Cleaning products.