Ingredients you will need for the cleaning recipes!

Hello to those of you that have already joined my blog as followers! Thanks so much to you!

Ok this blog post is going to be about some items you will need to create the cleaning products that I have made and currently use! You will need about 5 easily attainable items that are fairly inexpensive! Here is the list or basic items to make most cleaning products in the home!

#1 Baking Soda - OMG so many uses! I'll get into some of them in a bit! Buy it in bulk if you can, I buy the Arm & Hammer Baking Soda in a 4lb box because it is the same price as the cheapest bulk I can find in my area, but I may look online one of these days to get like a 25lb or 50lb bag, not using that much yet, so the boxes work just fine! So, I get the boxes instead of having a plastic bag of powder that is unlabeled! haha! I pay about $2 for the 4lb box! I think Walmart sells it in 1lb boxes for $0.48 which is a little cheaper but I like the bigger box. This is also known as Sodium BiCarbonate, it's a natural salt that comes from the earth and any brand will do as long as it's 100%.

#2 Washing Soda - Ok this IS NOT THE SAME as Baking Soda, and why I listed it second because Arm & Hammer makes both! It is marketed as Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda! I had a heck of a time finding this at any local stores! So I have a trick for you, because I learned where I can get it in my area. I have discovered that I can get all of these items at a store called WINN CO. out here in California, but the other popular places - even Walmart - around here do NOT carry Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda in my area! I guess I could have gone through the hassle of asking for it from the store manager, but then I have to wait for it! I get a little impatient on things like that! I found it online for like $4.50 a box PLUS Shipping... another $5... so I said NO! You can get a big box of it for like $3!

Washing Soda is known as Soda Ash, or more specifically as Sodium Carbonate, notice how close it is in name to the Baking Soda - Sodium BiCarbonate! But they are not the same so pay attention please! Now so you don't have to go hunting all over town to every store you can think of like I did, I will tell you how you can get it if you can't get the Arm & Hammer brand. Here you go! Sodium Carbonate is used to raise the PH level of pools! So you can get a nice big jug of it for like $10 for almost 4lbs. Not bad if you can't find the Arm & Hammer brand.! My first jug of it cost me almost $20 cause I didn't think to look at Walmart or Home Depot! I know Walmart is nationwide, but not sure about Home Depot... but most any hardware store that has pool supplies will carry this! Make sure the container says 100% Sodium Carbonate.

I did eventually find the Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda at Winn Co.. so that is where I will purchase it from now on.. it is the cheapest I have found, but my nice plastic bottle I got from the pool supply store is great for storage and keeps it from getting wet!

This little hunt for Sodium Carbonate took me many miles and who knows how many stops at various stores and lots of hours looking around store shelves and asking clerks for it... of course they looked at me like I was nuts, all but one young lady that actually knew what I was talking about! LOL!

#3 Fels-Naphta - This is a soap that has been used for 100 years for laundry, but since we all have Tide and Downy it's kinda been forgotten I guess... luckily they still sell it. I also found this at my Winn Co. store for like half the price I was paying locally at Stater Bros. ( a local area grocery chain). It's a yellow hard bar of soap like substance... lol I only use this to make my Laundry detergents. You can use ZOTE or even IVORY I suppose, but I like the Fels-Naptha.

#4 Borax - This should be in any grocery store around you. It is sold most popularly as 20 Mule Team Borax. This was the easiest item for me to find other than the next two items! LOL! I have no idea if anyone else produces Borax for sale! If you can't find it as borax, you can ask for Sodium Tetraborate.

#5 White Vinegar - Any brand will do as long as it's distilled, I suggest buying the least expensive, since this is the purpose of my blog! haha! Unless you are buying some ultra strength vinegar, regular table vinegar is fine and it usually has about 4 or 5% acid level.

WARNING - These are all chemicals, even though naturally from the ground! The best thing to do is to wear rubber gloves when handling the Borax and Washing Soda, as they can cause skin irritation. I just use some cheap rubber gloves from the local dollar store to handle this stuff. If you do get any on your hands or skin, just rinsing them will get it off without damage. Keep them away from children! Don't get them in your eyes and don't ingest them! (Well, vinegar and baking soda are okay to ingest, as they are used in cooking and other things but not the others!) Read the boxes for all warnings, it's just best to be safe, and I can say I warned you to be careful if anything happens to you!

I will not be responsible for your actions.. how can I be?? I use these products daily without issues, but some people are more sensitive to these items than I am.

Okay, so once you get these items you will have most of the items you will need to clean your whole house without chlorine and other harmful toxins!

That's all for now! My next blog should be about putting these items together in various ways to make some cleaning products!

Please comment on the blogs with the recipes for the cleaning products, I would love to hear about your experience with a recipe - good or bad... so far I have not had any issues with these things that I have created and use! I like them all... that is why I am sharing! But feel free to comment on any blog I write! If you have a question or something I will of course try to answer it!