Household products, such as cosmetics, cleaning supplies and other things can definitely cost a lot - especially when you have to buy them on a regular basis, but the amount of harsh chemicals in a lot of these products can be really damaging to, not only you and your family’s health, but the environment, too.
Below, we’ve listed a good number of things that you can make at home to save money and to not have to be subjected to the nasty ingredients and chemicals that a lot of products include in them.
Toothpaste:
Toothpaste is essential for maintaining healthy teeth and gums, so it’s definitely something we all need to have in stock to use everyday. With so much choice when it comes to toothpaste, it can be difficult to know the right one to get. The problem with many commercially available toothpastes is that they can often contain a lot of harsh chemicals that, although will clean the teeth, may not be great for overall health.
If you want to make your own toothpaste that is effective for cleaning and doesn’t have the chemicals, then you can simply mix up some coconut oil and baking soda to create a simple, effective, and healthy toothpaste that’s extremely cheap to make. If you want to add some flavor, then adding some essential oils like mint, cinnamon or orange can work really well.
Deodorant:
As a an important product in our lives for keeping us feeling fresh and smelling good, deodorant is something almost everyone has at least one of in their house. However, the vast majority of really harsh and harmful chemicals in them that we’d never want to put on our skin under normal circumstances, and especially if you have sensitive skin, then the commercial deodorants available can really make this worse.
You can make a completely natural deodorant at home using simple ingredients that are not only good for your skin, but help keep you feeling clean and fresh the same way deodorant does.
A simple recipe for a homemade deodorant can be created using nothing more than coconut oil, essential oil of your choice, arrow-root powder and baking soda.
All Purpose Cleaner:
Every house needs to be kept clean, but commercial cleaning products contain a lot of nasty chemicals that are harmful to health, can cause skin reactions, and are bad for the environment, too. Many people don’t know that they can actually make their own multi-purpose cleaning spray just by using a few ingredients that they probably already have in their kitchen. These ingredients are completely healthy and natural, don’t cause any issues if they come into contact with the skin, and won’t do any harm to the environment. Commercial cleaning products are also very expensive when we think about how many times we have to replace them during the year, so by making your own, you’ll not only be doing your health a favor, but your wallet, too.
The best recipe we’ve around for a natural all-purpose cleaner that actually works is by combining some hydrogen peroxide, peppermint, lavender, and lemon essential oils. This combination will make for a cleaning product that kills any nasty bacteria whilst ensuring that no chemicals are coming into contact with you or your family, plus it’s very cheap to make and is something you can make anytime you need it.
Stain Remover:
Stains are just a part of life, and they’re the last thing you want on your new cream carpet or on your lovely couch, but especially if you have children in your house, then they’re almost unavoidable.
Normal stain removers are, not only extremely harsh on the fabrics they’re meant to remove stains from due to the amount of chemicals they have in them, but a large portion of them don’t even work - or at least don’t work as advertised, so you can end up spending a lot of money just on trying out the many stain removal products on the market and see very little success.
This homemade stain remover requires nothing more than two ingredients, which are hydrogen peroxide which then is mixed up in a spray bottle for whenever you need it. When it comes to dish soap, if you don’t have time to make your own, you can use a commercial one. Although then it’s technically not a natural product, dish soaps do tend to contain less harsh chemicals and are kinder to skin than other household cleaning products.
Having your own stain remove to hand whenever you need it is going to save you a lot of time, money and stress, and will definitely be a far more natural alternative that’s better for the environment, your home, and your skin, so whether you need it for those unfortunate times you knock a glass of red wine over your pastel couch, or for when the dog urinates on your bed, then it’s going to be a good product to have on hand.
Window Cleaner:
Many people are actually rather surprised when they discover that the majority of commercial window cleaning products available actually are made with simple ingredients such as lemon and vinegar, and they only cost more than these ingredients cost on their own because they’re put in bottles with fancy branding. Commercial products also contain a variety of other chemicals that aren’t even necessary to keep your windows clean and shiny, so instead of buying expensive products from the store, just make your own using vinegar and lemon juice to see the same results and maintain streak-free windows all the time.
Facial Scrubs & Masks:
Women all over the world collectively spend millions on cosmetics and skincare products each year, and although so many of these products are marketed and branded extremely well, a lot of them contain really harsh chemicals that we really shouldn’t be putting near our skin.
They can dry out skin and cause reactions if you don’t have the skin type that’s most suited to these products, and you can actually achieve better results simply by using ingredients that you already have in your kitchen and that aren’t harsh on your skin at all.
Facial masks and scrubs are among the most diverse things you can make at home because there’s no one single group of ingredients you need, but it really depends on your personal preferences and also what you want the product to achieve.
A few examples of popular homemade facial scrub and mask ingredients are, avocado, honey, banana, sugar, coffee, and oatmeal.
Hair Masks & Treatments:
Much like face masks, commercial hair masks can often cause more problems than they solve, and are mostly full of very harsh chemicals that really shouldn’t be coming into contact with skin or hair.
Popular hair mask ingredients include coconut oil, essential oils, egg yolk, milk, oatmeal, honey, banana, avocado, and olive oil.
The type of hair mask you choose to use for your hair should always be something you research to see what’s best for your hair type, your needs, and also if you have any allergies to take into consideration.
Oven Cleaner:
Keeping your oven clean is an important part of overall homecare, but the problem with commercial oven cleaners is that they mostly contain an extreme amount of harsh chemicals - in fact, many people wear some kind of mask when cleaning the oven because the chemicals catch in their throat and these are not pleasant or healthy to be breathing in.
Making your own oven cleaner is, not only safer, kinder to your health, and cheaper, but it’s probably better for your oven than those overly harsh commercial products are.
To make your own oven cleaner all you need is a couple of simple ingredients and then leave it whilst you sleep, so there’s no hard scrubbing like you normally have to do.
The best recipe for oven cleaner is made from ammonia, dish soap, water, a sponge, and a few hours of time to let it take effect before you can easily wipe it off and see your oven restored to its former glory.
Lip Balm:
Most people would never consider that they can easily make this product at home. Lip balm is one of the most commercially available cosmetic products on the market, you can buy it pretty much everywhere, and it comes in all kinds of varieties.
Although lip balm is not an overly harsh product, there may be some chemicals and things in there that really aren’t the best to be putting on our lips, so making our own is not only a better choice from a health perspective, but also for saving money.
To make your own lip balm, a few simple ingredients are needed which are very easy to come by, such as coconut oil and the essential oils of your choice, other ingredients can include shea butter, beeswax, honey, and olive oil. All lip balms you make can always be given an extra boost of flavor through using essential oils.
As you can see, there are so many ways to get creative when it comes to taking care of your health and home at the same time.
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