Spring Cleaning and organizing have been going on in our house since the beginning of the year. It’s something I truly enjoy. Late last Summer I made a change to how I clean and can honestly say it has changed my life. Rarely do I find something that gets me this excited! And it’s kind of funny because if you would have told me that I would be into this stuff this time last year, I wouldn’t have believed you. Making the switch to an all-natural cleaner (one that actually works like a dream!) has eliminated my headaches and asthma that were triggered when using traditional cleaning products. And it’s not only beneficial to me but my entire family. There are more DIY cleaning recipes I have tried out over the last couple of months that I’m eager to share with you guys. Today I want to share how I’m cleaning the kitchen!

I’ll link to all the products at the end of the post (INCLUDING A FREE GIFT FOR YOU) if you’re interested in making the switch like I did!

Some affiliate links are used at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog! For more information, visit my Disclosure.

Thieves Cleaner

I first introduced you to my counter, all-purpose, ride-or-die cleaner in this blog post. Thieves cleaner is such a work horse!!! The all-natural plant based cleaners I previously tried on our counters left behind a hazy, sticky residue. That just wasn’t cutting it for me so I ended up going back to bleach wipes which I wasn’t thrilled about using on my bare hands all the time. When I finally gave Thieves a try I was hooked. No stickiness, no haze, it smells like Christmas in a bottle, and it’s just as effective as bleach without the harmful chemicals! I now feel confident spraying down our counters and cutting food directly on the surface.

This is the exact same spray cleaner I used to clean our bathrooms and toilets. Check out the other DIY cleaners I use to clean our bathroom in this post. I actually add 15 drops of Tea Tree essential oil to the spray bottle in the bathroom for extra cleaning power. Tea Tree is known for it’s anti fungal properties which makes it a perfect cleaning companion.

Oh, and you won’t want to miss the experiment I did that proves Thieves is just as effective at cleaning as bleach. You can check out the whole thing in this Instagram post. Even though I knew this was the case, it was amazing seeing it play out with my own eyes.

Thieves Cleaner Recipe:

• Fill 16 oz spray bottle almost to the top with water
• Add 1 capful Thieves Household Cleaner Concentrate

Did you know? One 14.4 oz bottle of the Thieves Household Cleaner Concentrate will make a little over THIRTY 16 oz spray bottles of the Thieves Cleaner! That’s a lot of cleaning power.

Garbage Disposal Deep Clean

Nothing will ruin your appetite in the kitchen quicker than a nasty smelling drain. This disposal deep clean is something I now do once a month to keep things fresh. I’m a little embarrassed to say I hadn’t been doing anything regularly to clean my drain before this.

Disposal Deep Clean Instructions:

• Pour 1 capful Thieves Concentrated Household Cleaner into drain and let sit five minutes.
• Pour 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup white vinegar into drain. Let fizz and sit for five minutes.
• Run warm water and garbage disposal for one minute.
• For extra odor control add 5 drops Purification oil into drain.

DIY Garbage Disposal Fresheners

For when you need just a quick refresh for your garbage disposal, these little tabs are perfect. I use these in-between my monthly disposal deep cleans.

Garbage Disposal Fresheners Recipe:

• 1 cup baking soda
• 3/4 cup liquid Castile soap
• 1/2 cup salt
• 20 drops Thieves essential oil
• 10 drops Lemon essential oil
• 1/4 cup water

Combine baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add Castile soap and essential oils.  Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture reaches the texture of wet sand. If you add too much water, the mixture won’t stick or dry properly. Add more baking soda and salt until you get the texture of wet sand.

Pack the mixture tightly into a measuring spoon (I used a regular tablespoon) then carefully slide contents out. Let the fresheners dry out approximately 24 hours and store in airtight glass jar. Put 1-3 fresheners in your garbage disposal. Turn on a steady cold stream of water and run the disposal for one minute.

DIY Soft Scrub

You first saw me share this recipe when I first started making my own cleaning products. I love this one so much. This soft scrub is great for cleaning sinks, tubs, and showers. I’m including it in this kitchen cleaning post because use it regularly to clean our metal kitchen sink. And, I have found it’s also amazing for getting coffee stains and smells out of metal thermoses like YETI and RTIC.

DIY Soft Scrub Recipe:

• 1/4 cup Thieves Household Cleaner Concentrate
• 1 cup baking soda
• 10 drops Lemon or Citrus Fresh essential oil

Mix together and store in airtight jar. Use on sinks, tubs, showers.

DIY Stainless Steel Polish

Another DIY that I like way better than the other version I had been using for years with strong chemicals is the Stainless Steel Polish. The previous stuff worked at making the stainless steel shiny, but always left behind a thick oily residue. This DIY polish is so much better! I like to first clean them up with my Thieves Counter Cleaner (I say “counter” but I also use this to clean toilets, door knobs, get the stink out of shoes and sport’s gear, etc.) and then go in with the Stainless Steel Polish. Shiny, streak free, and no oily leftovers.

Tip: Did you know stainless steel has a grain? For our appliances the grain all runs horizontally. Follow the direction of the grain when wiping on polish.

Stainless Steel Polish Recipe:

• White vinegar
• Olive oil
• 10-20 drops Lemon essential oil

Fill your spray bottle of choice (I used a 4 oz bottle) half and half white vinegar and olive oil. Add Lemon essential oil (I used 10 drops for my 4 oz bottle). Shake well before use. Spray on stainless steel appliances and wipe in direction of grain with microfiber cloth.

DIY Dishwasher Tabs

This is my latest DIY cleaning recipe and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure it was going to work that well in the beginning. I was wrong and boy am I thrilled to be wrong! Common dishwasher pods and detergent can leave residue on our dishes, cups, and silverware that then touches the food we eat. Not appetizing when you think of the chemicals they use. This natural version got our dishes just as clean and sparkling as popular store brands without the harmful chemical residue.

DIY Dishwasher Tabs Recipe:

• 1 Tbsp Thieves Household Concentrated Cleaner
• 10 drops Lemon essential oil
• 10 drops Citrus Fresh essential oil
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup citric acid
• 1 cup water

Mix wet ingredients into dry (bowl will fizz up so use a large bowl). Keep stirring until fizz subsides and well blended. Transfer to mold (I use ice cube trays the size and shape of my dishwasher’s pod compartment) and let completely harden and dry out 24-48 hours. Store in airtight class container.

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Where Do I Buy This Stuff?

You can purchase everything you need to make all of my favorite DIY kitchen cleaners I shared here as well as my bathroom cleaners and even more with this CLEANING CORE BUNDLE. Retail price is $135.19, but you get 24% off (that unlocks at checkout) as well as FREE shipping, bringing it to $102.75. You also get wholesale pricing on your orders for an entire year!

What Comes in the Cleaning Core Bundle:

• Thieves Household Cleaner Concentrate – this alone makes a little over 30 16oz spray bottles of cleaner
• Thieves Dish Soap – replace your dish soap with this and/or mix 1:1 ratio Thieves Dish Soap and Thieves Household Concentrated Cleaner in a 4oz spray bottle for laundry stains. I’ve also used it on carpet stains.
• Citrus Fresh essential oil
• Orange essential oil
• Lemon essential oil
• Purification essential oil
• Tea Tree essential oil

A Welcome Gift From Me to You

If you decide to try this out for yourself and purchase the Cleaning Core Bundle now through the end of May with my referral code (at checkout enter my referral code: 30154917), I’ll send you some fun items to get you all set up!

• 2 amber glass spray bottles
• 5 waterproof labels (Thieves, Glass Cleaner, Soft Scrub, Dishwasher Tabs, and a bonus Wood Floor)
• Recipe cards for all the cleaning products as well as some fun beauty products

Each label has instructions for making the cleaner right on the label so you never have to search for the recipe.

Just email me at crazywonderfulblog(at)gmail(dot)com or DM me on Instagram @crazywonderfulclean your order number, name, and mailing address, and I’ll get those welcome gifts sent out to you!

@crazywonderfulclean

You guys can also find me on my second Instagram account @crazywonderfulclean where I share all the fun all-natural products I’m switching over to as well as sharing special promotions for my clients. There is so much cool stuff you can make and I’d love to hang out with you over there!