What Should You Have In A Cleaning Stockpile?

Not too many prepared cleaning products are used in our home. In fact aside from dishwasher powder and dishwashing detergent, and laundry soaker, everything else is made from ingredients I keep in the cleaning stockpile.

From these ingredients I can keep our whole home clean and fresh, and do all our laundry.

Yesterday I made a double batch of Miracle Spray. I saw it being made on TV on Saturday, and watched. Not to be picky, but if you make it the way they did on 9Honey Hacks, you won't be happy. They used the wrong quantities of ingredients. I guess that's what happens when you try to copy something, right down to the name, and don't pay close attention. If you'd like the original and best Miracle Spray recipe, you'll find it here. And you can watch me make it here. Joy submitted this recipe to the Tip Store way back in 2008, and Wendy called it Miracle Spray in 2010, so I've been making and using it a long time.  Miracle Spray is used to clean the bathrooms, shower, basins, toilet, hard floors and most other things that need cleaning. I also add it to the washing for sport clothes and Wayne's dark work clothes. 

This morning I half filled a dishwashing detergent bottle with water and topped it up with full strength detergent - two bottles of dishwashing detergent for the price of one and it works just as well at half-strength as it does at full strength. 

These days I like Morning Fresh dishwashing detergent, and when it comes on half-price sale (two or three times a year) I will replenish the stock so I always have six bottles in the cupboard.

So what's in my cleaning stockpile?

• Bicarbonate Soda
• Borax
• Citric acid
• Dishwasher powder
• Dishwashing detergent
• Eucalyptus oil
• Laundry soap 
• Lavender oil
• Salt
• Scrub buds
• Washing Soda
• White vinegar

Where do I buy cleaning ingredients?
Borax and dishwashing detergent come from Aldi (the borax is a special buy - keep an eye open in the catalogue for when it comes on sale as it's around half the price of borax from the supermarket and in a reasonably sized tub).

Laundry soap and dishwasher powder come from Coles. They are both generic. Coles have stopped stocking the You'll Love Coles dishwasher powder, and have switched to a "concentrated" powder in a blue plastic jug that is twice the price. I'm not as happy with it, it doesn't do any better a job than the $2.20 a kilo powder. I have also tried Aldi dishwasher powder, but my dishwasher doesn't like it, nor does it like the pods, so I'm stuck with the Coles powder for now. You'll find laundry soap in the cleaning aisle, usually on either the very top shelf or the very bottom shelf near the laundry powders.

Dishwasher powder is normally on the bottom shelf with the dishwasher powders.

Eucalyptus oil and lavender oil I buy direct from Bosistos. They have great sales and this year they had a 4 litre bottle that I was able to share with friends that brought the cost down to $23 a litre - the cheapest price at the time for pure eucalyptus oil.

Citric acid and washing soda come in 5kg buckets direct from Aurora Cleaning Supplies in Dandenong South.

White vinegar I buy at Aldi.

Bicarbonate soda can be bought in 5kg bags from Costco. If you don't have a Costco membership then you can buy it from pool shops under the name "ph buffer". Just be prepared to have to buy it in bulk - perhaps you could share it with a couple of friends.

What do I make with these ingredients?

• Cheapskates washing powder
• Miracle Spray
• Super Strength Shower Cleaner
• Floor cleaner
• Weed killer

There's not a lot in the cleaning stockpile. Every item has multiple uses and can be mixed with the other ingredients to keep our home clean without spending a fortune and using lots of chemical based cleaners.