The holiday season is just moments away, and with it comes visiting family, parties and gatherings, and lots of extra clean-up. Our friends at The Optimist Co. are sponsoring the giveaway this week, to help us all breeze through this season of messy togetherness easily, and without a toxin in sight.
Devin Donaldson founded The Optimist Co. after conventional cleaning products left her with a nasty asthma attack. Her products are simple, effective, and non-toxic (all made with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen) and will help you keep your home spotless without compromising your health or the planet.
My favorite product from The Optimist Co. is their Make Your Own Cleaning Products Kit (for the right person, it could be an excellent holiday gift!). This six-piece kit includes two spray bottles, a small bottle of concentrated soap, and three small bottles of essential oils.
The bottles have recipes on the side so that you can create a cleaning and shining sprays. There are suggestions for scenting them, but you can also devise your own essential oil formula. Oh, and if you’re not into making the products yourself, the Green Your Home set comes with everything ready made and ready to go!
The Optimist Co. recently added a new scent to their line-up. While it’s not part of the MYO kit, a bottle of the Time to Shine cleaner with Rosemary and Mint is a winner for every stinky mess.
Thanks to Devin and her team at The Optimist Co., I have three Make Your Own Cleaning Products Kit to give away this week. Here’s how to enter.
- Leave a comment on this post and share a favorite cleaning trick.
- Comments will close at 11:59 pm eastern time on Saturday, November 14, 2015. Winners will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog on Sunday, November 15, 2015.
- Giveaway open to United States residents only. Void where prohibited.
- One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post.
Disclosure: The folks at The Optimist sent me the kit you see here for review and photography purposes at no cost to me. No additional compensation was provided. All opinions remain my own.
I discovered e-cloths to clean windows. Just wet one towel with water, rub down the window and polish it with the polishing cloth. Pretty darn amazing.
Newspaper for drying freshly-cleaned windows!
I use vinegar and baking soda for lots of cleaning in my bathroom and kitchen.
Baking soda scrubs off coffee/tea stains inside mugs.
I had some mildew in the shower that would not come clean. I solved it by taking baking soda/bleach combo on a cotton ball and letting it sit overnight. thanks!
Hairspray for ink stains. No idea why it works.
And cleaning of a different sort – we always made put own baby wipes. They were easy, cheap, and much kinder to baby bottoms than commercial brands.
Not sure I have any real cleaning tricks, most of what I do is pretty ordinary and just relies on plain old elbow grease. Although I do find that toothpaste is a nice (and common) polishing agent for some random things like jewelry and car headlights which have fogged up with age…
Great giveaway–thank you! Can’t say that I have any great cleaning tricks but I do love the pumice stone for dealing with hard water stains.
baking soda followed by white vinegar down my drains
Toothbrushes! – great cleaning tools. Thanks for the chance!
I don’t really have any tricks, but I’ve started making my own cleaners and cleaners that smell good at least make it more pleasant!
Whenever the dishwasher seems like it’s getting a bit grungy, I run a Pyrex cup of vinegar through on its own.
My cleaning trick is to put a cotton ball with a few drops of essential oils in my vacuum cleaner bag. It makes vacuuming more pleasant and leaves just a hint of aroma.
As caregiver for an insulin-dependent diabetic on blood thinners–peroxide is excellent to remove blood stains.
baking soda and vinegar!
I knit up cotton dishrags to use (and reuse) with my swiffer-type mop.
Baking soda in the kitchen for scrubbing lots of things.
Baking soda to clean sinks and tubs followed by white vinegar to kept the drains running smoothly.
Denatured alcohol mixed 50/50 with water for streak-free granite and glass!
Vinegar is my go to ingredient for so many things!
I learned of a few cleaning tricks I am eager to try.
The first is to leave a casserole dish soaking with a dryer sheet in it. Supposedly the next morning you can just use the sheet to wipe away all the gunk.
The second is to remove hard water mineral deposits in your toilet, get as much of the water out as you can, then fill the bowl with as high an acid content of VINEGAR as you can find. (I could only find 5%). Leave it sit over night or as long as you can. Then give it a good scrubbing. I’ve bought my vinegar and am going to give this a try tomorrow.
My best trick is to use newspaper when I wash the windows. Not much of a trick as everyone knows that one.
Microfiber cloths for dusting
My husband showed me this one. Very tough built up crud in microwave ? ( he use to clean the one were he worked with about 25 guys only using one) Take a couple pieces of wet paper towel folded over and place in the oven . Start oven for just a minute or so , till it gets rather hot and steamy. Let set a few minutes. Even the worst caked on will wipe clean. And no harsh chemicals used. Thanks for your great offer !
I have a glass top stove and bar keepers friends is the best way to get it shiny clean!
I love to soak citrus peels in regular white vinegar for a few days, then strain out the peels and put the vinegar in a spray bottle for an all-purpose cleaning spray!
I’ve recently been experimenting with homemade cleaners and I love them! My favorite is a sink and toilet cleaner made from baking soda, Castile soap, water and essential oils. I just mix it all together and store in a squeeze bottle!
Vinegar!!!!!!!!!! I couldn’t live without my spray bottle – i use if for everything!
Use old toothbrushes to scrub hard to get places or in between grout. Put oven racks in bath tub with warm water and dryer sheets to remove grim. Mayonnaise can be used on wood furniture to remove water stains.
One of my techniques is to spray the area to be cleaned, then let the product sit for a minute or more, depending on what might be on the surface. Usually I can just wipe the surface clean–no scrubbing. If I just spray and wipe, I’m not giving the cleaner time to do the work for me.
My favorite cleaning trick is… to hire someone to do it 😉 I’d rather do laundry!
Not exactly a secret, but a lemon in the garbage disposal to clear up the stink.
I’m a sucker for good a ol’ baking soda paste…works miracles…
My favorite cleaning trick is to teach your kids to clean and then delegate!
favorite cleaning trick: clean a burnt-on mess in a pot by simmering white vinegar in the pot, then scrubbing. i wish i could say i’ve only read about this one, but in fact i use it once or twice a canning season.
Making scented vinegar (clementines, grapefruit peels, etc.) and then using that with baking soda or even alone works wonders on just about everything and it smells great.
I like to keep just a couple multi-purpose cleaners to keep my cupboards a little less cluttered but I put several bottles throughout the house so it’s easy for me to clean at least a little bit whenever the opportunity arises.
plain ole simple vinegar for me
dilute just a little with water in my mason jar
I would love to try these products….
I feel like baking soda can clean almost anything when used the right way:)
I mix a few drops of peppermint essential oil into baking soda and use to it scrub counters, the tub, floors, stained dishes — anything! Thanks!
Microwave a wet sponge for 1 min and let for 2 minutes. Then wipe it all away. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Bar Keeper’s Friend is great for scrubbing my stainless steel pots and pans.
Vinegar, vinegar, vinegar-for glass, for mold, for… And salt, especially to clean pots!
Use white vinegar as fabric softener in the wash.
1:1 ratio of vinegar/water in the microwave for 1 minute, then use the warm vinegar/water mix to wipe the microwave down.
Baking soda and vinegar for the sink drains.
I started infusing my cleaning vinegar with lemon skins. Smells nice.
As a pet owner and a renter, my go-to trick for cleaning up any dog-related messes on carpet is baking soda + vinegar and some elbow grease.
lemon or orange vinegar. I use up the fruit and soak the peels then dilute the mixture with water. Cuts grease and smells good.
White vinegar! Not really a trick, but I use 1/4 cup in every load of laundry. It makes a huge difference.
If I have any lemons that begin to go bad before I can cook with them, I keep them in the fridge. I’ll use them for scrubbing my countertops, sink, or anything else that needs stains removed and a fresh scent added.
I don’t know if you’d call it a cleaning trick, but I make my own poo-pourrie. Found a recipe on Facebook I like, and make it with different oils. Just DON’T use anything savory, like rosemary or basil. Stick with citrus and florals.
I make my own laundry soap with castile soap, borax and washing soda or baking soda (I’ve used both with great success). Economical, no artificial scents/perfumes and clothes look great. Plus I use wool dryer balls to cut out static cling without fabric softener or fabric sheets. No static and less lint.
Cleaning trick – to remove built-up soap scum in shower/bath … use laundry detergent. I don’t know why it works, but it really destroys that scum!
Taking a cue from cleaning cast iron, boiling water in pretty much any pot or pan helps loosen burned / gunky spots and reduces the amount of scrubbing needed. Boiling also sanitizes without chemicals, so as long as you’re being thoughtful about reusing wash water, it’s a great alternative.
oh man, I LOVE THIS. i’ve always been into DIY cleaning products and now even more that i have a baby. my favorite hack/cleaning recipe is to peel a grapefruit and put its skin in a big Weck jar filled with distilled white vinegar and let it sit for a couple weeks (giving it a gentle shake every so often). then i have an all purpose spray for my kitchen that lasts for months 🙂
Baking soda and vinegar…they can do anything!
I grab baking soda, vinegar and/or salt any chance I get.
The hardest part about cleaning is tidying up beforehand. I would say the best trick is to do a 15 whole family pick up to eliminate clutter then worry about the vinegar and lemons.
My favorite cleaning trick is to let my husband do it. I’m sure he could use these products.
Use an old pillow case to clean fan blades: put the case over the blade and use it to wipe and it catches the dust bunnies!
Due to allergies, baking soda or vinegar are the cleaners for most things. It would be nice to try something a bit different.
Sure would be lovely to be given this kit, since living with two small dogs and three large cats necessitates much cleaning …. I think it would also be a good idea to visit The Optomist’s helpful website!
Baking soda makes a super “scrubber” for marks on floors!
Favorite trick? Probably all the uses for vinegar (toilet, sink, tub, hard wood floors, etc) and adding ammonia to laundry loads of towels to keep them fluffy and never musty
I make my own garden hand scrub with coconut and essential oils.
Baking soda, vinegar and instead of tossing out my toothbrush when I get a new one, I use it for getting in hard to get places when I’m cleaning. Tooth brushes are great for cleaning all the of crevices in your car!
Half white vinegar and half water and a microfiber cloth to really clean an induction or electric glass top
Baking soda in the washing machine. Makes the clothes smell clean without artificial crud.
Vinegar can clean just about anything!
Cleaning tricks I use regularly are vinegar instead of bleach in the clothes washer to get towels clean and smell free and using rubbing alcohol to clean my computer monitor instead of some fancy expensive container full of…rubbing alcohol.
This looks great. I’ve been wanting to make my own for a while and this looks like a great starter!
One of my favorite cleaning tricks is sprinkling baking soda on the rungs and carpet 15 min before vacuuming. It seems to pick up smaller particles better and leave a fresh clean smell, especially great if you have pets, like we do.
My TWO favorite tricks are:
Slice a lemon, put it in a bowl of water, and microwave it for a minute and a half. It freshens the air, and makes it easier to wipe out any cooked on food
2- pour a 1/3 cup baking soda down the kitchenndrain, followed by about the same in vinegar. After the suds die down, rinse out the sink with hot water. It cleans out a stinky drain without toxins!
I use vinegar that’s a little diluted as a daily cleaner. It really helps to keep the ants away. I’ve found if they do get in. Vinegar usually stops them in their tracks. What really stops them in their tracks though is dish washer rinse boosters. Found that out one day when I ran out of vinegar!
I use vinegar and baking soda for a lot of things.
The many uses of baking soda and vinegar.m this would be a fun change.
I recently discovered magic erasers and, really, they are magical for removing gunky kitchen build-up.
I love using vinegar in my rinse cycle when I do laundry instead of using dryer sheets.
Vinegar in my washing machine instead of fabric softener and then wool dryer balls that I made go in the dryer. Also love baking soda and vinegar to clean my stainless steel sinks. Gets them really shiny!
This would be a great gift for most people! Thanks for the opportunity to win!!
Vinegar and baking soda are my go to problem solvers.
a magic eraser is perfect for cleaning hard-shell luggage!
I use hot sauce to clean tarnish off copper pans.
I like to wrap a dust cloth around my Swiffer to dust high up and hard to reach places like over my stairs.
My favorite tool is the Magic Eraser.
A few drops of tea tree oil in the laundry. Deodorizing, antimicrobial…it’s excellent.
I make my own powder laundry detergent. standard recipe. It makes a good product
Goo-Gone. Especially for cleaning labels off old jars to reuse for everything.
Microfiber cloths. Also GOOP for getting out greasy stains on clothing.
all-purpose cleaner- a few drops of lemon essential oil with water in a spray bottle
Vinegar and baking soda, of course!
I like using a lemon i squeezed for a meal to help clean off the oven and counter and give my kitchen a lemon scent.
Baking Soda and Vinegar:
I pour baking soda down the kitchen drain then top it off with white vinegar to clean and deodorize the drain.
Also, less conventional, because I’ve developed a strong gag reflex response to mint, especially dental products, I use baking soda to brush my teeth and rinse with either vinegar or hydrogen peroxide. (You get a little fizz!) Since there’s no fluoride in these products and a little fluoride is good for the teeth, I follow with a small amount of a bubble gum flavored fluoride rinse.
Finally, (for this comment), if I have a burned on mess in a pan, I boil vinegar in the pan to loosen the debris and make it easier to clean. (Don’t inhale this as it tends to take the breath away.)
I love using vinegar and news paper to clean my windows
I bought a duster kit with a hard plastic handle and disposable Swiffer style duster refills and then sewed my own washable fabric duster refills. Works like a charm with less waste.
Microfiber cleaning cloths! They get just about anything off, without chemicals! I looove them!
Baking soda + your favorite essential oil makes a wonderfully scented carpet cleaner that’s economical as well! Just sprinkle it on the carpet and vacuum.
I like to use a combination of Dawn dishwashing liquid, vinegar, and water to spray down my dishes before running the dishwasher to remove stuck on food.
Throw your non-wood cutting boards into the dishwasher to sanitize them. Works for sponges, too!
I love using vinegar and water to clean windows. Though, I do get a lot of complaints about the smell…. which I ignore because I like vinegar:)
TMI here, but I scrub the toilet bowl everytime there’s even a little build-up. Way better than a gross up-close scrubbing once a month. Water only, I just grab the brush and swish til shiny.