Sassy Mama DIY: Natural Lavender Household Cleaner Recipe

Here’s a simple way to infuse a vinegar, for the purpose of making your own natural household cleaner. I used dried lavender because it smells beautiful and, because we’re using it for cleaning our home, it’s also helpful that it has antibacterial and cleansing properties. Which, by the way, makes this infused vinegar really great for skincare recipes, but that’s for another day. And, let’s be honest, I did taste it and I’m thinking it would make  an amazing salad dressing, but now I just sound like a crazy vinegar lady. Basically, you’ll find a ton of uses for infused vinegars, but today, let’s focus on cleaning our house, making it sparkle and smell… delicious!

You can use your infused vinegar to make an all-purpose cleaner. It’s amazing everywhere from windows and glass to countertops, bathrooms and kitchens. It works like any conventional all-purpose cleaner would, but better because you made it perfectly safe and natural!

Vinegar: Ruthlessly anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-fungal… vinegar is the boss! It also does a neat trick of breaking down minerals found in water, which is what leaves behind cloudy spots on your mirrors and builds up the soap scum in the shower. It’s also going to eat away at mold that grows in corners and in between tiles. Vinegar is safe on wood, fabric, chrome, tiles, floors – basically everywhere except: marble and granite (that’s because of its appetite for minerals) but in this diluted form, I’ve never had a problem on my compressed marble floors…

Lavender: Vinegar alone is already a fantastic cleaner, but when infused with lavender – it becomes something much more special. Lavender is a cleansing herb, it’s anti-bacterial and will help to disinfect your home. The scent is calming and refreshing, and helps to relieve anxiety or stress. It’s naturally bug-repelling, driving away moths and fleas, which is why I like to spray my all-purpose cleaner in my closet, couch and rugs.

I hope you try this recipe! I think it makes the best window cleaner that I’ve ever used and I’m obsessed with the scent – I spray it everywhere!

P.S. I promise I don’t put my baby to work but, that said, she loves playing with our homemade cleaners and to be honest, I’m not complaining!

Lavender All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup dried lavender
• Water

Directions:

• In a glass jar, mix the vinegar and dried lavender. Seal shut.
• Allow to sit in a sunny spot for 10 days.
• Strain out the lavender and reserve the infused vinegar.
• To make your all-purpose cleaner: in a spray bottle mix 1 part lavender infused vinegar to 2 parts water.
• Use your vinegar cleaner as you would any conventional all-purpose cleaner, simply spray and wipe! Great for counters, the refridgerator, windows, mirrors, bathrooms, kids toys and highchair – basically everywhere.
• Note: be careful on marble and granite as vinegar can degrade the surface.