Serious DIY Series – I Scoured the Earth Over

Well, okay, actually I just scoured my sink with homemade scouring powder, but it was the cleanest sink ever by the time I was done!

Whether you are interested in a very SIMPLE way to SAVE some MONEY now or you need to keep things clean when you don’t have time, money, or ability to go to the store making your own DIY powder is the answer.  I mean, this blog is called “A Year Without the Grocery Store” and not just “A Year Without Getting Food at the Grocery store.”

Let me digress for a moment and say that while scouring powder doesn’t at all sound glamorous – because it isn’t and no amount of me talking about it will make it sound captivating, but it can be important.

Why worry about cleaning if I’m short on money?

All of us, from time to time, get into a position where funds are tight.  Believe it or not, that’s the time that it’s most important to keep your space (whatever it is from a tent to a beautiful house) clean. When your environment gets dirty, you are exposing yourself to more viruses, germs, bacteria.  This in turn increases your chances of getting an infection.

This could be at a time like now – a friend of mine who is a professor at a university just lost his job.   Or someday it could be in a more dire situation like in the series I just finished – One Second After about an EMP.  Keeping clean means less exposure to germs and bacteria likely to make you sick and cause infections.

Sooooooo that all being said, homemade scouring powder effectively cleans your sink, tub, and even your toilet!  I have tea tree oil in my recipe because it helps kill germs.  If you purchase Young Living oils, you could also use Thieves essential oil blend which is a powerful antimicrobial. (http://juicygreenmom.ca/does-thieves-essential-oil-really-work-science-has-a-say/) I have a special secret that makes it even better to use on porcelain.

Scouring Powder Recipe

1/2 C Salt

1/2 C Baking soda

20 drops Tea tree essential oil

Directions:

1.)  Take your salt and put it through your coffee grinder.  (Why in the world would I put my salt through my coffee grinder?!?  By doing that, you are pulverizing the salt particles making it more gentle on porcelain!)

2.)  Mix the ground salt, baking soda, and tea tree oil together.  Store in a mason jar with a lid.

This mixture is also good for cleaning other things like your stove top, shelves in your refrigerator, or even grout on your floor.

Have you ever made homemade cleaning products?  What was your greatest triumph?  What was your biggest blunder?

Remember, knowledge isn’t just knowing something.  It’s living it!

There are links in this post.  Some of the links may be affiliate links.  Some of the links may not be.  My promise to you is that I will only recommend the most economical version of the best quality of items to serve you. These are the items that I buy for my own family.  You can feel free to use my affiliate links, of which I will get a small amount in compensation, or you can choose to search out your products on your own.