How to Make Your Own Cleaning Essentials

As we continue through the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to encounter many frustrations and obstacles.  Grocery shelves continue to be bare with essential needs including toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies especially disinfecting supplies, pasta, and even bread. So how can we overcome these obstacles to keep our family safe and healthy?

Cleaning Products:

With many of the supplies out at the grocery store that can kill viruses, it’s time to get creative!  Below you will find recipes and directions on how you can make your own hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes, Clorox wipes, baby wipes, gentle disinfecting wipes, and DIY face masks.

Hand Sanitizer:

What you’ll need: 

• 3/4 cup of isopropyl or rubbing alcohol (99 percent)
• 1/4 cup of aloe vera gel (to help keep your hands smooth and to counteract the harshness of alcohol)
• 10 drops of essential oil, such as lavender oil, or you can use lemon juice instead

Directions:

• Pour all ingredients into a bowl, ideally one with a pouring spout like a glass measuring container. 
• Mix with a spoon and then beat with a whisk to turn the sanitizer into a gel. 
• Pour the ingredients into an empty bottle for easy use, and label it “hand sanitizer.”

Lysol Wipes

What you’ll need

• 1 cup water
• 6 TBSP 91% Isopropyl Alcohol
• 2 TBSP Dish Soap
• 6 Drops Essential Oil (Optional)
• Roll Paper Towel

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and soak the paper towels in the mixture.

Clorox Wipes

What you’ll need

• 1 cup water
• 2 TBSP Bleach
• 2 TBSP Dish Soap
• 6 Drops Essential Oil (Optional)
• Roll Paper Towel

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and soak the paper towels in the mixture.

Baby Wipes

What you’ll need

• 1 cup water
• 1 TBSP Liquid Baby Bath Soap
• 1 TBSP Baby Oil or Coconut Oil
• Roll Paper Towel or Cloth Rags

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and soak the paper towels or cloth rags in the mixture.

Gentle Disinfecting Wipe

What You’ll Need

• 1 Cup Water
• 6 TBSP White Vinegar
• 2 TBSP Dish Soap or Baby Shampoo
• 6 Drops Essential Oil (Optional)
• Roll Paper Towel

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and soak the paper towels in the mixture.

Masks:

The CDC is now recommending everyone wears a mask when in public.  Among everything else, tend to be a hot item to buy and are sold out most places.  Below you will find directions on how you can make one at home.  

Please Note: masks tend to be a one-time use. Although clothes masks can be washed or disinfected after each use to remain safe.  It is also important to place your mask outside for 4 hours after washing.

Face Masks:

What You’ll Need:

• Fabric (ideal fabric is woven 100% cotton, try to void anything with too much stretch, in a pinch if you don’t have cotton you can use pillowcases, tea towels, thick t-shirts or vacuum bag. Scarves and bandannas also work)
• Scissors
• Needle and thread
• Sewing machine (if you have one)
• Rubber band or elastics
• Ruler

Directions

1. Cut out two 10-by-6-inch rectangles of cotton fabric. Use tightly woven cotton, such as quilting fabric or cotton sheets. T-shirt fabric will work in a pinch. Stack the two rectangles; you will sew the mask as if it was a single piece of fabric.
2. Fold over the long sides ¼ inch and hem. Then fold the double layer of fabric over ½ inch along the short sides and stitch down.
3. Run a 6-inch length of 1/8-inch wide elastic through the wider hem on each side of the mask. These will be the ear loops. Use a large needle or a bobby pin to thread it through. Tie the ends tight.
   Don’t have elastic? Use hair ties or elastic head bands. If you only have string, you can make the ties longer and tie the mask behind your head.
4. Gently pull on the elastic so that the knots are tucked inside the hem. Gather the sides of the mask on the elastic and adjust so the mask fits your face. Then securely stitch the elastic in place to keep it from slipping.