DIY Vegan Home Product Recipes

There are so many products available these days and thankfully there are more and more companies that care about the environment and are vegan and cruelty-free. While our family does make a point to support those companies, we also make a lot of things we use in daily life and wanted to share some of the recipes with you. We have ideas for cleaning, self-care and plant care. In addition to knowing what is in everything when you make products at home, you also prevent many plastic bottles from going into landfills!

Cleaning Recipes

Let's talk about rags... save old clothes (tshirts work great), or our personal favorite - cloth baby diapers. Use them to clean and throw them in the laundry instead of one-use wipes.

Basic cleaning solution

We keep this in a spray bottle and use it for daily spills, cleaning the bathroom and more.

Combine 1/4 cup white vinegar with a squirt of vegan and cruelty-free dish soap, add 5-10 drops of essential oil (optional) and fill the bottle with warm water. Put the spray attachment on and shake. Ready to clean!

Burned bits on your pans? Food residue stuck? Don't fret!

Use baking soda! Sprinkle a liberal amount of baking soda directly on the burned bits and let sit. Add a little water to make a paste and let sit longer (how long is up to you. I often do this and then go have a day and return to the kitchen hours later. The timing is flexible). Scrub/wash as you normally would. Very sticky parts may need a repeat, but the baking soda's chemical properties DO help loosen stuck food, residue and stains.

Pine Cleaner -ideal to make after the holidays

Take bits of pine (from decorations, with nothing artificial) and chop the pine (needles and some stems) and fill a large jar. Add vinegar and let soak for 3 weeks. The vinegar will become golden in color. Take a clean spray bottle and add the liquid from the pine (pine has anti-bacterial properties and smells so good!) You now have a homemade disinfectant to spray and clean with. (Original idea from Creative Explained).

Stainless Steel Cleaner

Combine 1 cup white vinegar with 1/2 cup olive oil. Shake well in a spray bottle - spray and wipe clean, following the grain of the stainless steel. Buff with a clean microfiber cloth.

Self-Care Recipes

Hair Detangler

1 tsp Jojoba oi

5 drops Vitamin E oil

10-15 drops Essential oil (optional)

2 oz distilled water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle - spray on wet hair and gently comb.

Wipes - for babies, or gentle bums

Storebought wipes, even natural ones tend to have lots of chemical and plastic packaging, but sometimes you need a gentle wipe for delicate bums.

Note - some paper towels absorb the liquid well, while other may be too scratchy. It's recommended to use Viva brand Signature Cloth paper towels.

combine 2 cups distilled water with a small squirt of baby oil, and a small squirt of baby shampoo. Melt 2 Tbsp coconut oil and add. Stir well and pour the mixture into a sealable container. Rip each papertowel in half. Place papertowels in the mixture until the mixture is absorbed and the paper towels are damp (not sopping or dry).

Plant Care Recipes

Some general, at home fertilizers that we use:

Used coffee grounds sprinkled on the soil can help plants as it provides magnesium and potassium.

Banana peels (organic preferred), can be ground up with water in a food processor or blender and the banana water can be used on house plants to provide potassium for our green friends.

Matchsticks can be stuck (unlit portion into the soil) directly into the soil to keep away aphids and gnats, and they also boost phosphorous, sulfur and magensium.

If you know what nutrients a certain plant needs, these are easy ways to fertilize without chemicals.

Oat Tea (recipe from Creative Explained)

Empty the contents of 1 tea bag (black tea contains the most nitrogen) into a container.

Add 1 Tbsp of oats (you can add cinnamon for an extra boost)

Add boiling water and let it steep until the water has cooled completely then strain the liquid and water plants with the Oat Tea.

This provides lots of minerals, vitamins and nitrogen.

We have found a lot of fun, usable suggestions from the book Don't Throw it Out! Book 2 by Creative Explained (Armen Adamjan) who has an infectious personality and love of plants.

Do you have any amazing vegan DIY homecare tips or recipes? Please feel free to share what works for you!

Thanks for reading and happy spring cleaning.