How to Make Natural Cleaning Products: 10 Homemade Recipes
Make 10 natural cleaning products at home: an all-purpose castile spray, glass spray, scouring cream, oven paste and toilet soak, with safe surfaces.
Read the guideCleaning 101.
A little know-how. More room for life.
Products and methods
Cleaning products and methods: what works, what to skip
Green cleaning here means using less: fewer products, less hot water, and nothing stronger than the job needs. These guides check popular home remedies against what they actually do, including where a homemade or “natural” option doesn’t clean, or damages the surface. “Natural” isn’t automatically safer or kinder to a surface, so read each guide’s cautions before you try a recipe.
19 guides · Edited by Huy Hoang · Updated
START HERE
Where to start.
- How to Make Natural Cleaning Products: 10 Homemade RecipesTen homemade recipes, and the surfaces each one suits.
- Hot or Cold Water: Which Actually Cleans Better?When hot water helps, and when cold is enough.
- Toothpaste Cleaning Hacks: Which Work and Which DamagePopular toothpaste hacks: which work and which damage.
Products and recipes
Homemade cleaners and household hacks, with where each one belongs.
Toothpaste Cleaning Hacks: Which Work and Which Damage
Toothpaste works on sneaker soles but can scratch silver, phone screens, chrome and matt paint. 12 popular toothpaste hacks rated, with what to use instead.
Read the guide
More room for life.What Is Sugar Soap and How Do You Use It?
Sugar soap is an alkaline wall cleaner. Mix ½ cup in 5 litres of warm water, wash from the bottom up, rinse, and keep it off aluminium and brass.
Read the guideWater, energy and reuse
Using less hot water, and finding a second use for what you already have.
Hot or Cold Water: Which Actually Cleans Better?
Choose the right water temperature for laundry, dishes, bathrooms and floors, with care-label checks, disinfectant guidance and practical energy-saving advice.
Read the guide
Clever Household Uses for Old Newspaper
Which newspaper tricks genuinely work around the house — and which ones, including the one everyone repeats about windows, mostly do not.
Read the guidePests
Natural pest control for Australian homes.
Make sense of product instructions
Read suitable uses, dilution and storage before relying on a broad claim. For a wider indoor-environment plan, the Healthy Home collection connects these tasks with dust, airflow and maintenance.
Products & Methods
Practical guides to water, energy, paper waste and a garden that supports local wildlife.
How to Make Natural Cleaning Products: 10 Homemade Recipes
Ten homemade recipes, and the surfaces each one suits.
Read the guideHot or Cold Water: Which Actually Cleans Better?
When hot water helps, and when cold is enough.
Read the guideToothpaste Cleaning Hacks: Which Work and Which Damage
Popular toothpaste hacks: which work and which damage.
Read the guideMore room for life.What Is Sugar Soap and How Do You Use It?
Sugar soap is an alkaline wall cleaner. Mix ½ cup in 5 litres of warm water, wash from the bottom up, rinse, and keep it off aluminium and brass.
Read the guideClever Household Uses for Old Newspaper
Which newspaper tricks genuinely work around the house — and which ones, including the one everyone repeats about windows, mostly do not.
Read the guide
Natural Pest Control for Australian Homes
Start with food storage, flyscreens and the source of the problem. Practical steps for ants, flies, cockroaches and geckos, plus when bed bugs need expert help.
Read the guideMore room for life.How to read cleaning-product labels before you clean
A practical comparison worksheet for instructions and claims.
Read the guideMore room for life.Healthy Home Resources: books, checklists and useful references
Checklists, book information and official sources.
Read the guideMore room for life.A practical sustainable-home guide for Australia
Make a household action plan for energy, water, food, waste and wildlife, with practical steps for renters and owners and links to Australian assistance.
Read the guideMore room for life.Save energy in your home office: equipment, lighting and comfort
Reduce avoidable home-office energy use, choose an efficient printer, manage standby power and improve lighting, heating and cooling routines.
Read the guideMore room for life.Plan a native garden for local wildlife
Choose locally indigenous plants, plan a manageable habitat area and make practical decisions for a balcony, garden or children's outdoor learning space.
Read the guideMore room for life.Reduce paper waste at home and in a small office
Cut unnecessary printing, organise digital records, reuse non-sensitive paper and recycle correctly with a practical home and small-office routine.
Read the guideMore room for life.Find household energy and water rebates in Australia
Find official energy and water assistance, check renter and owner eligibility, and confirm approval and installation rules before spending.
Read the guideMore room for life.Save water at home, room by room
Find leaks and build practical water-saving habits in the bathroom, kitchen, laundry and garden, with Australian water-rating and assistance links.
Read the guideMore room for life.Estimate appliance energy use and running costs
Use watts, hours, measured kWh and your electricity tariff to estimate appliance running costs, with worked examples and limits explained.
Read the guideMore room for life.Biodiversity Month: practical activities at home
Mark Australia's September Biodiversity Month with a simple household observation, habitat and learning plan, plus official resources and local event checks.
Read the guideMore room for life.Donate, sell or recycle household items in Australia
Choose a useful destination for unwanted household items, check donation acceptance and plan how to sell belongings and donate the proceeds.
Read the guideMore room for life.Reuse, repair or recycle: make a plan for household items
Decide what to keep, repair, pass on or recycle with an item-by-item worksheet, practical examples and resources for creative reuse.
Read the guideMore room for life.Recycled art and craft: a reading and project-planning collection
Explore credited Australian art and creative-reuse resources, with prompts for planning a small project and historical context for Junkies readers.
Read the guideWHEN YOU’D LIKE A HAND
Some days, leave it to us.
For the regular upkeep, a deeper reset or a home you’re moving out of. Find the clean that fits.
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