Everything I Use to Clean My Home: 9 Non-Toxic, Tried and True Products for a Clean Home

I am a clean freak, through and through. The majority of my childhood was spent cleaning (not by choice), so at this point in my life it’s just ingrained in me.

It’s much easier to find time to mop the house on your hands and knees when your only other commitment is school, so since becoming an adult and getting a big girl job, I’ve had to find ways to make the process more efficient. #aintnobodygottimeforthat

When it comes to cleaning these days, there are 4 main things I focus on:

1. Only using clean, safe, non-toxic products. Traditional cleaning products contain many harmful ingredients that impact indoor air quality and ultimately, our health. No thx.
2. Less is more. I have simplified the number of products I use by finding ones that serve multiple purposes. Bonus points for freeing up space under the kitchen sink.
3. Efficient. Free-time is sparse as an adult, so I need things that do the job, and do the job well (and quickly).
4. Sustainable. Eco-friendly products are not only better for the environment, they also end up saving money in the long run because you’re not *literally* throwing them away. Goodbye, Clorox wipes.

In no particular order, these are all the cleaning products I use to clean my home.

1. Thieves Cleaner

One cleaner to rule them all….

If I had to name one product I use the most — like, even non-cleaning products — I would still say Thieves Cleaner. I cannot tell you how many times a day and how many different ways I use this, because the answer is every of the all.

Thieves Cleaner is a concentrated cleaning solution made from clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary essential oils, which have antibacterial properties. This combination of oils smells like fall, which is much better than traditional cleaning products.

This one ☝🏼 cleaner has replaced:

• Clorox wipes
• Clorox spray
• Simple green
• Soft scrub
• Windex

Aside from vinegar, a toilet bowl cleaner, a hypochlorous disinfectant spray, and my homemade soft scrub with Thieves, this is the only cleaning product I have in my house.

It just works.

I use it to clean my:

• Tables
• Countertops
• Sinks
• Mirrors
• Windows
• Toilets
• Shower
• Tub
• Floors
• Appliances

Literally all the things.

And it does it so well.

I even use it to dust because I don’t like the slimy feel of furniture polish.

And did I mention it’s cost effective? Because it’s so concentrated, you only need one capful of solution per 16oz bottle. One bottle lasts me 6 months to a year depending on how much I’m cleaning.

There are many popular household cleaners on the market that are not safe to use around children and pets. For me personally, I am fully comfortable using Thieves Cleaner around my dog. I even use it to clean her food and water bowls.

I like simplifying things, and Thieves Cleaner has helped a lot with that.

2. Hypochlorous Disinfectant Spray

I get the hesitancy about switching to a “non-toxic” household cleaner because of germs and bacteria.

For me, I only use products I like, and therefore only recommend products I trust. I’m not wasting my money on garbage or things I don’t actually use just to shove it down other people’s throats so I can make bank.

I recently stumbled upon Field of Focus on YouTube which tests various cleaning products with petri dishes, and the Thieve Cleaner removed bacteria just as well as Clorox wipes. And I’ve seen another video showing Thieves Cleaner properly cleaning up chicken bacteria. Even though these aren’t scientific studies, I do feel like they’re honest and accurate.

I have exclusively been using Thieves Cleaner for the past 4 years to clean everything, even my toilets, and I’ve only gotten sick once, and it was covid from a work potluck. So suffice to say, Thieves Cleaner works.

With that being said, watching those petri dish videos has inspired me to purchase an actual disinfectant for my sink drain and toilet bowl. Particularly this hypochlorous disinfectant spray, as it killed nearly ALL the bacteria around the sink drain and toilet bowl, both of which seem to be impossible for most cleaning products to actually clean.

3. Thieves Soft Scrub

Thieves soft scrub is like normal soft scrub, except better. And I know exactly what’s in it.

1. Thieves Cleaner
2. Baking soda
3. Water

That’s it. And it works like a charm.

The main places I use this are the shower, tub, and to scrub out sinks. Really, anything that’s grimy and can use a good scrub – this is your friend.

I make this myself using this simple recipe, and I *always* have a jar of it on hand (you know I keep that mf thang on me).

4. Vinegar

Vinegar is a mild acid which is what makes it so useful in breaking down residue and hard water buildup.

You can use vinegar:

• To get rid of hard water stains on anything that sees a lot of water, like your dog’s water bowl, your water kettle, your shower head, and sink faucets
• As a dishwasher rinse aid
• As a fabric softener in your washing machine
• For streak-free windows and mirrors
• To clean your sink drains

Costco sells bulk white-distilled vinegar for a few bucks, so it’s a really cost-effective product to have in your cleaning cupboard.

5. Cordless Vacuum

I never realized *just* how annoying vacuum cords are until I bought a cordless vacuum.

No more unwinding the cord before using it.

No more searching for plugs mid-vacuum.

No more tripping over the cord or holding onto it to keep it out of the way.

No more winding the cord back up when you’re done using it (or just throwing it on the handle in a bundled mess because you’ll just be using it again tomorrow).

Seriously, cordless vacuums are the GOAT.

I’ve had my Dyson V11 Cordless Vacuum for 5 years now and it has been worth every penny.

Here’s what I love about it:

• AMAZING suction
• Easy to change speeds depending on the floor type
• Washable filter
• Many different attachments
• Easy to store on the wall charger
• Pretty durable. I accidentally bump this thing into everything and I haven’t had any issues

As with anything, though, there have been some things I don’t love about my Dyson:

• If you need to set it down, you literally have to set it down flat on the ground. If I try to prop it against a wall or countertop, it usually falls to the floor. This isn’t an issue with traditional vacuums, and I’ve seen several cordless vacuums that can stand up on their own.
• The trigger button that turns it on broke after a few years, so it wouldn’t work half the time. My husband took it apart and 3D printed another one, which has now started to stick a bit after a year. Perhaps buying an OEM part would have yielded better results, but that’s hard to say based on the first one breaking.
• The handle is a bit large and can get uncomfortable after vacuuming the whole house, but I have tiny hands so that’s probably why.

However, I still love it and will never go back to a regular corded vacuum ever again. And you can usually get them from Costco at a much bigger discount if you have a membership!

6. Mop with Reusable Pads

I’ve seen a lot of people with steam mops and thought I’d get one, until my husband said, “Uh, no, Bri. We can’t use those on any of our floors.”

Cue sadness,

Turns out, steam mops should really only be used on tile or stone flooring and not much else. Sad, I know.

We have a combination of laminate, LVP, and a teeny tiny bit of tile flooring in our master bath, so a steam mop just doesn’t make sense for us.

I’ve been using a spray mop with washable pad most my life and I really don’t have an issue with them. A steam mop just seems cooler 😂

I fill the bottle attached to the mop with a capful of Thieves cleaner and the rest with water and mop my heart away. It’s just as easy as using a Swiffer, minus all the harmful chemicals.

I’ve also been eyeing one of those reusable mops with a bucket and wringer for when my dog doesn’t clean all the raspberries off the kitchen floor and they end up sticking and sitting there for 7 months because my regular mop doesn’t clean that up well enough and I’m too lazy to scrub them on my hands and knees until we’re hosting Thanksgiving or Christmas.

7. Air Purifier

Say what you want, but air purifiers ARE cleaning products. They’re just passive at their job, and that makes them even more amazing.

There are so many things in our homes that contribute to poor indoor air quality that directly affect our health. Things like:

• Household cleaning products
• Gas appliances
• Building materials made from pressed wood, newly installed flooring, and deteriorating asbestos-containing insulation
• Personal care products with fragrance
• Candles and air fresheners
• Wood-burning appliances
• Mold
• Tobacco and other smoking/vaping byproducts
• Dust mites

Breathing these in day in and day out has a direct impact on our health. We spend so much time in our homes, so good indoor air quality is a must.

We currently have 2 Alen air purifiers in our house in the rooms we spend the most time in – a small one in our bedroom and a large one in the living room. One of the things I love about the Alen brand in particular is their Forever Guarantee. As long as you have proof you purchased a new filter every 12 months, they will warranty your air purifier for life.

Because we do not use any fragrance-containing products in our home, if someone is staying with us that does use a normal scented shampoo or lights a candle, the air purifiers kick up speed and the ring lights up purple to indicate the air quality is not good. Pretty cool to see.

It’s also pretty cool (but totally gross) to see how dirty the filters get. Like, they are just caked in dirt and who knows what else.

8. Reusable Cleaning Cloths

Me thinks, why waste paper towel when reusable cloth do trick?

Growing up, I was pro-Clorox wipe and paper towel for cleaning the counters, stove, microwave, and appliances because I didn’t want to touch a wet rag. Oh, if little me could see old me now.

We have a whole shelf dedicated to microfibers and flannel cloths for cleaning, old washcloths for wiping the kitchen counters off, random hand towels that are now for wiping up wet things, and old sponges and toothbrushes for cleaning sinks and hard to reach crevices.

I never knew where to put the dirty rags when I was done using them but wasn’t ready to wash them, until I had an epiphery. I bought a simple little bucket to throw them in that’s stored in my laundry room next to the washer and they just hang out there until they’re ready to be washed instead of being piled in a corner of the kitchen floor.

So instead of throwing away old towels when you buy new ones, save them for cleaning. Works like a charm.

9. Swiffer Duster

I really don’t understand how, but my house gets a fair amount of cobwebs in the corners and on the ceiling.

I usually clean them with my vacuum, but holding the vacuum above my head, cleaning 1500 sqft of ceiling is not a good time.

I recently bought a Swiffer Duster and man, I wish I had done this sooner. Now I can dust all the lights, doorframes, window frames, and the millions of cobwebs on the walls and ceilings instead of anxiously ignoring them for years 😂 Please tell me I’m not the only one.

And that’s it. That’s literally everything I use to clean every square inch of my home. And it sparkles ✨ but that’s just from the glitter I threw everywhere.