The family budget is a fickle thing. We are constantly trying to stretch, bend, pull or fill it to fit our needs, enjoy a few fun things and give our kids a little more than we had. Each year the cost of raising a family increases just a little making the acrobats we do with our family budget even fancier to make it year to year.
I originally did a post on April 9, 2018 on the cost of cleaning products. You can read it here: https://dragonspitapothecary.wordpress.com/2018/04/09/the-cost-of-clean/
The post I did last April shows how by converting your home’s basic cleaning products to those you make with essential oils you can save a tremendous amount of money. Almost every item I listed from my own transformation in this area showed multiple dollars being saved through this process. The point being we have better things to spend our money on than cleaning products.
While we do still have better things to spend our money on, there are actually really big other reasons to also consider overhauling our homes’ cleaners. There are additional costs to cleaners that go well beyond what we spend in our family budget to purchase them and keep our home clean.
Update to Cleaners Cost
From my personal research I did not see much change in the cost of various products from when I posted this in April 2018. For the most part the prices I used in my comparison are about the same. Sure you can get these items on sale periodically or if you’re a couponer you can apply a discount here and there but in general you are going to pay between $2 – $8 for cleaners.
The average home uses these cleaners on a regular basis:
Toilet bowl cleaners
Bath/Tile cleaners
Window and Mirror sprays
Air fresheners & disinfectant sprays
Multi-purpose/All purpose cleaners
Carpet freshener
Dish detergent
Dishwasher detergent
Laundry detergent
Fabric softener
Scent boosters
Color safe or regular bleach
Dusting spray
Most family budgets include these items in their grocery line item on the budget. On an average cleaners and detergents make up about 15-20% of our grocery expense depending on how often you need to replenish.
So let’s say your family budget for groceries was $150 a week or $7800 a year. That means you are spending $22.50 – $30 per grocery trip each week on cleaners and detergents. That is also $1170 to $1560 per year!
By comparison transforming your cleaners to natural plant based versions you make yourself reduces these estimates by over 70% or more! If you opt to purchase more natural based products than making them it reduces cost to about 40-50%. Still that is significant savings!
Many think essential oils, like doTERRA are expensive because they see this little 15ml bottle with a $10-$135 price tag on it. That can be difficult to see how it is actually less than what you are purchasing currently – I completely understand that because I thought the same thing.
Here’s the deal, when you make your own cleaners with these oils, you are using very few drops. That 15ml bottle lasts a very long time and it has more purposes that go beyond household cleaning. That oil becomes an ingredient in cleaners, cooking, personal care, health care, emotional care and more in your home. Each time you use it you are using 1-2 drops on average. There are 250 drops in a 15ml doTERRA essential oil bottle and each drop is pure, tested, and the highest quality you will find.
Additionally, you are not buying essential oils AND regular cleaners. NO! You are replacing other things with ones you made with the essential oils. That transition is where the savings are. So not only are you getting a safer, healthier cleaner but you’re replacing a cost.
Other Costs
There are other costs associated with household cleaners that extend beyond just purchasing the product. Many of the household products contain high levels of toxicity that can be harmful to us, our families and pets. This can lead to health care costs for allergies, asthma, skin issues, diseases and chronic illnesses.
Additionally, there is a high impact to our environment in terms of waste and pollution to water, soil and wildlife. We can no longer ignore the growing overflow of garbage and pollution our every day life leaves on this planet. The fact there is a island of trash floating in our oceans should be a huge wake up call to all of us. These problems are not only global but also right in our own homes.
Both of these areas are expensive and life changing. If we are serious about improving our own health, reducing our family expenses and improving our planet we must seriously think about what and how we things every day. What we define as convenient or fast response to our “needs” is actually socially imposed on us. We must seriously wake up and realize that we can still enjoy convenience and fast response but it may differ on what that looks like for the sake of our health and the health of our world.
Where to Start
We don’t have to create more waste or expense in the transition to natural cleaners. However, we must start somewhere. Pick an area that you think will be easy for you to try and work from there.
I started with toilet bowl cleaners. I used up what I had in the house and then when those were gone I pulled out the white vinegar, doTERRA Purify essential oil and baking soda. Sure it was strange and it was 3 things versus 1 bottle but it was the same process of cleaning the toilet bowl. It was clean afterwards. (By the way you can make the toilet bowl cleaners into tablets so it is 1 things too)
When my toilets were clean and I saw that it was still the same chore and the switch wasn’t hard, I moved to other areas of my home. Today, I buy very, very few household cleaners. What I notice is this:
My home is as clean as it always was before
I don’t go through cleaners as frequently as I used to because often you need less when it’s a pure or natural based product
I don’t get a nose bleed or “burn” when I clean the bathroom
The floors are safe to not worry about paws or bare feet walking on chemicals
Our family budget had some extra money in the grocery line item
I still have a few things to transition but almost 90% of our home now is using a natural based cleaner that I either make myself or purchase. That is in just over 1 year since I started this process. When I did this I intentionally went slow to make sure what we were going to use made sense, worked and would actually save us money and be an overall good choice.
Interested in more?
If you are interested in transforming your home’s cleaners but are worried about the cost, let’s talk. I’m happy to show you the numbers I used in my own home and the oils that made that change possible.
amyk@dragonspitapothecary.com
The most economical way to get doTERRA oils and natural products is with an account. This will save you at least 25% off retail and their loyalty program quickly adds up to free oils and other items you need. Learn more at:
