I fell in love with Clorox Anywhere, a sanitizing spray that is safe to use around children, a couple of years ago when I was part of a year-long test panel for it. I received free product coupons every month so that I could try it out and review it. It’s since become an indispensable part of my cleaning process, yet I just can’t bring myself to shell out $3.29 a bottle for something that is 99.9905 percent water!

I just used up the last bottle from my stockpile the other day, and I’ve really been missing it for all the little things I use it for. It occurred to me that I should just try to make my own, so after some research online and a little fancy math to convert the percentages of water and bleach to useful quantities, I came up with this simple “recipe.”

• 1 1/2 teaspoons of bleach
• 22 ounces water

How easy is that? I saved a pretty little Clorox Anywhere bottle to mix it in. I then took a Sharpie marker and wrote the recipe on the bottom so I can quickly and easily mix up new batches.

You could also pick up any inexpensive spray bottle that holds just over 22 ounces to fill. Wouldn’t it be cute to make up your own personalized labels to stick on them? It would make a fantastic and useful gift for moms with young children.

My favorite use for it is to spray down the kitchen table and high chair after dinner. I let it sit to sanitize it while I clean up and load the dishwasher, and then I wipe it down with a dishrag. Letting it sit also helps “unstick” any sticky messes and makes for an easy cleanup all around!