My favorite "Essentials"

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

If you haven't noticed from a few of my other posts, I love essential oils and making my own homemade "goods" from them! : ) So, here, I'd like to talk about some of my favorite oils, their properties, and of course--some RECIPES!

Many E.O. (essential oils) have scores of great properties. The ones I look for the the most in E.O. are antibiotic, antiviral, antiseptic, and antifungal properties. Can you imagine--all of those characters in one bottle of E.O.? Tis true! : )

Lavender has to be my favorite of all oils. I put it in everything! I love the smell, it's relatively gentle, and has all 4 of the properties I look for. It's a must for a starter kit.

Some other oils that have all 4 properties are: Eucalyptus, Lemon, Rosewood, and Tea Tree.

I love these oils the most because you can use them for so many things, and get more done! : )

One other thing I would recommend if you're serious about getting your home clean the "natural way" (which is healthier, cleaner, and works better!), is this book:

THIS BOOK ROCKS!! It is small, simple, and loaded with facts and tips about cleaning your home naturally; she even lists all things needed for your starter kit (which is how I started!). Love it!

Her book covers detailed cleaning recipes for the kitchen, bath, laundry, wood care, cleaning metals, walls and carpeting, clearing the air, the garage & basement, the garden & landscape, and your home office! I'm telling you--it's power packed!

Ok, now some promised recipes:

Germs Away Spray

2 c. water

1/4 c. liquid castile soap

20 drops of essential oils

(preferably lavender, tea tree, rosewood, lemon, or eucalyptus)*

*a mixture of the above oils to suit is best!

Place the ingredients in a spray bottle, and shake well before each use. Wipe clean with a damp cloth or sponge.

I had already listed this one here, with some other of my home cleaning necessities, but I really love this recipe and want to make sure everyone gets it! It is generally used in the bathroom...

Pine Floor Cleaner*

1 gallon of hot water

2 Tbls. of castile soap

10 drops of pine essential oils

5 drops of cedarwood essential oils

Put all ingredients in a large bucket, mix, and use as you would to normally mop your floor.

*This is leaves a light pine scent behind, without all of the chemicals in your old pine solvent cleaners.

Lemony Kitchen Cleaner

1 tsp. of liquid castile soap

1/8 c. of white vinegar

1/4 c. of lemon juice

2 cups of water

6 drops of GSE (Grape Seed Extract)

4 drops of lemon E.O.

1 tsp. of borax

Place the ingredients in a spray bottle, and shake well before each use. Wipe clean with a damp cloth or sponge.

Well, there they are! Simple, easy, and very effective! I've used each of these recipes and really enjoy them. Let me know what you think, and feel free to contact me with any questions!

Enjoy!

~Page

Homemade Fabric Softener!

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

As per a few requests, I decided to post a quick fabric softener recipe as a follow up to our Homemade Detergent. This stuff is way cheaper, and has NO chemicals.

Ok, hold on to your seats. This will be the easiest recipe you have ever seen. So prepare yourself.

Ok... Ready? : )

Homemade Fabric Softener:

1/2 c. - 1 c. of Distilled White Vinegar

*Add to your softener compartment, or try to remember to add during the rinse cycle (for those of us not lucky enough to have brand new HE washers... not that I'm bitter against my GREAT, AWESOME friend Lauren... Ha ha!!)

And that's it! YOUR CLOTHES WILL NOT SMELL LIKE VINEGAR. As a matter of fact, it helps get rid of most any unpleasant smells from your clothing. The vinegar also helps with static cling, fluffs up blankets, and really breaks up soap residue. This is also great for baby items!!

This stuff works great even for clothes forgotten in the washer for too long that have begun to stink: Add a 1/2 c. to 1 c. of vinegar and re-rinse.

Also, if you use fabric softener a lot, you can buy this stuff by the gallon (as I do) and add 20 drops of lavender essential oil to the jug. Shake well before each use.

Love, love, love this stuff! I use vinegar all over the house! I'll cover that more later! : )

And, you can look here if you missed our Homemade Detergent!

Hope this helps!

~Page

Healthy Living: Making Your Own Cleaners!

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

I certainly have a passion for lots of things, but one of the BIG ones on my list are homemade, natural cleaners. There are so many chemicals in our world, the fewer in our homes--the better!

Now, some of you may be raising an eyebrow at the thought of "homemade" and "natural" when it comes to cleaners, but I gotta tell you--they work, and they work well. Most even work better than the store bought, chemical laden cleaners. (Much to my surprise at times!)

Ok, I'm not gonna drone on about the dangers of some of the ingredients in the cleaners we buy... The internet is overloaded with that stuff. All I really want to do is provide a healthier home to my family and hopefully inspire others to do so. I'll assure you--these things I'll share with you will save you time, save you money, and will be easy to make. I don't have the money to throw away on things that won't give results, nor do I have the time to waste with tons of extra work.

These cleaners will leave you--not only feeling better because of the ingredients--but feeling good because of the the accomplishment. You made these cleaners, to suit you, and your home and loved ones are better for it!

Obviously, I am biased to my homemade stock. But, I really want to encourage you to give it a try. You won't be disappointed!

The above items are my "go to" items, give me these--and I can pretty much clean an entire house; from floors to laundry, from bathrooms to dishes! I'll get you the details soon!! P.S. I forgot the GSE in the first pic, hence the lonely pic No. 2!! : )

Now, I'll share one of my favorite, always on hand cleaners. I use it mostly for the bathroom, but it is great for anywhere where you feel needs serious germ detail. This mixture is a great antibacterial spray and is so simple!

Germs Away Spray

2 c. water

1/4 c. liquid castile soap

20 drops of essential oils

(preferably lavender, tea tree, rosewood, lemon, or eucalyptus)*

*a mixture of the above oils to suit is best!

Place the ingredients in a spray bottle, and shake well before each use. Wipe clean with a damp cloth or sponge.

And that's it! I told you it was simple, and so effective! I like to change the scents up, depending on my mood... : ) Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

Look for many more cleaner recipes to come!!

~Page

Homemade Rug Deodorizer

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

I am privileged to have mostly hardwood floors throughout my house, but I do have a couple of rugs throughout. I don't know about you, but over time, despite constant vacuuming -they just need a "pick me up" in the smell good department. That probably is in part due to my adorable "kids" -see pic below. ;-) While my babies are hypo-allergenic and "shed-free" (fact -there is no totally shed-free dog), they definitely give me reason to freshen my carpets!
I was talking to Page on the phone (gasp! -ha!) and mentioned how I hate the rug in my sun room, it was just not smelling good. She, being the ever wise friend that she is, told me about a natural, homemade carpet deodorizer.

Baking Soda + a few drops of Essential Oils = Homemade Carpet Deodorizer!










I chose to use orange oil, because I LOVE the smell of citrus and find it completely refreshing. Feel free to use whatever essential oil you prefer. The easiest way to find these oils is online, blog post about these little gems later.

Next, take and pour some Baking Soda into a dish and sprinkle in a few drops of the essential oils. Keep in mind that these oils are EXTREMELY concentrated and a few drops really go a long way. Now, you'll see from the picture that I used several more than you might need, just because I was dealing with an extra STINKY rug! ;-P

The picture below shows exactly what to do - sprinkle a few drops and mix well. It will end up looking just like a small bowl of good smelling baking soda!


Sprinkle this mixture on your carpet, just like you would with any store bought carpet deodorizer. The great thing about this homemade product is that it is chemical free (that's another post for another day) and VERY economical! For my thin, fibrous rug seen below, I just allowed the mixture it to rest on top and fall through the fibers. For any other carpet, gently brush it in to get a thorough reviving.
Once it's sprinkled over the rug/carpet, let it do its job for a little while. I left mine on for 30min or so, it all depends on the needs of your rug. Once you've let it do its wonders, simply vacuum and your rug will be smelling fresh and clean!! (an added bonus is that it enlivens your vacuum too, making it smell great!)


~To sum it all up -this is an affordable, economical, environment friendly, chemical-free, best-smelling-ever, way to freshen your carpets! Try it on all carpets that you can vacuum, including in your car! Be creative and start making the world a better place, one rug at a time! ;-D

I know this is an extremely practical post, but I hope it'll be of help to someone! I am now happy to say that my rug in the sun room, does not stink!! Thank you, Page!!


Until next time!

~Lauren