Simple Green Cleaning Swaps
- February 11, 2019
- 2:06 pm
Before essential oils, I was never a DIY person. If I could buy it then I would because time and convenience was super important to me as a busy mum of a toddler and a baby. But the more and more I started to read about the toxins and “hidden” ingredients in our products, the more I started to wake up to what I was spraying around my children and also what could be going onto their skin.
Queue the love for DIY green cleaning recipes! I started off with one here and there and slowly worked my way through replacing all the store bought products in our home until finally everything was either homemade or ordered from doTERRA.
Read the news article “Is cleaning your house equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes a day?”
It may seem overwhelming at first but trust me once you start ditching and switching ,like I did, you won’t want to stop. I love that my home smells Lemoney fresh and my husband is so happy that we are actually saving money in the long term.
Some simple swaps for our home are:
Ditch: Spray and Wipe
Switch: All-Purpose Cleaner
This non-toxic cleaner is affordable, safe and easy to make with only three ingredients and the best part is you can tailor the aroma to whatever you want with your choice of essential oil.
Ingredients
500ml glass spray bottle
¼ cup white vinegar
1 ¾ cups purified or distilled water
30 drops of essential oil (Wild Orange, On Guard Protective Blend, Lemon, Eucalyptus)
Dash of witch hazel or vodka (to act as a preservative)
Combine all ingredients together and shake, spray and wipe down surfaces.
Ditch: Cream Cleanser
Switch: Soft Scrub Cleanser
I was always an avid fan of the store bought cream cleanser and it was probably one of the items I did not think anything I made would replace but once I whipped up my own soft scrub cleanser and cleaned with it, I never went back! Being able to clean the shower and not get stinky fumes in my face while gasping for breath is a HUGE plus in my books.
Ingredients
Glass jar or stainless steel bowl
3/4 rounded cup of baking soda
1/4 cup unscented liquid castile soap
1 tablespoon of water
1 tablespoon of vinegar
5-10 drops of Lemon oil
In a bowl, combine baking soda and castile soap. Add water and stir. Add vinegar and essential oil. The consistency should look like a soft paste. Store in an airtight container and should be enough for 2-4 applications. When using, apply and let sit for 5-10 minutes and then scrub and then wipe away with a wet cloth.
Ditch: Store Bought Glass Cleaner
Switch: DIY Glass Cleaner
This is a product I am always using as I have two “busy” toddlers who are always pressed up against the windows or brushing their teeth and putting toothpaste on the bathroom mirror. When I had dived in deeper into the ingredients of the store bought ones, I knew that they were a definite NO NO for my home as I would be using it daily which meant my boys would be breathing in the ingredients consistently. This “do it yourself” recipe yet again only consists of three ingredients and can be made in a flash.
Ingredients
500ml glass spray bottle
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup purified or distilled water
8-10 drops essential oil (Lemon, Lime or Wild Orange)
Dash of witch hazel or vodka (to act as a preservative)
Combine all ingredients into the glass spray bottle, shake and spray.
All my videos, including the recipes above, can be found on my Facebook Business Page.
The doTERRA Blog and The Inspired Little Pot have an endless supply of green cleaning recipes and some of my favourites are:
Reusable Dust Wipes with Lemon Oil
So what cleaning essential oils should you have on hand in your collection?
Peppermint, Lemon, Lemongrass, Lavender, Rosemary, On Guard Protective Blend, Wild Orange, Eucalyptus and Tea Tree just to name a few. Half the fun is creating your own signature aroma for your green cleaners.
Where can I buy the staple ingredients?
Most supermarkets will have your white vinegar, citric acid, baking soda etc but listed below are a few places I buy some of the ingredients in bulk and also glass spray bottles and containers etc.
Over the last two years of using oils in my home, I have loved seeing the changes in our own health and wellness with reducing our toxic load with making our own products. I no longer worry about my boys being right by my side when I am cleaning the tables or mopping the floor because I know I am using the most safest and effective cleaning routine that works for us.
Don’t have any essential oils yet and want to get them into your home? Click here to see all the options for getting started.
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