Holistic Household Cleaning Tips from Kat

For years I enjoyed the smell of my grandmothers home when my family went to visit. It had a scent of it's own, clean and inviting. Years later when I had my own home, I tried various cleaning products but was never satisfied with how my house smelled after cleaning. Really disliking the "chemical" smell cleaners left so I sought advice from Nana. I will never forget the lesson she taught me that day. "If you want your house to be truly clean, don't use all of those chemicals." OK in hindsight, it made perfect sense. So using the recipes she passed down to me and creating a few of my own along the way, I have created an alternate cleaning solution to just about every household cleaning task. Vinegar is commonly used but doesn't't really appeal as a scent to me, so I have a cabinet full of essential oils to create my own scents. Essential oils can be expensive, but remember it only takes a few drops and you can start with the basics to collect your own favorite blending scents. I would recommend collecting a few of the following oils as you begin to compile your own holistic cleaning products.

· Peppermint or Spearmint
· Clove or Cinnamon
· Eucalyptus or Tea Tree
· Rosemary
· Spruce or Pine
· Lemon or Lemongrass
· Lavender or Rose
· Grapefruit or Orange

Essential oils can be used to create many effective non-toxic (and wonderfully fragrant) cleansers and disinfectants. Two can be combined to create a nice synergy (careful if you combine more because layering scents take some practice). Some essential oil can be an irritant to skin so wear gloves and use a natural sponge because oils can react with plastic. The following are recipes from Nana and several other resources that I have combined to use in my household. The number of drops of essential oil is only a suggestion and you should experiment to find your own preference.

Here's a recipe for a good, basic household disinfectant
Fill a spray bottle with water and a squirt of Castle Soap or other natural unscented soap.
Add 3-7 drops each of lavender, lemon and pine essential oils.
Shake well.

Floor cleaner
Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to a bucket of water (can use Apple Cider Vinegar). Add 6-11 drops each of lemon and pine

Window Cleaner
To get windows and mirrors sparkling, Add to cup vinegar a 7 drops of a citrus or pine oil and clean with a scrunched up sheet of newspaper.
OR
Mix in 1 quart spray bottle:
1 cup White Vinegar
11-15 drops of Lemon oil
Water
Mix vinegar and water in spray bottle.
Add essential oil.
Shake and use.

To freshen a vacuum cleaner
Sprinkle several drops of Lemon or Vanilla onto half a paper towel. Place it into the collecting bag. OR
Add 5 drops rose oil to cup baking soda and sprinkle on carpet before vacuuming.

Fighting dust mites
Eucalyptus oil kills dust mites that live in bedding. 1/2 teaspoon of eucalyptus oil added to each load of laundry
or 1/2 ounce to a jug of laundry detergent is all you need.

Kat's Kitchens and bathroom cleaners
These are excellent cleansers. They clean bacteria and odors; freshen, deodorize and disinfect.
Mix into 1 quart water:
3 drops Rosemary
5 drops Lemon
3 drops Eucalyptus
4 drops Tea Tree
5 drops Lavender
Shake well and put into a spray bottle. Shake again before using.

All-purpose cleaner
Warm water to fill bottle
2 Tablespoons Borax
1 Teaspoon Castile Soap
15-20 drops total of Essential Oils such as Pine, Lemon, Lemongrass, Eucalyptus or Tea Tree (remember that Tea Tree is has great disinfectant qualities)
Add Borax to a 1-quart spray bottle.
Fill with warm water.
Add Castile soap and 15 to 20 drops of oil.
Shake and use.

Scrubbing Cleaners
Baking Soda - plain or with a few drops of essential oil. Use (only a few drops!) tea tree oil, lavender oil, citrus oils, rosemary and juniper. Usually only 1 or 2 oils at a time and mix as you are using it.
1 part baking soda, 1 part salt, again with or with out essential oils.

This makes a great scrub for the sink.

(When buying salt, purchase natural sea salt and NOT table salt. Aluminum is used in table salt to keep it from clumping. Aluminum has been liked to Alzheimer's and should be avoided internally)

Anti-Mold Cleaner
Use about 2 cups of water,
add 20 or so drops of Grapefruit seed extract,
20 drops of Tea Tree oil,
and 15 drops of whatever other cleaning essential oils you have around. I usually choose lavender to cut the scent of the Tea Tree.

Window cleaner
Mix in 1 quart spray bottle:
1 cup White Vinegar
10-15 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
Water
Mix vinegar and water in spray bottle.
Add essential oil.
Shake and use.

Laundry Stain Remover
Use a drop or two of Lemon oil on a stain. Let it sit a few minutes and rub off with a clean cloth or throw into laundry cycle.

In the Dryer
Instead of using toxic and irritating softening sheets in the dryer, toss in a dampened washcloth with 10 drops of lavender, lemon, rose or other oils added. While the oils will not reduce static cling, they make the clothes smell great!

Painting
Adding essential oil to paint will counteract the unpleasant smell. And because essential oils are not fatty oils, they will leave no oil spots on the walls but be certain to blend well. Add a 5 ml. bottle of your favorite essential oil, such as Peppermint, Lavender to 1 gallon of paint.***This is also great to add mint oil when doing papier-mâché. Many of the cleaning recipes can be made in advance, but I prefer to mix as I go. Oils can lose their potency over time so mix as much as you need. Keep oils in a dry, cool place and always out of direct sunlight. When choosing oils, look for natural essential oils and not synthetic. Synthetic will often be cheaper and the smell will not ring true when you sniff. Quality oils can be purchased online or at your neighborhood health food stores. Many cities, like Austin, have stores like the Herb Bar in South Austin that carry top quality essential oils and some pre-made holistic cleaning products too.

My home now smells clean and inviting like my grandmothers and I feel comfortable knowing I am not harming my family with chemicals. While it may not always be the easiest route, the benefits of holistic cleaning far outweigh the inconvenience. Enjoy and experiment! Find your own true scents for your clean house.

After the work, hot tub it!
Use 25 drops of any of these (choose only one) lavender, cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, thyme, lemon, or grapefruit to disinfect and fragrance the water.

Tip
I often take a bowl with water and ice cubes; add 4 to 10 drops of oil and place washrags in it. Then while in the hot tub I rest these over my eyes or the back of the neck. Lavender is good because it is a neutralizer. If your mood is down it will bring you up and if you are hyper/stressed it will bring you down to a calm level.

Next Issue's article will be on Holistic Pet Care recipes and uses.

Katari resides in Austin, TX with her husband and two golden retrievers. She has been a practicing herbalist for 15 years. For further information or questions she can be contacted at kat@katspost.com

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