Spring Cleaning The Natural Way!
Did You Know?
Each American home contains more than 63 hazardous products?!? That is a frightening number especially if you have children or pets who are being exposed to these toxic chemicals. Many people unknowingly expose themselves to these toxins every day and in every room of their home!
Find out what exactly is in your household cleaning products at the Environmental Working Group. They give each product a rating and you can identify which ingredients may be toxic. My son’s pediatrician recommended this site after she told me the “natural” sunscreen I was using was actually bad for my family! Since then, I am careful as to what I buy and I try to make my own products whenever possible. EWG also has a phone app, so when I am shopping I use it to scan the product bar code and find out how toxic it is before purchasing it.
Did you also know that each of our feet have over 2,000 pores (being the largest pores of the body)? So whether you are mopping or standing in your shower, your body could be absorbing toxins through the pores of your feet! The same goes for any other cleaners you may use that come in contact with your skin (the largest organ of the body).
What can we do about these toxins?
Well, I would like to start off by talking about pure, therapeutic grade essential oils since they are an extremely important component of the recipes I will be sharing. For those of you who aren’t familiar with essential oils they are highly concentrated, aromatic essences of plants. They are made using a distillation process. Essential oils have been used for thousands of years! Essential oils are the plant’s natural defense and protective mechanisms. Essential oils can be used in homemade cleaning recipes to replace your store-bought household products!
Essential Oils For Cleaning
More specifically, I will be talking about Young Living essential oils. Young Living essential oils are 100% pure, therapeutic grade oils. Young Living is also the oldest, most trusted and well-respected essential oil company in the world. And with 25+ years of research and experience, they are the only essential oil company with their own farms offering a seed to seal guarantee. Young Living also owns their own distilleries and labs. Young Living farms are organic and the weeds are hand-picked! There is simply no other essential oil company with this commitment to quality. Check out this website www.seedtoseal.com to learn more about Young Living’s production process.
The reason why I use Young Living essential oils for my cleaning recipes (among many other things) is due to many other brands not being pure, therapeutic grade. You can get essential oils almost anywhere (Amazon, health food stores, your local grocer, etc.). However, most people do not know that these essential oils have been adulterated in some form. The companies of these oils do not know their source, meaning they are not involved from start to finish (seed to seal) like Young Living. They do not own their own farms, are not involved with the production of their oils, and are often times are not grown in all natural farming conditions. Some low-quality essential oils are made from plants that are treated with pesticides and extracted with chemical solvents. These are NOT the oils you want to use. Instead opt for pure, therapeutic-grade essential oils made from high-quality plants and herbs that don’t contain GMOs, pesticides or other harmful chemicals. The point of this class is to introduce you to all natural remedies and replaces chemicals with natural solutions. So it is important not to use essential oils that can possibly contain chemicals or pesticides.
Natural Cleaning
Did you know that the air inside of our homes contain 2-5 times more contaminants than the air outside?!? And 75% of American homes use synthetic air fresheners that contain numerous amount of chemical agents that have been linked to cancer (like formaldehyde). When you see the term “fragrance” remember that it can include up to 300 toxic chemicals even if it only says “fragrance”.
One way to replace your store-bought air fresheners with natural ones is by:
1. Diffusing Essential Oils – (like Thieves) to quickly and effectively cleanse the air in your home (this is my favorite way to clean the air in my home). I use Young Living’s home diffuser because it is an all-in-one humidifier, air purifier, atomizer, and aromatherapy diffuser that safely releases essential oils into the air to eliminate odors. The diffuser breaks down the essential oils into millions of microparticles that get dispersed into the air. Find out more about this Thieves oil and diffuser here!
OR
2. Make Your Own Air Fresheners – Here are some homemade air freshener recipes:
1. DIY Thieves Spray – This is my favorite to make! In addition to a nice air freshener, I use it to disinfect toys, household surfaces or in public surfaces like restaurant tables!
2. DIY Natural Room Scents
3. DIY Gel Fresheners
Bacteria and Household Surfaces
Did you know that over 60% of colds, 50% of stomach viruses and up to 80% of food-borne illnesses are caught by touching household surfaces?!? Most people assume that our bathrooms contain the most germs in our homes, but in fact is it our kitchen! Did you also know that our cutting boards often contain up to 200 times more bacteria than our toilet seats?!? Ew!! I have even read a study about lemon wedges at restaurants containing tons of fecal bacteria due to people not washing their hands or cleaning cutting boards when preparing food. I always ask for no lemon wedge in my water now at restaurants. All it takes to spread bacteria and illness is by contact with various household and public surfaces. Who is looking for all natural, all purpose and frugal cleaning recipes to combat those germs?
Here are some cheap and easy recipes for homemade cleaners:
1. Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner Only $3/Gallon – What’s great about this one is that you can use any pure, therapeutic grade essential oil you’d like and it only costs $3/gallon to make!
2. Homemade On The Go Disinfecting Wipes – A great cleaner in the form of handy wipes!
3. DIY Spot & Stain Remover Spray – Although a great stain remover spray, it is great for cleaning tons of surfaces too!
4. DIY All Natural Cleaning Wipes – Another great cleaning wipes recipe.
Soap and Hand Sanitizer
Many store-bought soaps and sanitizers contain synthetic ingredients like triclosan. Making your own is a great way to avoid chemicals being added to your soaps and sanitizers.
Here are some wonderful, all natural recipes:
1. DIY Liquid Soap – This one can also be used as a shower gel or dishwashing soap.
2. Homemade Hand Sanitizer – I carry one in my purse at all times!
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