Spring is in the air! Spring cleaning part II

'Tis the season!  Spring cleaning season that is!  As promised (though extremely late) here are some great ways to replace harsh cleaners and chemicals in your home.

It all started while cleaning the tub after Landon's bath, he was fast asleep in his bedroom a few feet away at this point.  I went downstairs and realized that the smell of the cleaner was literally burned into my nose and I could smell it for what seemed like hours!  I couldn't stand the thought of Landon breathing in those awful fumes while sleeping.  It was time to make some changes.

I'd already been trying to find new uses for my essential oils and knew there had to be something out there for me. I stumbled upon a homemade bathroom cleaner and gave it a shot...

Bathroom Cleaning Scrub:  I'll be honest, I didn't expect the consistency and thought it would be more of a bathroom spray cleaner like I'd been used to.  It's not like that at all... it turned out to be more of a paste.  Once I got past the initial disappointment of the consistency, I was extremely pleased with it! Using my bathroom sponge, I scooped some of the scrub and rubbed all over the bathtub, let it sit and scrubbed with the sponge.  This definitely took a little more work than planned but I guess that's to be expected when working with simple cleaning ingredients.  I'll take a little extra elbow-grease over harsh, toxic chemicals any day!

Before

After

Here's how to make it:

* Baking Soda - 3/4 cup
* White Vinegar - 1 tbsp
* Castile Soap - 1/4 cup
* Lemon EO - 5 drops (I used more like 10)
* Water - 1 tbsp

Combine the ingredients and store in a glass container.  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture so instead, here's a photo of Landon helping me label my Essential Oil bottles. :)

Now, I was DETERMINED to get my bathroom spray so I went back to the drawing board.  I found a very simple mixture and decided to give it a shot.  The recipe called for distilled water and I didn't have any.  Landon was napping so I couldn't very well go pick some up, so.... I made my own (tutorial below)

What you'll need:

* Spray bottle
* 1 1/2 cup white vinegar
* 1/2 cup distilled water
* 10 drops Lemon EO

Combine mixture and store in glass container.  I doubled the recipe and stored most of it in a large mason jar.  I only put a small amount into the plastic spray bottle and poured back into the mason jar when finished.  Remember, you don't want to use essential oils with plastics for any length of time.

Honesty again... the smell is basically awful.  But it doesn't linger and it works great!  The best part is probably that this can be used as an all-purpose household cleaner.  I use it on my glass table, counter tops, bathroom etc!

Here's the tutorial on making distilled water if you're interested!

Step 1: Fill a 5-gallon pot about halfway with water. Place a glass bowl inside (it should float!), Turn the stove on high but not quite boiling.

Step 2: Place the lid to the pot upside down and fill with ice

Step 3: Replace the ice as it melts. The steam will rise and hit the cold lid creating condensation which will then drip into the bowl. Voila, distilled water!