Easy DIY All-Purpose Cleaner with Essential Oils

One of the most frequent ways I use essential oils in my household is in this spray. With two little kids underfoot, I am always wiping up some sort of mess! The recipe is so simple I almost feel silly writing it down. But since a few of you have asked for it, here you go:

Find an old spray bottle. (I use a laundry stain remover bottle with a big nozzle.) Walmart has large empty bottles for $0.99 if you don't have any spare ones lying around.

Fill your bottle with

• 1/3 white vinegar
• 1/3 vodka (a great sterilizer and disinfectant) 
• 1/3 distilled water
• Top off with 10-12 drops of whatever essential oil you're in the mood for. I like to clean with citrus oils like Lemon, Wild Orange, or Citrus Bliss. (Citrus oils tend to be good degreasers.) Sometimes I use OnGuard for extra germ-fighting power.

Give a little shake, and ka-bam, you're done! This spray works great for floors, showers, toilets, counters...pretty much anything. DoTerra's citrus blends smell so amazing; don't be surprised if you're suddenly in the mood to scrub down your entire house!

My Favorite Essential Oil

What a happy coincidence that one of the most versatile essential oils is also one of the cheapest! I reach for lemon essential oil almost every day. Here are some of my favorite uses:

- 2-3 drops of lemon in a load of laundry keeps the washing machine fresh and our clothes smelling amazing. (Even those dirty diaper loads!) I love knowing that lemon essential oil is not just eradicating questionable smells, but its antimicrobial properties are also killing germs in our clothes.

Have you ever forgotten a load in the washer and been greeted by that musty stench the next time you opened the lid? A few drops of lemon and an extra rinse cycle will solve your problem.

- Lemon is an incredible degreaser. I use it to clean handprints off the wall and splatters from behind the stove. (I dilute slightly with water to make it go further.) It's a workhorse on the filthy oven door. Lemon also helps remove grease stains from clothing.

- Looking for a pick-me-up? Lemon and wild orange diffused together is one of the most uplifting blends I've found. Lemon and lavender is also an amazing combination--simultaneously calming and elevating. If you don't have a diffuser, just simmer a few drops of essential oil with water on the stove.

- I use Lemon essential oil, white vinegar, vodka, and water in my fast and easy all-purpose cleaner. I will share the recipe soon!

- One drop of lemon on a microfiber cloth is an effective way to clean screens on your electronic devices. I use it on my laptop and camera.
                                                                                                            

DoTerra Everyday has a list of 101 uses for the three most common oils: lavender, lemon, and peppermint. If you are new to the world of essential oils, their list is an inspiring and doable place to start. I always keep intro kits of lavender, lemon, and peppermint in stock, so if you are interested, let me know. The kits are very affordable and include intro dvds.

Some ideas from the 101 Uses List I want to remember to try:

- Lemon to remove gum from hair. (Well I don't really want to try this, but I will be glad for a solution when the opportunity inevitably presents itself.)

- A lemon-soaked rag as leather maintainer. Just in time for boot season!

- Lemon to clean stainless steel appliances and silver.

- Lemon added to dishwasher detergent for spot-free dishes.

I'd love to hear from you! What's your most-reached-for essential oil? What's your favorite use for lemon? 

As always, if you have questions about essential oils visit my FAQ page or shoot me a message!

Our Third Child (For Now)

We have another baby in the house! And no, it's not what you think. 

Our backyard garden is pretty much like a third child right now: labor-intensive and incredibly time-consuming! But oh-so-rewarding. Beautiful, too, wouldn't you agree?

The kids love the abundance of late-summer backyard time and are often content to play on a blanket near the garden's edge while I pick. (Until Gray gets a notion to stomp Nasturtiums or poke tomatoes, that is.)

There's something so satisfying about snipping and cutting beans on a warm summer evening as cricket songs drift through the kitchen screen door and a whirring fan cools a pan of freshly cooked beans. It's funny how a dreaded childhood chore now makes me so nostalgic. (And yes, I can't wait for the day when I can dump another mountain of beans in front of my children who think they are finally done snipping and cutting. I will just tell them how much longer the rows and higher the piles my mom made me tend to when I was their age!)

Soon the garden will be covered in snowdrifts and juicy tomatoes reduced to a distant memory. Until then, bring on the weeds and watering, picking and preserving. Everything else can wait...we have a garden to tend and freezer to fill! 

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by kristina-larson.blogspot.com! I'm Kristina, a Minnesota mom of two who has far more projects than time.

Some of my passions include natural living, play-based learning, thoughtful parenting, and figuring out ways to carve out a simple-ish life in a nonstop world.

I hope this little corner of the blogosphere serves as a place of honesty and inspiration. A place where we can admit we haven't scrubbed the tub in weeks (or was that months?), but also a place where we can inspire one another to put forth our best effort: write in that baby book, make the tortilla recipe that you pinned two months ago, or bundle up the toddler for the five-hundreth time this winter and go outside to hunt for pinecones. 

I'd love if you'd leave me a comment about what you'd love to read about. Visit again soon!