Germs? Bleach it!
Toilets? Bleach them!!
Grimy sinks? Bleach them!!!
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Seriously, I think you can see the trend here. I was a bleach girl. Bleach was my “Go To” product for just about everything. I knew bleach killed germs and I didn’t trust anything else to go to war against them. However, as my health became an issue, I started to learn about the terrible chemicals all around us every day, I began researching and learning about natural products.
My cancer Doctor first told me how few seconds it took for anything that touched our skin to reach our bloodstream. Like 22 seconds! This freaked me out, I’ll admit. Cancer in my history and all my family history…no way was I letting my kids absorb a lifetime of chemicals when they could avoid them! I threw away our soap, and began making our own soap, laundry detergent, and cleaning chemicals.
I want to share a few recipes with you all, that have been working for me, and are safer and more natural than your garden variety dangerous chemicals I used to use. I will give you a few of my favorites, which will get you started.
Germ Killing Spray cleaner;
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup rubbing alcohol
4 drops doTerra On Guard Essential Oil
4 drops Meleleuca Essential Oil
4 drops Orange Essential oil
*Mix together, put into a GLASS spray bottle and use. Use glass as Essential Oils don’t do as well in plastic. I buy my glass spray bottles at Aromatools.com or oillife.com. This smells clean, and whitens my white sinks almost as well as bleach does! It is one of my favorite recipes now.
Glass Cleaner
1 1/2 Cup water
1 1/2 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoon rubbing alcahol
3 drops of Peppermint Essential oil
Mix in a spray bottle, (remember glass is best for essential oils) and spray liberally on windows and mirrors. Wipe with a lint free cloth.
Liquid Laundry Soap
*Grate one bar of soap. (Some folks use Fels Naptha soap but it contains chemicals like petroleum.) I use one of my own bars of natural, home made soap. It works really well!
One grated bar of soap.
2 Cups Washing Soda
2 Cups Borax
Water 2 quarts, and 4.5 gallons.
Essential oils- a few drops.
*Cook and stir the grated soap in a large pot of 2 quarts water until soap is dissolved.
*Add the 2 Cups borax and 2 Cups Washing Soda. Stir until dissolved.
*Add 4.5 gallons HOT water into the bucket and add the contents from your large pot.
*Add a few drops of your favorite essential oils. I love to add On Guard, or Serenity by doTerra!
*Let sit until the next morning. I prefer to cover it.
*Stir until mixed well, then pour into containers. I use gallon containers, like “recycled” bulk gallon mayonnaise jugs, some use a lot of half gallon jars, etc. I give the jug a shake each time I use it, because I am a bit neurotic and want it really well mixed every time I use it.
I use 1/2 a cup for each full sized load. Less for smaller loads, a little more for heavily soiled or odorous loads. (I live with three generations of boys that can create a lot of smelly laundry from time to time.)
Add essential oils, mix well. Pour into smaller containers. I like to shake the container before using. I could use this without essential oils, but I like the clean scent and germ killing properties of the essential oils far more.
If you don’t make natural soap, you can order soap from us on this site, or on our facebook page for the soap business, facebook.com/lovehathaway.
Need a replacement powder cleanser to replace yours?
I used to use Comet. Now I use Baking soda, for tubs, toilets, and sinks! You need a little extra oomph? Add some white vineger to it to clean drains, and garbage disposals.
Alternative to Fabric Softener:
I tried adding vinegar to my rinse cycle, plastic drier balls which were okay, and conventional store bought “natural” products. What I found was they all worked to varying degrees in some ways. What I really hated was STATIC CLING. Yes, in all shouty caps!!! Wool drier balls work great! Found at most farmers markets, festivals and arts/craft shows! Plus all over the internet these days too. You can put a couple drops of essential oils on them, and toss them through the drier a few times, less static cling, smells natural and great!
I go for simple, cheap, and easy. None of these are complicated. I admit, when I am mixing these up, I feel excited about the healthy choices/changes I am making, all without going on a diet or exercising!! Go ahead and laugh, easy changes are the ones that don’t feel oppressive and limiting. Go ahead, you are worth a healthy choice!
If you are looking for the best quality essential oils, check out my blog post Our Essential oil Story or go to my Contact Us page to reach out to us so we can help you. We are always willing to share how to get our favorite Essential Oils.
Resources:
Essential oils:
doTerra Essential Oils:
Reach out to us on our Contact Us page for more information.
Glass Bottles and Spray bottles-
Oil Life
Aroma tools
