I’ve been on a focus lately of creating a better home and there is so much more to a healthier home than just the products that we us. For example making sure that God is present within us affects the values and morals that we instill in our children and how we treat our relationship with our spouse. But there is something to be said about finding ways to take care of your home in a more wholesome fashion. So today I am partnering with Barbara Franck, an independent consultant with Doterra. This company has a long standing reputation with high quality essential oils and essential oil products. I started my journey with oils about a year after our son Waylon was born. I was going through some emotional times and physical struggles dealing with everything Waylon was having to overcome. He had been in and out of his spica casts, he wasn’t sleeping or eating well and I just wanted something to support what we were already doing. So a friend of ours had suggested trying essential oils. To be honest I wasn’t 100% sure they would work but over the last few years and more so here recently, I’ve really put them to the test. I now use them to help me regulate my emotional state as well as days when my joints hurt. No matter where you get your oils from, make sure you do your research. Personally I trust both Doterra and Young Living for my oils. If you pick them up at Walmart or the gas station their integrity has probably been compromised even though they say 100% pure just like I would never trust gas station sushi. You know you just don’t want to flirt with that line lol. So today I want to share with you a few easy swaps that we have made in our home in terms of essential oils!

Oils for Cleaning Bathrooms

With 5 boys and only one bathroom, you can imagine how fast it gets dirty. Honestly, cleaning our bathroom had become one of the areas I strongly disliked lol however a few things have helped!

General Cleaning Spray

I use this for everything but in the bathroom I use it in place of soft scrub. I spray down the shower, the toilet surfaces, the sink and even the bathroom walls. When you are making anything with essential oils you want to be careful about homing them in plastic. Some of the oils can actually eat away at the plastic so using glass containers works better. I found these glass spray bottles on amazon and have been using them. Not only do they work really well but they are more aesthetically pleasing.

Need

• Glass Spray Bottles
• Thieves or OnGuard Cleaner

Directions

• 1 cap full of Thieves or OnGuard Cleaner into the glass spray bottle
• Fill the rest with filtered water and shake well

Thieves has a mixture of clove, cinnamon, lemon, eucalyptus and rosemary which is an awesome antimicrobial properties mixture. These oils are known to help with breathing and congestion issues as well as boosting immune systems. OnGuard is similar in terms of mixture but also includes wild orange. Not sure about you, but the last time I used bleach to clean, it burned when I would breathe it in. In comparison, I rather enjoy the smell of Thieves and OnGuard. 

Toilet Bombs

Need

• Silicone Molds
• 1/2 cup Cornstarch
• 1/2 cup Citric Acid
• 1/2 cup Baking Soda
• 25 drops of Essential Oils

Directions

• In a zip lock bag mix the cornstarch, citric acid and baking soda.
• Add a few spritzes of water and mix around till you get a pie dough consistency.
• Dump your mixture into a glass bowl and add in your oils. Mix around and then scoop it into your mold.
• Let sit overnight

Don’t overfill because they will expand as they dry overnight. I'll link all the molds and items in the show notes, but one batch of this size fits perfectly into one mold try for us. Let them dry overnight and then the next morning, pop them out and place in a glass jar. The best way to use it is at night just drop one or two and let them do their thing. I like to use them in between toilet scrubbing adventures.

Soap Scum Remover

Lemon oil is great for all cleaning things. I love it for getting crayon marks off furniture and windows (in case you have small curious children like I do)

Need

• 2 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup Borax
• 10 drops Lemon Oil

Directions

• All you need to do is add the ingredients into a glass spray bottle and shake well.
• Spray on the scummy areas and simply wipe away!

Mold and Mildew Prevention

This weekend I took off our shower curtain to soak because it needed some loving lol so I just used a cap full of the Thieves cleaner and a 5 gallon bucket of water. Let it soak outside for an hour or so and then hang it in the sun to dry. But Barb shared with me this recipe for Mold and Mildew Prevention so I plan to use this on the bottom of my shower curtain to prevent issues in the future.

Need

• 2 cups of water
• 30 drops of tea tree oil
• 10 drops of peppermint oil

Directions

• Add all items to a spray bottle and shake well
• Spray anywhere that has mold or mildew each day till it is gone!
• Do not rinse but rather repeat daily till it is gone.

Laundry Detergent

We started making our own laundry detergent after having some concerns with the cost and for me the ingredients in store made detergents. So a friend shared this recipe with us and personally I like the clean smell of it but my husband asked that we add oils to it next time just to give it a different smell.

Need

• 1 Bar Fels-Naptha (grated up)
• 2 cups Borax
• 2 cups Super Washing Soda
• 10 drops Essential Oils
• 5 gallon Bucket
• Pretty Container
• Long Spoon

Directions

• Grate 1 bar of the Fels-Naptha into a pot and add enough water to cover the shredded pieces.
• Set this pot on medium heat and let it melt. You do have to stir this quite a bit and really keep an eye on it, as it can boil over pretty quickly.
• Once it’s all melted down pour the mixture into a clean 5 gallon bucket.
• Then add 2 cups of Borax and hot water. I just fill the bucket up about half way or so and mix well to dissolve the borax.
• Then add 2 cups of the super washing soda. Keep stirring and adding water till your bucket is almost full I would say about 2” from the top.
• Mix it really well and then let sit for 24 hours.
• Once it is cool you can add you essential oils if you so choose.
• Then each time, before you use it, mix it really well. You only need 1 cup per load!

You may have to play around with the amount of oil depending on the strength you are comfortable with or the one you are using. Some smell stronger then others. Also I know some folks question using Borax. Personally it has been a safer swap in my opinion to other options although there may be better ones out there. So what you do is pretty simple,

Dryer Sheets

Need

• Sweatshirt Squares
• 1/2 cup Baking Soda
• Hot Water
• 1/2 cup Vinegar
• 5-10 drops of Essential Oils
• Glass Jar

Directions

• Cut an old tee shirt or sweatshirt into squares
• Mix ½ cup of baking soda and a little hot water
• Stir it up and then add a ½ cup of vinegar and continue to mix.
• Drop in 5-10 drops of your favorite essential oil.
• Plop in the cloth squares into another glass jar.
• Pour the mixture over top and close with a lid and store it till you need them.

When your ready to use them, shake the container good, pull out the desired number of clothes and toss them into the dryer with your wet clothes. At the end of the drying cycle just toss the clothes back into the container for the next time.

Lavender Hanging Plants

Another neat hack we are trying in our laundry room is lavender plants! So my sister bought me this hanging assembly that you put over top of your window and it then you add plants and they then hang in your window basically. Well our school greenhouse grew a bunch of lavender this year so I got some and planted them in these hanging containers. Now in the mornings when I walk by I just wiggle the branches a little and the whole room smells of lavender! It is so neat! And it looks so cool in the window!

• Plant Hangers