Cleaning with Essential Oils
Cristina Mahrt
Me and my husband at our wedding a little over 3 years ago.
Hola mis amores!
Being a wife is such a joy for me and being able to care for my husband and our home daily reminds me of who Jesus is and the heart that he has. Although, sometimes when it comes to cleaning our home I don't always feel up to it to be honest. But I will say that as time has gone on and as I've gotten older (obviously CRIS!) I have become more aware of what I use around my home and all the harmful chemicals that a lot of our store bought cleaning supplies have. So I have slowly began to change what I use to clean my home. Making homemade cleaners can be very simple and easy. It can give you a peace of mind knowing that you're not exposing yourself and your loved ones to things that can cause respiratory irritation and thyroid disruption (caused by chlorine) or Chronic bronchitis and asthma (caused by ammonia found in things like window cleaners). Now that my husband and I are trying to expand our family I want to make sure the things I use around the house are kid friendly and won't cause problems for our future children.
Now, Im not saying throw money down the drain and dump all your existing cleaners but when that bottle of all purpose cleaner runs out instead of buying a new one opt for making your own. One way that I've cut some of these harmful chemicals around my house is by using essential oils and things like vinegar and water. I use a glass bottle and an old spray nozzle from my old cleaners after they've run out and you can mix equal parts water with equal parts vinegar and add some drops of your favorite essential oils. Keep in mind that different oils have different benefits and are great for different things. Here are some of the ones I love to use and how I use them:
Lemon: It smells devine! It is an antiseptic, anti fungal, and antiviral oil. So its a good all around disinfectant whether its to disinfectant and invigorate the air around you or the surfaces you are cleaning. Lemon can remove stickiness (Goo gone alternative), crayon marks, it can polish wood, be used as an all purpose cleaner(like I do), removes grease, used to clean floors ( also use it for this purpose), remove carpet stains, air freshener, polish stainless steel and so much more.
Lavender: I love to use lavender as an air spray. I just put water in a glass bottle and a few drops of lavender and spray it all around my house. Its very calming and therapeutic. Lavender has so many medical uses from cleaning cuts to skin irritations. Honestly there is probably nothing you can't use lavender for. Like I said I use it as an air freshener but another way I use lavender is in my hair, its great when making a mask for my hair. Its also great to use for blonde hair types (Im naturally a brunette I recently lightened my hair) and helps with dandruff. (If you are a brunette then rosemary is your jam for hair treatments!)
Tea Tree: This one is definitely a fav! Tea tree is great as a topical antiseptic and has anti fungal properties. It also helps with reducing infection and it has antibiotic properties. Tea tree is great for so many topical uses such as rashes and acne. It is also great for people with pets like me, it removes ticks, with a few drops in your pets crate the fleas will stay away. This is one that I like to use in my all purpose cleaner and in my diffuser.
Now, if you're anything like me I don't like to spend a ton of money on things that at first I may not be sure of. There are a lot of different brands of essential oils you can order. But when I decided to switch I wanted to do so without breaking the bank. So I found these on amazon and I love them. I found a great beginners starter kit, the brand is Fabulous Frannie and here is the link:
I Hope this will help all you ladies, wives, mommies out there to freshen up your home while being aware of what you're allowing yourself and your loved ones to be exposed to. Happy Cleaning!
With love,
From Cris