Home Disinfecting Wipes

Another household item I've been meaning to try are disinfecting wipes. I used to buy Lysol or Clorox wipes to make cleaning bacteria-laden surfaces and messes quick and easy. They were not only really expensive, but full of toxins! I know they get rid of 99.9% of germs, but they also replace them with harmful chemicals. My home isn't perfectly green, but I've always been a little bit squeamish about using products like these, especially around the kids. I don't want to throw shade on anyone who uses these products, as I grew up around pure bleach and mainstream chemicals that get the job done well! I'm getting rid of items like these one by one because I've realized the possibility, affordability and ease of making stuff that's safe and actually work fantastically. I realize it's hard to cut out every single thing in a busy family's lifestyle that has any trace of chemicals in it, so I just want to share the ways we're becoming more mindful in using natural alternatives. 

I did a little bit of research and what I found was somewhat disappointing. Items like vinegar and baking soda are great, great things to clean with, and they are staples in my house for so many things! But there aren't a lot of green products that actually kill most of the bacteria. And I'm not even militant about cleaning my surfaces raw, because I know we need some bacteria to build those immune systems. But after reading through this experiment on cleaners done by a biochemist, I was pretty surprised to see that even Lysol fell short at getting rid of germs! The most effective tool was hydrogen peroxide! So I decided to use it in my wipes.

You'll need:

1 roll of paper towels, cut in half (I use Viva! The V-Flex ones are even better for scrubbing, I just used the plain ones because they were handy)

1 C hydrogen peroxide

1 C water, boiled and cooled

1 Tb castile soap

10 drops lemon essential oil

10 drops thieves essential oil (both lemon and thieves have amazing anti-bacterial properties! And the combination of these oils will leave your surfaces smelling wonderful)

1 container to fit the wipes in

Directions:

Place paper towel roll in designated container. In a bowl or measuring cup, mix all ingredients together and pour over paper towel roll slowly. Evenly drizzle the mixture over the inner and outer parts of the roll. Cover container and let sit on all sides a few minutes at a time until solution has evenly saturated the whole roll. Remove cardboard roll and disperse wipes from center. Voila! Get those germs.

Household Cleaners

Since my recent purchase of essential oils, I've been excited for the multitudes of household items I can make with them. I've wanted to rid my home of toxins for a long time now, but it's been hard. Natural household items I've purchased in place of the powerful chemical-filled ones I've always used were never as effective, and were always more expensive! And a lot of what is deemed "natural" still has sketchy ingredients smashed in there due to loose regulations on labeling. So with that, it never really bothered me to just keep buying the chemicals that get the job done. 

A friend of mine introduced me to Young Living essential oils and when I finally decided to get the kit, I started looking up what I could make with them. I didn't know I could make just about anything I could imagine! And that it would be extremely easy and cheap since I already had most of the ingredients for this stuff already in my home. I ordered some beautiful amber bottles from AbundantHealth and whipped up each of these in a matter of minutes. I really don't use many other products to clean with, so this is my minimal collection I keep under my kitchen sink. The best part is, I don't have to keep them locked away because they are green as green can be! They won't hurt my kids or the environment, being washed down the drain. Another perk is that my whole collection of cleaners cost a grand total of $7.

Insect Repellent:

I live in an old home where spiders and ants roam quite freely. I've used Raid on ant infestations, and spray spiders as I see them, but the toxic smell lingers so strongly that we've actually just learned to live with these pests because they're more tolerable than the spray! And it's usually only effective for a few days and like clockwork, they return. I heard peppermint essential oil does the trick, so I tried it, and I'm still in shock of how effective it is. I filled a 16 ounce spray bottle with water and added 10 drops of peppermint. I spray any area insects can get in– around door frames, windows, vents and any crack in the floor. The first time I tried this, I didn't see a single ant in a full week (and normally I smash about 50 a day), as well as no sign of a spider in an entire MONTH. The cost of Young Living's peppermint oil per drop comes to about 10 cents, so this repellent costs me a DOLLAR. Win.

Glass Cleaner:

I've always used distilled white vinegar for glass, which is a trick my mom taught me years ago and it works so well! Half vinegar and half water in a spray bottle. However, the smell is quite pungent. So I just added 10 drops of lemon to the mix and the smell is much more bearable now! Beautiful glass every time. Lemon costs 5 cents per drop, so with the vinegar at 16 cents, this cleaner costs me about 66 cents.

All Purpose Cleaner: 

This spray works great! I use it on everything from countertops and stovetops to cabinets and baseboards. It cleans really well considering all the gunk I have to scrub on a regular basis (dried-up kid foods cover most of my furniture and walls...) I dissolve 1&1/2 teaspoons of baking soda in a little hot water and add it to a 16 ounce spray bottle, then add 2 tablespoons of castile soap, 2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide and 5 drops lemon + 5 drops purification. Then slowly fill the bottle with purified water and gently shake. This stuff costs me about $1.34 total.

Disinfectant Spray:

This stuff is super useful in my home. I usually spritz it over an area right after I use the all purpose cleaner, like after I've prepped raw meat, or cleaned up a diaper gone awry, or whatever. It's just 1/2 vinegar + 1/2 hydrogen peroxide + 10 drops of tea tree oil in a 16 ounce bottle. It cost a grand total of $1.60!

Soft Scrub:

I love this stuff! It works so well! I use it on my sinks, toilet, shower and tub, and it leaves them all SO clean. It's wonderful. And it only cost $2.47 per batch.

I never thought I'd be this excited about cleaning products, but when I'm kicking toxins out of my house while using the best ingredients, with little effort AND saving tons of money, I'm actually giddy. I think the only thing worse than cleaning is spending tons of money on supplies AND having to use them. Now that I'm not dropping that kind of cash on the boring stuff, I feel a lot less guilty about spending it on things that are way more fun at Target!

I don't mean to sound like a broken record about essential oils, but they have changed the way I do everything! They've transformed my beauty routine, cleaning, first aid, and generally the everyday behaviors of me and my kids. The integrity of Young Living's oils is unmatched and I really am so thankful I was introduced to these little wonders. I wish I could buy them for every single one of my friends and family. I could not recommend them any more. If you are hesitant about them or waiting to buy them, I completely understand. I held off for months and months, very leery of the chunk of money up front with the question of how they'd pay off. I just want to say that I was a total skeptic turned believer after the day to day of them winning me over with every opportunity I've given them to work their magic. Granted, I haven't seen 100% results in every single thing I've tried, but overall, I've been very surprised at how effective they've been and have really helped had a need arisen. I don't say all this to make any money, and I know that sounds sketchy since you automatically become a "distributor" when you purchase a kit as a wholesale member. I legitimately love this stuff and am so happy to be learning more and more about them and seeing so much of the masses being turned on to essential oils in place of drugs. If you do want to jump in to the world of essential oils, I can tell you that you will never regret it for a second. If you do want to join me on this little journey, you can anytime and there are a million resources that come at this starting point, so you'll never be alone. It's not as overwhelming as you may think :)