essential oils Archives - Graceful Order

Cleaning with Lemon Essential Oil

May 26, 2015 · by Maria · 3 Comments

Creating a healthy home has been a process for me. I started buying more organic ingredients years ago and the more I read about pesticides and toxic chemicals, I started to turn my attention towards the things that I was feeding my home, not just the kids. I slowly realized that I was helping our family in one way but still allowing products in our home that could potentially hurt us. While I still used the other products that I already had, I integrated more natural products into my home cleaning routine. I wasn’t ready to pull the plug until I knew that these new, more natural products actually worked. I mean, could I really consider my home “clean” if I wasn’t using anything toxic to really get in there and do the work?

Well the new products worked and I no longer had to run out of the bathroom to avoid the fumes after I had sprayed down the area. I also continued being cautious about where I store my cleaning supplies but I wasn’t worried about my toddler putting a piece of cereal in his mouth that had just fallen on the floor. My kids don’t eat meals off the floor, but it feels good to know that I am creating a healthy home for them to live in and also a more economical way to clean the home.

Natural cleaners can be expensive but you can also make your own cleaners at home and save a ton. Some of my favorite natural brands are Mrs. Meyers, Honest Company, Shaklee but I also like to make my own ever so often and I wanted to share with you how I use essential oils to clean. There are so many essential oils and recipes that I could feature, but I decided to start with lemon.

The following recipes are sure to bring back your zest for life! Well no, they won’t – but your house will be super clean and that will make you happy, so yeah…

Bathroom Fixtures: Use a towel soaked with several drops of Lemon oil to sanitize bathroom fixtures.

Dishes: I add 2 drops of Lemon oil to the bottom of my dishwasher before the wash cycle. Dishes will shine and the dishwasher smells great.

Window Cleaner: Pour into a glass spray bottle 1 cup distilled white vinegar and 10 drops of lemon essential oil and fill the rest with water. Mix well.

Natural Disinfectant – This also works great for a moldy shower. Add 30 drops lemon oil and 20 drops tea tree oil to a glass spray bottle, add a splash of vinegar and fill the rest with water.

Wood Furniture Polish: Add 4-5 drops lemon essential oil to a small amount of olive oil for polishing wood.

Floor Cleaner: Add a splash of vinegar and 10-20 drops of lemon essential oil to your bucket of water.

Of course, always test a little spot on your furniture before you use a new cleaner.

I encourage you to take small but consistent steps towards creating a healthier home. Enjoy your green cleaning!

Benefits of Green Cleaning

May 6, 2015 · by Maria · 5 Comments

Green, green, green! Everyone is looking to eat greener and cleaner and more attention is now given to the types of products we use to clean our homes. Is it really worth it?

I think it is worth it on every level! Why would we focus on cleaning our bodies of toxic foods and then spray our homes with toxic chemicals, having no idea how they will affect us or our families?

Here are some common myths about green cleaning and some of the products I use to replace toxic chemicals:

Aren’t green products more expensive? Nope, not if you make your own. Homemade cleaning products are not only safer, they also way more economical.

Vinegar, for example is inexpensive and its acidic qualities help to kill germs and reduce microbial growth. I love to add vinegar and tea tree oil (Melaeluca) to my homemade cleaning products for a natural and safe disinfectant.

Don’t homemade cleaners lack scent? I am a sucker for products that smell good. Actually there are some green cleaners that I choose to buy because I love the scent. However, when you are making your own cleaners you can also customize your scent using essential oils. The essential oils work double-duty because they will enhance the cleaning properties of your solution while adding your favorite scent.

Why make my own cleaners when I can buy already-made natural brand cleaner? I do buy cleaners and I don’t always make my own. Just be sure to read the ingredients before purchasing. There isn’t a strict regulation behind the word “green” and some products still contain toxic chemicals. The best thing about making your own cleaners is that you know what the ingredients are because you put them in there.

Organic Castile Liquid Soap is one of my favorite products for making homemade cleaning solutions. It is a type of soap that is made from plant oils. It is sensitive on skin and it’s Earth-friendly, making it a perfect product to use when making your own household cleaners.

Do green cleaners work as well? Do they disinfect? Yes! We have been fooled into believing that only products that emit crazy fumes can possibly provide a deep clean. Many essential oils have antiseptic and bactericidal properties and these can be added to your homemade cleaning solutions. For example, tea tree oil (Melaeluca) is an essential oil with anti-fungal properties.

Baking soda is also one of my favorite ingredients because it is mild enough to use on most household surfaces. The applications/uses for baking soda are endless and I will share some with you on the blog soon.

Another one to make the list is Borax . It is a natural occurring mineral and has been used by people for over 100 years to clean their home and do their laundry. I sometimes use it as a component in my cleaner recipes or even on its own, as I would any powder cleaner. I have even mixed it with lemon juice to remove rust.

So that’s a little Cleaning Cabinet Makeover! Overall, the biggest benefit to green cleaning is more peace of mind, knowing that your home is clean and fume-free.

I will definitely be sharing some natural cleaning recipes using all the above cleaners, on the blog very soon!

Also as part of this series:

Spring Cleaning Challenge: The Kitchen

Spring Cleaning Challenge: The Bathroom

There are a few affiliate links in this post (although most of the products mentioned above are in your local grocery store). Thank you for your continued support!

Natural Homemade Tile and Bath Scrub

April 11, 2015 · by Maria · Leave a Comment

Since we rolled out a Spring Cleaning challenge earlier this week, I thought I would share some natural cleaning recipes to use throughout the home. Below is a recipe that I use to clean my bathroom tile, bathtub and around the toilet.

Natural Bath, Tile and Toilet Scrub

What you need:

3/4 cup of baking soda

1/4 cup of castile liquid soap

1 tablespoon of water

1 tablespoon of vinegar

8 drops of Lemon essential oil

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the castile soap and the the baking soda.

2. Add the water and vinegar and stir.

3. Add the lemon essential oil and stir. It should look like a soft paste.

Stir in a jar and use to scrub tub, bathroom tile and around the toilet (especially where the toilet brim meets the tile grout).

This post contains a few affiliate links. You do not pay more on Amazon products by following the links, so no worries. As always, thank you for your support of Graceful Order!

5 Essential Oils you should stock up on

March 23, 2015 · by Maria · Leave a Comment

Today I am guest posting over at A Bowl Full of Lemons, and sharing my top five essential oils that you should stock up on. Better yet, I am giving away an essential oil kit valued at almost $170.00!

So hop on over HERE and read all about it and dont forget to enter the giveaway!

It will only last another 2 days…don’t miss out.

Homemade Natural All Purpose Cleaner

February 12, 2015 · by Maria · 6 Comments

Homemade Natural All Purpose Cleaner Recipe

This year I am trying to share more cleaning tips, side-by-side with organizing. Cleaning, organizing and decorating – they go well together.

I don’t make all my cleaning products. As a matter a fact, I love brands like Shaklee, Method, the Honest Company, Mrs.Meyers and J.R. Watkins. But sometimes it’s fun (and inexpensive) to customize your own product and scent.

Here is a Homemade natural cleaning spray recipe that I use on any surface that is not marble or wood.

1/4 Cup of White Vinegar

2 Cups Water

30 Drops of essential oil*

1 Teaspoon of Borax

Add these ingredients to a spray bottle and shake.

Below is an image with the recipe, just in case you want to PIN it for later.

I like lavender and lemon essential oils for cleaning products. You can choose whichever scent you like best. The spray bottle in the picture is a glass spray bottle and you can find it on Amazon here.

* As always, test product on a spot before using any new cleaner on surfaces.

I hope you are enjoying these easy natural homemade cleaner recipes. I will share more next week!

Clean Soap Scum Naturally

January 29, 2015 · by Maria · 8 Comments

Today I want to share with you how I clean my shower and tub and remove soap scum naturally. First let’s chat a bit about this evil foe we call scum. It’s basically what we call the mineral deposits that accumulate in the shower/bath area due to hard water and talc build-up. The easiest way to clean the shower is by not allowing soap scum to build up in the first place. This way you can clean without using too much elbow grease.

I mentioned talc buildup and guess what contains talc? Bar soaps. Making the change to liquid soap will diminish considerably the amount of scum build-up in the shower area.

The following recipes are easy, effective and natural.

Daily Cleaning to prevent soap scum build-up:

I like to spray down my shower as soon as I finish showering. I keep a spray bottle in the shower with just vinegar and a few drops of lemon essential oil.

Lemon is great for cleaning but it also helps to counter the vinegar smell. The vinegar smell will evaporate, but the clean lemon scent remains.

Keep a squeegee in the shower area. My squeegee adheres to the wall and I use it every time I shower. It’s quick and saves me so much time cleaning.

Cleaning the shower when soap scum has already taken hold:

If you already have considerable soap scum build-up, like in my boys bathroom since they don’t wipe down their bathroom, then we need a stronger cleaner. As Emeril would say, let’s kick it up a notch. I combine a mixture of 1 1/2 cups of vinegar and 1/2 cup of dish soap and a few drops of essential oil. I spray down the whole tub, including the fixtures and I allow it to work for a few hours. Then I scrub and rinse the shower area. You may have to rinse a few times since there is soap in this mixture. I usually scrub and rise right before taking a shower so that I can really get in there since I’m…well…in there.

The difference is pretty amazing and proves that you don’t need toxic cleaners to keep a clean home. I guess that scum won’t mess with us!

Note: I would not use this recipe to clean marble, since it stains so easily. I would use this recipe for soap scum on bathroom tile, tub, and fixtures.