Make it yourself cleaning products

For washing cloths

add 6 - 10 drops of tea tree into my washer with my detergent. Kills germs
on underclothes, especially if you wash in cold water.

Add eucalyptus if doing bed linens as that kills dust mites. If you have them it also kills bed bugs,

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Kitchen Clean-up spray

3 drops Lemon
2 drops Bergamot
3 drops Orange


Dilute with 2 cups water and use as a spray or wipe.
Alternative oils: rosemary, lime, eucalyptus.

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Musty smell removal Spray

Put 2 teaspoons of Australian tea tree oil in a spray bottle
with two cups of water.

Don't rinse. Spray the mixture on something
musty. Let the smell dissipate (it will take a few days). The smell
of mold and must will be gone, too, never to return as long as the
source of moisture has been removed.


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Odor Removal Spray

Here is a spray to use to absorb unpleasant odors. It's great for the bathroom or kitchen. This air freshener will absorb the odor , it will be gone in minutes.

Fill an 8oz. spray bottle with white distilled vinegar.
Add 20-30 drops of your favorite essential oil.

Shake before using.

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Air Purifier

Place the following mixture of essential oils in an aromatherapy lamp
to help freshen the air. The following oils have a powerful cleansing
action and exert an uplifting effect on the mind, body and spirit.
Lavender oil combines particularly well with any of the citrus oils.

Try 4 drops Lavender, 2 drops Bergamot, 2 drops Lemon oil or 4 drops
Lavender, 3 drops Tangerine, Blood Orange or Clementine, 2 drops Lemon

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Natural Tiolet bowl Cleaner

Shake 1/2 Cup of Borax and 10 drops of tea tree essential oil intotoilet, give it a quick scrub with the toilet brush, close the lid and leave for several hours or overnight. Scrub again, flush and delight
in your sparkling clean, fresh-smelling bowl.

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Make Your Own Carpet Freshener

Add Lemon (my favorite) or any other essential oil to a box of baking soda. Use a jar with a lid. Let sit at least a day. Sprinkle on carpets, let sit for 30-60 minutes then vacuum as usual. This also helps with flea control. Much nicer than the synthetic, chemical based products on the market.

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Feeling fresh Room Spray

This is such a nice room spray you may want to make a few for your friends. For a room spray, mix two ounces of vodka, two ounces of water, ten drops of Lime oil, five drops each of Lemon and Bergamot oil. Add mixture to any glass spray bottle.

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Lemon Lime Cleaning Powder

10 drops Lime essential oil
10 drops Lemon essential oil
1/4 cup baking soda

Add essential oils to baking soda and mix. Cuts grease , acts as a mild abrasive cleaner. Enjoy!

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Breath Easy Air spray

Oils to deodorize and clean the air instead of covering the odors.Try Rosemary with Lemon, Eucalyptus globulus with Lavender. You will get an added bonus of releiving your stuffy nose.

2 drops rosemary
4 drops lemon
3 drops Eucalyptus globulus
4 drops lavender with 1 quart water

Shake well and put in a spray bottle.

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Last Ditch Cleaner

For stains that just won’t come out, give this a try: For white chlorine-bleachable clothing, fill your kitchen sink with one gallon of warm water; pour in 1/2 cup of liguid dishwasher detergent and 1/4 cup of bleach and nothing else. Stir until it’s dissolved. Add the clothing and let it soak for 15 minutes or a bit longer, if stains remain. Do not use hot water as Bleach and hot water create a toxic gas.

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Lavender Laundry Softener

Phase A

4 cups white vinegar (32oz)
4 cups baking soda
64 oz. distilled or purified water (1 gallon)

Phase B:

3 teaspoons (1/2 oz.) essential oil.(I use either eucalyptus or lavender, to go with
the laundry powder.)

Mix the baking soda into the vinegar over a sink or other contained area, in a large glass or plastic jar. The two materials, when mixed together, will cause a "fizzing" reaction. Add water and essential oil
and stir again. As gifts, dispense into plastic bottles and label with the following directions:

Use 1/4 cup per load. Add in rinse cycle.

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Herbal Towel Wipes

These are great to keep on hand for the summer.

You'll need:
1 roll Bounty paper towels, cut in half. Use a serrated, sharp knife. Remove cardboard tube.

Put in a Rubbermaid container... try the Collectible round 2-quart with a screw-on top. Note: Each recipe makes 2 containers.

16 oz.. bottle witch hazel
Add: 1 Tbsp. Tea Tree Essential Oil
1 teaspoon Lavender Essential Oil
12 drops Lemongrass Essential Oil

Shake well.

Add to 4 cups distilled water and mix well. Pour half over each 1/2
roll of Bounty towels in jar. Put lid on jar, and turn jar upside down
and on its side to moisten all towel segments.

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Moth Repellent Closet Sachet

1 part Rosemary
1 part Cedar chips
1 part Pennyroyal
1 part Cloves
1 part Eucalyptus leaf
1 part Orris Root

Blend the dry herbs together, then package in small muslin or cheesecloth bags and tie closed with a pretty ribbon. You may add essential oils such as cedarwood to strengthen the aroma, or to refresh the sachets after they have been in use a while. Hang the bags in your closet and place in your chest of drawers.

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Green Bathroom Germ Cleaning Kit

 Make sure you use real soap, not a detergent.

Germ-Killing Kit

 The green kit, below, only includes one product registered as a disinfectant, and it is 100 percent
botanical. The rest of the recommendations are sanitizers from simple, natural ingredients and are not officially recognized disinfectants

One good reason to avoid synthetic disinfectants (as opposed to one that is botanical), is that when chemical disinfectants kill off bacteria, a resistant strain grows in its stead that is harder to kill. The overuse of botanicals has not been found to cause the growth of superbugs.


* White household distilled 5 percent vinegar. (I buy a gallon jug of
this from my local supermarket, and keep it under the kitchen sink.)
Vinegar has an 80 to 99 percent kill rate for viruses and bacteria.

* Liquid soap, such as Dr. Bronner’s. (I buy large bottles of this,
too, and prefer to buy the type that includes a pure antibacterial
essential oil, such as lavender.)

* Antibacterial essential oils such as tea tree oil, rosemary, thyme, and lavender. (These are also available at the health food store; they are expensive, but a little goes a long way.) To use, add 1 teaspoon of the essential oil to 1 cup of water and in a spray bottle, and spray. Do not rinse when you use this spray. (This smell is quite strong but it will dissipate in a few hours.)

* A few clean spray bottles.


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Toilet Deodorizer

Pour a cup or two of straight vinegar into a spray bottle and spray on
the ring; pick up the toilet seat and spray around the top rim of the
toilet and the backside of the seat. Do not rinse. (The smell will
dissipate in a few hours.)

Alternative: Use the antibacterial essential oil spray mentioned above.

*****

Drain Deodorizer

Pour 2 cups of straight vinegar down the drain a few times a week.

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Doorknob Cleaner

Add 2 tablespoons of liquid soap to 1 cup of water. Saturate a cloth and scrub the area. Rinse.

Alternative: Spray with the essential oil spray, above.

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Mold and Mildew  Spray

Essential oils are very antimicrobial and will work to kill mold, too.

Place about 1/2 cup straight white distilled vinegar in a spray bottle.
 Add 15 drops of essential oil, shake.

Spray this concoction directly on mold and mildew. Don’t rinse. The
smell will dissipate.

*****

Antibacterial Cleanser

Fir Needle essential oil
Lemon essential oil
Tea Tree essential oil

Mix equal amount of oils in an airtight container. Use 8 drops to 2
cups of the final rinse water. Or to a spritzer bottle. Great for
disinfecting floors, counter-tops and sick rooms. Kills bacteria and
virus. Store remainder for next use.

****

 Wood floor cleaning formula:

1/8 cup linseed soap or vegetable-oil soap (detergent)
1/4 to 1/2 cup vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup fragrant herb tea
2 gallons warm water

Combine ingredients in a pail or bucket. Swirl the water around until
it is sudsy.

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Basics for Non-Toxic Cleaning

Baking Soda

A commonly available mineral full of many cleaning attributes, baking soda is made from soda ash, and is slightly alkaline (its pH is around 8.1; 7 is neutral). It neutralizes acid-based odors in water, and adsorbs odors from the air. Sprinkled on a damp sponge or cloth, baking soda can be used as a gentle non-abrasive cleanser for kitchen counter tops, sinks, bathtubs, ovens, and fiberglass. It will
eliminate perspiration odors and even neutralize the smell of many chemicals if you add up to a cup per load to the laundry. It is a useful air freshener, and a fine carpet deodorizer.

Washing Soda

A chemical neighbor of baking soda, washing soda (sodium carbonate) is much more strongly alkaline, with a pH around 11. It releases no harmful fumes and is far safer than a commercial solvent formula, but you should wear gloves when using it because it is caustic. Washing soda cuts grease, cleans petroleum oil, removes wax or lipstick, and neutralizes odors in the same way that baking soda does. Don’t use it on fiberglass, aluminum or waxed floors—unless you intend to remove the wax.

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Dust Mite Spray

Spray pillows and bedding several times per week. This spray can also be used on upholstery and carpets.

A spray of 1 cup vodka and 20-30 drops of eucalyptus essential oil.

mix and spray on upholstery, carpets and beds.

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White Vinegar and Lemon Juice

White vinegar and lemon juice are acidic—they neutralize alkaline substances such as scale from hard water. Acids dissolve gummy buildup, eat away tarnish, and remove dirt from wood surfaces.

Liquid Soaps and Detergent

Liquid soaps and detergents are necessary for cutting grease, and they are not the same thing. Soap is made from fats and lye. Detergents are synthetic materials discovered and synthesized early in this century. Unlike soap, detergents are designed specifically so that they don’t react with hard water minerals and cause soap scum. If you have hard water, buy a biodegradable detergent without perfumes; if you have soft water you can use liquid soap (both are available in health food stores).

Mold Killers and Disinfectants

 EPA recommends simple soap to use as a disinfectant There are many essential oils, such as
lavender, clove, and tea tree oil (an excellent natural fungicide), that are very antiseptic, as is grapefruit seed extract, even though they aren’t registered as such. Use one teaspoon of essential oil to 2 cups of water in a spray bottle (make sure to avoid eyes). A grapefruit seed extract spray can be made by adding 20 drops of extract to a quart of water.

Caution: Make sure to keep all homemade formulas well-labeled, and out of the reach of children.


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 Lemony Dusting Cloth

 This simple-to-make formula will give your home a lovely lemon fragrance—lemon is known to lift the spirits—while the acid in lemon juice works particularly well to pull dirt right out of wood, leaving your furniture truly clean.

These fresh and clean smelling dusting cloths are great for your wood furniture. They are fun and lemony, and even make dusting a pleasure.

2 or 3 tablespoons lemon juice
A few drops food-grade linseed oil or jojoba oil

Place the lemon juice in a bowl, add a few drops of the oil, and saturate dusting cloth with the liquid. Use the cloth to dust with.

HELPFUL HINTS: Linseed oil is the first choice for furniture oil because it dries completely over time. Its nutlike fragrance is an added plus. Jojoba is actually not an oil but a liquid wax, and it
never goes rancid, so it also makes a great choice.

Use old, worn out wool socks or pieces of ragged wool sweaters as dustcloths, since wool makes beneficial static that practically makes the dust fly up off your furniture.

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Non-Toxic Oven Cleaner

You don't have to use toxic commercial cleaners that can contaminate your food to clean your oven. Commercial oven cleaners is very hard to rinse and the taste of it gets into food. Yum: Roast turkey a la Oven Cleaner. Many also get headaches when using commercial products.

Believe it or not, you can clean your oven safely with nothing but baking soda and water. Give this a try.

To clean the oven,  sprinkle baking soda all over the bottom until it is covered completely with about 1/4 of an inch of baking soda. Then, using a clean spray bottle, I spray the baking soda with water until the baking soda is thoroughly damp but not flooded. After that, this lazy cleaner goes off and does other things. When I think of it, I dampen the baking soda again if it is drying out. Before I go to bed, I do that again. When I wake up in the morning, the baking soda can effortlessly be scooped out of the oven with a sponge, bringing all the grime with it. That's it! The only downside is that you need to rinse out the white residue left by the baking soda.

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CREAMY SOFT SCRUBBER

Simply pour about 1/2 cup of baking soda into a bowl, and add enough liquid detergent to make a texture like frosting add 5 drops either peppermint or Lemon essential oil to the mix. Scoop the mixture onto a sponge, and wash the surface. This is the perfect recipe for cleaning the bathtub because it rinses easily and doesn't leave grit.

Note: Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin to the mixture and store in a sealed glass jar, to keep the product moist. Otherwise just make as much as you need at a time.

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WINDOW CLEANER

1/4-1/2 teaspoon liquid detergent
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups water
Spray bottle

Put all the ingredients into a spray bottle, shake it up a bit, and
use as you would a commercial brand. The soap in this recipe is
important. It cuts the wax residue from the commercial brands you
might have used in the past.

*****

OVEN CLEANER

1 cup or more baking soda
Water
A squirt or two of liquid detergent

Sprinkle water generously over the bottom of the oven, then cover the grime with enough baking soda that the surface is totally white. Sprinkle some more water over the top. Let the mixture set overnight. You can easily wipe up the grease the next morning because the grime will have loosened. When you have cleaned up the worst of the mess, dab a bit of liquid detergent or soap on a sponge, and wash the remaining residue from the oven. If this recipe doesn't work for you it is probably because you didn't use enough baking soda and/or water.

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ALL-PURPOSE SPRAY CLEANER

1/2 teaspoon washing soda
A dab of liquid soap
2 cups hot tap water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake until the washing soda has dissolved. Apply and wipe off with a sponge or rag.

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FURNITURE POLISH

1/2 teaspoon oil, such as olive (or jojoba, a liquid wax)
1/4 cup vinegar or fresh lemon juice

Mix the ingredients in a glass jar. Dab a soft rag into the solution and wipe onto wood surfaces. Cover the glass jar and store indefinitely.

*****

VINEGAR DEODORIZER

Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5 percent vinegar in your kitchen near your cutting board and in your bathroom and use them for cleaning. I often spray the vinegar on our cutting board before going to bed at night, and don't even rinse but let it set overnight. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straight vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on and wipe off.

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MOLD KILLERS

Tea Tree Mold spray

Nothing natural works for mold and mildew as well as this spray. I've used it successfully on a moldy ceiling from a leaking roof, on a musty bureau, a musty rug, and a moldy shower curtain. Tea tree oil is expensive, but a little goes a very long way. Note that the smell of tea tree oil is very strong, but it will dissipate in a few days.

2 teaspoons tea tree oil
2 cups water

Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on problem areas. Do not rinse. Makes two cups.

Vinegar Spray

Straight vinegar reportedly kills 82 percent of mold. Pour some white distilled vinegar straight into a spray bottle, spray on the moldy area, and let set without rinsing if you can put up with the smell. It
will dissipate in a few hours.

HELPFUL HINTS: Make sure to label all your homemade cleaning products, and keep them away from pets and children.

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How to Reduce House Dust Mites:

Bedding: This is the favored home of the dust mite. For the allergy prone, it may be a good idea to encase bedding and pillows with special covers that are cleaned frequently.

Washing: Wash clothes and bedding regularly. Washing in 130oF water will kill all dust mites. Washing in cold water kills approximately 90% of dust mites. Adding several drops of eucalyptus oil to the wash water is effective as well. For those with sensitivities to eucalyptus, lavender or rosemary essential oils are also effective.

Heating: Heat will help minimize dust mites. Examples of effective heat include steam-cleaning carpets, tumble-drying in a dryer, direct sunlight, and electric blankets. Dust mites do not like direct sunlight. Hanging bedding or rugs outside in the sun is effective for removal of dust mites.

Air Conditioning: Air conditioning will dry out a humid indoor environment. This will reduce the food supply for dust mites and the result will be a reduced number of dust mites. It's important to realize, however, that air conditioning removes beneficial negative ions from the air so there is a trade-off.

Air Purification: A quality air purifier is an effective tool for reducing dust mites. Air purification technology that uses oxidation is effective at purifying the air of dust mites. Hydroxyl ions, hydro peroxides, oxide ions or negative ions remove pollutants from the air. Oxidation technology air purifiers can be placed throughout a home to be effective. These oxidizers can also penetrate upholstered furniture, carpeting, and bedding to destroy dust mites and feces.

Cleaning: Because dust mites exist in the fabrics, carpets, and upholsteries in a home, it is important to vacuum carpets and upholstery frequently and carefully. If breathing issues are particularly severe, removing carpets and installing hardwood flooring may be beneficial. Regular dusting is also important.