I never liked hand sanitizer as is it better to have microbes on your hands, or have bunch of chemicals that then you put in your mouth. Have you ever tried to taste it? It is awful and just does not seem right.
So I have the perfect solution for you: Lavender Essential Oil.
In fact, if there is ONE oil that you need to have at hand at all time, Lavender is the one. I have a few bottles around the house and always one in my purse. I use it all the time for so many different uses, which I will share with you as my posts come.
So back to hand sanitizer: Just put a few drops in the hands and rub them together. It smells great, and kills all the germs. Great, no??? No more of that nasty chemical hand sanitizer.
Here is some information about Lavender oil: It acts as an antibiotic, antiseptic, antiviral, and anti-fungal.
It is used for hundreds of recipes and conditions. It is easy to buy, you can find it in every health store. Also, this is one of the few essential oils that can be used on babies.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Burned Pots and Pans; and how to remove wax off fruits/vegetables
I wish you all a very happy thanksgiving. I bet lots of you will do some cooking. And if some of you are like me, then you might burn some of your food. There is nothing worse than a burn pot. In the past, I tried everything, all type of chemicals, but I usually had to say goodbye to my pot. Until I discovered a great recipe, where you almost have no scrubbing to do!!!
That's right, easy as can be.
Here is the recipe: How to remove the burned from Pots and Pans
1 -cover the bottom of your pot or pan with baking soda (don't be shy with the quantity, cover it all thickly).
2 - Then pour some vinegar on each (enough that it fuzzes everywhere)
3- Add some dishes soap, just a little bit, like if you were going to wash the pot (I use my castille soap)
4- Put the pot or the pan on the stove and let it warm up, low is good. You don't want to burn it even more, so no high heat.
5- While watching (because that's pretty cool), take a spatula and scrub gently until everything is detached.
So far I have had great luck with this trick. It has worked all the time. Then I take my pan and clean it in the sink.
Removing Wax off fruits and vegetables.
There is one things that is annoying, is to buy organic stuff and have them full of wax. For example, an apple (especially apple in fact), you want to eat it straight out like that, but it has wax on it (that makes it shiny, and people want they fruits to be perfect). I tried to wash them, but it does not go away.
Today, I decided to use baking soda. I took some in my hands and rub the apple, then wash it off under the water, and voila!!! all the wax was gone. Simple and fast, isn't great??
Now,have a great day with friends, family, or just byyourself. But no matter what is your day looking like, make sure that you say thank you to yourself. You are the most important person in the world. Make sure you know it :-)
Happy thanksgiving, and thank you for reading my stuff.
That's right, easy as can be.
Here is the recipe: How to remove the burned from Pots and Pans
1 -cover the bottom of your pot or pan with baking soda (don't be shy with the quantity, cover it all thickly).
2 - Then pour some vinegar on each (enough that it fuzzes everywhere)
3- Add some dishes soap, just a little bit, like if you were going to wash the pot (I use my castille soap)
4- Put the pot or the pan on the stove and let it warm up, low is good. You don't want to burn it even more, so no high heat.
5- While watching (because that's pretty cool), take a spatula and scrub gently until everything is detached.
So far I have had great luck with this trick. It has worked all the time. Then I take my pan and clean it in the sink.
Removing Wax off fruits and vegetables.
There is one things that is annoying, is to buy organic stuff and have them full of wax. For example, an apple (especially apple in fact), you want to eat it straight out like that, but it has wax on it (that makes it shiny, and people want they fruits to be perfect). I tried to wash them, but it does not go away.
Today, I decided to use baking soda. I took some in my hands and rub the apple, then wash it off under the water, and voila!!! all the wax was gone. Simple and fast, isn't great??
Now,have a great day with friends, family, or just byyourself. But no matter what is your day looking like, make sure that you say thank you to yourself. You are the most important person in the world. Make sure you know it :-)
Happy thanksgiving, and thank you for reading my stuff.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Naturally Clean Bathroom recipes.
A lot of the recipes I use have Baking Soday in them, so I thought about giving you a little information about what it is:
This is a great product to have at hand. There are two kinds: Natural and artificial. The ones that we usually find at the store very cheap is the artificial kind.
Baking Soda naturally is coming from mining and is called nahcolite. Lucky us, the two main mines are here in Colorado and in Wyoming. Scientist have found a way to re-create it artificially (and that's the ones that we mainly use). I buy it in huge quantity for my cleaning purpose. And since I have been reading in more depth, I realized that the way they make it artificially is by putting salt through amonia (that's the really fast version). So, I have no problem using that for cleaning, but thought that it did not make much sense to eat it (although it has never hurt anyone I believe). So now, I am also buying a natural version that I use for the cooking (I found it at Natural Grocer-Vitamin Cottage, my favorite store).
Tub and Tile Soft Scrubber:
1 Cup baking Soda
1/4 liquid castile soap
2 vitamin C tablets, crushed
3-5 drops eucalyptus or tea tree essential oils.
Combine all of it in a plastic bottle (I used an empty shampoo bottle). Add just enough water to make a smooth liquid paste and shake. Then put paste to surface and rub with sponge and rinse.
You can find liquid castile soap in natural store. Buy it in large quantity as you can use it for many many many recipes, such as liquid for washing dishes by hand, make your own shampoo (this is great), soap for the skin, and lots of others. There are different smells. I personally only buy the one with no smell in it so I can add my own essential oils.
Tea tree is a great essential oil to have at home. It is an anti-viral, desinfectant. I use it in a lot of recipes around the house, and also for medicinal use. It is the same for eucalyptus (great for cold and coughing for kids as well. However, make sure if you are using it with kids around, to use the Eucalyptus Radiata. The other kind, eucapyptus Globulus is cheaper but too strong for little kids and can harm them if used medicinally). You can find the oils at Vitamin Cottage as well.
Toilet Bowl Cleaner:
1/2 cup baking soda
1/4 cup white vinegar
10 drops tea tree essential oil
put everything in the toilet, swipe with a brush and you are done.
Mirror Bright:
1 1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
8 drops citrus oil
put everyting in a spray bottle and spray and wipe. Some people swear by newpaper, I can't say really. I have never done the newspaper (I always recycle it before thinking about it). I have a special cloth for mirror and glass and it works beautifully. I also many time omit the citrus oil and it still works great.
Herbal Disinfectant (I clean the whole bathroom with it)
2 Cups hot water
10 drops of thyme essential oils (I usually don't have thyme, so I use tea tree)
1/4 Cup borax
The smell with tea tree is very strong as you clean,so make sure that your little ones are not in the room with you at that time (it works fine with the older kids, my son 7 is the one who cleans the bathroom).
Also if you like to have your bathroom smell good all the time, here is an easy trick: Put a few drops of your favorite essential oil in the paper roll (not on the white paper, but inside the cardboard roll ), and every time you roll it, it smells good :-)
Happy bathroom cleaning :-)
This is a great product to have at hand. There are two kinds: Natural and artificial. The ones that we usually find at the store very cheap is the artificial kind.
Baking Soda naturally is coming from mining and is called nahcolite. Lucky us, the two main mines are here in Colorado and in Wyoming. Scientist have found a way to re-create it artificially (and that's the ones that we mainly use). I buy it in huge quantity for my cleaning purpose. And since I have been reading in more depth, I realized that the way they make it artificially is by putting salt through amonia (that's the really fast version). So, I have no problem using that for cleaning, but thought that it did not make much sense to eat it (although it has never hurt anyone I believe). So now, I am also buying a natural version that I use for the cooking (I found it at Natural Grocer-Vitamin Cottage, my favorite store).
Tub and Tile Soft Scrubber:
1 Cup baking Soda
1/4 liquid castile soap
2 vitamin C tablets, crushed
3-5 drops eucalyptus or tea tree essential oils.
Combine all of it in a plastic bottle (I used an empty shampoo bottle). Add just enough water to make a smooth liquid paste and shake. Then put paste to surface and rub with sponge and rinse.
You can find liquid castile soap in natural store. Buy it in large quantity as you can use it for many many many recipes, such as liquid for washing dishes by hand, make your own shampoo (this is great), soap for the skin, and lots of others. There are different smells. I personally only buy the one with no smell in it so I can add my own essential oils.
Tea tree is a great essential oil to have at home. It is an anti-viral, desinfectant. I use it in a lot of recipes around the house, and also for medicinal use. It is the same for eucalyptus (great for cold and coughing for kids as well. However, make sure if you are using it with kids around, to use the Eucalyptus Radiata. The other kind, eucapyptus Globulus is cheaper but too strong for little kids and can harm them if used medicinally). You can find the oils at Vitamin Cottage as well.
Toilet Bowl Cleaner:
1/2 cup baking soda
1/4 cup white vinegar
10 drops tea tree essential oil
put everything in the toilet, swipe with a brush and you are done.
Mirror Bright:
1 1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
8 drops citrus oil
put everyting in a spray bottle and spray and wipe. Some people swear by newpaper, I can't say really. I have never done the newspaper (I always recycle it before thinking about it). I have a special cloth for mirror and glass and it works beautifully. I also many time omit the citrus oil and it still works great.
Herbal Disinfectant (I clean the whole bathroom with it)
2 Cups hot water
10 drops of thyme essential oils (I usually don't have thyme, so I use tea tree)
1/4 Cup borax
The smell with tea tree is very strong as you clean,so make sure that your little ones are not in the room with you at that time (it works fine with the older kids, my son 7 is the one who cleans the bathroom).
Also if you like to have your bathroom smell good all the time, here is an easy trick: Put a few drops of your favorite essential oil in the paper roll (not on the white paper, but inside the cardboard roll ), and every time you roll it, it smells good :-)
Happy bathroom cleaning :-)
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Vinegar. The magic product around the house.
I am so happy to say that I got rid of all the chemicals products in my home. I had everything for everything. So many bottles. Not only it was costing a lot of money, taking a lot of place, but also, I figured that even if I don't eat those product, I do rinse them and they all end up in the water. Let's remember, that what goes down the sink, pretty much comes back to us in different ways. An example would be traces of prozac in the fish; more hormones in our kids (and us too; we keep forgetting us; I guess this is easier to change things for our kids than it is for us). So, one day, I figured that everything we buy, we can make it ourselves, and I was right!!! I was amazed by the amount of information out there. Pretty much there is everything about everything. All you have to do is make it (and gather a few natural products as well, which is not hard). So, I wondered, why would I write a blog when everyone else has already done that. Well, for a few reasons: First, I have been trying to convince everyone I know to do it, this is my way of saving the planet. Some people are interested but don't have the time to research, some people are not interested or don't have time to shop for those items (that you can't always find in the store next to your house). And because a friend convinced me to do it. Why not sharing with everyone what I have been doing, telling them how to do it, where to find the product. Easy, right? Well, why not. I don't know if anyone will ever read this blog, but I know that I am doing the right thing. I know I cannot change the whole world in their habit (even if I would love to), but if I only can change of few people, that would make it all work. So, here I come.
Today, I will talk about Vinegar.
I have been buying vinegar at cosco by the gallons. It is very cheap, and it has great qualities all around the house and on the body:
1- Vinegar and Chlorine from the pool: Chlorine used to dry my skin so much that I was hurting all the time. I was soaping up, putting lots and lots and lots of lotion, and yet it did not seems to help that much. Until a friend told me about the chemical reaction behind Chlorine. Chlorine is a base, and in order to neutralize a base, you need acid, therefore Vinegar!!! Voila!! Easy, no? Well, what does this mean? It means that your skin no longer smells like chlorine and that the skin found back its PH. And on top of that, it makes your hair sooooo soft, that's a real bonus (that's another topic though). So, all you need to do, it put in a bottle a third of vinegar and two third of water (I prefer hot, it feels nicer). That's it. Some people don't like the smell of vinegar, so you can add a few drops of lavender essential oil (there will be a full topic on that as well. If there is one oil you need to have, this is this one). Great all the way around, no???
2- Vinegar around the house:
I have one of those ceramic top stove. Great looking, but pain in the ass to clean. To be clean, you have to have a special product, full of chemical. Soap and water just won't cut it. So, just put a little bit of baking soda (another product that everyone needs to have. Another special topic to come on that) and vinegar. There will be a reaction happening, like a volcano. It is so cool that you can even have your kids doing it now. Anyway, you then just rub with a sponge and this is it. It cleans great.
I also use vinegar every time I clean the table. It degrease much better than those expensive product.
Vinegar is the best product for washing windows. Just do 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water, spray it on the windows and rub. This is it.
3- Lice. We just found out that there was lice in school. Pain in the ass!!!! Well, just rinse your kid's hair with diluted vinegar in water (warm). Lice sure don't like that. And it will bring a great shine to their hair. Make sure though that they cover their eyes with something, because it can sting their eyes if open.
I have a lot of others recipe that requires vinegar, and I will describe them in future posts.
I hope you enjoyed it. I love my vinegar :-)
Today, I will talk about Vinegar.
I have been buying vinegar at cosco by the gallons. It is very cheap, and it has great qualities all around the house and on the body:
1- Vinegar and Chlorine from the pool: Chlorine used to dry my skin so much that I was hurting all the time. I was soaping up, putting lots and lots and lots of lotion, and yet it did not seems to help that much. Until a friend told me about the chemical reaction behind Chlorine. Chlorine is a base, and in order to neutralize a base, you need acid, therefore Vinegar!!! Voila!! Easy, no? Well, what does this mean? It means that your skin no longer smells like chlorine and that the skin found back its PH. And on top of that, it makes your hair sooooo soft, that's a real bonus (that's another topic though). So, all you need to do, it put in a bottle a third of vinegar and two third of water (I prefer hot, it feels nicer). That's it. Some people don't like the smell of vinegar, so you can add a few drops of lavender essential oil (there will be a full topic on that as well. If there is one oil you need to have, this is this one). Great all the way around, no???
2- Vinegar around the house:
I have one of those ceramic top stove. Great looking, but pain in the ass to clean. To be clean, you have to have a special product, full of chemical. Soap and water just won't cut it. So, just put a little bit of baking soda (another product that everyone needs to have. Another special topic to come on that) and vinegar. There will be a reaction happening, like a volcano. It is so cool that you can even have your kids doing it now. Anyway, you then just rub with a sponge and this is it. It cleans great.
I also use vinegar every time I clean the table. It degrease much better than those expensive product.
Vinegar is the best product for washing windows. Just do 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water, spray it on the windows and rub. This is it.
3- Lice. We just found out that there was lice in school. Pain in the ass!!!! Well, just rinse your kid's hair with diluted vinegar in water (warm). Lice sure don't like that. And it will bring a great shine to their hair. Make sure though that they cover their eyes with something, because it can sting their eyes if open.
I have a lot of others recipe that requires vinegar, and I will describe them in future posts.
I hope you enjoyed it. I love my vinegar :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)