Spring Cleaning

Monday, April 09, 2018

Sure, we had the pretties snowfall of the year last night, but I have had spring cleaning on my mind! If you have been following me for a while you know that Dane and I have been slowly taking steps to get harmful toxins out of our home. Over the last couple of years, I have been tweaking recipes and learning tricks to natural cleaning.


Thieves Household Cleaner

This is the cleaner that I use most in my house. I use it in every single room and for all of our surfaces. It is the only thing that I use to clean toys, highchairs...basically anything that my kids are going to touch. It is highly concentrated, so I just add one capful to an 8 oz. glass spray bottle and fill the rest with water. Easy peasy and ready to clean! 

Kitchen

Sink Scrub: I love a sparkling kitchen sink! This sink scrub is easy to make and works so well! Just add 15-20 drops of essential oil (I like Lemon and Clove) to 2 cups of baking soda. Mix it up and let it dry before storing in a glass jar. When you need it, just sprinkle a little scoop of that into your sink, add a little dish soap, and get to scrubbing. You can also use this one on stubborn spots, like your stove top...why does that get so dirty?

Mopping: Get a mop that you can add your own solution to, like this one. Add a capful of Thieves Cleaner and a few drops of Pine Essential Oil to the refillable container and fill it the rest of the way with water. If you have wooden floors, you can also add a bit of grape seed oil or olive oil to help make your floors really shine.

Living Room

Vacuum: One of my favorite tips, is to add a couple drops of Purification (or Christmas Spirit if you are in that kind of mood) to your vacuum cleaner filter. It will smell so good as you are vacuuming, and long after you are done! 

Diffuse: Before I knew better, I loved to burn candles and relax after I finished cleaning. Now, I turn on the diffuser and enjoy the fresh scent of whatever blend I am in the mood for. There are a number of oils that help clean the air when diffused. 

Laundry

Laundry Spray: Add 15 drops of your favorite essential oil (I like Purification or Citrus Fresh) to a 2 oz. spray bottle. Fill the rest with water. Shake it up and spray it on your dryer balls before adding them to your laundry.

There are lots of other ways to naturally clean your home and recipes that I could share, but these are just a few of my favorite things. Now, I need to get to cleaning!

Easter 2018

Monday, April 02, 2018

I really feel like I failed at Easter. I waited until the last possible second to get the boys' baskets together (thank you, Amazon Prime), and I may or may not have stuck a bunny from our stuffed animal bin in Crew's basket because it need some "filler"...
and i didn't even manage to get a family photo.


I felt disappointed in myself for not taking the boys to an organized egg hunt, for not getting their picture taken with the Easter bunny, for expecting them to enjoy the Easter morning festivities in the midst of a construction mess. 

It was just a difficult holiday for me emotionally. 

But guess what? They loved every second of it. 

The wonderful thing about Easter is not all of the "egg"stravagant festivities...the beauty is that God loves us so much that He gave His son, so we could have eternal life (John 3:16).

When we feel less than, imperfect, and not good enough, God says we are loved. 

Happy Easter