Cleaning binge and more cleaning products

Hello all you lavender lovelies.  J

This weekend has been so busy. I’ve been reclaiming my house.  You see, my youngest daughter recently left home and I’ve been going through every room, every closet, every drawer and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.  I have a pile of things to give away and I’ve repurposed some other items.  It is tiring but feels so good to accomplish.

During this process, I’ve been testing some of my homemade cleaning goodies and will share my findings.  First, I made homemade dishwasher detergent replacing my very pricey Cascade.  Here is the recipe I used:

Dishwasher Detergent

1 c. Borax

1 c. Washing Soda

¼ c. citric acid or 2 pkgs. Unsweetened lemonade Kool-aid

Mix together and use 1 TBSP per load.  I didn’t have citric acid so I used the Kool-Aid which has a great lemony smell. I love how this works and my dishes are now squeaky clean.  I think it works better than Cascade and it cost me pennies to make.  The washing soda is tricky to find but I located it at my local Publix next to the Borax and if you can’t find it, you can make your own from baking soda. I love this detergent and give it a 5 out of 5 for ease of creation and use. I used my existing Cascade box and that made a great container.

Next, I spent some time on my cabinets.  What a mess! I bought inexpensive containers from Wal-mart and labels and repackaged dry goods.  I also found some baskets on the clearance aisle of Wal-mart and put smaller items in them. I also used my All-Purpose Cleaner and Disinfectant.  Here is the recipe I used:

All-Purpose Cleaner and Disinfectant

A spray bottle filled with 50/50 water and vinegar plus 5 drops of lavender essential oil.  Shake and use.  Warning! Don't use on marble or granite as the acid in the vinegar will etch the stone.

Finally, since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and since a suspected causes of breast cancer is aluminum and parabens from antiperspirants I decided to make my own deodorant. Please see http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/AP-Deo and http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/05/24/parabens-on-risk-of-breast-cancer.aspx for further information and decide for yourself the risk and whether you want to change products.

Here is the recipe I used:

Deodorant

1/3 c. solid coconut oil

¼ c. baking soda (aluminum free)

¼ c. arrowroot or cornstarch

Essential oils

Mix baking soda and arrowroot or cornstarch together.  Add the coconut oil and use a fork or pastry blender to thoroughly incorporate the dry ingredients. Add 5 – 10 drops essential oils and blend completely together. Add more arrowroot or cornstarch until the consistency and texture is about the same as commercial deodorant.  Store in a jar at room temperature (refrigeration may be needed in summer months since coconut oil melts at 76 degrees). Apply a pea sized amount with fingers or cotton ball.

For my essential oils, I used 5 drops tea tree oil which acts as a natural anti-bacterial fighting ingredient and 5 drops of lavender (of course!) which in addition to a lovely smell has anti-bacterial properties.  I’ve been using this for a week now and have to say I really like it.  I’ve been doing a lot of heavy, sweaty cleaning this weekend and it has worked well.  Keep in mind that this is a deodorant not an antiperspirant.  The only thing that will stop sweating is aluminum and the more I personally research the less thrilled I am about rubbing it on my body.  As a result, I’m pleased with this deodorant. My only complaint is that this batch is a bit more “liquidy” than I prefer so with my next batch I will add more arrowroot and make it more solid.  I’ve been using a cotton ball to apply and it works great.  I used a pastry cutter to blend and it took less than 10 minutes to make and I still have a lot of deodorant left so it lasts a long time.  I give this particular batch a 4 out of 5 due to consistency issues and I think I can rectify those next time.

Take care of yourselves all!

~Michelle