CHEMICAL FREE! - SCRUB THAT TUB! & SPRINKLE ON THE CARPET?

This Thursday's Chemical Free post is another DIY home made cleaning product.  This is one of the first things that I used my Young Living Essential Oils for when I purchased them!  I was so impressed by the cleaning power of the oils that I wanted to just clean and clean!  These days I'm not jumping at the opportunity to clean, but when I do clean, I love it!  The results are awesome and that always makes me feel good!

Surprisingly, or not if you're familiar with essential oils, a little bit of essential oil goes a LONG way!  I have used more drops of the oils in the past, but have gotten what seemed to be the same result as when I use less.  I like to conserve, get the most out of my oils, so I do a little essential oil and most baking soda.  Here is how I make my powdered concoction and how I use it!

Powdered Scrub Recipe

1. In a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of baking soda with 3 drops of Thieves Essential Oil
2. Whisk with fork to break up clumps of essential oils
3. Pour into jar of your choice, or use directly from bowl (If transferring from a bowl to a smaller jar, I will use a funnel to minimize the mess.)
4. In the same bowl (now empty) mix another 1/4 cup of baking soda with 3 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
5. Repeat Steps 2-3
6. Continue alternating 1/4 cup of baking soda with Thieves EO and 1/4 cup of baking soda with Lemon EO until you have made the desired amount.

Directions for Use - Scrubbing, Cleaning, Whitening applications 

1. Dampen the surface that is in need of a scrub, could be a stain on the couch or carpet, the tub or shower, a pot or pan or even the vinyl interior of the boat!  (Of course it is always best to test a small section first, but I have not seen any color fading using this recipe.)
2. Sprinkle a light layer of the Powdered Scrub onto the surface that is to be cleaned.
3.  Scrub with scrubber of your choice depending upon the material you are scrubbing.  For example, I will use an abrasive cleaning pad for scrubbing pots and pans, the same for tile shower floors and for the vinyl boat interior I used a scrub brush with bristles to get into the creases and grooves.
4. Rinse well with clean water. 
5. You may need to add more depending on how tough the dirt/grime/stain has set.
6. It may be beneficial to use this in conjunction with the Thieves EO and Water cleaning solution or Thieves Household Cleaner and Water solution that I wrote about HERE.

Directions for Use - Carpet/Rug Deodorizer 

1. Sprinkle desired amount over carpet and rug areas to be treated.  A light coating is normally sufficient.  (Of course it is always best to test a small section first, especially with a dark carpet or rug, but I have not seen any color fading using this recipe.) 
2. For areas of special concern, potty training accident location (human or animal), etc., apply more generously to the spot and gently rub the powder down into the carpet.
3. Let the powder sit for about 15 minutes.
4. For basic deodorizing, vacuum powder up and you're done!
5. For areas of special concern, after the powder has sat on the spot for a while you can rub/scrub the carpet with a damp cloth or scrub brush.
6. Let area of special concern dry before vacuuming.
7. Let me just say that I spent this summer and early fall potty training my third child.  She was a handful!  So stubborn!  I may have forgotten to come back and scrub the accident spot after applying the powder a couple different times - did I mention she was #3 and there is always something pressing needing my attention?  Upon drying, or realizing that I didn't go back and scrub, I smelled the spot and could not detect a urine scent at all!  

Thieves is by far my favorite Young Living Essential Oil!  You can use it in so many different ways, but knowing that it is an amazing cleaner and can be mixed with other all natural products to create chemical free cleaners to use around the house, kids and pets is what really wins me over, time and time again!  EVERYONE needs Thieves Essential Oil!!!

Let me know what you think of this powdered scrub!

Interested in finding out how to get your hands on these Young Living Essential Oils?  Check out my Essential Oils and Monthly Promotions Pages!

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

WEEKEND OILY TIP! - STAYING ON TOP OF YOUR GAME

No one has time to be run-down as the weekend starts, let alone with a major holiday quickly approaching!!!  Here are some quick and easy things to try to start feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the tasks at hand!

In October, I posted So Now It Is Fall....  I briefly mentioned how to enhance your tea to help you feel better.  But there is more!  There is a delicious drink that is pumped full of wonderful antioxidants!  Do both to promote wellness so you're not stuck in bed or on the couch all weekend!

NingXia Red is wellness in a bottle!  The ingredients are listed below, and Wow!  There are so many fruits and essential oils which are full of goodness!  I first sampled NingXia Red when I received my Essential Oils Premium Starter Kit.  Two 1oz packets come in the PSK.  NingXia Red has a very unique taste and is a little thick.  It can be mixed into orange juice or drank out of a glass by itself or with some of your favorite essential oils added!  After a couple of months of not having NingXia Red, I finally got more, a 2-pack of bottles (shown in the picture above).  

Many people drink NingXia Red daily for the extra boost of wellness and energy! Since consuming it regularly, I have found that drinking 1-2 oz of NingXia Red daily in the early afternoon gets me through the rest of the day without crashing and feeling like I need a nap. Being a mostly stay at home mom, I've realized that by the early afternoon I'm done already! I can't have that though! There are still a lot of hours left in the day for me to be mom before I can sleep! So I have been pleasantly surprised by not having the urge to nap anymore! Honestly, I haven't changed my exercise routine (there isn't one to speak of... yet... but that's another subject...) or my nighttime sleeping habitats (still usually only getting 5-7 hours of sleep each night). I'm attributing my new found alertness and wakefulness to NingXia Red! There is no turning back now. I'm finally doing something good and healthy for my body and I like it!  

Looking back, it would have been awesome had I known about NingXia Red when I was younger.  I was always tired and falling asleep in class while in high school and college, at professional continuing education events and even work!  It was embarrassing!  The to-go packets would be perfect for these situations!  

PS. I have also heard of people drinking NingXia Red to help them feel like themselves again after a night of drinking...  I'll have to report more on that later...

From Young Living's Website, following are the Key Benefits of NingXia Red:
• Sustain energy with the combination of select wolfberries and other superfruits. Contains powerful ingredients which are involved in many antioxidant processes and may help prevent against oxidative stress.
• Balanced ingredients make NingXia Red a whole-body nutrient infusion for health and wellness support
• Delivers citrus essential oils containing d-limonene, a powerful component in citrus oils.
• Halal and Kosher certified in 750ml bottles (Halal Certified in 60 ml sachets)
• Powerful formula includes wolfberry which is touted for its health benefits
From Young Living's Website, following are the Ingredients of NingXia Red:Proprietary NingXia Red Blend 29g 
Ningxia Wolfberry Puree (Lycium barbarum), Blueberry Juice Concentrate (Vaccinium corymbosum), Plum Juice Concentrate (Prunus domestica), Cherry Juice Concentrate (Prunus avium), Aronia Juice Concentrate (Aronia melanocarpa), Pomegranate Juice Concentrate (Punica granatum) 
Proprietary Essential blend 50mg 
Grape (Vitis vinifera) seed extract, Orange EO (Citrus sinensis), Yuzu EO (Citrus junos), Lemon EO (Citrus limon), Tangerine EO (Citrus reticulata) 
Other ingredients
Tartaric acid, natural blueberry flavor, pure vanilla extract, malic acid, pectin, sodium benzoate/natural stevia extract.

There are other NingXia products available as well.  I'll discuss them once I have some experience with them.

Interested in finding out how to get your hands on these Young Living Essential Oils and NingXia Red?  Check out my Essential Oils and Monthly Promotions Pages!

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

CHEMICAL FREE! - GET THE HOUSE CLEAN FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year?  Is the house in need of a good cleaning but you can't find time to get it done? Do you want to avoid scary, harsh, synthetic chemicals?  Are you interested in using natural based cleaning products that are safe for children and pets?  If so - I have two different options that I will be sharing today!

Young Living Essential Oils has two different options based upon the same oil blend that can be used to clean everything in a typical home!  YL's registered trademark blend Thieves Essential Oil is key in these two options.  I have used both and can say that they are both great and it's soooo comforting to know that I'm not exposing myself or my family to potentially harmful chemicals found in many standard cleaners.

1.  Thieves EO

Ingredients
Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) bud oil

Lemon (Citrus limon) peel oil

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) bark oil 

Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus radiata) leaf oil 

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) leaf oil

When I first received my Premium Starter Kit, I was anxious to start using all the oils.  I had come across a recipe for general, all-purpose cleaner using drops of Thieves EO.  Typical me, the recipe called for a couple other items besides the Thieves but I wanted to see what Thieves EO could do with only water!  What's easier - mixing a handful of ingredients together, or mixing 2 ingredients?  I'm all about easy & simple.  I found an empty spray bottle and rinsed it out.  Then I filled the bottle with water and added about 10 drops of Thieves EO.  I mixed it up a bit and started cleaning counters.  This mixture wiped up my messy counter quickly and effortlessly!  Then I carried this same bottle into the kids' bathroom.  The mirror was a mess from toothpaste splatters, soap and water spots from "vigorous" or maybe "enthusiastic" or maybe just "fast" hand washing and who knows what else (hand prints, mouth prints...).  I sprayed it on to see how the mixture would do on glass.  It worked great!  No streaking either!  It was effortless!  Using my same mixture, I quickly wiped up the rest of the bathroom!  Toilet, tub, sink, floor and everything!  Have I mentioned the smell yet?  It smells wonderful!  It is a nice fresh (Lemon, Eucalyptus and Rosemary) fall (Cinnamon and Clove) scent.  This is also the same oil that can be used to help promote wellness when diffused or ingested!  (See So Now It Is Fall... )  Talk about a versatile essential oil!!!

2.  Thieves Household Cleaner 
Ingredients (renewable plant and mineral sources, vegetable-based surfactants) 
Water

Alkyl Polyglucoside

Sodium Methyl 2-Sulfolaurate

Disodium 2-Sulfolaurate 

Thieves EO 

Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate

Lemon (Citrus limon) peel oil

After a couple of months of using essential oils and cleaning with Thieves EO, I decided to try the Thieves Household Cleaner.  The Thieves Household Cleaner can also be used to clean anything and everything!  Simply mix one or two capfuls of the cleaner with water in a recyclable spray bottle.  It is just that easy!  Cleaner concentrate and water!  Young Living has dilution ratios that they recommend for various cleaning applications.  Again, I was impressed!  One bottle of cleaning solution to clean EVERYTHING!  You can even use it to treat laundry stains, or clean the dishwasher.

Now, instead of having to gather glass cleaner, floor cleaner, counter & sink cleaner, toilet cleaner, etc - all that is needed is ONE single spray bottle of solution!  Take it from room to room and quickly wipe down anything in your path.  The house is left smelling great and sparkling clean!  It can definitely be used in the car too!  Let your kids help!  The solution is non-toxic.  

In a future post, I'll describe how I have created a scrub using both of these products as well that may help for really tough grime and buildup!  So stay tuned!  It's been done!  Powdered Scrub post can be found HERE.

Please let me know if you have any specific questions!

Interested in finding out how to get your hands on these Young Living Essential Oils & Products?  Check out my Essential Oils and Monthly Promotions Pages!

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.