Happy Earth Day!  

Let's celebrate by Spring cleaning your home naturally and easily with these DIY recipes. 

My favorite and most-used recipe by far is the Scouring Powder.  

I keep a shaker jar of this in each bathroom and under the kitchen sink.  I use it to clean the sinks, toilet bowl, and anything that needs a little scrubbing.  Works like a charm and leaves a fresh, clean scent. 

SCOURING POWDER

1/2 cup baking soda

1/4 cup salt

1/4 cup Borax

12 drops essential oils

Suggested oil blends:

-6 drops each lavender & lemon

-4 drops each peppermint, eucalyptus, & wild orange

-4 drops each lemon, grapefruit, & wild orange

BONUS: Turn this recipe into a soft scrub by adding liquid soap to desired consistency.  

Tip: I recycle large spice jars with shaker tops from Costco to store my cleaner.  

They hold a lot, and the holes in the shaker top are larger than normal spice jars.  Perfect!

I also use the following glass cleaner recipe quite a bit.  

Great for counters, faucets, glass, mirrors, and the outside of the toilet. 

GLASS CLEANER

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup vinegar

4 drops essential oil

Shake before each use

Suggested oil blends:

-4 drops lemon

-4 wild orange

-4 drops grapefruit

Tip: get the type of white vinegar specifically made for cleaning.  

Here's a link with more great uses of cleaning vinegar. 

While those are my mainstays, here are a few more recipes.  

The Toilet Cleaning Bombs not only clean and deodorize, but are a lot of fun to make with the kids!  

Tip: You could even turn it into a science project to teach how acids and bases interact. 

Multi-Purpose Cleaner

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 tsp Borax

12 drops essential oils 

Shake before each use

Suggested oil blends:

See Scouring Powder above

Toilet Cleaning Bombs

1 cup baking soda

1/2 cup citric acid

1/4 cup Borax

2 tsp vinegar

60 drops essential oils

Directions: 

Add dry ingredients to bowl and mix well with whisk. Blend vinegar and essential oils in a separate bowl and slowly add to dry ingredients while mixing until it has the consistency of wet sand. It will begin to fizz if it is too wet. You may need to add more/less liquid depending on humidity.  You'll know you have the right consistency when you can squeeze a clump of the mixture in your hand and it holds its shape. Press mixture into a mold (a cupcake tray, ice cube tray, etc) and allow to dry overnight before popping out of molds. Store in an airtight container.  

To use:

Drop one cleaning bomb into the toilet bowl and allow to fizz. Let it sit for a few minutes, then swish bowl with toilet wand, and flush. 

Suggested oil blends:

See Scouring Powder above

I hope you enjoy these recipes!  Let me know how they work for you.  

Stay Beautiful!

-Michele