Welcome to 2012 everyone!
Have you made a New Year's resolution yet? Well, we've got a really good one for you! This year, resolve to make your home sparkling clean - with the power of herbs!
It’s the final week of our DIY HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY series...
As a big thank you to our readers, we’re revisiting the best recipes from our blog in 2011 and giving away a huge package of organic ingredients each week so the lucky winner can make these herbal goodies at home!
Making your own cleaning solutions using just a few basic ingredients is super easy, inexpensive, and much healthier for your home and for the environment. Commercial cleaning products contain harsh chemicals that can irritate the skin, burn the eyes, and sting your lungs. Once the scrubbing is done, these toxic products are washed down the drain, poisoning the water, land, and wildlife we cherish. Plus, all of the extra packaging ends up destined for the recycling bin...or the landfill.
These awesome recipes will make that transition from store bought to homemade super easy! I've been using them for a few years now and can't imagine going back. They will replace those conventional cleaning products in your cupboard for good!
Super Surface Spray
• 16 oz. spray bottle
• 14 oz. – 1:1 solution of distilled white vinegar and water
• 7 drops of tea tree essential oil
• 7 drops of lavender essential oil
• 7 drops of lemon essential oil
Use this aromatic and disinfecting solution for cleaning kitchen counters, cabinets, refrigerator shelves, blinds, painted wood surfaces, painted walls, molding, fan blades, and more.
Herby Soft Scrub
• 12 oz glass jar with lid
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup castille soap
• 15 drops of antimicrobial essential oils like rosemary and sage
Mix well until you have a nice consistency like cake frosting. If you have leftovers, add 1 tsp vegetable glycerin to keep the blend nice and moist.
Antibacterial Soap Spray
• 16 oz spray bottle
• 14 oz. water or rosemary hydrosol
• 3 tbsp castille soap
• 15 drops of tea tree essential oil
• 15 drops of oregano essential oil
Use this cleaning spray to disinfect your bathroom surfaces. You can use the Super Surface Spray to rinse away any residue left behind by the castille soap.
Refreshing Linen Spray
• 16 oz. spray bottle
• 3 oz. unflavored vodka
• 12 drops lavender, ylang ylang, peppermint, orange or your favorite smelling essential oil
• 12 oz. organic hydrosol of your choice
Spray to refresh your mattress, pillows, bed linens, couches, and fabric covered chairs, or spritz clean winter blankets before storing for the year. Also makes a wonderful ironing spray!
Natural Lemon Furniture Polish
• 16 oz spray bottle
• 1 cup olive oil
• 25 drops pure lemon essential oil
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• fill remainder of the bottle with purified water
Shake well before each use. Spray onto your rag or directly onto furniture. Buff dry immediately.
Tropical Carpet Deodorizer
• 1 cup of baking soda
• 10 drops of lemongrass essential oil per cup
• 10 drops of sweet orange essential oil per cup
• 10 drops of ginger essential oil per cup
Mix together and sprinkle the aromatic blend onto your carpet, let sit for 30 minutes, and vacuum as normal. Wonderful mattress deodorizer, too!
Lemony Wood Floor Mop Formula
• 20 oz. spray bottle
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 tsp. vegetable glycerin
• 20 drops lemon essential oil
• Water
Spray, mop as usual, and quickly buff dry to protect your floors. They will be glossy and clean with a lovely lemon scent!
Mop-It-Up Formula
• small glass bottle
• 1/4 cup castille soap
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 20 drops of tea tree essential oil
• 20 drops of sweet orange essential oil
This is the perfect liquid cleaner for tile floors, vinyl, or linoleum. Mix the solution with 2 gallons of hot water and mop away the dirt and grime.
This week's prize will allow you to formulate all of these natural cleansers throughout the spring and well beyond! We're also throwing in a copy of Naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel-Maier so you'll have even more herbal cleaning recipes for everything from the grill, to silver rings, wicker chairs, and your computer keyboard!
Here's this week's BIG prize...
16oz Organic Liquid Castille Soap
16oz Organic Vegetable Glycerine
16oz Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4oz Organic Lavender hydrosol
4oz Organic Rosemary hydrosol
1/2oz Organic Lemon Essential Oil
1/2oz Organic Ginger Essential Oil
1/2oz Organic Lavender (Spike) Essential Oil
1/2oz Organic Lemongrass Essential Oil
1/2oz Organic Sweet Orange Essential Oil
1/2oz Organic Oregano Essential Oil
1/2oz Organic Peppermint Essential Oil
1/2oz Organic Rosemary Essential Oil
1/2oz Organic Tea Tree Essential Oil
2lb Baking Soda
4 ~ 16oz Spray Bottles
The Naturally Clean Home
There are several ways to enter. You can submit up to 5 entries for a chance to win this amazing collection of herbal cleaning ingredients!
1. Leave a comment here telling us about your herbal New Year's resolutions!
2. Post a link to our Green Spring Clean giveaway on your Facebook page and leave a comment here to let us know you’ve posted. Follow us on Facebook!
3. Tweet about our Green Spring Clean giveaway on Twitter using the tag #herbalgiveaway and leave a comment here to let us know that you’ve tweeted. Be sure to follow us on Twitter!
4. Blog about our Green Spring Clean giveaway with a link back to this post. Then leave a comment here with a link back to your blog post so we can check it out!
5. Subscribe to our awesome YouTube channel or recipe-packed newsletter and leave a comment here to let us know!
You have until Monday, January 9th at 11:59pm PST to enter. We will pick one winner at random on Tuesday, January 10th. We ship blog prizes to US addresses only!
