Cleaning with Essential Oils

Extracted from plants, some essential oils can kill bacteria and mold. They’re very strong, so don’t go overboard: One drop of peppermint oil is as potent as 30 cups of peppermint tea. Add a few drops to your favorite homemade spray cleaners and spritz the mixture on areas that need particular antibacterial attention, like bathrooms and kitchens. As an added bonus, peppermint also acts as a natural pest deterrent.

Price: $14 for 5 milliliters at health-food stores.
 

Use Them to Clean Your…

Combs and brushes: Fill a container with 1½ cups water, ½ cup distilled white vinegar, and 20 drops tea-tree, lavender, or eucalyptus oil. Soak combs and brushes for 20 minutes. Rinse and air-dry.

Scuffed floors: Apply two to four drops of tea-tree oil to the spots. Wipe excess oil with a cloth and rub in distilled white vinegar.

Gum-encrusted items: Orange oil is great at removing this sticky offender from various materials. (Don’t worry: It shouldn’t stain fabrics. But do launder immediately.) Apply with a cotton ball.

Shower doors: Wipe scum-covered glass doors with a few drops of lemon oil twice a month. It will protect them from grime buildup.

Toilets: Add 2 teaspoons tea-tree oil and 2 cups water to a spray bottle. Shake, then spritz along the toilet’s inside rim. Let sit for 30 minutes; scrub. You can also place a few drops of your favorite oil on the inside of the toilet-paper tube. “Every time the paper is used, the scent will be released,” says Siegel-Maier.

Windows: Mix 2 ounces water and 10 drops lavender or lemongrass oil to wipe grime off windows. Bonus: These oils may repel flies.


Warm regards and love,
Erin

How to Make a Flower Pen

A Great Back to School Craft Idea.

What You’ll Need: *

• 1 pretty silk flower {check your craft store}
• 1 Ball-Point Pen or however many you want to make
• 1 Mason Jar
• River Rocks
• Floral Tape {check your craft store)

What You’ll Do:

• Remove top off pen.  {on some pens these just pop right off…sometimes they don’t )
• Trim flower stem so the length will be just long enough for the stem to fit down into the pen.  {I used a wire cutter)
• Add a thin amount of hot glue to flower stem, and insert into pen. Allow to dry.
• Begin to wrap the floral tape around the pen {it will stick to itself when stretched}, so pull the tape fairly tightly as you wrap.
• Wrap all the way up to the base of the flower, then trim off the floral tape and secure.  Isn’t it looking pretty?
• Now… go grab your jar ~ fill it with shiny little river rocks, and pop your pretty flower pen into it! 
• Tie some matching ribbons around the jar, and you’ve got a Pretty Flower Pen {or another fun gift in a jar) !

Warm Regards and love,

Erin

 


* http://thefrugalgirls.com

Zucchini Gratan Recipe

If you are anything like me right now you have an over-abundance of vegis from your garden this time of year. Here is a wonderful recipe from * Ina Gartner for Zucchini Gratan. Enjoy!

Ingredients

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for topping
1 pound yellow onions, cut in 1/2 and sliced (3 large)
2 pounds zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick (4 zucchini)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup hot milk
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated Gruyere

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a very large (12-inch) saute pan and cook the onions over low heat for 20 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Add the zucchini and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until tender. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes. Stir in the flour. Add the hot milk and cook over low heat for a few minutes, until it makes a sauce. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 10-inch baking dish.

Combine the bread crumbs and Gruyere and sprinkle on top of the zucchini mixture. Dot with 1 tablespoon of butter cut into small bits and bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and browned.

Warm regards and love –

Erin

*http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/zucchini-gratin-recipe2

All Natural Insect repellent:

All Natural Insect repellent:

It is relatively easy to make your own insect repellent at home. You don’t really need those chemical laden cans full of god only knows what to keep the bugs at bay. Even if you don’t want to make your own, there are a lot of all natural alternatives on the market today. For example Burts Bees and Kiss My Face are two name brands that come to mind. Here are a few ideas you can try at home.

Ingredients:

1 cup of grain alcohol, ( vodka, or witch hazel )

30 drops of essential oils ( lavender, citronella, rosemary, rose geranium, lemon, tea tree oil, neem. ) Using one or two from this list will be fine.

Place all ingredients into spray bottle. Shake well. Spray liberally all over your skin just before going outside. Reapply as necessary.

Store your mixture in a dark bottle away from heat and sunlight.

Or

Ingredients:

1 Cup water

About 20-30 drops of Essential oils such as eucalyptus, rosewood, lavender, peppermint, tea tree, cedar, citrus or lemongrass

These can be diluted with water and placed in a container over night and used as a spray the following day.

Here is a list of oils that are found to have repellent properties.

• Catnip Oil–mosquitoes
• Cedarwood Oil–lice, moths
• Cinnamon Oil–ants
• Citronella Oil–mosquitoes
• Clove Oil–mosquitoes
• Eucalyptus Oil–mosquitoes
• Geranium Oil–flies, mosquitoes
• Lavender Oil–mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, fleas, flies
• Lemongrass Oil–mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, fleas, flies
• Litsea Cubeba–mosquitoes
• Patchouli–gnats
• Peppermint Oil–lice, spiders, ants
• Rosemary Oil–fleas, ticks
• Tea Tree Oil–mosquitoes, lice, ants

**Although found in many lists of repellents, avoid pennyroyal because of its potential toxicity.
All essential oils are best used in dilution. Don’t apply them directly to the skin in full strength. Be careful to avoid eyes. Do not use on pets. 

Warm regards and love,

Erin