Guilt-Free Ways to Get Your Home Swoon-Worthy Clean

There’s no shame in being a neat freak, but you need to have your head examined if you are still using traditional cleaning products to get your home to sparkle and glow. People like Beth Greer are going to emergency rooms and finding via MRI’s that they have brain tumors partly due to their use of toxic chemicals to ‘clean’ their homes. This doesn’t need to be you.

There are all kinds of unpronounceable chemical toxins in cleaning fluids, sprays, powders, scrubs, and other products – and these toxins cause what is called “chronic exposure” adding to the body’s toxic burden. These chemicals start to be stored in your tissues because you can’t expel them through normal detoxification pathways fast enough.

Just a few of the thousands of chemicals you can find in every-day cleaning supplies include:

• 2-Butoxyethanol (2-BE) – skin and eye irritant also associated with blood disorders

• Ammonia – can cause kidney and liver damage

• Coal Tar Derived from Petrochemicals – linked to cancer, and nervous system damage

• MEA (monoethanalomine), DEA (diethanolamine), TEA (triethanolamine) – react with nitrites to form carcinogenic nitrosamines

• 3000 Different Artificial Fragrances Derived from Harmful Chemicals – linked to brain, kidney, heart, lung, liver, reproductive System damage

• Phosphates – Can cause harmful algae Blooms that contaminate water and are toxic to humans and animals

• Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate Dehydrate – Eye, skin, and respiratory irritant, and can also cause kidney damage

• 100’s more. An Environmental Working Group study found that more than 53% of all cleaners studied contained health-harming compounds, many of which created well-known carcinogens like formaldehyde and chloroform.

Organic, Health-Supporting Alternatives

With a few simple ingredients including some essential oils, you can not only get rid of the carcinogenic, tumor-forming chemicals that are normally lurking in cleaning products. You can boost you and your family’s health instead by simply using the following ingredients:

Distilled white vinegar, baking soda, and one or more of the following essential oils makes a phenomenal, natural cleaner.

Lemon 

Deodorizing your fridge can be done with a box of baking soda, but you can also use a little lemon essential oil. Lemon is antibacterial and antiviral. It is perfect for degreasing stubborn stains as well as freshening the air. Use it to clean the floor or combine 10 drops with 1/2 cup olive oil for a natural wood or leather polish.

Rosemary

Rosemary smells amazing when used as a cleaner, but it has also been prized for strengthening the body overall, from cellular metabolism to the immune system. It also reduces anxiety, clears a headache, and promotes mental clarity so you’ll feel better after cleaning with it, not worse as you do when using many toxic cleaning products.

Rosemary oil works great on kitchen countertops and other grimy areas thanks to its antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, and antiviral properties.

Mix a half cup distilled white vinegar, half cup water and 12 drops of rosemary oil. Use liberally.

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a wonderful house-cleaner. It is a natural germicide, because it is antifungal and antiviral. It is also a great air freshener. You can use a little eucalyptus oil in the laundry to get stains and smells out, or to remove grease and grime around cook tops.

Add a little eucalyptus to a natural, DIY dish soap and your kitchen sink will gleam after using this concoction to clean it.

Wild Orange

Sticky, grimy, gooey things clean up great with a little wild orange. You can also add it to a little peppermint to increase your concentration abilities, or just clean with the two and you’ve gotten double the benefit! Wild orange mixed with coconut oil can also remove sap from your skin, while supporting a healthy immune response. There are 35 additional uses for this single essential oil you can read more about here.

Peppermint

Peppermint is not only a great essential oil to mix with others, but you can a few drops to your favorite homemade spray cleaners and spritz the mixture on areas that need antibacterial attention, like bathrooms and kitchens. Peppermint also acts as a natural pest deterrent. That’s awesome considering it doesn’t harm people or pets.

Thyme

If you want to get rid of nasty germs when you clean, thyme is a powerhouse. This herb contains potent plant phytochemicals which are antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, and antiviral. Spray it liberally in kitchens, bathrooms, or anywhere germs normally spread.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon can boost your brain power while providing an antimicrobial clean throughout your house. It even gets rid of e-coli.

Lavender

Not only does the smell of lavender calm your nerves and reduce the production of the stress hormone cortisol, it is also antiseptic, antifungal, and antibiotic.

Tea Tree 

Tea tree oil can be added to a distilled vinegar and water mix to provide sanitization almost everywhere. Plus, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, found in several studies that the essential oil is antimicrobial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory. Use it to purify the air, or add a little to your laundry to get the stink out.

Grapefruit

Just like lemon, grapefruit offers some great grease-cutting power, and smells great, especially when you mix it with essential oils like bergamot. It also happens to be a diuretic, disinfectant, stimulant, antidepressant, antiseptic, aperitif, lymphatic and overall health tonic, too.

Geranium

Spray geranium oil in your linen closet, or in your clothing drawers to help get rid of germs and make your favorite sweaters and t-shirts smell like heaven. It promotes feelings of calm and relaxation, too.

How to Use These Essential Oils Starting Today

You can simply add a few drops of the essential oils to a spray bottle with distilled water, and use your own homemade cleaner on almost any surface. You can also add essential oils to vinegar and baking soda solutions, or mixed with a little alcohol/water combination if they aren’t going to be used on wood.

Your home will smell amazing, be sparkling clean, and your health will not only be saved from chronic toxic burden, but improved drastically with these oils’ healing properties.

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