Natural Household Remedies

If you have a lot of grease to fight, try this vinegar formula:

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon of hot water
• 2 tbsp liquid castile soap
• 1/4 cup washing soda
• 1 cup vinegar
• 20 drops essential oil, either peppermint, eucalyptus or tea tree

Clean your floor as usual.  Rinsing is not necessary.  For extremely stubborn spots, drop essential oil directly on the spot, wait a litte, and scrub off.

Citrus is great against grease, and makes the kitchen smell fresh too:

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon of hot water
• 2 tbsp liquid castile soap
• 15 drops sweet orange essential oil
• 8 drops lemon essential oil (or 1/4 cup of lemon juice)

Mix ingredients and mop or scrub your kitchen floor as usual.  No rinsing necessary.

To add a delightful light pine fragrance to your freshly scrubbed kitchen, try this solution:

Ingredients

• 1 gallon hot water
• 2 tbsp liquid castile soap
• 10 drops pine essential oil
• 5 drops cypress essential oil

In a large bucket, combine all ingredients.  Mop or scrub the floor as usual.  Rinsing is not needed.  If you have stubborn stains or scruff marks, drip a few drops of undiluted essential oil on the spot, let sit for a moment and wipe off with a damp cloth and dash of vinegar so nobody slips.

There are several ways of maintaining the freshness of your fridge - or freezer, for that matter.

• Place a bowl of coffee on one of the shelves, if you like the smell of coffee.  This will keep odors at bay for up to 7 weeks.
• Place a bowl with about 2 oz of vanilla extract on the shelves if you prefer the fragrance of vanilla over coffee.  Leave this in the fridge for a few days only though.
• If you have fresh herbs in your garden, cut a few sprigs of fragrant plants (e.g. rosemary, sage, mint, lemon balm), tie them with a string and hang them inside the fridge or freezer. This should keep fridge or freezer fresh for about 3 weeks.
• A piece of bread placed in the fridge or freezer will absorb many odors too.  if you want to add extra fragrance, sprinkle the bread with 2-4 drops of essential oil of any kind.

If your fridge or freezer doesn’t smell as fresh as you would like it to, here is a simple fix:

Refresh-Your-Fridge-or-Freezer Mix

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tbsp baking soda
• 6 drops of essential oil, peppermint or eucalyptus (for freezer)
• 10 drops of essential oil, peppermint or eucalyptus (for fridge)

Mix a solution of these ingredients.  After emptying the fridge / freezer and turning down the temperature regulator, or even shutting it off if you can, wipe the inside, walls and floor, of the fridge / freezer with a damp cloth and above solution, and don’t forget the shelves either.

Rinse well to remove baking powder residue, then dry walls, floor and shelves well with ahand towel before putting the food back.  Turn the temperature settign back up or switch it back on.