Does your house smell? Well it should - smell lived in, and smell of nature's finest essential oils (and no, we don't mean the synthetically reproduced smells in off-the-shelf cleaning products!)
Yes, we want to create a cosy environment for where we can happily hibernate, reflect and stay warm - so there are many factors to consider. We want it to be clean, uncluttered and cosy. But have you ever cleaned and then felt overwhelmed with the smell of harsh cleaning chemicals? It can even irritate your skin and your respiratory system. Not to mention how it affects the environment.
In this blog, we want to explore methods that are more environmentally friendly and might even make us feel better, more joyful or relaxed too.
Aromatherapy
At Yogandha we love oils and essential oils. We know that the qualities of oils and essential oils can affect us immensely. And this is why we use them on our skin in our Yogandha Body Oils and Rollerballs.
But what are the best oils to use to clean the home?
Most essential oils have antibacterial qualities. Many are also antimicrobial and antiviral. And their aroma influences us via the olfactory system. Combining essential oils with a cleansing agent would be aromatherapy for us, while we clean and even afterwards. Plus, we will have a more healthy, non-toxic, cleaner home.
Here are some of the ways we like to use essential oils in the home
All-Purpose Scented Cleansers
White wine vinegar is one of the most effective, non-toxic and inexpensive cleaning agents you can find. It’s perfect to clean surfaces, windows and mirrors. Although it has a strong scent it evaporates reasonably quickly.
Using white wine vinegar as a cleansing agent with your favourite mix of essential oils you can create your very own personalised cleanser.
Here is what you need:
- A spray bottle
- White wine vinegar
- Water (distilled or spring water)
- Your choice of essential oils (we'll get to the oils below)
- Fill the bottle half with the white wine vinegar.
- Add your essential oils
- Shake it to mix the oils with the white wine vinegar
- Fill up with water.
Make sure you shake your cleanser well before use.
Experiment with the number of drops per essential oil. Some essential oils are very fragrant and some less. Here we give the number of drops per oil for a 750 ml spray bottle:
Super Antibacterial Spray:
- Lemon 7 drops
- Tea tree 9 drops
- Lavender 4 drops
Calm Cleaner
- Lavender 10 drops
- Geranium 5 drops
Refreshing and Joyful Cleanser
- Lemon 8 drops
- Orange 6 drops
- Tea tree 5 drops
Choose the essential oil blend that you feel attracted to - or make up your own.
Aromatic Laundry
Ditch the fabric conditioner and add a couple of drops of pure essential oils into the fabric softener compartment. You can mix it with a tiny bit of white wine vinegar.
Change up the Aroma
Baking powder is an odour neutraliser and perfect to take out stale aromas from carpets (please do a patch test first).
- Using a cup of baking powder add between 20-25 drops of your favourite essential oils (get inspiration from the blends above). Mix it as much as possible:
Aromatic carpet cleaner
Sprinkle your baking powder mix on your carpet. Leave for 5-7 hours. Hoover well. Remember to clean your hoover afterwards.
Scented surface
Mix your baking powder mix with either a bit of water or Castille soap and use as a surface cleaner.
Now relax...
Once you have cleaned your home - relax.
Maybe use some aromatherapy on yourself. We like a bit of Yogandha Muscle Soothe to release any muscular and mental tension after a vigorous home cleaning session. And sign up for our FREE webinar on How to Hibernate here to get more tips and ideas for a balanced transition through autumn.
Note: always do a patch test before using your cleaning product.