I was spritzing up my kitchen the other day (doesn’t everyone just spritz up from time to time??) and realized how lucky I am to have stumbled upon some easy to make homemade natural remedies and recipes for simple solutions that I use frequently around my house. Some of these recipes were given to me by friends and some I read about online.  But each has become a staple in my house and is used regularly.  They are inexpensive, easy to mix, and store well.

Citrus cleaning solution  

I remember reading about these natural remedies and recipes for easy to-make-solutions online.  I believe I also saw this one in a magazine.  It wasn’t until I bought some grapefruit from my son (V)’s band fundraiser that I actually decided to give the recipe a go.  There is something about the smell of fresh citrus peels that wakes me up and  want to clean…more like a miracle.   Get ready because this is a very difficult and complicated recipe(NOT)…here goes:

Ingredients:  

• Fresh peels from a grapefruit, lemon or orange or any combination of those three.  
• Vinegar.  
• Spray bottle.

Instructions:

• Rip the citrus peels into strips approx 2 inches long by 1/2-1/4 inch wide.
• Place them into a glass jar or wide mouthed bottle.
• Pour vinegar into to bottle or jar to cover the peels.
• Let soak for at least one to two weeks.  Shake the jar/bottle once a day.
• Strain the liquid into a spray bottle.
• Discard the vinegar soaked peels.

I use this vintage bottle for soaking.  It looks super cute sitting on the counter by my sink!  

I always use grapefruit because that is my favorite smelling citrus fruit. The last time I made this I used the discarded vinegar soaked peels to scrub my stainless steel sink.  The sink was super shiny and smelled so fresh.  I placed the used peels in the sink and ran the garbage disposal.  Fresh aroma, clean disposal!  Win-win!

Stinky Pet Spray–

I started using Young Living Essential Oils about six years ago.  I was intrigued by a friend’s testimonial of how DiGize helped her stomach issues.  The first oil I tried was lavender and I ended up purchasing a starter kit.  For the longest time, the lavender was the only oil I used.  Then I read my friend Beth’s blog post about how to get rid of stinky dog smell.  She is hilarious and you can read about her stinky dogs here.  Since we also had stinky dogs coupled with stinky cats and even a stinky ferret, I tried a variation of Beth’s recipe.  It worked wonderfully and I use this EVERY day in our house.  Warning: Again VERY complicated (NOT)!

Ingredients:

• 20 drops of YLEO Purification oil
• 20-30 oz spray bottle
• water

Instructions:  

• Fill spray bottle with water to the top leaving about an inch below the top of the bottle.
• Add 20-30 drops of YLEO Purifcation oil.
• Secure spray top and shake bottle.
• Spray.

I got my spray bottles at Dollar General for $1 each!

There is no real science to this recipe.  If the house is particularly stinky, I add a little more oil.  The result is a fresh clean scent that neutralizes the stinky pet odor.  Sometimes I need to spray 2-3 times within the hour to neutralize stubborn smells.  But this recipe is a total stink killer!

Bug Spray – Natural Remedies

We live in Alabama.  So the summers are hot as hell and the mosquitoes are ruthless.  There are bugs and gnats and things that fly around my yard that I have never seen before and simply don’t care to identify.  My motto is…stay away from me and I won’t squish you!  Nothing gets me more annoyed than nagging, biting bugs when I am out in the 100+ degree Alabama heat trying to purdy up my yard!  I found a great recipe online and tried it.  I used it last summer and plan to use it again this summer to keep the bugs at bay.

Ingredients:

• 20-30 oz spray bottle
• water
• 6 drops YLEO lavender (my preferred brand of oils is Young Living Essential Oils, as I am a distributor.  This means I can order for you!  So, for the purposes of this post, all brands I used are YLEO.  I am tired of typing this so from this point forward, you know the brand!)
• 6 drops  lemongrass
• 6 drops peppermint
• 6 drops purification

Instructions:

• Fill spray bottle with water to the top leaving about an inch below the top of the bottle.
• Add the oils noted above.  
• Replace cap tightly and shake.
• Spray onto your arms, legs, neck, ankles, feet.
• Do not spray on your face.  Instead, spray your neck liberally.

This recipe works well for me.  I am literally a mosquito magnet.  I have a neighbor that has never been bitten by a mosquito!  I think she’s a mutant!  Sorry Cindy…you know I love you!  I usually reapply as necessary, which seems to be every hour or so.  If I sweat more, I reapply more frequently.  I have seen other recipes with witch hazel.  And recently I ordered some Citronella!

I will try this extra ingredient this summer along with the witch hazel to see if the they prolong the effectiveness of the spray.  

Pain Cream -Natural Remedies

I first tried this recipe when my daughter (IV) strained a muscle playing basketball.  This recipe came from my friend Shanan who introduced me to Young Living Essential Oils. This is now a staple item in our home.  My husband needs a double knee replacement.  As he works up the nerve to proceed with the surgery (we are almost there), he uses this creme in the morning to start his day.  He also reapplies at night so that his knees relax enough for him to fall asleep.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of coconut oil warmed to liquid form (for ease in blending)
• 8 drops Panaway 
• 8 drops Copaiba
• 8 drops Valor
• 8 drops Peppermint
• 8 drops Lemongrass

Instructions:

• Add all above ingredients to a bowl and blend by hand or with a mixer.
• Transfer to a small tub or jar with a lid.  Note:  The mixture will solidify. You can also transfer to a roller bottle but you will have to warm it gently to re-liquify the contents  before application.

Having an antique/consignment store, The Blue Building Antiques and Consignment in Alabaster, AL, I am always coming across beautiful old milk glass containers.  I use these for our pain cream.

All purpose Cleanser

This is probably the first “make your own natural cleanser”  that I ever tried and I still use it around the house.  This is the only method I use to clean my dishwasher.  I have also used it in the bathroom on the tile and grout.

Ingredients:

• vinegar
• baking powder
• long handled scrubbing brush
• spray bottle

I keep a huge gallon jug of vinegar in our pantry.  We use it to clean our bathroom tub jets as well many other nooks and crannies!

Instructions:

• Pour some vinegar into a spray bottle.
• Liberally spray the inside of your dishwasher.
• Sprinkle baking powder onto the wet surface.  Mixture will start to bubble.
• Spray some more vinegar onto the surface causing more bubbling of the solution.
• Use the brush to scrub the surface of the dishwasher and spread the mixture.
• Run the dishwasher through one cycle with hot water.

I love this method because it is gentle yet effective for removing grime from my dishwasher.  For some reason, those new fangled dishwasher detergent packs result in slimy build up in my dishwasher.  I have reverted back to the granule/powdered dish detergent.  But,  when I occasionally run out and have to call Mr. Blu, daughter II, son III, or daughter IV to make a Mom Needs Run, sometimes I end up with the slimy packets.  So this little spray bottle full of happiness keeps my dishwasher happy! 

 I cringe at the thought of using bleach and harsh chemicals on our dishware and utensils.  

This method leaves the dishwasher sparkly clean without exposing our dinnerware and utensils to harsh chemicals!

These are just Five Favorites of mine!  Do you have your own personal Five Favorites?

I am including my affiliate links for some of these products should you not have access to them locally!

Thanks for stopping by!