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Archive for Essential oils

4 Natural Ways to Stop Asthma

This time of year is rough – colds and flu, lots of time indoors where air quality is poor, and that cold, dry air mean that asthma is flaring up all over the place.
Both me and my middle child struggle with asthma, and in the 20+ years I’ve dealt with it I’ve figured out a [...]

WFMW: A little goes a long way…

Daily, I find a new use for essential oils. Such a versatile little product with so many scents and healing properties!
This weekend I needed a room deodorizer to tackle the pesky smell that my sister in law’s new puppy left behind. Candles are great but not always practical with a little kid (and [...]

Mold in the shower

Q. from Teresa: I am having a HUGE problem with mold in my shower. PLEASE help. I need to get rid of it and then keep it away…but without using harsh chemicals. I have tried vinegar, Hydrogen Peroxide, water-tea-tree oil-lavender oil mixture. Nothing works. I am so frustrated (and disgusted!)
Great question Teresa. It’s hard to [...]

Best way to clean cutting boards

There’s nothing better than creating a home cooked meal from scratch, using the season’s finest and freshest to bring the most flavor to the table. But unless you’re a vegetarian you probably also have raw meat you’ll be chopping now and then, and potentially leaving dangerous germs on your chopping block. Here’s what we suggest:

Use [...]

Stainless steel care

We love them. We admire them. They make cooking dinner more of a luxury and less of a drudgery. But how to best clean them and keep them looking all shiny and nice?

Keep bugs at bay

Summer is here and so are the mosquitoes, no-see-ums, and other pesky biters. And apparently my 2-year-old son is their favorite snack. Really, my entire family goes outside and none of the 7 of us get a single bite – except Liam. By the time we go inside he’s covered head to toe in bites. [...]

Scrub-free cleaning tips

We’ve just welcomed little Owen into our home, via c-section. And when the discharge nurse came to talk to me and hubbs before we left the hospital, you can imagine my inner joy as she said “No housework for 6 weeks. And stay out of the kitchen for a couple weeks too!” No housework? What [...]

Disinfecting, sanitizing, sterilizing. . .

What do they mean? When you’re looking for a cleaner, what’s important? There are different things you want your cleaner to do. Most of us assume that clean means germ-free, but in reality not all cleaners hit the mark. The use of these words on product labels is regulated by the EPA, and here’s what [...]

Essential oils: Peppermint

One of the things I love to do when I clean is to add essential oils to natural cleaning products. For example, in my mop bucket I’ll do about 1/2 cup of cider vinegar, fill half full with water, and add 3-4 drops of essential oils, depending on what suits my mood. There are lots [...]

Essential oils: Oregano

What can cure a fungal infection? What can stop a drug-resistant strain of of staphylococcus (“staph infection”)? What can kill E. Coli and Salmonela on your countertops? Or clean just about any bacteria found in your bathroom? What can take care of gastrointestinal and bronchial infections? What can kill and prevent yeast infections faster than [...]