Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning: Tips and Tricks

We are in the midst of spring and you may be feeling motivated to take on some spring cleaning. In our household we try to take a more natural approach when it comes to cleaning products because of the chemicals and toxic fumes traditional products contain. When we have little ones in the house it’s best they are not exposed to these products because of all the harmful effects. Using non-toxic cleaning products can also give you the peace of mind should your toddler insist on helping you clean!

Products we love:

• Thieves from Young Living

• Branch Basics

• Aunt Fannie’s

• Force of Nature

Homemade Cleaning Products:

1. Spray bottle with equal parts vinegar and distilled water with your favorite essential oil

2. For scrubbing, sprinkle the surface with baking soda and spray with vinegar

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you decide you want to dive into spring cleaning, to avoid this we suggest writing out a list of the projects you want to tackle. Be sure to include tasks that don’t get done very often like cleaning baseboards or organizing the pantry. You will be surprised where dust can build up! Everyone’s idea of spring cleaning looks different, all that matters is that you and your home feel good once all is said and done. Habits of keeping a clean home include opening the windows 2-3 times a week for at least 15 minutes to freshen up stagnant air. Depending on the weather this can improve your mood too! De-cluttering is also important to keeping your home happy and clean. This can be achieved by donating clothing, toys and any other items that no longer serve the functionality of your home. Packing away winter clothing you won’t be using for many months to come can also help you feel more organized and make your space feel more open. Keeping your home clean can also lead to better health and keep allergies at bay, especially when you use non-toxic products. The most important thing you can do for yourself in your home is ensure the air quality is good. One way to go above and beyond is investing in an air purifier, our favorite is from the brand AirDoctor. We recommend this brand because of the HEPA filtration system they use and the cost effective options they have. Air purifiers are great for anyone who suffers from pet allergies or is sensitive to dust and pollen. If an air purifier is currently not in the budget, adopting some house plants can improve your indoor air quality too!

Our favorite houseplants:

• Snake plant

• Spider plant

• Peace Lily

• Golden Pathos

DIY Hand Soap

Alright, lets get rid of those germs! This week, I want to talk about how easy it is to make your own hand soap, also super cheap! 
Anyone else get super dry hands from over washing? Sometimes the chemicals or the fake scents added in the store bought soaps can also irritate your skin and leave them really dry. Back in college I used to buy those Bath & Body soaps ALL the time. The sales they had were probably my favotire thing ever! Then slowly I started to have weird skin reactions. After seeing my dermatologist, she recommended that I switch to unscented products. Well it took me a few year to slowly clean out my products. Going green is hard! But slowly I did it...and ever since then I have had no reactions, no more eczema, and no sensitivities! 
So, here is a simple DIY for you guys. 

Ingredients: 

• Dr Bronner's Castile Soap

• Essential oil of your choice (I used lavender)

• Vegetable Glycerin (optional)

• Empty foaming soap bottle (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MQ4WWQ5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

• Water

Directions:

• 1/4 cup of castile soap (https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Bronners-Pure-Castile-Liquid-Soap/dp/B00120VWJ0/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=castile+soap&qid=1575575642&s=home-garden&sr=1-4)

• 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin (this helps makes the soap thicker and smoother texture) (https://www.amazon.com/Solutions-Vegetable-Versatile-Softening-Moisturizing/dp/B0019LWU2K/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=vegetable+glycerin&qid=1575575705&sr=8-9)

• 5-12 drops of essential oil (depending on how strong you want it to smell) (https://www.youngliving.com/vo/?utm_expid=.2goeNLIsRjmUAsfd0dY2yg.2&utm_referrer=#/enroll/starter-kits)

• fill the rest with water

• mix and tada! 

Did you know that the CDC (center for disease control) recommends that you wash your hands for 20 seconds! So a perfect way to get the kids to wash their hands for that long is to sing "Happy Birthday" from beginning to end twice or the "ABC's." 

Now, lets stop spreading those germs since we all have clean hands ;)

Some helpful tips to stay healthy:

• Wash your hands before eating

• After using the toilet

• After touching an animal, their food/treats or waste

• After touching garbage or taking out the trash

• After changing a diaper

• Before and after preparing food (especially when handeling meat products) 

DIY Thieves Spray

Happy almost Thanksgiving! 
The day before Thanksgiving, you know what that means...cleaning the house and getting ready for everyone to come over, cook, feast, and hangout! 
To follow up with out cold and flu series, I wanted to take some time and talk about cleaning. During the holidays, we tend to visit family more, eat out more often, and travel more. With that in mind, we want to make sure that our immune system is as strong as can be! 
This week I wanted to show ya'll how easy it is to make your own all green, natural cleaner! 

Ingredients:
Young Living's Household Thieves Cleaner
Water
Choice of essential oil (optional), I used Christmas Spirit
Empty bottle

Directions: 
Depending on the size of the bottle, you'll fill the cap of the cleaner, I only used a 1/4 of the cap because I have a small bottle. But normally I would use 1-2 cap fulls for the bigger 18-20 oz bottles for my kitchen or bathroom. 
Add that to your empty bottle.
Add water to fill it.
Add 3-7 drops of essential oils, depending on the size of your bottle.
Shake, and use! 
Spray on any surface, then wipe down. 

This is a multi purpose cleaner, so you can used it to clean windows, table, wood, kitchen counter, toilets, bathtubs, kids toys, and so much more! 

The little bottle I made, I use it at resturants, my car or just on the go because its so small! Its great to throw it in your purse or gym bag, and use it as need to wipe surfaces or spills! 

Why Thieves?

Formulated with the enticing aroma of Young Living’s Thieves® essential oil blend, Thieves Household Cleaner
is a concentrated, versatile solution that gives you a deep clean when scrubbing, degreasing, spot cleaning, dusting, and more—all without harsh chemicals. With its spicy- sweet aroma and plant-based formula, Thieves Household Cleaner is great to use around everyone in your family, including pets. Create a clean, welcoming space with the fresh, inviting scent and sparkling clean of Thieves Household Cleaner.

Key Ingredients:

• Non-ionic surfactants (Alkyl polyglucoside)

• Anionic surfactants (Sodium methyl-2 sulfolaurate, Disodium 2-sulfolaurate)

• Thieves essential oil blend

Benefits and Features:

• Ultra-concentrated, versatile formula

• Suited for virtually every surface in your home, includingcarpets, floors, counters, glass, walls, and more

• Effective, deep clean without the harsh or dangerous chemicals found in many traditional cleaning products

• Plant-based formula

• No harsh chemical smell

• Non-abrasive solution that rinses clean and leaves no residue

• Safe for septic systems
  
  Check out our youtube to see how easy it is to make your own:
  Https://Youtu.be/_0afx99TmVo

Elderberry Syrup

With the holiday parties, traveling and all the shopping thats happening in the next few weeks, I try my best to keep my immune system as strong as possible. That means eating a whole foods diet, drinking lots of water, and increasing my antioxidant intake. 
We've spent a few weeks talking about different ways to get antioxidants like pomegranates and wolfberries. Now lets talk about Elderberry! 

What is Elderberry?
Elderberries are the fruit of the Sambucus tree. The most common type is the Sambucus nigra.

Benefits:

• High in dietary fiber: Elderberries contain 7 grams of fiber per 100 grams of fresh berries, which is over one-quarter of the recommended daily intake

• Rich in anthocyanins: These compounds give the fruit its characteristic dark black-purple color and are a strong antioxidant with anti-inflammatory effects

• A good source of flavonols: Elderberry contains the antioxidant flavonols quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin. The flowers contain up to 10 times more flavonols than the berries

• High in vitamin C: There are 6–35 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams of fruit, which accounts for up to 60% of the recommended daily intake

• A good source of phenolic acids: These compounds are powerful antioxidants that can help reduce damage from oxidative stress in the body

100 grams of fresh berries contain 73 calories, 18.4 grams of carbs and less than 1 gram each of fat and protein. Do not eat raw elderberries, as they can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It is also worth noting that elderberry syrup often contains high levels of sugar.

Recipe: 

• Organic dried elderberry (1/2 cup): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AGMMLU8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

• Water (3.5 cups)

• Cinnamon sticks (1 stick): https://www.amazon.com/McCormick-Gourmet-Fancy-Stick-Cinnamon/dp/B0005YWD1U/ref=sr_1_11?crid=1UE98PAPC16FT&keywords=cinnamon+sticks&qid=1576438033&s=grocery&sprefix=cinnamon+%2Cgrocery%2C170&sr=1-11

• Ginger (few small pieces)

• Raw honey

• Cheese cloth/nut milk bag: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Premium-Food-Grade-Almond/dp/B00158U8DU/ref=sr_1_8?crid=1AIAIU3PTXUIF&keywords=nut+milk+bag&qid=1576438184&s=grocery&sprefix=nut+milk%2Cgrocery%2C192&sr=1-8

Direction:

• In a pressure cooker, add dried elderberries, water, cinnamon stick, ginger and water. 

• I use the soup setting and set it for 20 minutes. 

• Once done, remove and drain, seperate syrup from ingredients. 

• Use the cheese cloth to pour in ingredients and squeeze the remainder of the syrup out.

• Let the syrup cool down for 5-7 minutes.

• Mix in honey. (do not add in honey for children under the age of 1)

• Pour into container (mason jar is what I used) and store in the fridge. 

Usage:

Prevention Dosing:

• 6 months to 1 year: Elderberry syrup without honey 5 drops twice a day

  • Please note that it would be appropriate to treat this as a new food for the youngest infants i.e. try one dose and wait 3-5 days to ensure no reaction before starting another new food and/or starting a daily regimen.

• One year and older:

  •  20 lbs to 30 lbs: Elderberry syrup 1/2 tsp twice a day

  • 30 lbs to 90 lbs: Elderberry syrup 1 tsp twice a day

• Adults including pregnant and breastfeeding mothers:

  • Elderberry syrup 1 to 2 tsp twice a day

Treatment Dosing: (as soon as a child appears to be starting a cold):

• 6 months to 1 year: Elderberry syrup without honey 10 drops every 4 hours

  • As above, please note that it would be appropriate to treat this as a new food for the youngest infants i.e. try one dose and wait 3-5 days to ensure no reaction before starting another new food and/or starting a daily regimen.

• One year and older:

  •  20 lbs to 30 lbs: Elderberry syrup 1/2 tsp every 4 hours

  • 30 lbs to 90 lbs: Elderberry syrup 1 tsp every 4 hours

• Adults including pregnant and breastfeeding mothers:

  • Elderberry syrup 1 to 2 tsp every 4 hours

Youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjTOUFT6A-c&feature=youtu.be