By Megan Evans RMT, CRHP

As the warmer temperatures of spring thaw out the winter blues, it’s time to clean up your life and give your home, body and mind a fresh start. Improve the health of you and your family by reducing the toxic load in your home.

Many household cleaners contain toxic chemicals. These chemicals may cause short-term and long-term health problems when you use them. When we are using these products, we are creating a toxic soup in and around our house. The air inside a typical home is more polluted than the air outside mainly due to toxic household cleaning products.

We are exposed to more toxins in one day then our grandparents were in their entire lifetime. A few concerns related to toxic accumulation in the body include: decreased immune system, hormonal imbalance, IBS, increase workload on organs, headaches, muscle and joint pain (inflammation), fatigue, onset of adult allergies, etc. Children are often more vulnerable to chemical exposure during developmental stages, and certain chemicals may interfere with the development of their neurological, endocrine, and immune system.

No need to comprise your health, for a clean house. There are so many simple ways to Green-Up your Clean-Up by using powerful essential oils and basic ingredients already in our house. Create the ripple effect one drop at a time. It’s safe and will save you money.

Must have cleaning basics:

Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds extracted from seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. Essential oils contain natural and unique properties that can have powerful benefits on your health and overall wellness. Lemon, Wild Orange and Eucalyptus Essential Oils all have cleansing and purifying properties for your cleaning needs.

White Vinegar contains natural antifungal and antibacterial properties. It cuts grease and dissolves mineral deposits.

Rubbing Alcohol/Isopropyl Alcohol often called IPA or Isopropanol is capable of sterilizing and disinfecting surfaces in your home, it is one of the cheapest options for safe cleaners.

Castile Soap lifts dirt, cuts grease and eliminates tough stains.

Baking Soda absorbs and eliminates odor. Use to clean countertops, sinks and tubs. Sprinkle some baking soda on your carpet and vacuum after 15 minutes for a fresh look and feel.

Salt is an effective scouring agent. Pour salt mixed with hot water down the kitchen sink regularly to deodorize and keep grease from building up. Mix salt with Lemon Essential Oil and use to remove stubborn coffee and tea cup stains.

Glass Containers are best to use for any DIY recipes because oils will dissolve some plastics. Glass is impervious to essential oils, and is the perfect container for keeping DIY products fresh. Glass is also really easy to clean, you only need soap and water to get the residual oils out. *TIP – For spray bottles try using empty San Pelligrino bottles and pop a sprayhead on top.

DIY recipes to get your green cleaning started:

DISENFECTING SURFACE CLEANER
1 cup of Vinegar
1 cup of Water
10 drops of On Guard Essential Oil
Combine in a spray bottle and shake well before each use.
Use on counters, wood, glass, stainless steel and porcelain.

ALL-PURPOSE CLEANER
2 cups of water
2 tbsp of Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap
20 drops of Lemon, Wild Orange or Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Combine in a spray bottle and shake well before each use.

WINDOW + GLASS CLEANER
1 cup of Water
1 cup of Vinegar
20 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
Combine in a spray bottle and shake well before each use.

SCRUBBING CLEANER
¾ cup of Baking Soda
¼ cup of Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap
2 tbsp of Water
10 drops of Lemon, Wild Orange or Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Combine in a small jar, whisk well and let sit for 1 hour.
Scrub on desired area with a sponge and let sit.
Wipe away with a wet cloth.

TOILET SCRUB
¼ cup of Vinegar
½ cup of Baking Soda
10 drops of Eucalyptus or Peppermint Essential Oil
Combine ingredients, add to the bowl, swipe with a brush, and you’re done.
~Try 1 drop of Peppermint Essential Oil in toilet after use.
~Try 1 drop of your favorite Essential Oil inside the toilet paper roll to get that fresh scent roll after roll.

HARDWOOD FLOORS
1 gallon of Hot Water
¼ cup of Vinegar
5 drops of Wild Orange Essential Oil
Combine ingredients into a bucket.

LINEN + AIR SPRAY
2 cups of Distilled Water
2 tbsp of Rubbing Alcohol
15 drops of Lavender or Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Combine in a spray bottle and shake well before each use.
Spray linens and air to receive an uplifting and refreshing scent in the home.
~Lavender Essential Oil for sleep
~Eucalyptus Essential Oil to kill dust mites

PRODUCE WASH
1 cup of Water
1 cup of Vinegar
20 drops of Lemon or Wild Orange Essential Oil
Combine in a spray bottle and shake well before each use.
Spray your produce liberally to clean it.
~Alternative – Fill a big bowl with water, add 1/4 cup Vinegar and a few drops of Lemon or Wild Orange Essential Oil. Let produce soak for 10 min before rinsing it off.

HAND CLEANSER
10 drops of On Guard Essential Oil
10 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
Purified Water
Combine Essential Oils into a 15ml spray bottle and fill with Purified Water.
~Or use an empty On Guard Essential Oil bottle and add a spray head on top.

The Power of Scent

Our sense of smell is one of our most powerful senses, and you have probably noticed in your own experience that some scents are more positively associated in our minds than others. Your body contains over 1,000 receptors for smell. By putting essential oils directly into the air we breathe, we can influence the feeling of our environment, and more powerfully, our own emotions.

Work towards having a diffuser in all major areas of your home. Toss out ALL air fresheners and any produce with the ingredient “Fragrance” – they are poisoning your home. The benefits of diffusers include purifying the air in your home, helping to maintain feelings of clear breathing and open airways, and to minimize the effects of seasonal threats.

Spring Diffuser Blends:

Super Clean Air
2 drops On Guard
2 drops Peppermint

Sweet & Fresh
3 drops Easy Air
2 drops Wild Orange

Spring Cleaning
3 drops Lemon
3 drops Wild Orange
2 drops Peppermint

Morning Energizer
2 drops Peppermint
2 drops Wild Orange

Focus & Energize
3 drops Lemon
2 drops Peppermint

Night Time Calm
2 drops Lavender
2 drops Easy Air

~It’s recommended that you diffuse 2-3 x day for about 30 min at a time.
~Typically you’ll use a total of 4-8 drops in your diffuser.
~Ensure you clean your diffuser 1 x week by wiping the inside with rubbing alcohol.

Use the best Essential Oils available. Choose products that are:

–Sourced from expert growers committed to meeting the highest quality of standards.
–100% pure and contain zero fillers, pesticides, chemicals, or artificial ingredients.
–Tested for purity and composition after distillation and upon arrival for production.
–Certified to have the correct chemical composition to achieve desired results.

Our Top Essential Oils:

Lavender Essential Oil is often considered a must-have oil to keep on hand at all times due to its versatile uses, including calming and relaxing properties that promote peaceful sleep and ease feelings of tension. As well as soothes occasional skin irritations.

Lemon Essential Oil has cleansing, purifying, and invigorating properties. The versatile uses of this oil includes; cleanses and purifies the air and surfaces, naturally cleanses the body and aids in digestion, supports healthy respiratory function and promotes a positive mood.

Wild Orange Essential Oil has multiple health benefits and an energizing aroma that can uplift the mind and body. It is a powerful cleanser and purifying agent, as well as supports healthy immune function.

Eucalyptus Essential Oil is used to cleanse surfaces and the air. It can help clear the mind, as well as promote feelings of relaxation and clear breathing.

Peppermint Essential Oil is used to promote digestive health, healthy respiratory function and clear breathing, increases energy and alertness. As well as repels bugs naturally.

On Guard Essential Oil is a powerful proprietary blend that supports healthy immune function and contains cleansing properties. It protects against environmental threats, supports the body’s natural antioxidant defenses, promotes healthy circulation and has an energizing and uplifting aroma.

Easy Air Essential Oil has a minty, fresh aroma that has been specially formulated to provide the user with a cooling, invigorating blend that is known for its calming aroma and can be used to create feelings of clear, easy breathing. As well as promotes a restful nights sleep and helps minimize the effects of seasonal threats.

Why we choose doTERRA Essential Oils:
-Essential oils are not governed. A bottle from the health store, saje or shoppers can say organic, 100% pure, or natural and it means absolutely nothing.
-doTERRA has set its own Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade testing standard to ensure no herbicides, pesticides, fillers and synthetics.
-doTERRA co-impacts working globally with countries where specific oils thrive based on geographical location, time of year, harvesting practices, climate and soil.
-84% of doTERRA oils are proprietary to doTERRA.
-No other wholesaler or company can purchase these oils.
-doTERRA has partnerships with the people on ground, farmers and villagers and no one else can buy from these people.
-They can only sell to doTERRA and doTERRA will only buy from them.

Learn more about DoTERRA and how to use Essential Oils safely.

To see the toxicity level of your current cleaners check out:
www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners

Still not convinced to green-up your clean-up? Check out on Netflix, the movie the chemical industry doesn’t want you to see. STINK! The movie opens with a foul smell and a pair of kids pajamas. And a single father trying to find out what that smell could possibly be. But instead of getting a straight answer, director Jon Whelan stumbles on an even bigger issue in America, which is that some products on our store shelves are not safe — by design.
www.stinkmovie.com/