cleaning our space is essential to protecting and maintaining our physical + mental health. for me, cleaning my space feels like therapy. i enjoy reseting the energy, reorganizing the flow of things, and refreshing the space with a new life. i think many of you would agree that nothing feels better than an organized space, fresh sheets, and the smell of your favorite essential oil in the air.
but what doesn’t feel great is finding out that many of the products we have grown up around, often include chemicals that are harmful to not just our health, but our environment too. it’s crazy to me to find out that researchers claim that regular use of household cleaning products is just as harmful as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day- yuck!
according to the american lung association, many of today’s household cleaning products cause throat/eye irritation, headaches, cancer, asthma, and other respiratory illnesses. they also state that even products labeled “green” or “natural” may contain ingredients that can cause health problems too ?! don’t let this all scare you, we’re here to share an easy first step towards living a less toxic life
[over the years, i’ve tried to incorporate lifestyle changes that
allow me to live more natural, and this has been one of the
easiest, most versatile, and sustainable switches i’ve made.]
aside from swapping out toxic household cleaners, we feel that it is important to note that we found amicrofiber cloth works best with this recipe. many of us don’t even think about how many paper towels we use, but we think that needs to change. opt for the micro-fiber cloth instead this time. it works wayyyy better and mother earth will thank you! we might not live a perfectly non-toxic, eco-friendly, non-harming, sustainable lifestyle- but every step towards a cleaner environment helps.
what you’ll need:
1 empty spray bottle (you can purchase one from amazon for less than $5 here)
1 teaspoon dish soap (we prefer mrs. meyer’s)
lemon essential oil to disinfect & remove stains
tea tree essential oil for cleaning & deodorizing
8 ounces white vinegar
8 ounces water
it’s as simple as combining all ingredients in the spray bottle and stirring to stabilize consistency.
we find this recipe works best for:
– cleaning / disinfecting our stove top
– removing surface stains from table and countertop
– cleaning sticky messes off the floor
spread inspiration,
the desert iris team
