Tag: household products

2 Ingredient Homemade Mosquito Repellent + Sleep Spray

Just as I was settling back into a relaxing sleep routine, the heat wave hit. Tossing and turning. Then the temperatures started to cool down just enough this weekend for me to start to get comfortable…BAM! Mosquitoes!!! I can say without a doubt that mosquitoes are my least favorite part of Summer. I can be surrounded by people and literally every single hungry mosquito in a 5 mile radius will bite me. Just me. My mother says it’s ’cause I’m so sweet which (don’t judge me) actually makes me feel a little better. Mommies are awesome like that.

Anyway, I was in desperate need of some mosquito-free rest and relaxation. I’ve always heard that the go to mosquito repellent is citronella. I really am not too keen on the smell of citronella, especially when I’m trying to get some shut eye. Fortunately, citronella isn’t the only scent that mosquitoes hate. We’re talking lavender, y’all. Who knew?!

Lavender is probably my favorite essential oil. For real, I use it in all kinds of recipes. Seriously, I go through those little bottles like water. I always keep a homemade lavender face mist at my desk to relieve stress. I use a lavender leave in conditioner daily. And now I have a new recipe to add to my arsenal, and yours. This recipe goes straight ninja on mosquitoes all while calming you into the deepest, most restful sleep of your life. Check it out and you can totally thank me later!

Homemade Mosquito Repellent + Sleep Spray

Ingredients

  • witch hazel
  • lavender essential oil

Directions

  • pour your witch hazel in a small mist bottle (I used 2oz bottles) leaving a little space at the top
  • add about 10 drops of lavender essential oil, or more to really get that lavender scent up and running
  • if you’re feeling fancy, you can add some fresh, dried lavender
  • close the bottle and shake well
  • to use, spray the mist all over your bed linens and your whole body
  • store on your bedside table

This spray is so gentle that you can use it directly on your skin without fear of irritation. I really use a lot of this spray, so I tend to have to make more on a weekly basis, but it’s so worth it. For the first time in years, I get to sleep at night… the deep slumber of a person that has absolutely no mosquito bites.

Images: pinterest/eyeswoon + pinterest/annieselke

Pure Soap Flakes—Your New (Old School) Secret Weapon to Clean EVERYTHING

When I was a kid, they still sold soap flakes in all the stores. Soap flakes are, well, soap flakes. Dried, 100% pure, vegetable based castile soap with no added preservatives, bleaches, phosphates, or perfumes. If you’re old enough to remember that, you’ll probably remember how amazingly versatile soap flakes were. You could use them to clean everything from delicate wood floors to laundry to newborn babies. They were magical and just like that, they started disappearing from the shelves at the grocery store and were replaced by all kinds of products containing heaps of toxins.

Anyway, I recently got my hands on some soap flakes and I’ve totally been on a cosmetic making rampage! I usually swear by Dr. Bronner’s liquid soaps, but some household products I make call for something a little bit thicker. Who doesn’t prefer creamy shampoo or laundry detergent? So I’ve been testing out some recipes for you lot, because of course I have. Not only are soap flakes extremely powerful (just imagine your laundry whites actually staying white), but they’re also gentle enough to use on the most sensitive of skin. This is an all in one kinda deal, folks!

Here are just a few of the many uses for soap flakes:

  • Laundering natural fibers and delicate fabrics including wool, cashmere, silk, linen, flannel, chiffon, cotton, and down.
  • Washing and cleaning children’s toys chemically free.
  • Cleaning precious ceramics, crystal and glassware, fragile china, porcelain and marble
  • Shampooing wool and other fine carpets and rugs.
  • Cleaning musical instruments, wood and metal.
  • Shampooing pets, show dogs and show horses.
  • Use in craft projects such as making frost for holiday trees, rock polishing, making soap crayons, carving soap sculptures.
  • Safely combine soap flakes with other natural cleaning ingredients such as baking soda, borax and washing soda for extra cleaning power.
  • Wash oak, pine, teak, walnut, linoleum and vinyl floors.
  • Wash walls and wallpaper, wood products, fine furniture and priceless antiques.
  • Wash boats, cars, and motorcycles with no harm to the environment.

Basic Laundry Detergent Directions

  1. Dissolve soap flakes thoroughly in hot water and allow to cool to skin temperature before use.
  2. Washing Items by Hand: 2 or 3 tablespoons per gallon of water. Work fabric in soapy mixture and rinse well. Squeeze or pat dry.
  3. Top Loading Washing Machines: 1/2 cup per load.
  4. Front Loading Machines: 2 tablespoons per load. Dissolve flakes in hot water before pouring into machine. Do not use machine’s detergent dispenser.

***Always wash garments according to garment label.

***Also, I like to add a few drops of lavender essential oil to the diluted mixture before throwing it in the washer. It smells divine!