Oil: it has a bad rap. The price of the stuff that you put in your cars is going up, and the cost of the oils that you put into your body is something that the doctors tally. High gas prices, high cholesterol. Yuck, oil.
But there are a few beloved oils that I need to have in my home. They nourish my body and my house looks and smells wonderful because of them. Some are actual oils that come in bottles from the grocery store. Others are what are called essential oils, distillations of the oils of plants that can be used in tiny quantities to great effect.
Olive oil is an essential in our home. It is full of good fats and makes an excellent salad dressing. It’s also an effective lightweight polish, especially when it is combined with melted beeswax. A beeswax and olive oil mixture is also excellent for home play for small children. Kids can place a tiny amount of the mixture on a piece of wood and move it into the wood with a cloth to polish the wood. Another excellent feature of beeswax and olive oil is the fact that it makes your hands buttery smooth.
The second essential in my home cleaning arsenal is actually an essential oil. Tea tree oil is a potent-smelling oil that I use for almost anything in the home. I’ve used the same bottle of tea tree oil to add drops to solution to spray on pet messes and to help kill mold on the sides of the window. Tea tree oil is antibacterial and antifungal.
Lemon essential oil is wonderful in cleaning solutions. Use it in a soapy solution to give a fresh scent to dishes and fabrics. It also helps lift stains.
Cinnamon. Ah cinnamon. Cinnamon loaf oil is my air-freshener of choice when the house is smelling a little catty or like yesterday’s dinner. Spray it around the house diluted in water, and you’ll have instant home smell.
Do you use oils as cleaners? What are your go-to oils?