Natural Facial Toner

In a glass spray bottle, combine...

1.5 oz. witch hazel
1/2 oz. apple cider vinegar (organic, with the mother)
1/4 tesp glycerine
10 drops grapefruit seed extract
4 drops lavender e.o.
4 drops grapefruit e.o.
4 drops cedarwood e.o.
4 drops frankincense e.o.

Alternately, I use 10 drops Age Defy blend e.o. (Eden's Garden) + 3 drops carrot seed + 3 drops geranium

Sunburn Relief Spray

In a 2 oz spray bottle, combine...

1 oz. witch hazel
1 tesp pure aloe vera gel
10 drops each: lavender and peppermint essential oil
5 drops each: fir needle and copaiba essential oil

SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE before use.
Spray liberally onto burned skin. It's even better if you can store it in the fridge. Works like a charm!

Sugar Scrub

1/2 C white sugar
1/4 C coconut oil
Whip with hand mixer until fluffy
Add in 30 drops essential oil until well combined

For invigorating sugar scrub use 5 drops each:
- grapefruit
- lemon
- orange
- peppermint
- rosemary
- basil (or eucalyptus)

For calming sugar scrub use 5 drops each:
- lavender
- cedarwood
- fir needle
- marjoram
- tangerine, mandarin, bergamot, or sweet orange
- chamomile or frankinsense
And the leaves from 1 bag of chamomile tea

Calming Bath Salts

1 C. Epsom Salts
1/4 C. Baking Soda
20 drops essential oil (such as lavender, cedarwood, chamomile, bergamot, fir needle, sweet marjoram)

Combine well and store in an air tight jar. Use about 1/4 for a bath.

Linen Mist

In a 2 oz. glass spray bottle, combine...

1.5 oz. vodka or everclear
15-20 drops essential oil (I like lavender + cedarwood or lavender + fir needle + tangerine)
top off with distilled water to the shoulder. Shake well, spray onto pillows & sheets 15 minutes before bed.

This ratio can also be used for air freshener, although a 1:1 ratio of water to vodka is fine for air freshener.

Natural Bug Repellent

In a 2 oz. spray bottle, combine...
1 oz. vodka or everclear
1 oz. distilled water
20 drops Pest Defy essential oil (Eden's Garden blend containing: cedarwood, citronella, lemongrass, and geranium)

Shake well, spray onto clothing or skin as needed.

Fridge Deodorizer

Mix 1/2 C baking soda + 10-15 drops of any essential oil (my favorite is grapefruit). Place in a small mason jar, cover the jar with a piece of cheesecloth or lace, then screw the ring over the cloth to hold it in place. Place in the back of your fridge and it will keep things smelling fresh for 6 months.

Multi Purpose Disinfectant Cleaner (2)

I use this recipe for more greasy messes like around the stove or kitchen table. It's also great to clean the bathtub.

In a 16 oz. glass spray bottle combine...
1 oz. Dr. Bronner's liquid castille soap
1 tesp. vodka or everclear
20 drops grapefruit seed extract
20 drops essential oil
top off slowly with distilled water
Shake before use, spray on surface, wipe with damp cloth.

Essential Oils I like for this recipe:
- lemon
- orange
- grapefruit
- tea tree
- lemongrass
- peppermint
- eucalyptus
- fighting five (Eden's Garden blend)

DIY Granite Cleaner

In a 16 oz. glass spray bottle, combine...
1/3 C. rubbing alcohol
5 drops liquid castille soap or Dawn
10 drops of non-citrus essential oil
fill the rest of the bottle with distilled water, shake well, spray surface, wipe with dry cloth

Essential Oils I like for this recipe are:
- eucalyptus
- tea tree
- peppermint
- fighting five (Eden's Garden blend)
- Cinnamon
- Clove

Natural Multi-Purpose Cleaner

In a 16 oz glass spray bottle, combine
1 C. white vinegar
1 C. distilled water
1/2 tesp grapefruit seed extract
20 drops essential oil - any combination *optional
Shake well, spray surface, allow to sit for 30 seconds, wipe dry.
DO NOT USE ON GRANITE!

Essential Oils I like to use for cleaning:
- lemon
- orange
- grapefruit
- peppermint
- eucalyptus
- pine
- lemongrass
- fighting five (Eden's Garden blend)

Homemade Dryer Sheets

I only use my dryer when its raining or too cold to hang laundry outside, so these DIY dryer sheets will probably last me for a LONG time!

What you need:

1/4 C fabric softener

3/4 C hot tap water

a few drops of bleach (to hinder growth of mold)

an old receiving blanket or other flannel fabric cut into squares

an old baby wipes or other air tight container

Cut blanket into dryer sheet sized squares, mine made 12 pieces. Mix fabric softener, hot water, and few drops of bleach. Pour mixture over fabric in the container, make sure they all get good and wet. And done!

When you need one, just squeeze it out a little bit and toss in with the wet clothes.  Then put it back in the container to get wet again and reuse as needed.  I'm finding that the mixture is lasting much longer than I thought.

They really do work as well as regular dryer sheets.  Really!

The Cost:

37 cents per "batch" of 48 sheets

Bounce dryer sheets = $6.84/ 160 count

What I purchased:

56 oz bottle Suavatel fabric softener = $2.97

Homemade Hand Soap

Making your own hand soap is super cheap and easy! You should definately try it!

I had to look a bit for the glycerine and ended up finding it at CVS, but I think you can buy it online too.

What you need:
1 bar of soap
1 T of glycerine
10 cups of water
5-10 drops of teatree oil for antibacterial purposes (optional)

Heat water and grated soap in a large pot on low, just until it combines. Turn off the heat, add the glycerine and essential oil and mix really well, but don't make a lather.  Let it cool completely, then pour into bottles.

The Cost:
1 batch yielded 14 bottles = $1.41
or 8 cents per bottle
Softsoap brand hand soap = $1.00 per bottle

What I Purchased:
1 bar of Yardley soap at the dollar store = $1
a 6 oz bottle of glycerine = $4.99 (will make 12 batches of handsoap)

If you're good at couponing you can get bar soap for much less. Ivory is about 45 cents per bar at Wal-Mart.
*Note: do not use Dove or Caress types of soap as they do not lather at all in handsoap form.

Citrus Vinegar Enzyme Cleaner

I have two small children and pets. They all like to eat things off the floors and lick inappropriate surfaces.  So when I came across this recipe for homemade kid-friendly citrus cleaner I gave it a try.  Now I love it and use it to clean practically everything in my home!  The vinegar disinfects and the citrus cuts through grease and dirt and it smells great.  And I don't have to worry about using chemicals near my little ones.
Here's how to make it...

What you need:
1 gallon jar or container with a tight lid (I used an old glass pickle jar.)
1/2 gallon of white vinegar
various citrus peels - be very careful to use only the rind, not the white pith

Put vinegar & peels in the jar and shake up once a day for 3 weeks.  I added more peels as we ate more oranges during that 3 week time.  You can use any citrus fruit you have on hand. I happened to use oranges, grapefruit, and lemon.

After 3 weeks, strain out all the peels and gunk. Return to the jar and dilute to half potency with water.

It can be used as an all purpose cleaning spray for just about anything.  Dilute it by half again with hot water and use to mop hardwood, vinyl, or tile floors to get them shining like new again.

The Cost:
57 cents per bottle
Mr. Clean citrus cleaner = $2.27 per bottle

What I Purchased:
1/2 gallon white vinegar = $1.15
citrus peels; on hand

Frugal Febreze

As with any home remedy, at first I had my doubts as to the effectiveness of this homemade Febr3ze.  But making it was so inexpensive, I decided I didn't have anything to lose by trying.  I'm so glad I did!  Because it works just as well {if not better} than the store bought type, and is about $3.00 less per bottle.

What you need: 

1/8 C (1 ounce) liquid fabric softener {any brand}

1 T baking soda

2-3 drops of essential oil (optional)

hot tap water

an empty spray bottle

Pour fabric softener, baking soda, and oil into the bottle, fill it (almost) the rest of the way up with hot tap water.  Give it a good shake and spritz away.

The first time I made this I sprayed every fabric surface of my home! That may have been overkill.

The cost:

about 19 cents per bottle to make

Febreze = $3.32 per bottle to buy

What I purchased:

56 oz bottle Suavatel fabric softener = $2.97

4 lb. box Arm&Hammer baking soda = $2.12 (I buy big boxes because I use it like crazy!)

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I've started making my own laundry detergent since I've been using cloth diapers for Ezekiel. I had read that its better for the wear and tear on the diapers. Plus its much cheaper! And as it turns out, its really easy to make. You can buy everything you need at Rural King. And if they don't have a Rural King where you live, try Wal-Mart. Only I'm not sure if Wal-Mart has Fels-Naptha soap.

1 bar of Fels-Naptha laundry soap 1 Cup Borax laundry powder
1 Cup Arm & Hammer powder laundry soda
1 Cup OxyClean powder
1/4 ounce scented oil (optional)
Clean 5 gallon bucket with lid
Several empty bottles for storage (plastic milk cartons or old laundry soap bottles work great)
A funnel

Heat a soup pot full of water to almost boiling. Meanwhile grate the bar of soap. Remove pot from heat, add grated soap, whisk until completely dissolved. Whisk in 1 cup each of dry ingredients. (The OxyClean may be omitted, but detergent will have better results if you use it.)

Pour mixture into clean 5 gallon bucket. Fill bucket the rest of the way up (stop about 2 inches from the top) with hot water; stirring well. Whisk in scented oil if desired.
(FYI, tea tree oil and grapefruit oil have disinfectant qualities and smell great. However, this step is not necessary becuase the bar-soap already has a fresh scent.)

Let the bucket sit overnight (or until you get back to it). The next day the mixture will have turned into goo. Give it a really vigorious stir. Then funnel into storage containers.

Use 1 cup per load
*Shake very well before each use.

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Aproximate Cost:
76 oz. Borax (12 batches) = $5
55 oz. Arm & Hammer (9 batches) = $3
56 oz. OxyClean (9 batches) = $9
9 bars Fels-Naptha (9 batches) = $1.29 each; $11.61 for all

total spent: $28.61 (or $3.18 per batch)
for 45 gallons of detergent (80 loads per 5 gallon batch)
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Compare to Tide 100 oz. (60 loads)= $11.99