So….we are going to give you a sneak peek into our next challenge over here on our site! Right after Spring officially starts (by the calendar :)) we are going to have a home and spring cleaning challenge to help each of us tackle the spring cleaning, but in a thrifty and healthier way!
We are going to start by sharing our many, many homemade cleaning products recipes to make at home and to make for pennies on the dollar. We have the shopping list for these items in our other post HERE that can be bought for very little money at your local stores.
However, there are key ingredients in these cleaning products to make them even more effective and to make them the “anti-bacterial (prevents/slows bacterial growth), anti-fungal (fights fungal infections), anti-infectious (prevents germs from spreading), anti-microbial (kills and prevents pathogenic microorganisms), anti-septic (kills and prevents microbes) and anti-viral (slows the growth of a virus).
I am a germ-a-phobe (Alex too!) and I used to clean with chemical products. But after years of research I determined there were valid health reasons to stop using the chemical products (it is a long story and one that I will share another day). So with that, for the past several years, I have used natural cleaning products and have been making them on my own.
Not only are there great health benefits to kicking the chemical cleaners to the curb, they actually end up being cheaper too! What a blessing that is! It isn’t often that doing the healthier thing is less money!
Well, we are going to try to help you make it even less money with a few tips and tricks that we have learned.
So what are these key ingredients that do all those things listed above?…… It is essential oils!
I love essential oils and I have used them in my cleaning products for years! In 2012, I started using higher food quality grade essential oils for cooking and for our homemade personal care products (which I will share later – let’s get spring cleaning done and then go back to replacing our medicine and personal care items naturally too – it is an entirely different subject!)
One thing that I do want to mention…I have researched this topic A LOT and have concluded that I don’t think there is any reason to use the very expensive, food grade quality essential oils in cleaning products. Now for personal care and cooking…. no question, I would use a much higher grade of essential oils. But they are usually about twice or more the cost!
So for this post, I am going to show you how to get 7 100% pure essential oils for that you can use for your cleaning products, diffusing into the air, etc.
A couple of things to remember about essential oils:
- If you have never used them, don’t worry, they are completely safe and in fact yeild many health benefits. Essential oils are the liquids distilled from plants and plant parts (like seeds, bark, leaves, roots, flowers, roots, etc.) That is the shortest answer possible 🙂 But in essence, it is totally natural and healthy!
- Also, they come in small bottles. The most common for cleaning grade is a 15 ml. which is about a 1/2 oz. I know that sounds like it is nothing and will not get you far….but they will probably last you a couple of years in making your own cleaning products for the full 2-years. Why? Well, most essential oils have 25-30 drops in 1 ml, that means that a 15ml. bottle contains about 375-450 drops of oil! Most cleaning product recipes I will be sharing require about 10-30 drops per bottle, this means that you can make about 14-15 bottles of cleaner per essential oil bottle!
So, from my years of research and determining the best products to use for being the agents in the list above it is these top 7 in order of best for this purpose (again, my own rating and order):
- Oregano
- Cassia
- Cinnamon
- Melaleuca (also know as Tea Tree Essential Oil)
- Lemon
- Lavender
- Peppermint
Now, if you were to pick just two, the two most popular are Lemon and Lavender and that is because they both have many of the benefits listed above, but they also have a fantastic, pleasant smell. I like the cinnamon and peppermint too, but it is a very strong smell. The others don’t have the best smell, but they are effective at naturally solving many of those issues in our list above. So I have found that using a combination of these oils is a fantastic happy medium between getting the job done most effectively and with a pleasant smell too!
So, I would highly encourage you to have a stash of cleaning grade essential oils to mix n’ match in your cleaning product batch! 😉
The better news is that I can show you how to get these 7 oils for much less and even better price for first time buyers of Vitacost.
To get this deal:
First, you will want to claim a FREE $10 off $30 or more coupon from Vitacost! This will work for anything on the Vitacost site and they are literally a huge vitamin, supplement, natural and organic grocery and household online warehouse where you can find pretty much anything you may need in the natural health and organic category!
They will have some awesome sales and clearances and we have been buying from them for the past 2-years for many of our everyday needs at their sale and clearance prices. Plus we get these great deals and shop from home, which is even better!
So you can head to the Vitacost site through this link HERE to claim your $10 off coupon on an order of $30 or more (essentially a FREE $10 gift card!).
Option #1 – The full set….
- Head to the Vitacost site through this link HERE to claim your $10 off coupon on an order of $30 or more
- Then search for each of these oils and add them to your cart: ( I like Nature’s Alchemy brand)
- Nature’s Alchemy Lemon Essential Oil – (.5 oz for $4.19)
- Nature’s Alchemy Lavender Essential Oil – (.5 oz for $6.28)
- Aura Cacia Cassia Bark Essential Oil – (.5 oz for $6.29)
- Nature’s Alchemy Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil – (.5 oz for $4.39)
- Nature’s Alchemy Tea Tree (Melaleuca) Essential Oil – (.5 oz for $5.09)
- Nature’s Alchemy Peppermint Essential Oil – (.5 oz for $5.39)
- Heritage Products Oregano Essential Oil – (1 oz – which is twice the size of the other oils for $14.59, I have not tried this brand yet, but I ordered more Oregano and got this brand this time to try)
- This will total: $46.22 – shipping is $4.99 or FREE with a $49 or more order. So…one of the items that is on the other store shopping list is Castile bar soap. So add…
- 1 sets of 3 Castile bar soap for $3.73
- Your final total is $49.95
- *If you are a first time buyer to Vitacost with your FREE $10 to spend = $44.94 shipped! ($39.95 + $4.99 shipping, you don’t get free shipping with the first time buyers $10 promo)
Option #2 – Modified, but effective set…. (no oregano and a two-oil blend to save $20)
- Head to the Vitacost site through this link HERE to claim your $10 off coupon on an order of $10 or more
- Then search for each of these oils and add them to your cart: ( I like Nature’s Alchemy brand)
- Nature’s Alchemy Lemon Essential Oil – (.5 oz for $4.19)
- Nature’s Alchemy Lavender Essential Oil – (.5 oz for $6.28)
- Nature’s Alchemy Cinnamon Cassia (two oils blended to save a bit of money) Essential Oil – (.5 oz for $4.99)
- Nature’s Alchemy Tea Tree (Melaleuca) Essential Oil – (.5 oz for $5.09)
- Nature’s Alchemy Peppermint Essential Oil – (.5 oz for $5.39)
- Your final total is $25.94 plus $4.99 shipping = $30.93
- *If you are a first time buyer to Vitacost with your FREE $10 to spend (you will need to spend $30 in your FIRST ORDER – So add a couple sets of 3-Bars of Castile Soap at $3.73 each so you don’t lose the $10! = $28.39 shipped! ($23.40 + $4.99 shipping, you don’t get free shipping with the first time buyers $10 promo)
Returning Vitacost Customers shop through this link HERE for the oils instead. Only new customers get the $10 off!
Don’t forget to see the other shopping list HERE for 23 Homemade Cleaning Products with 9 Ingredients and for $12 to complete your homemade cleaning closet!
See more Organic Deals
Julie Dunn says
I just signed up with Vitacost via your link. I did get the free shipping, as well as the $10 credit, so long as my total was over $49 after the $10 new customer credit! So my actual total was $61.15, then less the $10 credit to total $51.15. Otherwise, yes, I would’ve had to pay the $4.99 shipping. 🙂 I’d always rather pay a little more and get a product than pay for shipping!
Cassie says
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know! We couldn’t test it since we didn’t have the new member credit 🙂 I also agree with you, if you are close to the shipping threshold, I would rather get product too! Thanks again Julie!
Gwen says
I have used essential oils for years. Love them for everything. But, please advise your readers that melaluca is highly fatal to cats. We have a cat and I have done well over the years with not using tea tree at all. There are others oils that have antibacterial properties. Just thought I would mention that for those who are not aware.
Connie Abbott says
I was planning to comment that Melaleuca was not so safe and should be used with care! I found my son as a toddler was holding my bottle of Melaleuca, with the cap off, and I didn’t know whether he’d taken any in, so I called poison control. They said if he did I would know it very soon because it is very toxic and he’d be reacting with seizures if he’d had it. Thankfully he had not and was okay, but it woke me up to the dangers of that oil.
Karen says
I was wondering if the essential oils in the cleaners leave any oily residue on the surfaces you’re cleaning?
Cassie says
No they don’t at all. I even put it in my laundry! Everywhere. It is a totally different consistency than like olive or cooking oils. Believe it or not, many also put essential oils on acne to get rid of acne. When I was growing up, oil was the last thing I wanted to put on them 🙂 I give that example to show that they are a different sort of oil!
Julie Perry says
Vitacost is AWESOME!!! I have shopped there for years and they consistantly have great prices, great shipping, (free for orders over $49) and a large selection of products.
We have gluten allergies in our family and they carry many alternative flours and gluten free products as well.
These are excellent essential oil prices…thanks for the great advice!
donni says
If you use essential oils and you have a minute I need a bit of advice. I am going over my budget and am able to devote a small amount on essential oils and I am planning my purchase before I make it. I have already decided to get the lemon and orange but I’m wondering what would smell best for laundry (I’m a bit picky, I want my clothes to smell clean but not like oranges. I use Gain right now but I’m almost out and I have decided not to buy any more soap but to make my own). Also I have terrible foot pain. I am looking for something that will be good in a foot soak that will help with pain. I believe I have plantar fasciitis (but I can’t see a doctor to find out if I’m right) and I need something that will help loosen those tendons in my feet. So if you use essential oils on a regular basis do you have any ideas for a beginner? Thank you!
Cassie says
Hi Donni!
By far my next choice without question would be Lavender! Lavender essential oil is a super duper household cleaning oil that gets rid of bacteria and mold as well as a fantastic one for personal use – it is actually the #1 oil to ease pain! It is also my preferred choice oil in laundry as it gets rid of bacteria, is calming and has a great scent!
Lemon and lavender are the most popular as they are so versatile, smell great, have wonderful benefits around the home, wonderful benefits for personal health, etc.!
Hopefully that helps!
donni says
YES it really does help, thank you so much!! I will be using the $10 off next week when I am able to make my first order so thank you for that also!
Linda says
Hi. Probably not the best place to put this…but I had that whole foot plantar thing and I just rubbed vitamin d oil on it every night and it went away. Dr.s wanted to do surgerysurgery but i researched it and found that when they did surgery the things just kept coming back and the feet got more messed up. So I tried the vit d oil. And it worked.
shelleyrae says
Replying to the foot soak, i dealt with plantar fasciitis as well (i don’t any more), i highly recommend Epsom salts. And if you want an essential oil, try peppermint. BUT, and this is very important for using peppermint essential oil anytime, wash your hands well after handling. It will sting horribly if you get any in your eyes. I use the peppermint oil to get rid of headaches, and accidentally rubbed many eyes with my hand. Another favorite for me is rose essential oil which I got at my co op looooong ago. Jasmine oil rubbed into the feet is a pain reliever as well as calming.
Robin says
For the plantar faciatis, I would recommend stretching the foot using frozen water bottles and rolling the bottle from toe to heel and back for 15-20 minutes twice a day. That is what my Ortho told me to do. You can also use an exercise band to do foot stretches. Those exercises and a good pedi twice a month work wonders for me. I also have severe tendonitis running down my leg to the toes on the right side and this all helps immensely. Also change your shoes and do not walk bare foot. Dansko shoes (ugly as all get out) are highly recommended as well as Rainbow Flip Flops (found at most Journeys stores) to use for walking around the house. I hope this helps. 🙂
donni says
Robin thank you! I know I need to change my shoes I just have to talk myself into the cost 🙁 I hate spending so much but I suppose I need to do it since I don’t have a car anymore and I now walk everywhere, lol. I will work on those exercises too, so thank you muches!!
Christine says
I have a quick question, do you have an alternative to lavender? I am allergic to it!
Abbey Engel says
Not exactly cheap but this link to Amazon.com cured my plantar fasciitis. It takes awhile (2 months) of consistent use (sleep in it) and then as-needed afterwards but I have NO pain anymore. My Dad, who has been afflicted for YEARS, got one after he tried mine for a few hours. Best wishes, PF is awful!
http://www.amazon.com/Active-Ankle-Dorsal-Night-Splint/dp/B0015TESE4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1374723069&sr=8-3&keywords=plantar+fasciitis+night+splint
Amber says
Fyi : cassia is cinnamon. (Your list of top essential oils is basicallyvcalking out one type of cinnamon). There is also ceylon cinnamon which typically costs more and is subtlyvmore sweetsmell and taste. Ceylon is also less toxic to ingest. Does not matter as much for essential oils but I thought you be interested, if you didnt already know.
Cassia cinbamon: A harder bark, less sweet cinnamon that is more common here in the US.
Ceylon: A sweeter bark (less wiod like, more like rolled cigar), has a sweeter smell and scent.
Stephanie says
I use peppermint essential oil as an alternative to those deoderant discs for the diaper pail/trash can. A few drops really helps and the bottle seems to last forever.
shelleyrae says
I just have a question about Vitacost products in general. Do they indicate where products are made? Of course I prefer US made, but some things just don’t grow here. And I have had some painful incidents with items made in China. So I am real picky when I cannot inspect something prior to shelling out the cash. After working in infectious diseases for 13+ years, I’m a tough inspector we all know that you can get e.coli from vegetables grown in an area with water run off from a nearby animal farm. Gotta wash that spinach even if it says prewashed. So this is real important to me for consumables or anything that will be topical.
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