“My kitchen and dining areas stay clean all day long”… said no parent ever. Actually, the only time they ever seem clean since little miss showed up and decided to set up residence, is after the wee one is in bed. IF dear old Daddy and I can keep enough pep in these old bones to have some energy left over after a full day of living life, we can manage to calm at least a bit of the storm that has spewed all over our house.
If you happen to come by during our toddler’s hours of operation, I will probably make some sort of apology about the whirlwind you’re about to walk into (which I likely won’t really mean… I’m not sorry we’re too busy living life to keep our floors and windows glistening. Slightly embarrassed, perhaps, but not sorry.)
To be perfectly honest, there are two reasons I have been putting off the mopping and scrubbing for longer than I would have before bebe. The first is what I mentioned above about living a full and busy life of play and adventure trumping cleaning up after it. The second is this: When a few squirts of cleaner in a small space makes you feel like you’ve been hanging out with Cheech and Chong, you start to question whether what you’re using to wipe up food prep surfaces is actually making a positive difference in your family’s health. Are sand-box sprinkles and a bit of mushed banana particles left on the floor that your baby’s rolling on and randomly licking really more harmful than the toxic chemicals in the cleaner that states “Danger!” right on the bottle? I really don’t think so.
But… the messes do need wiped up, and the bacteria left behind after bits of chicken and smudges of peanut butter are finished with needs some disinfecting. Did you know that poisoning is the third leading cause of death from unintentional injuries in children and youth aged 1-24? I don’t present you with this statistic to alarm you, but so you realize that I’m not just being silly – there are toxins in cleaners that aren’t exactly healthy for little ones (and bigger ones).
So what can I use as a non-toxic cleaner that cleans up well and doesn’t make me worry that my little one will be licking up chemicals and accidentally poisoning herself?
I’ve been dabbling with essential oils lately, courtesy of Spicy Rooster Essential Oils, a local supplier of doTERRA essential oils on Salt Spring Island. As an easy introductory, I’ve been trying out a trio of Lavender, Lemon and Peppermint – three of the most recognizable oils with a very wide range of uses. Going through the booklet of oils and their uses that came with the trio set, I discovered that I could use the lemon oil to make a kitchen cleaner, as lemon essential oil is a natural disinfectant.
All you need to do, according to the doTERRA Tools website, is add some drops of their Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade lemon essential oil to a spray bottle of water, then go ahead and use to clean and disinfect tables, countertops and more. Bam! DIY natural lemon cleaner! If you’re feeling like you want a bit more cleaning power, you can add in some vinegar to the mix. Or if you’re really wanting to get some serious scrubbing on, sprinkle some baking soda on the surface first, then spray with the lemon-water-vinegar mix and scrub (or so says eHow).
I have to tell you, I feel a lot more confident having my little one eat her meals off her high chair tray when I’m using something so safe to clean it with. Plus, I find the citrusy smell of lemons much more pleasant than the strong smell of harsh chemicals.
If you’re interested in knowing more about essential oils, what you can do with them, and how you could win your very own starter trio, stick around. I’ve got more good things coming your way in the very near future!
*Disclaimer* While I did receive a lovely trio of oils to try in exchange for sharing my experiences with them, all of the above thoughts and feelings remain my own true and honest opinions. You can find my full disclosure policy here.