August 2018 - Jodiebees

5 Minute ‘Toxic Free’ Laundry Liquid Recipe

August 30, 2018 / For Home / 0 comments

I was inspired to create my own laundry liquid after trialling a bunch of different “eco” and “natural” branded laundry liquids.

Luella and Kevin’s skin reacted to the ‘natural/organic’ fragrances. So I started playing around with a few recipes online and combined them with what worked for us.

As it turns out, this liquid is super cost-effective and really quick to make. Which is a win-win for busy mums!

Our Laundry Liquid Recipe makes 3.5 L (approximately 30 loads)

Feel free to double the recipe if you have a larger container to store it in.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup of baking soda
2.5 Tsp of coarse salt
1/2 cup of Castile soap- I use Dr Bronners- ‘Baby Mild’
3.5 L of hot water
15 drops of essential oil

* Note: if you are anything like me and can forget you have a Ioad of washing in the machine (oops!) and then use 5-7 drops of Lemon oil in a rinse wash gets rid of the stink, it works a treat!

METHOD

Mix all dry ingredients first then add liquids
Form a paste then add the whole mixture to the rest of the water- stir and then allow water to cool
Add essential oils once the water has cooled
Once cooled the mixture is ready to pour into a 3.5L container and store out of sunlight
I then add some of the liquid to a portable (old laundry liquid container) for easy pouring into the machine
Shake before use

Enjoy having fresh, clean clothes that aren’t layered in toxic hardening chemicals.

With love,

Jodie x

Natural Chemical Free Baby Wipes

August 30, 2018 / Clean Living, For Body / 0 comments

In preparation for the arrival of baby bees #2, I have become more conscious of the amount of plastic which is used around the packaging for the products we use daily for Luella.

It is scary to see how much plastic is around, when looking at the amount nappies and wipes we purchase alone.

Acknowledging we are going to have another under two VERY soon, I looked into ways I can be more ‘conscious’ around baby care without putting too much pressure on myself with time and the amount of DIY required.

One of the lovely ladies in my Essential Oils Collective shared this chemical free baby wipe recipe I thought i’d give it a go.

It worked so well, smells amazing, was incredibly healing for Luella’s nappy rash- when teething, AND ‘does the job more than others on the market’. I HAD to share it!

A HUGE thank you to Kate Dixon – You are inspirational darling 🙂

To create this quick, cost effective chemical free baby wipe recipe that makes enough for 2 containers/ dispensers you will need the following:

INGREDIENTS

A roll of good quality paper towel (ideally colour/ pattern free)
2 Tsp of fractionated Coconut Oil (fractionated so when its cold it doesn’t harden and set)
1 x glass mixing bowel or jug
2 Tsp of baby mild Castile Soap (I use Dr Bronners liquid soap)
2 Tighlty sealable containers to store the wipes in (I found rectangle shaped ones are best to fit to size although you can cut the paper into the right size too)
2 cups of boiling filtered Water
10 drops of doTERRA’s chamomile pure essential oil (at approx. 0.5% dilution rate)
15 drops of doTERRA’s frankincense pure essential oil (approx. 0.5% dilution rate)
15 drops of doTERRA’s lavender pure essential oil (approx. 0.5% dilution rate)

METHOD

Using sharp/strong scissors or a sharp knife, cut the roll of paper towel in half and place half in each container- feel free to cut to size if you have a different shaped container/dispenser.
Combine coconut oil, castile soap, water into bowl or jug
fractionated coconut oil
Stir until coconut oil has melted and it has cooled
Then add your 40 drops of essential oil
Stir again until all is well combined
Divine mixture into two and pour an equal amount of liquid over each of the paper towel halves
After a few seconds remove cardboard centre out of each roll to pull wipes from the centre

And there you have it – Safe and gentle baby wipes at your disposal!

NOTE: the good o’l fashioned towel face cloth works while at home – cost effective and kind to our environment.

With Love,

Jodie

Toilet Cleaning Gems

August 30, 2018 / Clean Living, For Home / 0 comments

Spot cleaning tip anyone?

I came across this recipe and like all my DIY’s, the value of the product i’m creating needs to be more than the time to create it 😉

Toliet Cleaning gems have been incredibly handy in those times where deep cleaning isn’t available, baby in carrier, friend dropping in without too much notice etc.

Hope they serve you as much as they do me 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of bicarb (Baking Soda)
1/4 cup of citric acid
1/4 white vinegar (note: you will need less refer to method) in spray bottle- start with half a cap full 🙂
30 drops of essential oil/s
Silicone mould- shapes of your choice 🙂
Glass jar with lid for storage

METHOD

Mix the bicarb and citric acid together
Start to spray the vinegar slowly, so that the dry ingredients come together like a paste, now be careful as if you add too much vinegar it ends up fizzing and the mixture grows too much air ( so no more than 2 large cap fulls).
Then add your 30 drops of your desired essential oils
Press into moulds and then let them sit overnight.
The next day they should be ready to work their magic in your porcelain throne
Toilet Gem Moulds
Press them out of the moulds and store in your airtight glass jar or container
To use – drop into the toilet either in the morning after everyone’s left or alternatively let sit overnight
Flush and given the bowl a little brush
You will have a sparkly toilet and you and your family’s lungs will be thanking you for not using toxic chemicals.

With love,
Jodie x

Toxic Free- Glass/Window Cleaner

August 28, 2018 / Clean Living, For Home / 0 comments

As I shared in my foaming hand washing post here,

I started creating my own household cleaning products to gain control of what was ingredients my family was exposed to.

This doesn’t have to be an overwhelming process, eliminating each standard household (chemical) product by just replacing each when it finished I believe is the way to go.

I started off sourcing awesome ‘bio, organic, products’ and found some weren’t very effective and others were fantastic!

I then moved to Europe and felt quite overwhelmed by this expensive process again trialing out which products worked, which don’t, reading labels in dutch etc. which is when I decided to experiment with DIY cleaning products.

When it came to DIY If the recipe took too long to make, it wasn’t something I made again (true story)

This glass/window cleaner takes less than 2 minutes to create:

Ingredients:

250 mL spray bottle
Toxic Free glass cleaner
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup distilled water
8 drops of any citrus oil of your choice (could use Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit, Wild Orange, or a combination)

Method:

Add the vinegar to the spray bottle
Then the 8 drops of essentials oil drops
Top up with the water and you have yourself a glass cleaner!

You are ready to clean! Shake before use

Enjoy the clear and clean glass/windows without the toxic residue

With love, Jodie

How to Make Chemical Free Hand Wash that foams

August 28, 2018 / Clean Living, For Home / 0 comments

I started creating my own household cleaning products to gain control of what was ingredients my family was exposed to.

This doesn’t have to be an overwhelming process, eliminating each standard household (chemical) product by just replacing each when it finished I believe is the way to go.

I started off sourcing awesome ‘bio, organic, products’ and found some weren’t very effective and others were fantastic! I then moved to Europe and felt quite overwhelmed by this expensive process again which is when I decided to experiment with DIY cleaning products.

When it came to DIY If the recipe took too long to make, it wasn’t something I made again (true story)

HAND WASH

Only a handful of ingredients are required and once stocked up, you can re-make this hand wash numerous times in 2 min- when you happen to run out.

INGREDIENTS

375ml hand wash foam dispenser (this recipe makes 1 so if you have a few just increase the recipe to suit)
2 Tbsp of castile liquid soap – (I use baby mild Dr Bronners liquid soap)
1 Tbsp of fractionated coconut oil
Water
30 drops of essential oil or combo your choice

Note: For the sake of my and family’s health, we choose doTERRA due to it being rigorously tested and some of the most pure and potent essential oils in the world. My favourite combos:

Anything citrus- due to their cleansing properties: lemon, citrus bliss, tangerine, lime, lemongrass or purify etc
On guard

e.g. 15 drops of On guard + 15 drops of Lemon

METHOD

Pour the castile soap, fractionated coconut oil straight into the dispenser
Then add your 30 drops essential oils
Now, ever so slowly add water – notice bubbles so its important to go slow and allow room to screw the lid so it doesn’t overflow
Screw on your top, shake and there you go you have just made your very own foaming hand wash!

The girls loves to wash their hands with foaming soap and I encourage them to smell the divine energising anti-bacterial aromas once clean.

Enjoy!

With love, Jodie

Month: August 2018

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