Clean: free of spoilage, disease, and grime. Clean: Sparkling to the eye, dust free, and fresh to the senses. A little dust dust, sweep, bubbly soap up, rinse away, dry and shine, that's my rhythm. Why do these tasks with harsh smelling chemicals that could hurt my hands or more? Sometimes a little bleach is good but, for weekly cleansings I have some favorites. Here they are!

Many of these oils and cleaning agents have anti-fungal, antimicrobial, and/or antibacterial properties.

Right now my favorite mixture is:

1 c water

1 squirt Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap

2 T or so baking powder

2 drops lemon essential oil

2 drops lavender essential oil

Oh! It smells so good! 

It can take a while to build up a little essential oil collection. There are great resources to help you decide which oils are best for cleaning and of course getting your favorites is important. A nice, cleaning friend and I have plans to do a swap soon, clove for rosemary, mmm. Ah, the pleasures that could be found in cleaning. 

I like this book for essential oil help and combinations:  Thank you for sharing this little charmer with me, cleaning friend!

This book is great for all of your home and garden needs.  It's written by Harriet Fasenfest, a fellow Portlander, and is a fun read that divides the year up by month and then by The Home, The Garden, and The Kitchen. I've really loved having it nearby. She uses fresh lemon for a lot of her cleaning. Duh.

Cheers to fun cleaning!