Car Interior Cleaning Spray

Hey ladies, trying to get the man in your life on board with all this DIY stuff? Guys, no offense, but most proactive DIYers are female! Here is a recipe everyone can enjoy and everyone can make! It also happens to be one that helped me rope my husband in to DIY products too ;)

This is a solution to make the interior of your shine! We've spent years living in hot climates and the sun is brutal on cars. We use this spray on all of the hard plastic and vinyl surfaces on the interior of the car. It works great, makes your car look great, and smells fresh too!

2/3 cup water
2/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp vinegar
2-4 drops concentrated soap (we use castile, but any biodegradable concentrated soap is good here)
4-6 drops essential oil (think tea tree, Thieves, Purification...any of the good cleaners)

Combine in an 8oz spray bottle and shake as needed. The oil and water will separate, but remember not to make the soap go crazy!
Spray on surfaces in the car and wipe with a soft, clean cloth. *Watch out for windows! That olive oil will be a little bit of a pain to get off!

Now, ya'll know I loooove the Thieves Household Cleaner for just about everything, but the olive oil in this recipe will condition your vinyl surfaces and give them that great shine. I mean, look at those results!

It can also help a little bit with all the sun beating down on your dash. We don't have leather in our cars, so spot check on leather first, giving is a few days of sun exposure, especially if you are using citrus oils. You don't want any discoloration from the sun!

NingXia Red FroYo Fruit Pops

It's July and it's hot! Basically everywhere, right? Who couldn't use another way to cool down? Maybe a way that's even a healthy snack? I've got a great recipe for you!

My homemade ice pops feature Young Living's NingXia Red. NingXia Red is a supplement drink featuring the super fruit wolfberries, giving it its signature red color, and includes blueberries, cherries, plums, and pomegranate juices and extracts. It's loaded with antioxidants and citrus essential oils to support overall health and energy. It's so powerful, a recommended serving is only 1-2 ounces! Each ounce, btw, only has 20 calories and 2 grams of sugar. It is a great way to introduce ingestion of essential oils to kids, and so is this recipe:

• 1 singles-serving size cup of vanilla yogurt (they make them a weird size now... like 5.something oz, so I re-use that empty cup to get equal parts, and save on a dish!)
• 1 of the same "cups" of NingXia Red
• 1 of the same "cups" frozen strawberries
• 2-4 drops of Lime Vitality Oil (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and let 'er rip until well blended. 
Pour in to molds (try to avoid plastic if you can! Plastic and citrus oils don't get along!) 
Freeze and eat! 

The yogurt keeps it a creamier texture, more like a sorbet and it's so refreshing! It's a bit more hearty than your typical water-based pop. Serve it to your kids for breakfast! They will love you for it!

You can, of course, substitute out the strawberries for a different frozen fruit you like, and same for the Vitality oil.  You can also adjust the size of your batch to accommodate the number of molds you have. The important thing is equal parts.

You can actually get an ice pop set with NingXia and silicone molds from Young Living (safe for citrus oils!) here! Want to get it wholesale? Check out this page!

Don't wanna go for pops? Put in single-serving dishes, or a big bowl, and freeze that way. Mine got a bit more hard going that route, but still just as yummy! A grapefruit spoon was perfect for my larger bowl.

UPDATE! We made this with frozen peaches and lemon Vitality oil and it's SO good! Light and refreshing!

Tub Scrub

I really don't like cleaning. I mean, does anyone really like it? What's your least favorite part? Hard to pick just one, right?  Well, one thing I don't hate anymore is the chemical stink that used to fill my home on cleaning days. It's really easy to make your own great, clean, chemical-free, fresh-smelling cleaning products! Did ya know that? Baking soda and vinegar will take you a long way! Throw in a little castile soap, lemon and tea tree essential oil, and you've got yourself a cleaning par-tay!  Here is the recipe I use for my tub, my sink, and anywhere else that could use a good scrubbing!

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1 tbsp castile soap
• 8 drops each lemon and tea tree essential oils (Thieves, Citrus Fresh, Purification, or Melrose would also be great in this recipe!)

Mix everything together in a bowl with a spoon (remember, glass or stainless is best when dealing with essential oils!) and sprinkle a light dusting on whatever you want to clean. Scrub a bit and rinse off. See, easy! Letting it sit for a little while won't hurt anything either. Today, I mixed and dusted before nap time, then did my tuck-in duties and scrubbed after. Store any extra in a jar with a shaker top for easy use next time.

Baking soda is a great cleaning product. It's cheap, easily accessible, and natural! It's also good for deodorizing and stains, and while mildly abrasive, it won't scratch your surfaces. Check out the box panels for some ideas on where you can use it!

The soap makes for a good texture and offers some more cleaning power. You want to wash off dirt, right?  Castile soap is a blend of saponified oils, including coconut, jojoba, hemp oils, and others. It is plant based. It is also a concentrate, so don't be scared of the price! It works out to a good value. Think of it as buying in bulk. You can get it pre-scented, but I prefer the plain, mild version.

Finally, the oils. Many essential oils, like tea tree, Thieves, Purification, and Melrose, have great cleansing properties. Lemon, Citrus Fresh, and Purification are all good for odors. Many citrus oils are helpful for stains, too! I like this combo for the scent, and it does such a great job! Everything is left sparkly fresh!
(Need to get your hands on some oils, including these great blends? Check out this page!)

Here are the great results I get with this scrub (you can click to enlarge)! Please don't judge my nasty sink and tub! My husband is away and I've been doing the single mom thing! I may have fallen a little behind on my chores...