Chemical Free Deodorizers

It is a long slow process but I've been working on making our home chemical free. One of the best things I did, was join Young Living, but more on that later. 

This week I opened the kitchen garbage and p.u.. Sure I could have changed the garbage but the bag was still mostly empty (and it was raining!) So I thought about my options, and decided to experiment. 

Baking soda is so often used for odor absorption and nullification, so I reached for that. Then what to mix it with. After some checking around the apartment I arrived on the ingredients below.

Salt is often thought and sometimes used to absorb moisture. I had two choices Epson salts and sea salt. I picked both. For essential oils I picked Young Living Lemon and Purification. Lemon has such a 'clean' smell. Purification is used to neutralize odors so it was a perfect choice.

I played around with the proportions. In the end this is what I used.

1/2 cup Baking Soda

2 tbsp Epson Salt

2 tbsp Sea Salt

2 drop Purification Oil

1 drop Lemon Oil

Water

For the water, I started with 1 tbsp then slowly added more until I got to the consistency I wanted. The picture below is what I was aiming for, something that looks like a powder but when pressed, stays together. 

I used a 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon. I packed each one full then popped it out and put it down to dry. I let them dry out overnight. In the morning, they were quite hard, and didn't crumble when pressed them. 

I put one in the kitchen garbage can, one in the bathroom and another in the refrigerator. That was this morning and now, 12 hours later, there is no more bad odor, just the scent of lemon. That is the other thing, I used less of the Lemon Oil but it has such a strong (and to me) clean smell. I'm really happy with the outcome. 

I've put the rest in a sealed container and figure as long as they are sealed they should last a couple months (we'll see). 

I love the ingredients are all non-toxic. And while I would not recommend eating them, I'm not worried if one of the kids takes a lick. Can you say the same for most commercial deodorizers? 

They were dirt cheap to make. I think for the volume used, the sea salt was the most expensive ingredient and I'm sure it could have all been Epson Salt. But wait, aren't Essential Oils expensive? Yes and no. They have a price as you invests in them but they go so far! I used 1 drop of Lemon Oil and a 15ml bottle is 17 cdn retail (less wholesale) and has at least 250 drops. Doing the math, that single drop cost me  0.07. For the Purification, it came to a whopping 0.13. Overall, I think all of the 19 deodorizing came to less than 1.00 to make.  0.05 each. 

And that is retail. But who pays retail? I joined Young Living as a Wholesale member. This means I get up to 25% off. I'm excited and want to tell you so much more, but for now I'll point you to my Young Living Information page My Family Health and my Facebook page Healthy Oils Healthy Family Healthy Home  As I do more around home to make it a healthier place, I will share more and more about how Young Living has helped us on that journey. For now though, if you have questions, contact me through this blog or either of the links above.