Spring Cleaning with Essential Oils & Natural Ingredients

A few years ago, I realized that cleaning our home with a handful of natural products is actually easier and more effective than back when I had cupboards filled with all sorts of different household cleaners! So today, I’m sharing some tips on spring cleaning with essential oils and other natural ingredients, along with DIY cleaning recipes and safe products to replace chemical cleaners.

Spring Cleaning With Essential Oils

1. Clean your home with lemon oil

I have an entire blog post devoted to cleaning your home with lemon essential oil, so I encourage you to see that post for how to use lemon essential oil to clean your home.  Here’s a favorite tip for cleaning with lemon oil: 

Microwave cleaner with lemon oil:

• Freshen and clean your microwave by adding 5 drops of lemon essential oil to a cup of water in a glass container and heat the water in the microwave for two to three minutes.
• Let the water / lemon oil mixture stand for five minutes without opening the microwave door. The trapped steam will loosen the grime, so you can just wipe the microwave clean when you’re done.

2. Use an essential oil diffuser

Essential oils can freshen and purify your rooms, neutralize airborne particles, and support oxygen levels and immunity. 

I think every home needs at least one essential oil diffuser.  I have three diffusers in our home: one in our kitchen, one in our bedroom, and one in our guest bathroom. 

Natural room freshener and purifier: 

• For purifying the air, try adding Lemongrass, Lemon, Orange, or Peppermint oil to the water in the diffuser.
• Run your diffuser for about twenty minutes per room, or let it run for several hours each day, which is what I do.

3. Clean and deodorize your home with baking soda

Baking soda naturally absorbs odors and neutralizes bacteria. Here are a few ways to use baking soda to clean and deodorize your home.

Room deodorizer:

• To deodorize a space, sprinkle a bit of baking soda in a small glass bowl and add 10 drops of your favorite essential oil.
• Set the bowl in your laundry room, refrigerator, nursery, shoe closet, or wherever you need to freshen the air.

Stainless steel sink cleaner:

• Wet your sink and faucet, sprinkle with baking soda, and scrub with a sponge.
• If you need more heavy-duty scrubbing power, add salt or dish soap to the baking soda/water mixture.

Oven Cleaner:

• Make a paste of baking soda, water, and dish soap; apply the paste to oven walls, floor, and inside of door, and let it sit for a few hours.
• Wipe down with water.
• Use a wadded up piece of aluminum foil to scrub away any remaining residue.

4. Use wool dryer balls for softening the laundry

Whatever you use to clean and soften your clothing is absorbed into your skin, so you might want to think about ditching your dryer sheets and switching to wool dryer balls.  They cost less than $3 each and last anywhere from 2-5 years!

Dryer balls can also help speed up the drying process, saving you both time and money.

I like to spritz our wool dryer balls with lemongrass, lavender, or any citrus oil before tossing them in the dryer to add a beautiful scent to our clothing, towels and sheets.

5. Add a few plants to your home 

Besides adding beauty and life to your home, plants are great at cleaning the air.  If you place live plants all around the house and love them well, they’ll purify your air for you in return!  

Orchids are a favorite of mine, and I have several in our home.  If you’d like to learn more about how to care for orchids, you might be interested in this post: Easy Orchid Care Tips + How to Get Orchids to Bloom Again.

By the way, even though I love faux plants, they can be a haven for dust and allergens, so if you have faux plants in your home, remember to clean them regularly.

6. Air out your house

Recirculated indoor air is 5-7 times more toxic than fresh air, so it’s a good idea to open the windows now and then to circulate some fresh air through your house. 

Changing your vacuum and furnace filters regularly also helps keep your home clean and allergen-free. 

To keep our indoor air even cleaner (and fresher-smelling) we recently bought this air purifier from Amazon, and we keep it running all day in the area where our English bulldog hangs out.  It’s made such a huge difference–and we can actually stay in the same room with him now!

Natural cleaning products

Here are a few products and tools I like to have on hand for cleaning with natural ingredients:

• White Vinegar
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Castile Soap
• Baking Soda
• Distilled Water
• Olive Oil
• Natural Household Cleaner
• Wool Dryer Balls

Cleaning tools:

• Glass spray bottles and jars
• Shaker bottle for baking soda
• Cleaning caddy
• Sponges and rags

Essential oils

Essential oils have been used safely for cleaning the home and for other purposes for thousands of years. 

A few essential oils to have on hand for cleaning the home include:

• lemon
• orange
• peppermint
• rosemary
• tea tree
• lavender

Natural Home Cleaning Recipes

Natural all-purpose cleaner

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. Distilled Water
• 1 capful Thieves or other natural household cleaner
• 7-8 drops Lemon or Orange essential oil (optional)

Directions:

• Add all to a glass spray bottle.
• Shake and spray on counters, sinks, toilets, floors, glass, wood, or walls.
• Thieves household cleaner is 100% safe for kids, so they can help, too!

Natural soft scrub

Ingredients:

• 1⁄2 cup Baking Soda
• 3 Tbsp Castile Soap
• 4 drops each of Rosemary, Lemon, & Peppermint oils

Directions:

• In an airtight jar, mix all ingredients, adding more soap or baking soda for desired consistency.
• Scrub grout, sinks, tubs, etc., with a soft sponge or brush.

Orange oil wood polish

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Olive Oil
• 1 oz White Vinegar
• 10 Drops Orange essential oil

Directions:

• Add all ingredients to a glass spray bottle.
• Shake and spray onto dusty, dull wood.
• Buff dry.
• For extra dry wood, apply just olive oil + 1 drop Orange essential oil, let sit for 30 minutes, then buff to a shine.

Natural floor cleaner

• Mix 1 gallon HOT water with 2 capfuls of natural household cleaner.
• Mop floors as usual.
• If you’re cleaning wood floors, dry them immediately. Do not leave natural wood floors wet.

Hardwood floor cleaner (deep clean)

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon HOT water (use gloves to protect your hands)
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1/4 c. Household Cleaner
• 3-5 drops Orange essential oil

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients in a cleaning bucket, using gloves to protect your hands from the hot water.
• Wring out rag, wipe down a 4×4 area of the floor
• Wipe dry, and then move on to the next section.
• *Do not leave natural wood wet!

Carpet and rug cleaning tips

For everyday vacuuming:

• Add 3 drops favorite essential oil to vacuum filter or bag.

To deodorize rugs and carpets:

• Add 15 drops Lemongrass, Lavender, Tea Tree, or Peppermint oil to 1 cup baking soda and store in a shaker bottle.
• Sprinkle evenly over carpet, wait 30 minutes, then vacuum.

To shampoo carpets:

• Add 1 capful household cleaner to the water in a carpet shampooer.
• Add 1⁄4 cup white vinegar to the rinsing water.

Cleaning toilets

 

• Add 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide and 3 drops rosemary oil to the bowl water.
• Sprinkle baking soda into bowl and scrub with toilet brush. Let sit for 10-20 minutes before flushing.
• Spray entire toilet with household cleaner. Wash down toilet with sponge or paper towels and buff dry.

Washing dishes

• For hand washing dishes, add 3-4 drops of Lemon or Orange essential oil to dish water for added cleaning and de-greasing.
• In dishwasher, add 3-4 drops Lemon or Orange essential oil to the floor of the dishwasher for added cleaning and de-greasing.
• Add white vinegar to rinse compartment of dishwasher as a rinse aid.

Laundry

To whiten laundry:

• Add 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide and 5 drops lemon essential oil to bleach compartment of washing machine.

To soften laundry:

• Add 1⁄4 cup vinegar to rinse compartment of washing machine to help rinse out soap and soften your laundry.

In the dryer:

• Add 3-4 drops lavender essential oil or lavender linen spray to wool dryer balls.

I hope this post encourages you to give cleaning with natural ingredients and essential oils a try. Your home will smell amazing, and you’ll never look at cleaning the same way again! xo jane

Favorite essential oil products

Here are a few more posts from the blog sharing popular home decor ideas, trends, and spring decor ideas:

Spring 2024 Home Decor Trends and Design Ideas

Beautiful Spring Wreaths for 2024

10 Simple Spring Decor Ideas for 2024

Decorating with Blue for Spring and Summer

For great ideas and tips for cleaning with lemon essential oil, see this post:  20 Must-Know Tips for Using Lemon Essential Oil for Cleaning