getting rid of stains naturally. once again.
And here we go again… My little girl’s jacket got stained after a weekend of bike racing once again. This time she got chain grease on her sleeve while pulling her bike off of the bike rack.
Before I knew about Thieves Household Cleaner and Thieves laundry soap, I would just give up on stains like these. But now when my daughter showed me the stains with sad eyes and a question if I will be able to get it off, I knew that it can be done. And it can be done without any chemical cleaners.
Thieves Household Cleaner is my go-to all the time. Thieves Household Cleaner is an allpurpose, concentrated cleaner formulated with 100 percent plant- and mineral-based ingredients. Thieves Household Cleaner is biodegradable and complies with EPA standards. Safe to the planet, safe for our health. I truly believe that this cleaner should be a staple in every single household. All you need is one plant based cleaner, no need for many different bottles for cleaning the whole house.
I put just a few drops of the cleaner on the sleeve, let it sit for a few seconds and just rubbed it in my hands a little bit. The photo shows that the stains were gone just after this treatment. Then I put it into washer and used the laundry soap.
My little girl’s jacket is clean once again. One happy little athlete and one happy mama over here.
If you want to give these natural products a try, please don’t hesitate to contact me through email or the comments here.
getting rid of stains naturally
I think I can speak up for every mom about how tough it can sometimes be to get rid of stains on kids’ clothes. And not just on kids’ clothes, on clothes in general. My little athletes are out in the forests on their bikes rain or shine which means I have to deal with lots of muddy clothes, especially in our winter months.
My daughter had a pre-ride for her upcoming mountain biking race in a heavy rainfall and you can imagine how her clothes looked like when she got back from the muddy trails. Because we had to stay overnight in a hotel, I didn’t have a chance to wash her clothes right way, we just wiped the dirt off with paper towels. When we got home the next day, I soaked her jacket up in a bucket with 2 caps (the black tops of the cleaner bottle) of my favourite Thieves household cleaner. This cleaner is AH-MAZING and I believe that it should be in every. single.household. I ditched all my cleaning supplies and I use only this cleaner for everything, just to name a few – glass, stainless steel, kitchen counters, sinks, bathrooms, floors and so on. Household Cleaner is an allpurpose, concentrated cleaner formulated with 100 percent plant- and mineral-based ingredients. It is biodegradable and complies with EPA standards.
Unfortunately I don’t have a before photo of the original dirt (when she got off her bike with mud dripping from her), the before photo above was taken before I soaked the jacket in bucket for about half an hour at home. Then I put some of the cleaner directly on the jacket and rubbed it in my hands to get the most of the dirt off. Because the jacket is so bright and it’s also my daughter’s favourite, I wanted to be sure that I get the dirt off so she can wear it to school. After that, I put few drops of the cleaner on the jacket and put it in a washer with other sport stuff from that day.
As you can see on the after photo, I was pretty successful in getting the stains off from her jacket. I cleaned it with my bare hands (no gloves needed, no headaches from toxic fumes) and didn’t use any chemicals, just natural stuff which is gentle not just to my skin but also to our environment.
I’m so happy that the jacket shines with bright colours once again and even more happy to see my little girl smiling that her favourite jacket looks great once again.
Mission accomplished. Until the next bike ride… 😉
~ Gabi
Thieves got it | part 3: around the house
People in general spend a lot of time in their homes. Home should be the safe place for everyone. Not just for the feeling of being safe, but also being safe what we touch, the air we breath and the products we use.
Essential oils have been used since the beginning of time for many different applications and in the last couple of years they are more often used in the modern world as well. If you start reading labels, you will be astounded at how many products contain essential oils. Now you can protect yourself and your family from harmful bacteria, naturally.
Thieves products provide a natural, safe, and highly effective defense against germs that can make us sick. All-natural Thieves household products contain the proven antibacterial properties of Thieves essential oil blend, other complementary essential oils, and plant-based ingredients.
Thieves Household Cleaner is a staple in our home.
Thieves Household Cleaner offers nontoxic, biodegradable, all-purpose cleaning solution using therapeutic-grade essential oils as emulsifiers, and germ killers. Containing Thieves essential oil blend, proven in a 1997 Weber State University (Ogden, Utah) study to kill over 99.96 percent of bacteria like Pseudonomas aeroginoss, this cleaner is fully biodegradable and complies with EPA standards.
How we use it around the house? In our kitchen and every bathroom I have a glass spray bottle filled with water and 1 cup (the tiny black top from the cleaner bottle) of Thieves cleaner and use it for:
- kitchen and bathroom counters
- stainless steel appliances
- mirrors
- cleaning floors and tiles (I add 1 cupful into bucket full of water)
- soft scrub (the BEST thing ever! – as mentioned here and here + a recipe) – I use it for our stainless steel sinks, shower glass, cleaning showers, toilets, bathroom sinks
- carpet cleaning
- car seats
- getting rid of build up from mesh under microwave
And many many more! I use one bottle for everything! It’s safe even for the little hands to use it without gloves and there are no headaches afterwards as you don’t inhale any toxic fumes. LOVE, love, love this little magic bottle.
A new product we have just been trying for the first time is this little Thieves Spray pictured below. It is an all-natural, petrochemical-free antiseptic spray ideal for purifying small surfaces like doorknobs, handles, toilet seats and more. Ideal for traveling and staying away from the germs in public places.
Everyone I’ve shown this Thieves Household Cleaner has fallen in love with it because of its natural ingredients and amazing smell.
If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to send me a message or contact me through the Contact me form. I would be more than happy to introduce you to this amazing and natural oily world.
Thieves got it | part 1
I think I can honestly say that a product made with thieves oil, is in every single room in our house. We use Thieves oil in our hand foaming soaps, in air sprays, we brush our teeth with thieves, fighting against colds with homemade roll-ons and of course, we diffuse it.
We do laundry with thieves, use it for washing the dishes, cleaning around the house, while traveling… I can’t imagine our everyday life without thieves any more!
Especially now with back-to-school being just behind the corner, we are embracing on boosting our immunity and getting ready to fight the germs in a natural way. As I mentioned several times already, last winter was our first full winter using Young Living essential oils and we avoided being sick, didn’t have to use any over-the-counter cough/cold/fever medicine and we even skipped the cough syrup. It was our healthiest winter ever! And I really believe that’s because we went natural and started using YL oils and products.
So what is so special about this blend and why is it so awesome? Thieves is the most amazing blend of highly antiviral, antiseptic, antibacterial and anti-infectious essential oils.
It was created from research based on legends about a group of 15th-century thieves who rubbed oils on themselves to avoid contracting the plague while they robbed the bodies of the dead and dying. When apprehended, the thieves were forced to tell what their secret was and disclosed the formula of the herbs, spices, and oil they used to protect themselves in exchange for more lenient punishment.
The Thieves blend is a mix of clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus radiata and rosemary. It really smells amazing!
In the upcoming posts I will show you how we use this blend in our everyday life and around the house. If you have any question, please don’t hesitate to send me a message or comment on this post.
let them be kids
Kids learn by example. Sometimes you don’t have to say a word and they still watch and learn. And they are pretty good at it.
Our kids share my and my husband’s love for sports and are definitely active above average and I’m so very thankful for that. They also know how important it is to make good choices in health and nutrition. It’s become our new normal if something hurts or they have any other issues, they come to me and ask if I have an oil for it. They don’t ask for a pill or a medical cream but they ask for an oil. You can imagine how happy this makes me.
The other day I ran out of my Thieves soft scrub and my little girl offered right away that she will help me to make a new batch. Since we’ve gone natural in the cleaning department, I don’t have to worry about her touching our cleaning products because everything in it is natural, plant based and without any harsh chemicals. No more gloves when cleaning, no more headaches afterwards from fumes.
In just a few easy steps, the whole process of making the scrub took her about 2 minutes and she was proud that she could do it by herself.
Going natural doesn’t have to be complicated at all and the whole family can be easily involved. Let the kids be kids, let them get messy, curious, experimenting. They will thank you one day.
It’s a win win for everyone.
all in one bottle
Imagine doing your spring cleaning and having as little supplies as possible.
If I tell you that it is possible, would you believe me and give it a try? You don’t need a different bottle for your bathrooms, or kitchen counters or glass doors. You even don’t have to be afraid of ending up with a headache afterwards from all the fumes which regular commercial cleaners usually cause.
I mentioned it several times already (here and here) that my to-go helper is this Thieves Household Cleaner from Young Living. It is one of the most versatile cleaners I’ve eve tried. It’s natural, plant based and totally safe to use around kids.
The graphic below showcase some of the uses of this powerful little bottle and there are many more.
So next time before you go and do a big cleanup of your house, think of what you are using, if it’s natural, how safe it is for your health and the health of your family.
If you are interested in learning more about this cleaner and would like to give it a try, please contact me through comments or my contact me tab on the top of this website.
I think I might enjoy cleaning…
Ha. Here I am saying it out loud: I really enjoy cleaning lately.
I would never EVER thought that I will say this. But yes, lately I’ve been enjoying cleaning!
To be more specific, I think I can back date it to the day when I switched to natural cleaning and my new friend, Young Living’s Thieves Household Cleaner, arrived on our doorstep. This thing is MAGIC! You can use it almost on everything. I’ve been using it in a spray to do some “soft” cleaning at home for several weeks now but yesterday I moved to another level of cleaning. The deep one. The one everyone is always avoiding. The kind when something is built up and you can’t take it off just by spraying some stuff on it. It always makes me laugh when I watch commercials for the regular (aka full of chemicals) cleaners when some lady just wipes off weeks of build up with one swipe without even putting any pressure on the cloth. Yeah, this doesn’t happen in real life.
BUT. You can get rid of the build up very easy and a natural way. Without breathing any toxins in. Without headaches. Without wearing gloves. Your kids can do it with their bare hands. Without flushing any toxins into drains and our rivers and ocean. Without scrubbing your sink or bathtub with wire sponges. The bonus? It smells AMAZING! (note to myself: Ok, ok, calm down, everyone gets that you are excited about this).
But yes, I love it so much!
On Friday I attended a Make & Take DYI class which was not just lots of fun but very informative as well. We made non-GMO scented soy candles (I’ll post about it in a separate post) and then this simple yet very powerful soft scrub cleaner using my very good friend, Thieves. The bottle of this cleaner is so concentrated that it will last for months as you need only a tiny bit to mix with water or in this case with baking soda, vinegar, Dr. Bronner’s soap, most of those you have probably at home already. I put a few drops of Jade Lemon essential oil as well into my scrub and it smells amazing.
Thieves Soft Scrub Cleaner:
- 3/4 cups baking soda
- 1/8 cup Dr. Bronners soap (liquid)
- 1 tbs Thieves household cleaner
- 1 tbs vinegar
- YL essential oils (lemon, orange, thieves)
- glass jar
Directions:
- Mix baking soda, Dr. Bronners soap and Thieves cleaner in a glass bowl
- Add vinegar and mix.
- Add essential oils and mix.
- Transfer go glass container for storage.
I took a few photos along the way so you can see the whole process.
This is our sink BEFORE I got on it with the Thieves Soft Scrub cleaner (you can watch this video to see how to make it)
I told ya, you can use your bare hands to handle this thing… 
At this point I just rubbed it on with my fingers and you can already see that the ring is half way clean.
I used cloth for cleaning the of whole sink, nothing else. No scrubby sponges or anything.
Here is the sink plug before its makeover. The ring and sink have been already cleaned.
And here is the sink plug after (the top part is plastic and if I really wanted, it would be probably white but I’m ok with this for now), perfectly matching his friend, the sink ring, both shiny and clean now.
And here are the two little helpers who were involved in this cleaning session.
So? What you think? I personally love it. Natural and it works perfectly. And my kitchen smells amazing now!
If you have any questions or would like to have a little helper as I do, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I can help you to switch to the natural way. And you will never look back, trust me.
homemade air refresheners
Phthalates: Health Hazards in Many Forms
Phthalates are used in many common consumer products—to soften plastics in children’s toys, as sealants and adhesives in nail polish, and in perfumes and air fresheners. When people use air fresheners, the phthalates are released into the air where they may be inhaled or may land on the skin and be absorbed. Once these chemicals enter the bloodstream, they can alter hormone levels and cause other health problems.Phthalates are known to interfere with production of the male hormone, testosterone, and have been associated with reproductive abnormalities. Numerous animal studies have linked prenatal exposure to certain phthalates with decreases in testosterone, malformations of the genitalia, and reduced sperm production. The State of California notes that five types of phthalates—including one that we found in air freshener products—are “known to cause birth defects or reproductive harm.” Phthalate exposure in indoor environments has also been associated with allergic symptoms and asthma.
Read this article if you have a spare minute, it is one of hundreds posts about this issue and sadly people have no idea how dangerous are those “nice smelling” sprays they buy at your grocery store.
So are you sure you still want to buy those in the stores?
I am definitely sure that I won’t be buying any of those. Ever. There is much easier and cheaper solution to make your home smell amazing. Homemade air refreshener. You will choose exactly what aroma you want/like and you can change it anytime.
- glass spray bottle (amber or any other colour you can get)
- 3-4 drops of pure essential oil (because you want to breath the best you can) – my favourite is Purification, Thieves or Citrus Fresh, Lavender
- pinch of salt
- water
On the bottom of the bottle put a pinch of salt and mix with a few drops of your choice of essential oil (I personally use Young Living essential oils because of their quality which is quaranteed by the Seed to Seal process). It’s totally up to your taste (well, smell buds) what you put into your mix. Then just fill the bottle up with water and that’s it.
If you have any questions, ideas for new homemade things or would like to know more about Young Living essential oils, you can contact me through comments or the Contact tab on the top of the page.
out with the sheets. in with the balls
Every time I mention the word balls, my twelve year old starts laughing. Yup, we are in that stage….
Well, as another little step of changing our home to toxin-free, I threw out all dryer sheets and bought these dryer balls instead. There are several kinds of these balls available on the market, I picked up mine in a local store (Winners). They are called Woolzies, it is a pack of 6 hypoallergenic wool balls. The balls supposed to reduce drying time, wrinkles and static without the harsh chemicals of conventional fabric softeners. I add a few drops of my favourite essential oils on them (so far I’ve tried lavender, purification and citrus fresh; it totally depends on the mood and your preferences. I love how flexible these can be!!) and just toss them into the dryer with my laundry. The laundry comes out soft and smelling divine.
It’s funny how I’m getting more sensitive to the “chemical” aromas since I’ve switched to the more natural ways. When I walk my dog and can smell someone’s laundry strong aroma through the whole street, it’s not pleasant. Especially when all people use the same smell of Bounce laundry sheets…
So here you go. Out with the sheets, in with the balls. Closer to the nature.
I love the smell of our laundry and the fact that I don’t have to stress about bringing unnecessary chemicals into our home.
If you have any questions about essential oils or any comment or just want to say hi, please don’t hesitate to send me a message. I would love to hear from you!
no more headaches & a giveaway
Raise your hand if you like cleaning bathrooms and kitchen. I bet there isn’t a lot of you (me included).
I’ve always been sensitive to smells and just the idea of cleaning a bathroom was a nightmare for me. I always ended up with a terrible headache caused by the commercial cleaning products and even though wearing gloves, my skin was irritated.
Few weeks ago I tested my new natural (plant based) household cleaner – Thieves from Young Living. Thieves® Household Cleaner is an allpurpose, concentrated cleaner formulated with 100 percent plant- and mineral-based ingredients. Thieves Household Cleaner is biodegradable and complies with EPA standards.
After cleaning 2.5 bathrooms without gloves there was no skin issue nor a headache at all. And it smells amazing!
My daughter uses it on wiping our kitchen counters when she decides to help so it’s safe for kids too and I am not afraid that she will be exposed to harsh chemicals.
I don’t think that I will ever be excited about cleaning the bathrooms or counter tops or anything in the house (hey, there are more fun things to do than cleaning, right?!) but at least I will do it the safer way without headaches, breathing toxins in or freaking out that my skin will be irritated and cracked once again.
This one is definitely a keeper!
This little bottle is 426ml and it will last you for a very long time. Because it is highly concentrated, you need just a little amount which you dilute with water:
- for most cleaning applications: 30 parts water to 1 part cleaner (my spray bottle is 500 ml so I use only little bit over 1 tablespoon of Thieves for the mix)
- for heavy decreasing: 15 parts water to 1 part cleaner
- for light decreasing: 50 parts water to 1 part cleaner
- for glass: 50 or 100 parts water to 1 part cleaner
If you do the math, with the 426ml bottle of Thieves cleaner you can make about 26-28 of the 450ml bottles of mix for regular everyday cleaning!
I thought that it would be fun to give away some pre-mixed samples so you can try it too. I’m giving away 4 x 450ml spray bottles (2 from comments on the blog and 2 from facebook comments) filled with mixed water and the thieves household cleaner (for a regular cleaning – the ratio for the most cleaning applications as mentioned above).
So for LOCAL PEOPLE ONLY (Pitt Meadows/Maple Ridge/PoCo/Coquitlam/Langley/Port Moody – an easy driveable distance for me to drop the gift off) :
- if you would like to try this mix, please comment here before next Friday, February 12th – 8pm PST
- for more chances you can comment as well on my Facebook page
- and will announce the winners next Saturday
Good luck!
