Cleaning, repelling, healing, relaxing: Simple uses of essential oils around my home

Nothing like the disgust towards bugs and insects to push me to work with essential oils again. After moving to the mountains and being welcomed by its natural inhabitants, I looked to essential oils to ward them off from my home interiors. Of course, any single plant has multiple uses—for example, peppermint and lavender are known for both repelling bugs and relaxing—so it’s easy to dive into that world trying to make the most of my collection on hand.

To keep things relatively simple, I’m limiting the size of my collection and related materials (alcohol, vinegar, baking soda, dropper and spray bottles etc.), and focusing on insect and mice repellents, cleaners, healing body oils, and relaxing refresheners and sprays. You can trust mine are the easiest, most basic essential oil applications to get started with!

I’m including short recipes from Eden’s Garden for some of these, because I’m hooked on their products and they are a wealth of resource!

1. Room deodorant or air refreshener – baking soda or cotton balls

Against: old house odor!
Super simple!
The first time I bought a 4 pounds bag of baking soda is to use them as room deodorants to clear the scent of the old home we bought. Simply dumping baking soda in a bowl is the basic way to do it, but I thought it was a good opportunity to use my older essential oils.

My husband was pretty skeptical about how effective that would be, but after 1-2 weeks, it sure proved itself. We could sniff the difference. (We also cleared the house with sage on the day we moved in.)

Materials: open jar and baking soda or cotton balls

2. Bug and insect repellent – peppermint oil

Against: flies and bugs!
Flies were common and got into the house a little too easily. There were also small grasshopper-like insects with long antennas and we couldn’t figure out how they got in.

Peppermint and lavender was the obvious place to start, so I both dropped some oils on cotton balls as well as diluted oil with water and rinsed it down the drain (one of the suspected entrances).

I also made some “bug spray” and used it on the windowsill outside (instead of as a body spray repellent), with the Pest Defy blend from Eden’s Garden.

Materials: bowl and cotton balls, or grain alcohol, distilled water and bottle for spray

“”To dilute Pest Defy and make your nature shield for mosquitos and other biting insects, put 35-40 drops in a 4 oz spray bottle with 1 oz. grain alcohol – let this marinate overnight. The next day add 3 oz. of distilled water and shake well. Spray on exposed skin and clothing, repeating as needed to repel bugs and keep mosquitos and fleas at bay.
—Pest Defy Essential Oil Blend from Edens Garden“

3. Mice repellent – eucalyptus oil passive diffusers

At some point, mice has gotten inside the detached garage and chewed through some stuff. Eucalyptus essential oil was the first mice repellant to try.

Since the garage is a simple contained space, I wanted to use passive diffuser. I picked up an inexpensive ceramic diffuser at Whole Foods, and also used an old spice jar with holes on the cap to DIY a diffuser. I first inserted a few bamboo skewers, but also bought reeds on Amazon to try.

Materials: Reed or bamboo skewers with narrow-neck bottle and carrier oil like sweet almond oil, or ceramic or lava stone diffusers

4. Toilet bowl cleaner – vinegar and baking soda

Against: store-bought cleaners
Our mountain home is on a septic, which means we shouldn’t use any anti-bacterial or harsh caustic chemicals because they will disrupt the balance of the system. To be safe, I switched from Lysol to Seventh Generation. The silly thing is, because the Seventh Generation solution is runny and has absolutely no color, it was very hard to see and I sprayed it all over the place. While that won’t entirely stop me from using the brand, I’m also interested in mixing up simple homemade cleaners and use the essential oil of my choice.

I’ll still need to watch the frequency and amount of essential oil that goes down the drain anyway, and especially avoid antibacterial essential oils (unless they’re only going on surfaces, the air, and trash, etc.).

Simply mix them, wait for the bubbling reaction to settle, and use.

Materials: open jar, baking soda and vinegar

“Combine the following in a mason jar or glass container:
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup white vinegar
30 drops Peppermint
Again, make sure your jar is large enough to make room for the chemical reaction between basic baking soda and acidic vinegar.
Once the mixture settles down, pour into your toilet and scrub with a toilet brush until it’s sparkling clean.
—6 Homemade Bathroom Cleaner Recipes With Essential Oils from Edens Garden“

5. Room spray

Basically, this is for the same use as a room refreshener but portable, because my husband actually asked about having one for the car. So I followed the easy recipe from Eden’s Garden and gave him a small 1 oz bottle. It’s only grain alcohol, distilled water, and essential oil.

Materials: grain alcohol, distilled water, and bottle for spray

“4 oz Glass Bottle and Mister Top
1 oz 190-proof Grain Alcohol
3 oz Distilled water
40 drops Diffuser Days essential oil blend
Instructions: Add 1 oz of Grain Alcohol to a 4 oz Glass Spray Bottle with a spray top and add 40 drops of essential oils. Let this mixture infuse for at least 4 hours or overnight to give the essential oils a chance to infuse into the alcohol. Then fill the rest of the bottle with 3 oz of Distilled Water. Shake to combine.
—How to Clean The Air with Essential Oils from Eden’s Garden“

6. Period cramp relief oil

Against: period cramps!
I’m using the “Stop Cramps Period” blend from Eden’s Garden and diluting 18 drops to 1 oz carrier oil (sweet almond), rubbing it on my abdomen or lower back when I get cramps. It’s got a earthy, comforting scent similar to their “Love” blend. Both have clary sage, ylang ylang, geranium, and patchouli.

Materials: carrier oil and dropper bottle

“The most effective ways to use Stop Cramps Period on your period include topical application and inhalation. A few ways to use Stop Cramps Period include 1.) Dilute Stop Cramps Period to 3% by combining 18 drops of Stop Cramps Period and 2 tbsps of carrier oil. Apply this mixture to your abdomen and lower back for a comforting experience. 2.) Diffuse it by adding 10 drops per every 100 ml of water in an essential oil diffuser. Breathe it in for a moment of calm when chaotic feelings occur.
—Stop Cramps Essential Oil from Edens Garden“

7. Blood circulation oil

Getting more into personal care—I mostly use oils for sprays and passive diffusing, and roller balls for either fragrance or topical relief (like migraines, stuffy nose, etc.) This winter I’m also interested in trying oils for blood circulation benefits and massage diluted oil on my hands and feet.

Materials: carrier oil and dropper bottle

“There are several ways to effectively use Black Pepper essential oil and obtain its benefits, including […] Dilute 12 drops per 1 ounce of carrier oil and use in a skin-nourishing massage.
—How to use Black Pepper essential oil? from Edens Garden“

Of course, there are also the magickal and metaphysical properties to plants and essential oils, in addition to their practical and “mundane” uses. All this makes cleaning, health and self care so much more exciting. If anyone’s overwhelmed with learning the properties of essential oils, I’m with you and there are ways to narrow it down and get started!