Essential Oils Recipes For the Home

Let's look at some essential oils recipes for use around the home. Jump to potpourri recipe or furniture polish or laundry. For more essential oils recipes for the home, see Aromatherapy Air Freshener Recipes and Essential Oils for Pest Control.

Kitchen and Bathroom Cleaning

Here are some essential oil recipes for use in the kitchen or bathroom.

Surface Rinse

• 4 cups water
• 5 drops bergamot essential oil
  
• 3 drops tea tree essential oil
• 1 drop eucalyptus essential oil
• 1 drop thyme essential oil

Floor Final Rinse

• 4 cups water 
• 4 drops pine essential oil
• 3 drops lemon essential oil
• 2 drops niaouli essential oil

Toilet Cleaner

• 1 cup of baking soda
• 15 drops tea tree essential oil
• 15 drops lemon essential oil

Combine ingredients. Sprinkle mixture over the seat and bowl, and leave for 30 minutes. Scrub with a bowl brush. 

Dishwasher Detergent

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup coarse salt
• 1/2 cup citric acid
• 5 drops lemon or orange essential oil

1. Mix all ingredients in a container. 
2. Use 1 tablespoon of detergent blend for a load of dishes. 

Tip: Add white vinegar to your rinse aid dispenser to prevent cloudiness on the dishes.

Tip: To clean and disinfect the dishwasher, run a wash cycle with several added drops of lemon essential oil.

See more tips and recipes for cleaning with essential oils.

Aromatherapy Potpourri

To make potpourri:

1. Gather dried leaves, flowers, and small wood shavings and crush them to your desired size. 
2. Put 1/2 cup of plant material into a wide-mouth jar. 
3. Add essential oils (suggested blends below) and stir well.
4. Place lid tightly on jar and let the potpourri sit for a few days so the plant material can absorb the scent of the essential oils.
5. Use potpourri as desired.

Suggested aromatherapy blends:

• 10 drops benzoin oil
• 20 drops clove essential oil
• 50 drops geranium essential oil
• 50 drops orange essential oil
• 70 drops ylang ylang essential oil

or

• 30 drops cinnamon essential oil
• 30 drops patchouli essential oil
• 40 drops orange essential oil
• 100 drops lime essential oil

or

• 10 drops patchouli essential oil
• 30 drops lavender essential oil
• 30 drops clove essential oil
• 30 drops rosemary essential oil
• 100 drops spruce essential oil

Source: 500 Formulas For Aromatherapy

Furniture Polish

To make wood furniture polish, add a few drops of lemon essential oil to 1/4 cup of jojoba or olive oil.

In the following recipe, the olive oil conditions and the vinegar cleans. You can also use this blend on your dust mop for hardwood floors.

• 2 teaspoons light olive oil
• 15 drops lemon essential oil
• 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
• 16-ounce spray bottle
• Distilled water

1. Add the olive oil, lemon, and vinegar to the spray bottle.
2. Fill the bottle with distilled water.
3. Use as you would use any furniture polish.
   

Essential Oils Recipes For Laundry

Using essential oils in the laundry is a natural way to get fresh, clean clothing.

• To get rid of soap residue, whiten and brighten fabric, and give your laundry a fresh scent, pour about 1/4 cup white vinegar and 5 drops lavender essential oil into the fabric softener compartment of your washing machine.
  

• To kill dust mites in bedding, add 20 to 25 drops of eucalyptus essential oil to a  load of laundry. Source

• To give clothes a lemony scent, add a few drops of lemon essential oil to a damp cloth and place it in the dryer with the clothes. You can also use other essential oils if you prefer a different scent. Good choices include geranium, lavender, lime, peppermint, spearmint, or spruce.

Photo Credits: Kitchen from MorgueFile and Potpourri from Shardayyy/Flickr/CC