31 Cups: Goin' Crunchy~ DIY Furniture Polish

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Goin' Crunchy~ DIY Furniture Polish

Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, and Lemongrass Essential Oil

I really like how furniture polish smells. The lemony fragrance brings me back to my childhood. I have chatted before on how much I love to clean. Sometimes to a fault. I think it was probably groomed into me from the time I was able to hold a cloth and dust.

The house I did most of growing up in was an old turn of the century two story farm house. My mother would run about fruitlessly trying to keep up with the country dust that whipped across the open fields and deposited rich black topsoil and brown gravel road dust all over the house. The wood floors caught it and so we dusted those daily. The couches and coffee table hid dust of the bunny variety. So there was weekly cleaning to catch those gray fuzzy bunnies. In the summer, when the windows were let open to bring in a breeze, I could wake up and find dust on the kitchen table in a light layer just waiting , begging me to write HELLO with my pinky finger. We rinsed cups before using them even if they came out of the cupboard. It was really everywhere.

My brothers were often regulated to more manly type jobs but I honestly think she just didn't trust them to not waste a whole can of dust spray and go through three dusting rags just on the dining room. So my sister and I got to dust. With rags and special dusting mops! With lemony furniture polish that we could spray on the antique, wooden, buffet table and desk that shined it right up.

I love the instant gratification of a good dusting. I mean, you can SEE the clean! And the house smells clean, even if it isn't in the most tip-top shape. So now it is my Prince Ray's job to once a week dust up this house. He generally talks Princess Petunia into helping him and her little 2 year old self is so very proud to help with a big kid chore. He does not think it manly enough but is willing to to do it without complaining (usually) 'for Princess Petunia'.

A clean dusting of the house always makes me feel better. Yes, I know. Sounding a bit off kilter? I come from a long line of neurotic cleaners. If Lemon Dusting Spray makes me feel better, then so be it.

So in my search to make my own cleaning supplies I found a good one here and here. I tweaked the recipe and this now my favorite for homemade Lemon Dusting Spray.

oil

lemon

water

DIY Lemon Dusting Spray

one 4 oz spray bottle

1/2 teaspoon of olive oil

3 teaspoons lemon juice

10 drops of Lemongrass Essential Oil (or lemon, or orange...)

distilled water *

Using a funnel to pour into the spray bottle, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, and essential oils.

Fill the rest if the bottle with distilled water.

When using: shake the bottle well before using and spray on soft cloth or directly on the furniture. Wipe clean! :) This can be doubled or tripled but I usually just make it as I need to. Smells like summertime and childhood.

*distilled water is just filtered, boiled, and then cooled water. Any possible organisms in your water are then killed and thus a product that does not turn into a science petri dish.

So make some better for you and the environment, frugal, Lemon Dusting Spray and then DUST IT!