I'll admit, for YEARS I used Febreeze liberally around my house. Not unlike Sriracha, I put that sh*t on EVERYTHING. Then a wise friend pointed out that Febreeze is chocked full of nasty chemicals, and that I was only covering up stink with said nasty chemicals, and not getting rid of them.
So at that point I phased out the Febreeze, and started just washing anything that smelled a little funky. I mean, usually something smells a bit off because there's bacteria lodged in there somewhere, and no amount of "anti-bacterial" Febreeze is going to get that out.
Anyways, fast forward to this year, I share a bed with a dude and two dogs EVERY NIGHT. They all kinda stink (but not me, never), however washing the sheets EVERY SINGLE DAY is just not feasible...we don't own that many sets. So I started looking online for a simple fabric/linen refresher spray that I could make at home; and I was pleasantly surprised with all the super easy, and super basic recipes out there.
I used this one from Casa Sugar.
I grabbed a few 2oz bottles from the dollar store, and instead of vodka I used witch hazel in one bottle, and rubbing alcohol in the other in order to compare.
I pared down the recipe to fit with my 2oz bottle, mixed it all together, poured it in, and then let it sit for 48 hours to set.
My observations are that the witch hazel disperses the essential oil a little more effectively than the rubbing alcohol, however as long as you give the spray bottle a shake before you spray it's no big deal.
Spray liberally!
Cheers,
-Melissa
Last night I decided to take the plunge and start messing about with SCIENCE!!! (Prepare to be blinded!)
I put in a massive order to a company out of Montreal called Savon Populaire (don't worry all you non-French speaking folks, Google Translate does a great job of translating this site into English) last week, and all my goodies safely arrived this past Friday.
So last night I decided to start playing around with two projects: 1) Homemade "Vick's" Shower Steamers, and 2) Bath Bombs.
The shower steamers were dead easy, and I used the recipe from Frugal by Choice; seriously, baking soda, water, and a sh*t ton of eucalyptus (and lavender if you so choose).
They should look like paste, but smell like awesome. I left them out overnight to dry, however when I got up this morning they were still a little wetter than I wanted them to be so I popped them in the oven for 10 minutes @ 350F, and that seemed to do the trick.
[PRO TIP: Be mindful when taking them out of the oven, as they'll be ready to come out of the molds, and you could very easily end up with one in the bottom of your oven.]
I tried one of the finished shower tablets in the shower this morning, and they dissolve pretty quickly, and I definitely want more eucalyptus smell. SO next batch will be bigger and have like 5x's as much eucalyptus in it (and maybe some peppermint, it's frigging STRONG).
Next I moved onto bath bombs. Admittedly I have NEVER worked with citric acid before, so I had no idea how easily this stuff would fizz up when it was in contact with even the most minute amount of water. Hats off to people who make these for a living, it's an exercise in patience.
I used the recipe found here.
Verdict:
The orange ones (scented with orange and vanilla) in the top right-hand corner were my first attempt. I quickly learned that I had used too much water because it activated the corn starch which made them rise like a loaf of bread. I was able to still get a bath bomb out of them, however their fizz left a lot to be desired.
The green ones (scented with peppermint) in the bottom right-hand corner turned out much better as the measurements were much more balanced. However, I think I overdid it with the peppermint, as I'm certain that if you added one of those to your bath you would have clear sinuses for a month!
The purple ones (scented with lavender) in the middle are pretty awesome. They have just the right amount of scent, and in the kitchen sink test beat everyone hands down in fizziness. I can wait to try these ones out this week.
The blue ones (scented with a mix called "A Day at the Beach" which is pink grapefruit, bergamot, and orange, with aromatic essence of coconut), are also completely awesome. I think next time I will use slightly more scent though as they're a little weak smelling for my liking, however they could be perfectly fine for other folk's senses.
I now feel the overwhelming urge to make them pretty, by using ACTUAL molds and not muffin tins...that we use...for actual muffins.
So there you have it! My maiden voyage complete! Sorry for the spoiler family, but you'll be getting these and some other awesome handmade beauty products for Christmas this year.
Cheers,
-Melissa
