East Texas Kitchen Care: Using essential oils to fragrance your home

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - I know that there are many claimed uses for essential oils floating around on the internet, and I don’t adhere to any of them, really. From curing headaches to the common cold to cancer, adherents to essential oils claim they have nearly magical uses. Honestly, I hope they’re right. I don’t know.

What I do know is that they smell incredible! My daughter-in-law gave me a set of them for Christmas last year, along with a diffuser, and I have so enjoyed trying out the different scents in my home: lemongrass, eucalyptus, tea tree, lavender, rosemary, orange, and more.

If you don’t have a diffuser but you want to try out some essential oils in your home, here are some easy ways to enjoy their fragrance.

Add four or five drops to a cotton ball. Drop the cotton ball into the bottom of a clean trash can before putting the bag into the can, which helps keep the scent nice.
You can do the same for drawers that you store linens in, as well. Using lavender oil for this is nice, as it’s a gentle, calming scent.
To scrub sinks, use some baking soda and a few drops of your favorite essential oil. My favorites for this are the citrus oils, orange and lemon.
To scent a room without a diffuser, I have put a couple of drops of eucalyptus oil or other favorite scents on a fan blade before turning on the fan. Note that you will want to wipe that off later, or it will gather dust.

WebMD shared a recipe for an all-purpose cleaner using essential oils. From what I have read in various places, this should be mixed in a glass container, as essential oils can break down plastics over time. Let me know if you try this:

From WebMD:

An all-purpose cleaner is effective on most surfaces and cleans all major stains. You can add a few different essential oils to this mixture.

Pour ¼ cup of lemon juice.
Add two tablespoons of white vinegar
Add two cups of hot water.
Put in 5 drops of orange essential oil.
Put in 10 drops of tea tree essential oil.

Mix the ingredients thoroughly and transfer the solution from the bowl to a spray bottle. Whenever you need to clean a surface, shake then spray the mixture onto the area and wipe it with a microfiber cloth or soft towel.

Watch previous episodes of East Texas Kitchen Care:

East Texas Kitchen Care: Cleaning sticky, smelly Tupperware

East Texas Kitchen Care: Cleaning the black buildup off your enamel Dutch ovens

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