Hearth and Home: Home Made Lysol Recipe

If you are wondering why I didn't post yesterday it's because my poor little boy came down with a terrible stomach bug and it became a battle to keep the poor kid hydrated for about 12 hours.  LUCKILY *fingers crossed* we're hoping he's on the mend now.  While all of this was going on I reached for my bottle of home made disinfecting spray/air freshener (think Lysol) constantly; to disinfect and to just plain take the sick smell out of the room (trying to avoid like heck that anyone else gets sick...of course then my daughter grabs her brothers soda and sucks it down while I'm not looking, so I'm not sure how effective my efforts are going to be in the long run *sigh*).  So, now that my son is napping and we have a lull in sickness around here I thought I'd share this recipe.  It's actually pretty simple, is gentle enough to use anywhere in the house pretty much (keep out of reach of the kiddos though as essential oils are potent and you don't want them going to town with this) and is just a nice overall "everyday" spray.  I just use it anywhere I would think to use Lysol and hey...it doesn't irritate my lungs!  This recipe is adapted from Nursery Room Spray found in Herbal Crafts: More than 60 Simple Projects to Beautify Your Home and Body.

Home Made Lysol 

• One 2 to 4 oz spray bottle (glass or metal preferably....I used a stainless steel bottle I had left over from some other product I'd bought and repurposed it).
• 3/4 to 1 teaspoon lavender essential oil (depending on how "lavender-y" you want your spray to smell like)
• 3/4 to 1 teaspoon sweet orange oil (I did 3/4 lavender and 1 teaspoon orange oil just because I like the smell of orange better)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon essential oil
• 1/4 teaspoon tea tree oil...optional (I've made this before with the tea tree oil and it threw off the fragrance to the point I left it out the next time and upped the lavender oil...it just didn't smell...well right to me with the tea tree oil in it, but it's a good thing to add for germ killing power.  If you use the tea tree oil knock back the lavender oil to 3/4 of a teaspoon).
• Distilled Water

Fill bottle to about 1 inch from the top with distilled water (distilled water is "super cleaned" and doesn't grow mold or other things as readily as tap water) and then add your essential oils.  Put the cap on and shake to combine.  Spritz on objects or into the air as needed, shaking well before each use (the oils and water will separate naturally so you have to shake to re-combine them).  Remember to label it so you know what is in it and always list ingredients on your bottles (to let other people know what is in them too...you don't want someone who is allergic to citrus, for instance, picking up this and spraying it around their face or something...it would be a bad thing).