Lysol alternative: essential oil disinfectant spray

As my husband will tell you, I'm not big on making sure everything is disinfected in our house -- I have seen my children pick up and eat stray food off the floor, when I'm not even sure what food it was or how long it had been there.
But one thing I insist on disinfecting: the kitchen trash can.

My husband made that meme joke on Twitter. Only nerds get it, I think.

Getting back to disinfecting...in a past life I always used Lysol. Which does kill germs, of course, but also leaves behind a number of dangerous chemicals that I wasn't comfortable spraying in my house in the presence of my children or even myself. Also, I sell essential oils, many of which are antibacterial and antifungal -- it is much cheaper to make my own than to keep going to the store and buying it!

Here is my super simple recipe, which I use on my trash can after removing the bag to take out the trash:



Homemade Essential Oils Disinfecting spray

1.5 cups filtered or distilled water
5 drops tea tree (Melaleuca Alfornia) oil
5 drops lemon oil, optional (if you don't have lemon, double the tea tree)

Put in a spray bottle (preferably glass or metal, as essential oils can degrade plastic), and be sure to shake briefly before spraying.

Super easy and it won't hurt kids, pets, or adults - you could actually drink it and it would have no adverse effects, although I'm sure it tastes gross!

If you're looking to buy therapeutic-grade essential oils, support a blogger and visit my Young Living web site!

Any time you have great essential oil recipes to share, I'm all ears. Leave them in the comments!