Bay leaves in your pantry – More than just a seasoning!

Thanks to my mother in law, I now have a new tip to pass on to you! While cleaning an older lady’s kitchen, my mother in law kept finding bay leaves here and there. When asking her client what she wanted her to do with all the bay leaves, she reportedly asked her right back – “Don’t you know about bay leaves? They’re for the bugs!” After some quick research, it seems that this “old wives tale” checks out – bay leaves actually do seem to keep pests out of your kitchen, and there’s an actual scientific explanation behind it.

Bay leaves contain – according to my sister in law, an entomologist, many natural insect repellents like alpha pinene, beta pinene and lauric acid. Who knew? Clearly not me, or I would definitely have some in my cupboards by now! By adding some bay leaves to your containers of flour, oats, rice, and other grains that you are storing long term, you may be able to avoid the dreaded pantry moth. And avoid the immense hassle and expense of throwing out contaminated food. It’s been suggested to use FRESH bay leaves if you can, and to replace them a few times a year. The older and dryer the leaves are, the more broken down the active repellents will be.

And there you have it! I hope this quick little trick saves you some possible future hairpulling that may have come from any unfortunate infestations!

Cream of tartar for cleaning?!

So a friend recently made me aware of the cleaning powers of cream of tartar, so when I came across a very stubborn eggy (stainless steel) pan that the dishwasher didn’t clean, I decided to try it out!

All I did was dust the surface of the pan lightly with cream of tartar, added a bit of water, let it soak for a about 15 minutes, came back and scrubbed with a scrubby sponge. The pan looked as clean as it had looked EVER. Like even better than brand new. Have any pots or pans with ‘stains’ on them, or a stubborn stuck on mess to clean? Try EDIBLE cream of tartar to clean those pots and pans better than any commercial cleaner could do. I wish I had taken a before picture of the pan……but I must admit I wasn’t counting on it working as well as it did!

Hooray for cream of tartar!

Two Basic Cleaners

So let’s start with cleaning your home. I find people are more comfortable making the initial switch to DIY with basic cleaners, as these are both the simplest and cheapest recipes.

These are also the most toxic products in your home, and therefore are in my opinion the most important to replace. If you have small children around, family members with respiratory issues or allergies, you may find making the switch to natural cleaning products gives you peace of mind.

Let’s get started with the two basic cleaners that do almost all the general cleaning jobs in my home! Get ready for the simplest recipe of them all, my…..

ALL PURPOSE CLEANER:

Find yourself an empty spray bottle. Fill with:

1 Part White vinegar
1 Part Water
10 Drops Tea Tree essential oil

Shake well, and spray away! The vinegar and tea tree are both antimicrobial agents, the vinegar being acidic, and the tea tree working naturally to eliminate bacteria. Worried about your home smelling like vinegar? Don’t! The smell absolutely does not linger, and you will get more and more used to it during use. I add citronella to my cleaner sometimes which I find masks the vinegar smell very well during use.

What can you use it for? Spills in the kitchen, a tile or laminate cleaner, surface cleaner for your bathroom, mirror cleaner, and a disinfectant for toys. You name it! Stuck on mess? Spray and let it soak. Need a more abrasive cleaner? Coming up!

TOUGH SCRUB – BATH & TOILET BOWL CLEANER:

Need an abrasive cleaner for that brown ring in your tub, or stubborn stains in your toilet bowl? A really stuck on mess that your all purpose spray can’t handle? Try this recipe on for size.

I find this product dispenses great from one of those large costco size herb / spice shakers with the large holes. Grab one of those, or something similar that you can shake this product out of, and add:

1 Part Washing Soda
1 Part Baking Soda
1 Part Borax*

Mix these ingredients well (if you find you are breathing in a lot of dust from the ingredients, wear a mask or tie a scarf around your face while you are mixing, or mix them on your stove with the exhaust fan running. Although these ingredients are generally benign, it’s not great to be breathing in a large amount of any kind of particulate).

Scrub your toilet or bath with this mixture and they will be clean in no time, with very little elbow grease! If you are cleaning a dry surface, you will want to use a bit of water with this! For your tub, after cleaning, spray down with your all purpose cleaner and rinse well – the sodas can be slippery. The vinegar in the all purpose cleaner will neutralize the sodas so you don’t slip in the shower! For really stuck on messes, scrub with this mixture, and then spray with the vinegar cleaner, and scrub again – this creates a fun foaming reaction that lifts off messes no problem!

*If you would like a borax free recipe, simply replace the borax with an equal part washing soda. I find the borax just gives it that extra kick, but isn’t fully necessary.