Do you ever have one of those days when it's raining out, it's a good day for cleaning the house, but the kids are just going crazy? We had one of those days last week and an idea popped into my mind that I thought I might just try. My kids always want to help clean the house when I clean, but they insist that they want to use the spray cleaner. I mean, who wouldn't want that job? Using a spray bottle like a squirt gun and eliminating any dirty spots, how fun!?
I get it, but I just don't feel comfortable letting my littles use any real cleaning products because a lot of them have stuff in it that I just don't feel comfortable letting them touch or inhale too much. I thought to myself, maybe we can have a little fun making our own "cleaners". It's a super simple project and a great distraction for the kiddos.
Just take an empty spray cleaner bottle that you can recycle from old bottles and fill with water. I don't have a super wide selection of essential oils, but I have maybe about fifteen of them. So I took them out and lined them up on the counter, making sure to emphasize how special these oils are to me and that they are NOT toys or something to take out without adult supervision. I then read each bottle's name and let them smell them all and told each kid that they are allowed to pick three different essential oils to create their very own spray cleaner to help clean the house.
They were thrilled to have the privilege of using the essential oils and the responsibility of customizing their own blends. I made sure to take a permanent marker and have them write their names on each bottle, so it truly was custom made for each one. The kids then spent the next hour or so "cleaning" all of the surfaces of the house with their special essential oil spray blend with a cloth rag, and it made our house smell absolutely wonderful! It's an easy must-try hack for any parent trying to get some housework done.