Garden Delights Herb Farm
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Plants
  • Shop
    • Herb Blends & Salts
    • Herbal Bath & Body
    • Herbal Flea Products
    • Catnip Toys
    • Seeds
  • Classes & Events
    • Classes
    • Events
  • About
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Plants
  • Shop
    • Herb Blends & Salts
    • Herbal Bath & Body
    • Herbal Flea Products
    • Catnip Toys
    • Seeds
  • Classes & Events
    • Classes
    • Events
  • About
  • Contact

Bringing Spring Indoors

3/16/2021

0 Comments

 

With A Little Herbal Green Cleaning

March commemorates the beginning of spring.  Ah, spring with thoughts of getting the garden started and playing in the dirt at last.  And then it’s more rain, so let’s think about some spring cleaning while we wait for the sun to show up.  We’ve been pretty much indoors for several months and the house is beginning to look and feel like the dog who just spent the last two hours in the pasture – a little smelly and not really clean.  Sure we’ve vacuumed a few times, kept up with the toilet scrub brush but spring is about beginning anew and fresh scents of the outdoors.  Let’s do a little more thorough cleaning, bring spring indoors before we get outdoors to enjoy it.
To really get that spring fresh scent, we encourage everyone to use simple fresher herbal cleaners and avoid those harsh store bought chemicals.  The ingredients are products you probably already have around the kitchen such as baking soda and apple cider vinegar and they are safe for the people and pets in your home.

Herbs for Cleaning
Here are some of our favorite herbs we use for cleaning around the house along with their properties for use around the home:
  •  Lavender - antibacterial, repels insects, aromatherapy
  • Rosemary -antiseptic, antioxidant (preservative)
  • Sage - antibacterial, antioxidant, antiseptic
  • Thyme - strongest herb antibacterial, strong disinfectant, antifungal
  • Lemon Balm - antiviral, aromatherapy
  • Peppermint - antibacterial, antiviral, repels insects and mice

You may even be able to get a bit of rosemary, sage and thyme fresh from your garden but dried herbs will work just fine. 
Mint plants with green fringed leaves and red stems in a greenhouse with the sun shining on them
Mint plants
Here are a couple of suggestions for making your own spring cleaning products.  We have used both of these and can attest to their usefulness.

Carpet Freshener (Garden Delights Recipe)
  • 1 cup baking soda
  • 1/2 cup finely ground dried herbs of your choice
Suggested herbs: lavender, rose petals, thyme, rosemary, lemon balm, sage

Scouring Powder (adapted from the Nerdy Farm Wife) – porcelain tubs, tiles and sinks, glass dishware (not recommended stainless steel or ceramic)
  • 1/2 cup baking soda
  • 1 T sea salt
  • 1 T ground herbs
Herbs we like – rosemary, thyme, mints
Note - for stainless steel or ceramic, we take out the sea salt and add enough liquid Castile soap to make a paste.  Then wipe it down with a damp cloth. 

For both these recipes, its best to grind your herbs finely - coffee grinders work well, but you can also use a mortar and pestle, or a bag with a rolling pin. 
Here are a few other tasks or spring home rituals we do that involve herbs:
  • clean all bed comforters & pack away clean winter bedding with herbal sachets in the closet (lavender, rosemary, thyme)
  • open up the windows and clean them with herbally infused vinegar mixture
  • scrub down kitchen counters & stove top with the scouring powder above (we both have old style stove tops)
  • spritz the house with hydrosol smudges - since we don't have any dried herb bundles left for smudge sticks  :)

The rain will be gone soon enough and we’ll all be outdoors cleaning our gardens.  So for now take a little time to refresh and clean indoors.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2022
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

Location

 About Garden Delights Herb Farm

Providing your family with healthy, sustainable herbs you can trust because our family uses them, too. 

Contact Us

All information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not meant to help you diagnose, treat, or cure any illness. It has not been evaluated by the FDA.