Homemade Reed Diffuser

These were the words I saw on the back of a reed diffuser box at the store. "Warning: This reed diffuser oil is fatal if swallowed." Yikes! That is not the kind of thing I would want around pets or kids. So I've been running some, ahem, extremely scientific experiments to find what makes the best all-natural DIY reed diffuser. Prepare to have your mind blown. Okay, not really but that was really fun to say.


my "scientific" findings
Many reed diffuser recipes call for mostly oil. But oil was a disaster. It was way too heavy to travel up the reeds and the scent was minimal. Water worked much better. Tap water seemed to work just as well as distilled/filtered water. Essential oils were the perfect choice for the scent. Unlike fragrance oils, essential oils are natural compounds extracted from parts of plants, flowers, and trees. Adding a splash of rubbing alcohol or vodka helped the essential oils distribute more evenly into the water, but the water traveled up the reeds better without it. So here's the recipe I came up with. It's simple, natural, and inexpensive, my three favorite words.

ingredients
bottle or vase with a narrow neck
1/4 cup water
10-15 reed diffuser sticks or bamboo skewers
30+ drops of essential oils

directions
A vase or bottle with a narrow neck is best to help prevent the water from evaporating into the air. I used reed diffuser sticks, but I've read that bamboo skewers also work. The reeds should be about double the length of the vase so you may need to cut them with wire cutters. Add water and essential oils to the vase. You can find essential oils at your local health food store, Amazon or Mountain Rose Herbs. Stir vigorously with the reeds. Be patient and give the scented water a chance to travel up the reeds. Rotate the ends of the reeds every so often.

cost savings

$15-40 Commercial Reed Diffuser

$1.54 DIY Reed Diffuser

$0.00 recycled bottle or vase
$0.00 water
$1.19 10 reed diffuser sticks [$11.94/100 pack on Amazon]
$0.35 30 drops cinnamon EO [$3.50/0.5 oz at Mountain Rose Herbs]

To see more ways to freshen a room naturally, check out my blog post Natural Air Freshener Ideas that Heal, Not Hurt. If you want to learn more ways to use essential oils, check out these blog posts.


What essential oils do you like to use for freshening a room?

This post was shared at: Simple Lives Thursday, Natural Living Link-Up, The 36th Avenue, Frugal Days Sustainable Ways, Works For Me Wednesday, Raising Homemakers Link-Up, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Show Me What Ya Got Tuesday, Real Food Forager Fat Tuesday, Homestead Barn Hop, How-To Tuesday, Simply Natural Saturdays, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Get Schooled Saturday, Tatertots & Jello, Little House in the Suburbs, Happy Hour Friday, Whipperberry Friday Flair

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Homemade Body Spray

I used to love perfume counters and stores like Bath & Body Works. Now I run the other way when I see someone handing out perfume samples and hold my breath when I walk by Abercrombie & Fitch. Instead of a pleasant scent, all I smell are toxic chemicals. So today I'm going to show you how to make a super simple all-natural body spray with essential oils. Unlike fragrance oils, essential oils are natural compounds extracted from parts of plants, flowers, and trees and have been used throughout history for their medicinal and therapeutic benefits. Not only will you save money by making your own body spray, you will know exactly what's being absorbed into your skin and inhaled into your lungs.

ingredients
spray bottle
vodka or water
essential oils of your choice

directions
Add vodka or water to the spray bottle. If you use water, you'll need to shake really well before each use because essential oils do not dissolve in water. I bought my 1 oz. glass spray bottle at Sprouts, a health food store, for about $2-3. But you can also find them online. Add essential oils of your choice. I used Mountain Rose Herbs' information pages for specific essential oils to figure out which essential oils blend well together. You can also check out Introduction to Aromatherapy Blending for more helpful info.

favorite recipes
I had so much fun creating the following body spray recipes! I don't like any of these essential oils when used alone for a body spray, but once combined they make an amazing scent. I will definitely be creating more recipes and adding them to this list!

Grapefruit Bergamot Body Spray
8 drops grapefruit essential oil
8 drops bergamot essential oil
2 Tbsp vodka or water (1 oz)

Ylang Lime Body Spray
2 drop ylang ylang essential oil
10 drops lime essential oil
2 Tbsp vodka or water (1 oz)

Lavender Lime Body Spray
3 drops lavender essential oil
8 drops lime essential oil
2 Tbsp vodka or water (1 oz)

**I love citrus oils, but some of them cause photosensitivity, meaning when they are left on skin and exposed to sunlight, they can cause the sun's effect to be greatly magnified. So I use these body sprays on my clothing or on skin that isn't going to be exposed to the sun.

cost savings

$2.00/oz Bath & Body Works Fragrance Mist [$6/3 oz]

$0.92/oz Grapefruit Bergamot Body Spray

$0.26 Grapefruit Essential Oil [$9.75/0.5 oz at Mountain Rose Herbs]
$0.40 Bergamot Essential Oil [$15/0.5 oz at Mountain Rose Herbs]
$0.26 vodka [$6.47/750 mL] or $0 for water

$0.64/oz Ylang Lime Body Spray

$0.11 Ylang Ylang Essential Oil [$17/0.5 oz at Mountain Rose Herbs]
$0.27 Lime Essential Oil [$8/0.5 oz at Mountain Rose Herbs]
$0.26 vodka [$6.47/750 mL] or $0 for water

$0.57/oz Lavender Lime Body Spray

$0.21 Lime Essential Oil [$8/0.5 oz at Mountain Rose Herbs]
$0.10 Lavender Essential Oil [$10.25/0.5 oz at Mountain Rose Herbs]
$0.26 vodka [$6.47/750 mL] or $0 for water

You can find essential oils at your local health food store, Amazon, and Mountain Rose Herbs. Here are more ways to use essential oils. Learn more about essential oil safety.

Do you have a homemade body spray recipe to share?
What essential oil scents do you love when combined?

This post was shared at: Frugal Days Sustainable Ways, Works For Me Wednesday, Raising Homemakers Link-Up, Homestead Barn Hop, Simply Natural Saturdays, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Get Schooled Saturday, Little House in the Suburbs, Thirty Handmade Days, Happy Hour Friday, Whipperberry Friday Flair, Simple Lives Thursday, Natural Living Link-Up, The 36th Avenue, Real Food Forager Fat Tuesday, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Show Me What Ya Got Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday

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Homemade Gift Ideas: Baby Wipes & Sugar Foot Scrub

I have the sweetest, most thoughtful friend ever. Just look what she made and gave me for my birthday! Homemade gifts = total awesomeness!


Homemade Baby Wipes

roll of paper towels, cut in half
2 cups water
2 tablespoons fractionated coconut oil
6 drops lavender essential oil
6 drops tea tree essential oil

Place towels in storage container. Add the oil and water mixture, turning until liquid is absorbed. Remove the cardboard roll, and pull wipes from the center.



Autumn Foot Scrub

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Epsom salt
1 cup high quality oil, such as fractionated coconut oil, olive, jojoba, or sunflower oil
ginger essential oil
clove essential oil
cinnamon essential oil
orange essential oil

Mix the sugar, Epsom salt, and oil until well-blended. Next, add the essential oils, alternating one drop at a time if you are using multiple scents. Make sure the essential oils are evenly blended, and then transfer the mixture to an airtight container for storage.


What are some more homemade gift ideas?

This post was shared at: Simple Lives Thursday, Natural Living Link-Up, The 36th Avenue, Little House in the Suburbs, Frugal Friday, Thirty Handmade Days, Happy Hour Friday, Whipperberry Friday Flair, Simply Natural Saturdays, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Get Schooled Saturday, Tatertots & Jello, Morristribe's Homesteader Blog Carnival, Homestead Barn Hop, Monday Mania, Motivate Me Monday, More the Merrier Monday, Tiny Tip Tuesday, Real Food Forager Fat Tuesday, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Living Green Tuesdays, Show Me What Ya Got Tuesday, Frugal Days Sustainable Ways, Works For Me Wednesday, Healthy 2day Wednesday, Raising Homemakers Link-Up

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How to Make a Reusable Greeting Card

Have you ever gotten a greeting card that was too cute to throw away? Save someone money and time by sending them a reusable homemade card that can be passed on and on. Or cut the front off an old greeting card that you received and pass it on. Share the love!

SUPPLIES:



DIRECTIONS:
1. Make your own card topper or cut off the front of a cute card you recieved.



2. Cut a piece of cardstock that is double the size of the card topper. Fold in half.



3. Place an adhesive on the back of the card topper. Choose one that will be easy to get off, like small pieces of tape or pop-up foam squares. I love using my Herma Dotto Dispenser for this. The repositionable dot adhesive sticks really well, but is easy to remove later.



4. Stick the card topper to the front of the folded cardstock.



5. Inside the card, give directions for the reusable card or print out a little note to include with the card.



Click on the picture below and right click to download to your computer. Then you can print your own page of direction notes to cut out and send with reusable cards.



This post is linked to: Sumo's Sweet Stuff, The Morristribe's Homesteader Blog Carnival, Motivate Me Monday, More the Merrier Monday, Alderberry Hill, Little House in the Suburbs, Frugal Friday, Thirty Handmade Days, Simply Sweet Home Friday Favorites, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Works For Me Wednesday, Tout it Tuesday, Tiny Tip Tuesday, Tip Me Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Homemaker on a Dime, Link and Greet Saturday, Saturday Show & Tell, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Weekend Craft Soiree, Get Schooled Saturday

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Homemade Love Note Jar

For Valentine's Day, I made my husband this love note jar filled with Hershey Kisses and 31 little love notes that I wrote. He gets to read one note each day for a month. I got this cute idea from http://www.kindnotes.com/, except mine cost a lot less. The whole thing cost under $10.

This post is linked to: Link and Greet Saturday, Saturday Show & Tell, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Weekend Craft Soiree, Get Schooled Saturday

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Childhood Memories Book

Last year my sister asked me and my four siblings to write down all of our happy and fun childhood memories and email them to her. Then she used Blurb to make a book to give to our parents at Christmas. What a great idea to record our memories of the good ole' days before we forget them! When my family was all together at Christmas, my siblings and I went around the room and shared our memories with each other. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time!

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Homemade Diaper Cake

Here is a diaper cake I made for a baby shower. It is surprisingly easy to make and only cost $20! All it takes is a package of 116 Luvs size 1 diapers, a spool of ribbon, and a toy to put on the top. Just wrap the diapers around each other to make a circle and hold them in place with the ribbon.

This post was shared at: Get Schooled Saturday

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