Lately I have been trying to create a good habit for myself to help ease stress. I hate dirty dishes, the smell they bring to my house and how sloppy they make my kitchen look. Unfortunately dishes pile up so quickly and I find it hard to always have them under control. This really does affect me though, and I can tell a difference in myself when my dishes are done or if they are just messy in my sink. Something I started trying to do lately is to do them either when my husband is getting my baby ready for bed or after I put her in bed if it was my turn, or on nights like tonight he did them while I got her in bed.
When I am consistent to do this each night there aren’t as many dishes, and they aren’t as gross or caked on. This literally brings me peace, funny as it may sound. My new favorite thing to do once my sink is empty is to pour baking soda all over the sink with a few drops of lemon and lime essential oils and give it a good scrub. Not only does this get my sink looking clean and sparkly, but it smells DIVINE and the smell spreads throughout my little apartment. I have only recently bought essential oils and because most of mine are photosensitive I haven’t even tried to use them on my body and am just using them in recipes around my house. (Disclaimer: I definitely still use a disinfectant to clean out my sink if raw meat ever touches it, I’m not trying to say that this nightly sink scrub disinfects)
By far this has been my favorite use for them. Also I have found that if my sink is getting stained (ours is white and porcelain) sometimes the baking soda and lemon essential oil can help remove that stain without me having to bleach it. After doing this routine for several days in a row, I decided there might be a better way to use less of both product yet still have it be effective. I poured some baking soda in a jar with probably about 10 drops of essential oil and just shook it up until it was all mixed together and now I just shake some of the mixture into my sink every time it is clear of dishes and do the scrub down. This has worked great and uses a lot less essential oils, but still smells really good. I will say that the scent is not as long lasting, but for most everyday uses it has still worked well. If I want it to be really strong one day I can still just do the baking soda with however much essential oils I want on it.
For those with essential oil questions, truthfully I am not your girl. I am still very hesitant when using them and am always looking things up as you definitely have to be careful what you use them for especially around babies and pets. I am extra careful because I have a baby, and have never used them topically. I also was very overwhelmed because there are so many different brands that sell essential oils, and different claims about them. I found a brand I am happy with that I will link here if you are interested, as I know I was definitely curious what brands people were using when I was researching. So if you like the idea of the sink scrub and have not used essential oils before, please do your own research before using them so you can know which will be safe to use in your own home.
WELL BALANCED 