Homemade Carpet Freshner, "Hidden Treasures", and Long Overdue Car Cleaning
With a new baby here, this farm family was forced into upgrading our vehicle to make room for said baby. So with some help from my Farm Niece (who comes and helps me a few days a week), we attacked the job of cleaning out the "old" vehicle (a desire Farm Dad contributes to third trimester nesting instincts). It was not a job for the fainthearted. With six children, a lot of time spent in the car and more snacks on the go than I care to think about, you can imagine what was lurking behind car seats, under floor mats, and stuck (yes, stuck) to the carpet etc. We found silly putty, half eaten suckers, gummy bears (or not so gummy bears), crayons, you name it!
Numerous times I told Farm Niece that I was horrified for her to see what was hiding in that vehicle! I wouldn't have even asked for assistance but I was nine months pregnant and too large to be crawling and bending searching for "hidden treasures" in our family vehicle. Anyway, we got the car cleaned out and vacuumed and I decided I wanted the car to smell fresh...so, my "essential oils can be used for everything" brain started turning. I decided to take some baking soda and mixed in a few drops of wild orange essential oil (I think lemon oil would work just as well too, I just had orange right at my reach...both are great for freshening and cleansing). I sprinkled the mixture all over the carpet in the car, let it sit for about ten minutes, then vacuumed again. The car smells amazing, has been emptied of it's "treasures" and is now ready to sell! Essential oils did it again!
Homemade Carpet Freshener
1 cup baking soda
4-6 drops of wild orange or lemon essential oil
Mix together and its ready to sprinkle on the carpet.
You could even use a parmesan cheese lid on a mason jar for sprinkling.
Happy carpet cleaning!
