Hi everyone!

I haven’t had a new post on the blog in SO LONG! Life has been so busy in so many amazing ways – but that’s made it really hard to carve out the time to sit down and do some writing. But today, what I wanted to share with you was too long to fit in an Instagram caption, so I had to move over here to tell you about the kitchen cleaning hack I tried yesterday. It’s not only quick and easy… but it also uses natural products so it can be part of reducing toxins and creating a healthy home! Amen to that, right?

First the backstory to this: When my husband and I moved into our current home it needed a total makeover. For several years prior to our purchase, the house had renters in it. And, I don’t know if they just didn’t care very much or didn’t notice – but let’s just say that the house was incredibly dirty.

One of the worst areas was the kitchen. I feel like every surface had a layer of caked on grease. Two girlfriends and I spent an entire day with that awful commercial degreaser cleaning what turned into pretty white cabinetry. But, that degreaser is scary stuff… who knows what is in it… but I digress.

Fast forward to this past week when the sun finally came out in the ATL and cast a pretty glow into my kitchen. While enjoying that glow, I noticed that the cabinets just above my microwave, once again, were starting to get a layer of grease on them. Our oven and stove don’t really have a vent so when you are cooking, the fan just blows grease up to, you guessed it, the cabinets.

My husband mentioned he had tried to clean it off a while back, but nothing we had in the house seemed able to wash it off. And I thought – there has to be a way to do this without going out and buying that awful neon colored degreaser. I honestly don’t want to work with or expose all of us to that stuff. So I got to work researching…

I came across a YouTube video (link here) that suggested creating a paste from baking soda and a little bit of oil (I used vegetable oil). They recommended using your fingers to rub it into the cabinets and then, apparently, you could just wipe all that greasy residue right off!

I figured it was worth a try… But…

I also though I could make it better because I know there are DoTERRA oils that are known to cut grease. So I did a little more research and settled on 1 drop of lemon oil and 1 drop of lime oil.

In total, this Kitchen Cleaning Hack required:

• About 3/4 of a cup of baking soda
• About 1/4 cup of vegetable oil (These two measurements are estimates. It’s trial and error to get the right consistency.)
• 1-2 drops DoTERRA Lemon Oil (Lemon oil is known to help with odor elimination, purifying surfaces, and degreasing. It’s scent is uplifting and positive)
• 1-2 drops DoTERRA Lime Oil (Lime oil is known to help clean grease spots and remove sticky residue. It’s scent is uplifting, balancing, and energizing)

Not only did this mixture completely remove the grime from the cabinets and leave them looking beautiful, but it also smelled fantastic. Total win.

(p.s. I forgot to take a before and after photos of the cabinets. I’m working on editing a photo of the halfway point so that you can see the difference. I’ll have it up soon!!)

I cleaned one whole cabinet plus one half of two other cabinets that are near to the stove in about 15 minutes.

With that said, there are a couple things to keep in mind:

1. You want this mixture to be a paste consistency. Not so runny that when you put it on the cabinet it slides right off and not so thick that it crumbles as soon as you try to use it.
2. It’s slightly messy. Not messy to the level of making slime with your kiddos, but messy nonetheless. When I have to do this again, I will likely lay paper towels or regular towels down under the cabinets I’m cleaning so that when the paste flakes off, as it will, its easier to clean up.
3. I did this with my bare hands. You can always use gloves if that makes you feel more comfortable, but the beauty of this hack is that there are no harsh chemicals. It’s all stuff you already have in your kitchen that are completely safe. With that said, if you tend to have skin sensitivities, I’d go ahead and grab some gloves.
4. And finally, be prepared to start this project and then find more and more spots you want to clean! As I got going, I noticed that the molding at the top of the cabinets could also use this treatment and then I thought, well if it works this good on the REALLY dirty cabinets, why not go ahead and do all of them? My point is, that this project could really take on a life of its own so be careful not to get swept away. I’ll do my moldings another day!

At any rate, this little cleaning hack is definitely one I recommend trying! If you do, let me know in the comments below! And also, if you need some great essential oils, feel free to click over to my DoTERRA essential oils page to learn more and/or purchase your own!

As always, Stay Healthy as Heck! KH