How to Make a Lemon Coconut Disinfectant Spray

Homemade cleaning products generally get a pretty mixed review. On one hand, they lessen your exposure to icky chemicals, they save your wallets and the environment from unnecessary harm, and quite honestly, in an almost primal way, it feels really good to make something with your hands and give it a practical use. But despite all of these things, choruses wait in the wings for the opportunity to sing out, “Homemade!? Who has the time!” and “The chemical smell is how you know it’s working!”

Certainly that may be true for some people. And like with most things in life, I do believe that making the switch to homemade cleaning products can only be done in one’s own time. So, I’m not here to convert the Bleachers and Cloroxers. Instead I’ll offer up my recipe for a simple, all purpose disinfectant spray, and you, my cleanly cousins, may do with it what you will.

What you’ll need:

1. 1 cup of coconut oil

2. 8 lemons

3. ½ cup of vodka (This just got more fun than you thought, huh?)

4. ½ cup of white vinegar

5. 1 cup water

6. A vegetable peeler

7. An old plastic or glass spray bottle

8. A mason jar

9. A metal mixing bowl

10. A saucepan

11. A night in (I’ll explain!)

First, like any good boy or girl, you need to Get Yourself Set Up:

Fill your saucepan up about halfway with water and put it on the stove. Take your metal mixing bowl and place it right on top of the saucepan. Turn the burner on low heat.

Next is the fun part! Making the Essential Oil:

I know it sounds a little intimidating, but, allow me to squash the big scary beast before your very eyes! Ready? This is all you need to do:

Peel your lemons:

Take your veggie peeler and peel the lemons like you would an apple. The key is to put the right amount of pressure so you get strips of the yellow zest without the white rind. Do a couple small test pieces to get your rhythm. And don’t sweat it too much! A little rind never hurt anybody. Once you have your strips of lemon, pop them in your warming mixing bowl.

Add Coconut Oil:I use coconut oil because it adds a little island sweetness to your classic lemony clean. Take a couple spoonfuls of virgin coconut oil and it to your mixing bowl. A cup should be more than enough. You want the lemon zest almost covered with it, but not quite!

Now We Wait!

Remember that night in i mentioned? Put on your coziest sweats and pick out a couple of your favorite movies. Your gonna wanna leave that bad boy on the stove for 5-6 hours on low heat.

Is your oil AMAZING?

I bet it is.

Now Let’s Whip Up Your Purifying Potion:

Take your glass or plastic spray bottle.

Add water, vodka and vinegar, put the top on and shake it up. Dance around the kitchen! Do your thing.

Open it back up, and lets add your yummy oil. (It’ll get rid of that sanitary stink!)

How much oil you add is totally up to you and your nose. I usually add 15 drops with an eye dropper.

And voila! Your disinfectant spray is armed and ready to kill some germs.

Take all that extra oil, (remove the rinds!) and put it in your mason jar. You have plenty leftover for all your homemade cleaning supplies to come.

#coconut #lemon