After living in the desert (Las Vegas) for three years, I have acquired a sort of acceptance of dust. Dust is everywhere in the desert, especially where I lived, which was on the outskirts of the city, with lots of empty lots and open dirt. Needless to say, that dirt and dust would gather on the streets, the sidewalks, and in our little cul de sac like shared driveway. And then it would whisp its way into our house every time a door was opened or closed, someone walked in with their shoes on (or adversely, if someone walked out without their shoes on, then back in...), and through the windows. I would dust every other day and there would still be dust. The rain would come once a year and the dust would sort of wash off the sidewalks and what not, but it would never truly go away.
Fast forward to the present, where dust hasn't been a big issue. Minot, ND has a lot of great things about it, one being the minimal dust output ;) Then we got chicks. In the house. They're all cute and fuzzy for about a week and a half, then they start to put real feathers out, and flapping around, and all their cuteness dissipates. Now I still love our chickies...I mean we named them after all, but their dust output is ridiculous. After researching and fumbling around pinterest a bit, I found a great recipe to help with all the dust and grossness of chicken dust!
Dust Buster Spray
sourced from Laura Sue Shaw and adapted by Skeptical Me
1 tsp vinegar
5 drops doTERRA lemon essential oil
1 tsp olive oil
3 oz water
Directions: Place first two ingredients in a glass spray bottle. I used a 4 oz size like she suggested in her blog, then fill with the 3 oz of water (or fill to the top if using a 4 oz bottle). Shake before each use, and spray a few sprays on a microfiber cloth and dust away!
Now here's a few fun tips I wanted to share with you....you don't need a special 4 oz glass bottle to use this spray! Did you know that regular sprayer bottle head will fit onto an old vinegar bottle? Double or tripple this recipe and use an old glass vinegar bottle, top with the sprayer from a dollar store spray bottle and you are set to use your dust spray that cost $0.20 for five drops of oil, a few pennies for the vinegar and olive oil and a free bottle. Cheaper than anything I've seen on the market, and way better for you and your house. Want to know why? Here we go!
Lemon essential oil is an antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral oil. In one study on bread, lemon essential oil was actually effective against two kinds of mold! So all those gross chicken dusties which likely contained their droppings and what have you, are disinfected :) Yay! On top of the sanitizing aspects, a component of lemon essential oil (citral) has been proven as an antidepressant in its study with rats and stress levels (Modern Essentials, 2012). Say, what?! Not just a theory on maybe helping stress levels...there are tests and study's that have been conducted. I love this oil. And its one of the most least expensive oils. I love this oil.
Before I peace out for the night, I wanted to share with you my reasons for altering this recipe ever so slightly. Mostly, I have read several things over the years stating how olive oil can help to polish wood furniture, and since I'm super paranoid about the effects of vinegar on my wood, I decided the olive oil would be a nice touch...and it is! It leaves things smooth and it collects dust less which is huge for our house!
So until the chicks are full time outside birds, I will be dusting often and disinfecting at the same time ;) Why not save some money yourself and try it out. Let me know how it goes for you!
Jenn
www.mydoterra.com/doterrabyjennifer
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