Twigs and Trash

In order to grow we must first remove what it is in the way.

For many years I have been teaching the concept that much like a garden we have outside, before we can plant anything and expect it to grow, we first have to remove all the old stuff, the trash and the things that are cluttering the soil. Today, as I was doing that exact literal thing in my backyard raking leaves and removing last years dead plants that were once so vibrant, I was reminded of the conversation I had this week with a group of men who have traumatic brain injures.

I teach this topic every March, regardless of who is in my classes because I think no matter who you are and what your life experience is, we all have something that is cluttering up our heart and therefore limiting the potential we have to grow. This might be something like fear, disappointment, regret, guilt, shame, resentment, anger or any other feeling and emotion that we have carried around for days or decades.

As I was guiding a meditation about visualizing a garden and seeing the old growth, the twigs and the trash, I asked them each to see a garden in their heart that may also have some things that could be getting in the way of growth.

I shared with my ‘frat house’ that they have fondly referred to themselves as, that I have some disappointment that is taking up space in my own heart. I carry it day after day, year after year and despite all my attempts to pull it out, it seems to have a root system that is deep and new shoots pop up and take over my heart at times.

As we had a discussion about this, they called me out on it and the wise man who developed a life changing brain tumor at age 23 gave me the best insight on how to manage all the little twigs and trash that take up space. He is turning 60 in a a few weeks and following his diagnosis while in his final year of college his life has been a series of assisted living settings and long term support. He lost his independence and so much more, and yet is so wise.

Are you ready for this? In my humbleness, I asked how does one remove all the “twigs and trash” from our hearts. I asked how do I remove the disappointment?

He shared that you can never fully rid of every twig or piece of trash that has landed in the garden, instead you have to learn to manage and grow around them.

Huh, I said.

Tell me more, I said.

He went on to say that the remnants of the the “twigs” and “trash” will likely always be there and sometimes they may stick out of the soil and poke you but our job is to plants things around them so the beauty takes over.

Again, I asked how.

The wise teacher said:

  • forgiveness
  • acceptance
  • gratitude

When we forgive ourselves and others we remove so much of the garbage that fills our heart. This removes resentment, bitterness, and what-if thinking. When we accept was IS we no longer grieve for what might have been which brings presence to growing today. And finally, when we focus on being grateful we see all that we have, not all that we do not have.

How’s that for insightful?

It’s not so much about removing the parts of our heart that impede growth, but rather moving them aside through forgiveness, acceptance and gratitude so that we make space for something far more amazing to grow.

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Applying Essential Oils

When I first started using essential oils, I mostly used a diffuser or I would slap the oils on my body with random intent.  I liked how good the essential oils made my house smell, and I loved the aromatherapeutic benefits I was experiencing, like lavender helping me sleep better at night, or peppermint helping soothe a headache. I loved how my body smelled, also. At that time, I had no idea that there are benefits to using essentials in a physical well-being way. Once I dug deeper into the natural world and had been using essential oils over time I learned that it is beneficial to apply essential oils directly on the body, like when trying to ease an upset stomach or when treating thinning hair. Once I realized that plant medicine came long before drug-store medicine I was hooked on learning more. I got a giant resource book and began learning everything I could and started to swap out over the counter stuff for these precious little plants.

I needed to learn when to put essential oils on the body, where to apply them, and how to dilute oils properly so they are effective without causing harm. I committed to learning about essential oils much like a person grabs a cookbook and learns how to cook. In time, it became intuitive, much like cooking.

Where Is the Best Place on the Body to Apply Essential Oils?

There is no single perfect place on the body to apply essential oils.

  • If it’s a localized issue like stomachache or sore muscles, then apply the essential oils directly to the part of the body where the issue is occurring.
  • However, if it’s a more generalized issue like lack of focus, trouble sleeping, or anxiety, then apply essential oils at your pulse points: wrists, temples, behind the ears, neck, chest, or inner elbow.  Pulse points are the parts of the body where major arteries run closest to the skin. Applying essential oils at pulse points gets the essential oils into the bloodstream the fastest, and you start feeling the benefits of the essential oils sooner.  This is because pulse points of the body are like roots of a plant.  When feeding or watering a plant, you target the roots because that is where the plant absorbs nutrients and distributes them to the rest of the plant.

If you’ve been researching aromatherapy, you might have come across pulse points. These are places on the body that provide a direct route for essential oils to access your bloodstream and, in turn, your brain. 

Pulse points in aromatherapy refer to a few specific locations on the body where major arteries run closest to the surface of the skin. This means that anything applied to the skin at these points diffuses more quickly into the bloodstream than anywhere else. 

So, if you’re planning to apply essential oils topically, it’s best to do so at one of your pulse points.

How Do You Apply Essential Oils Directly to the Skin?

When applying essential oils topically to skin, always dilute them with a carrier oil ( coconut oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba, or olive oil).  Essential oils are very powerful, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. My favorite carrier oil is generally fractionated coconut oil, but for my face I love rosehip oil. Recently I had a horrific stomach bug and in my desperation for relief I was dumping oils straight on my skin and I sure paid the price. On day two of the stomach bug, my belly had broke out in a horrible rash. So, USE a carrier! Believe me, I know this and I still screw up.

I came across this chart and it is a must have.

Using essential oils with intention has been a part of my practice (aside from the desperate stomach bug mishap) for many years. I try to tune into what my body is wanting to feel, and then choose the plants accordingly. Once you have a general idea of which essential oils support which area of our body then we can choose which oils more deliberately. You grab the essential oil that most closely fits what you are wanting to feel and then apply!

For people just getting started using essential oils, I recommend this gorgeous ebook and then I supply education and mentoring along the way as part of my VIP community.

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Healthy Shamrock Shake

Here’s a healthy shamrock shake recipe for you to enjoy this St.Patrick’s Day instead the sugary, dyed version from the drive thru. It’s all fun until you actually look at the ingredients and calories. Have you ever looked up the ingredients for McDonald’s shamrock shake? Do a quick Google search. I promise you’ll never want to eat another one again after you see what’s in it.


This version takes the same amount of time to make as it would take you to sit in the drive thru and it is packed with nutrients and the perfect amount of healthy fat and protein.


This lightened up version with the pure Peppermint essential oil will definitely help you feel amazing and might even bring some luck your way!

Here is a homemade version of the Shamrock Shake that tastes great and is so much healthier.

Please be sure to use an essential oil that is safe to consume. Many are not. The bottle will have a supplements facts label on it if it is safe to eat. It’s also not recommended to consume any essential oil you’ve bought from Amazon or other unknown sources. Even if it has a tamper proof cap on it. Many are adulterated a posed to look like the legit thing. Crazy, I know.

Whip this up for some shamrock fun!

Ingredients
• 1 ripe Avocado
• ½ cup milk of choice Almond, Coconut, etc
• ½ cup frozen banana
• 1 scoop active stacks Vanilla protein powder
• ¼ cup ice
• 2 drops Peppermint Essential Oil. Make sure to use one that is labeled safe for consumption. I use doTERRA brand.
• 1 scoop doTERRA Greens. Or use your favorite dried greens. Leave it out if you don’t have it.


Instructions
• Combine all ingredients in your blender and blend well. Add more liquid if necessary.

Amazing and way better for you than the sugar filled green treat! Plus, you might get some extra luck on your side! 🍀

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The Longing

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

The Invitation, Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I was exposed to this poem many years and it is one I go back to time and time again. Imagine my happiness when I stumbled upon the book in an old used book store that was written from the poem itself. The book goes into depth of each stanza and truly has touched my soul.

I find the poem summons something in me to look further into learning about myself. Certainly when reading it, the poem can be read to be that of something one is reading when looking for certain characteristics for a beloved or partner, but I feel like if we cannot answer some of these key questions in our own minds for ourself, then how could we expect the same from someone else?

I want to know what I ache for. I want to touch the place in me that longs for connection, an intimacy with life itself and all that the sacred touches. I want to see that the willingness to live my desire takes courage. I want to taste the longing, feel the ache, and risk finding my deepest desire.

What do I really want? Really need? Really desire? My answers today seem simple and yet pure.

I doesn’t interest me to have a large group of friends, what I really need is one that understands and sees me.

It doesn’t interest me to have a huge house, what I really want is a home that is full of unconditional love.

It doesn’t interest me to be rich, what I really desire is to know I made a difference in the world.

Can you each meet your hearts longing? Can you dare to dream?

As we go about our every day tasks it is useful to return to these questions. Certainly each of us has the mundane aspects to our daily lives that must be done; taking out the garbage, tending to the animals, making dinner, cleaning the house, etc., but beyond the scope of the daily to-do’s, can you ask and answer the questions with truth? And then, can you give yourself what you want, need, and desire?

Start here. Simply finish these statements. Sit with your answers and return to them throughout the day. Notice if your actions are in alignment.

I want…

I need…

I desire…

Breathe with those statements for 5-6 breath cycles.

Can you speak the unspeakable and state, from your heart, what you want? What you need? What you desire? Can you finish this statement—it doesn’t interest me to have…when what I really want is

Ask yourself. Now listen.

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Stress Free Blend

Let’s face it, life can be hard at times. Between the demands of everyday living and the added pressures of tax season, health issues, and the climate of the world it is a wonder we aren’t all exploding at the seams.

I rarely get to worked up about things I cannot control but I still feel the pressure of my life at times. One of the tools that I have adopted in the last twelve years or so is using techniques like deep breathing and the use of aromatherapy. There is quite a bit of research on the efficacy of aromatherapy and the response in the brain’s area of coping and I can personally attest that breathing in something powerful can have a profound effect on my mood.

Did you know that your sense of smell is 10,000 times more responsive than any of your other senses? And that an aroma reaches your brain and stirs up emotions within just seconds of you breathing it in?

I see it professionally, too. Once I was passing oils around my group of adults with traumatic brain injuries and one young man stated that he could no longer smell. I told him that is okay because the brain remembers the aroma. This particular class I was passing around cedarwood essential oil which is a powerful tree aroma that is grounding and also provides a sense of connection and community to those who smell it. I like to use this one in group settings where people often feel disconnected. I passed the essential oil around and instructed them to take three breaths into their hands. After a few minutes had passed, the young man who stated he could no longer smell spoke loudly and said, “For some reason I am thinking about a job I had once had at a logging company where I shredded trees into mulch”. Boom. The brain knows.

I came up with this little combo during a time recently when I was feeling overly compacted with stress. I am typically not a huge fan of florals but something was calling me to them, so I listened. The added punch of citrus gives my nervous system such a calm, relaxed feeling. I did some digging and found some pretty awesome benefits to these oils.

Check it out:

Bergamot:  a citrus oil known as the Oil of Self-Acceptance. Bergamot is uplifting and brigtening in nature. Smelling the oil is an invitation to clear away constricting thoughts while welcoming self-acceptance and self-love. As the oil of self-acceptance, it is said to relieve feelings of self-judgement and low self-esteem. Bergamot Essential Oil inhalation improves positive feelings in the waiting room of a mental health treatment center. At a mental health treatment center in Utah, 57 participants were included for analysis. 15-minutes of exposure to Bergamot essential oil improved the exposed group’s feelings compared with control group, by 17%. I like this one because it is an earthy citrus oil.

Ylang Ylang: Ylang Ylang helps us connect to our heart and become balanced by releasing negative emotions and deep emotional sadness. It calms the heart and balances emotions during times of high stress, crisis, tension, or depression. As a reflection of Ylang Ylang’s ability to restore a healthy flow of positivity in the heart, the essential oil helps encourage a healthy circulatory system. It improves blood flow, fights inflammation, and assist with other heart problems. It is also an effective agent in controlling blood pressure. 

Lavender: Lavender essential oil has enormously powerful calming and relaxing properties which can help ease away all that stress, tension and worry. A study also found that people exposed to the scent of lavender experienced stress relief plus an energy boost. What’s more, once inhaled, it enters the bloodstream within seconds so gets to work immediately. I love to use lavender in my skin care products because of its naturally calming properties and helps me sleep sound.

Patchouli: Patchouli oil is commonly used in aromatherapy because of its depressant remedying properties. Because of the impact that inhaling patchouli oil has on our hormones, it encourages the release of serotonin and dopamine; these hormones ease feelings of anger, anxiety and anxiousness. Rich in the chemical component patchoulol, Patchouli essential oil is known to have a grounding and harmonizing effect on the emotions. Patchouli creates a calming and grounding environment when diffused or inhaled.

Wild Orange: Wild Orange is great for feelings of anxiousness or managing stress. It’s very uplifting and encouraging. So if you’re dealing with sadness, loss of hope, just going through a really dark time, this could be a great oil to help lift you through that. The reason that it’s good for all of these things is because it really stimulates our sense of abundance and possibility. As the oil of abundance, it opens a person’s mind and heart to the possibilities that surrounds them, and their ability to accept the goodness that life is offering. Wild Orange also reconnects us to our inner child and helps us be more spontaneous, fun, creative, playful in our lives as adults. It will lend support by uplifting and promoting a positive attitude while calming our spirit. I just love it so much.

Pretty amazing, eh? Not only do I smell amazing (and get random daily compliments), but my nervous system is calm and my mood is steady. Stress has nothing on me! I apply this one behind my ears, along my spine, under my nose and on my wrists. I have a blend in my car and in my kitchen so I am never without it. It has truly become my ‘signature scent’. It is cool since I wear it everyday, the association with this aroma and me is powerful. My grand babies know this aroma and will likely have formed a deep connection to this aroma that will last a lifetime. Aroma is in fact associated with out strongest sense of memories.

You can learn about how to use essential oils and the versatility of them here in this gorgeous ebook. You’ll see that these oils are so versatile you will soon be using them for sleep support, skin and hair support, and even household cleaning and relieving aches and pains!

If you want to grab this combo of essential oils, just pop over here and then when you do, I will add you to my exclusive education and mentoring group and send you an amazing welcome gift! Plus, you’ll have wholesale prices for a year, just like me! Don’t worry though, you don’t have a monthly purchase requirement or anything like that, just big savings!

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Bone Strength Remedy

In the last six years, I have had four orthopedic surgeries. Tomorrow, I have my fifth. Previous to my recent round of multiple hip surgeries and ankle tendon repair, I had two foot surgeries and a knee scope. It’s crazy! Almost as crazy as having an arrival toe joint 🙃!

Over the years I have tried many things to help with post operative pain and things to expedite healing. Icing, elevating and passive movements are great for keeping things lubricated and moving (of course with the guidance of your physician and specific needs). I love to ice and hand with a good book while my body rests.

I have also found that some topical remedies work great for aches and pains following surgery. For muscle pain and tightness, I love this muscle rub. It’s packed with natural and pure essential oils and doesn’t have the nasty stuff that some other blue rubs have.

Since our joints are composed of bones and soft tissue this blend of essential oils has been my go-to for all my joint surgeries. I apply it around the incision sight as often as I need. It really does help to reduce the discomfort and because of the unique properties of the essential oils, they also help my bones and soft tissue become stronger with each application.

Check this out:

To a 10ml glass roller bottle I add 8 drops each of these essential oils—helichrysum, lemongrass, frankincense, and sandalwood. Occasionally I might add marjoram for some added muscle relief. Fill the rest of the bottle with fractionated coconut oil and you’re good to go! You can grab everything you need here!

Besides this bone supporting blend, these essential oils are so versatile and you can use them to also support skin, sleep, mood, and surface cleaning to make a few! But if you opted to only use these oils for this blend, it would make over 20 roller bottles, which last for months anyway! So while the investment is big, it’s so worth it.

This gorgeous ebook explains all the ways you can safely use essential oils in your home. Once you grab the oils, I will reach out to you and schedule a free wellness consultation and send you an awesome welcome package to get you going.

Ready?

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I Chose

No matter what the situation, remind yourself,
“I Have A Choice.”

Deepak Chopra

Think about it for a moment and see the possibility that this may be truth. I know for me I made a a series of conscious choices many years ago that I DO believe led me on the path of creating this beautiful life.

Certainly, the double edge sword comes when things show up that we cannot change, like chronic pain and disease, HOWEVER, we can chooose how we approach and deal with those obstacles. That we can choose.

My first lesson of choice was when realizing that my daughter born with a rare genetic disease was going to be a lifelong challenge that I would have to face. Being a caregiver for life felt daunting. My husband made his choice to leave me with three little kids to raise and no true sense of income. What do I choose? Bitterness? Giving up? Or grit?

I chose grit.

Spending my twenties and half of my thirties overweight, toxic and angry was a choice. At age thirty-five I chose different. I chose intentional eating, gratitude, movement and life.

I chose life.

I once had a job that was somewhat fulfilling. I was an advocate for adults with disabilities. I helped them navigate the adult world and find opportunities for them to grow. It was good, but not everything that I wanted. I took a giant leap and left security to teach adaptive and traditional yoga full time. I deliberately stepped into being self employed and trusting that I would succeed. I chose to listen o my calling.

I chose purpose.

Since I was thirty years old I have dealt with ongoing chronic pain, multiple autoimmune diseases, surgery after surgery to repair joints and tissue. I could choose to identify as that. Or I could choose to master the art of pull-ups, walk everyday no matter what, lift weights, practice yoga, be in nature, move my body, eat well and live a life beyond identifying as a disease. I could choose illness or I could choose health.

I chose health.

Tell me, what do you choose?

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Breathe Easy

This quick little remedy is a must for every household. It is simple to make and way better for you than the store bought stuff. Did you know that the stuff in the little blue jar actually contains some pretty nasty chemicals that have been shown to be carcinogens? Crazy, right?

I have found that there are a few ways you can use this combination of essential oils.

🌿 add hard coconut oil to a bowl, add 5-6 drops each of these essential oils and using a hand mixer whip up your very own “Vicks” vapor rub…the good news is this version doesn’t have all the nasty chemicals in it

🌿add 4-5 drops each in a diffuser and breathe easy, especially at night

🌿add 5-6 drops each to a 10ml glass roller and apply under the nose and on the chest

Easy peasy! The coolest part is these oils can be used for a variety of uses like head tension, belly aches, focus, hair growth, and cleaning cold and mildew! Check out this gorgeous ebook to see how to use them!

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Something

I have said before that March has been a powerful month for me historically. This is the month I took my very first yoga teacher training many years ago and it is also the month that I took specialized training to teach yoga to adults with disabilities. On a personal note, it was in March of 2005 that I woke up one day so tired of being 75+ pounds overweight that I took the first steps (literally) in changing my life. March is also when I have made major decisions about relationships that weren’t healthy for me and have met special and unique people that continue to influence who I am for the better. March for me has been a month of tremendous growth and a huge saying yes to life.

Each year I circle back to this and wonder what may have been the initial steps that I may have not even realized I was taking during what I call my great “wake up”. On that cold March day, I grabbed the dog leash and laced up my shoes determined to discover myself. I was tired of being the angry, judgmental, insecure woman that I had become. Something in me was yearning for more.

This morning as I was planning my month of lessons it occurred to me that there was indeed something that called to me to begin the wakeup, and then to step into the arena of teaching yoga.

Something.

What was the something? What was the the spark that led to me to unravel the tangled mess my life had become and to reveal the person I knew I wanted to be?

The something was self awareness. It was looking in the mirror and seeing the truth. It was hearing my voice speak to my children. It was observing the thoughts I had constantly flooding my mind. It was watching the destructive actions that I took.

This powerful practice of self awareness led me to the teaching that I circle back to year after year in the the month of March-preparing our soil. Imagining that our beautiful soul is much like a garden bed that is awaiting the warmth of spring. Self awareness is seeing that garden bed within our heart and looking at all the old leaves, trash and twigs that are cluttering our garden. We all know that if we were to try to plant or grow anything in a bed filled with old stuff, nothing is likely to grow.

My garden back then was filled with comparison, judgment, self-hatred, insecurities, fear, doubt, anger and deeply seeded thoughts that I was not enough. I realized that part of my great wakeup that day in March when I ventured out on a walk was the first step at purging and cleaning out my then, very toxic garden bed in my soul.

Days turned into weeks and soon by late spring I had found little tiny signs of hope popping up in my life. Tiny little shows of growth. It took months for the little shoots of newness to develop into anything substantial but the fact that my soil was now clean and uncluttered due to my diligence with self-awareness, the prospect of me blooming was just a matter of time.

And bloom I did.

March is a time to look inward through self-awareness and see what is left of the last year, or the last decade, that is cluttering your soul and ultimately preventing anything new from growing. It is a time to purge the old feeling and thought patterns that take up too much space in your heart and mind. It is right now that we prepare our soul/soil for the months ahead of growth.

Go get your hands dirty and start clearing out the old stuff because major changes and growth are available to you!

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Lemon Essential Oil Uses

Spring Cleaning is here! I love this month to de-clutter and deep clean.

If you’ve been feeling the itch to get some spring cleaning done, you may notice some areas of your home have been neglected for far too long.

Luckily, doTERRA Lemon oil 🍋can help make cleaning those long-forgotten nooks and crannies easier. Here are 10 ways you can use Lemon to clean your home.

🍋1. Microwave—Microwaves are notorious for being tough to clean, especially after mishaps involving spaghetti sauce or tomato soup. To ease the pain of cleaning, simply microwave a cup filled with water and a few drops of Lemon, then wipe clean!

🍋2. Dishwasher—Pour distilled vinegar into a dish and add 5–10 drops of Lemon oil. Place this dish in your empty dishwasher and run on high.

🍋3. Stove Top—Lemon oil makes cleaning one of the dirtiest areas of the kitchen easy. Add vinegar and Lemon to a spray bottle, and watch the grime disappear!

🍋4. Appliances—From dust to greasy food spills, appliances collect more dirt than you might think. A simple solution of Lemon oil, water, and vinegar will help you clean toasters, refrigerators, mixers, and more.

🍋5. Garbage disposal—If you’ve been smelling something funky coming from your sink, it might be time to clean the garbage disposal. A simple DIY disposal recipes listed below.

🍋6. Ceiling Fan—Fan blades collect dust at turbo speeds and cling to them for as long as you let them. To avoid choking on dust bunnies while cleaning your ceiling fans, spray the inside of an old pillow case with a Lemon/water mixture and loop the fabric around each blade.

🍋 7. Washing Machine—Run a mixture of Lemon oil, baking soda, vinegar, and water through your empty machine on the hottest setting to break up dirt build-up and mildew. Scrub any excess with a sponge, then run the machine again with fresh water.

🍋8. Trash Cans—Regularly cleaning out trash cans can eliminate odor. For indoor trash cans, spray the inside and outside of each can with a mixture of water, Lemon oil, and vinegar, then scrub with a sponge.

🍋9. Windows and Windowsills—The same mixture of Lemon oil, water, and vinegar in a spray bottle that you’ve been using all around the house will do wonders for your windows and windowsills. Simply spray glass and wipe with a clean cloth or paper towel, then move onto ledges and sills with a toothbrush or damp sponge.

🍋10. Air Vents—One of the most overlooked areas to keep clean in your home is the air you breathe! Clean vents with a sponge dipped in warm water, vinegar and Lemon oil to help eliminate allergens and dust from filling the air around you.

🍋Lemon oil acts as a powerful cleaning agent and the possibilities are truly endless! Share this post and let us know how you like to clean with Lemon oil.

Garbage Disposal Refreshers

With everything that goes into the disposal, odds are that odors could be accumulating in there. Try this simple DIY recipe to make your own garbage disposal refreshers that will help freshen, clean, and deodorize your garbage disposal.


Ingredients

2 cups baking soda
1 cup salt
½ cup water
⅓ cup unscented liquid castile soap
30 drops lemon essential oil

Note: Liquid castile soap is a vegetable-based soap commonly found in health food stores.


Instructions

  1. Combine baking soda and salt into bowl.
  2. Add castile soap and essential oil into mixture.
  3. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, while stirring with hands until it forms into the consistency of “damp sand”. It should stay together when you press it together. If you add too much water just add some more baking soda and salt until the consistency is right.
  4. Grab a tablespoon measurement device and scoop packed spoonfuls onto parchment paper.
  5. Once the mixture has been scooped, let dry for 24 hours or until they are hard. One batch should make about 36 garbage disposal refreshers.
  6. Put into glass jar and use the next time you do dishes. Just put 1–3 refreshers into the garbage disposal and turn it on. You will immediately smell the refreshing scent of Lemon essential oil.

So easy, eh? I store mine in a cute jar…these also make great toilet bowl cleaning tabs! So versatile!

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