Repurposed Christmas Tree Household Cleaner & Hand Sanitizer

Repurposing your Christmas tree and decorations before you recycle them it is a nice way to honour the tree and extend its scents and presence in your life. Personally I don’t bring a tree into my home but I do like making these recipes this time of year to bring the vitality of the forest inside. I also like to include additional evergreen and herbaceous plants to these recipes for their ritual cleansing and protective elements in my space. Evergreens are rich in volatile oils that give them that strong aromatic scent. These oils are also naturally antimicrobial and antibacterial making them a useful addition to toxin free cleaning products.

All Purpose Household Cleaner

Ingredients:

  • One litre glass mason jar

  • peice of wax paper, cloth or beeswax wrap for the lid

  • White Vinegar

  • Several bows and branches of your Christmas tree or other evergreen.

  • Optional: other ritual & aromatic greenery such as rosemary, thyme, pines, firs, cedars, hemlocks, and spruces.

  • Essential oils of your choosing

  • Lemon or citrus peel - like those dehydrated orange garlands/ornaments

Instructions:

  • Chop or cut your greenery into 1/2 inch pieces. I like to include the stems for the additional volatile oils and resins but you can also remove the needles from the stems instead.

  • Fill your mason jar until 3/4 full.

  • Add your essential oils and citrus peel if using.

  • Fill to the top with vinegar and cover with a piece of cloth, wax paper or beeswax wrap before adding metal lid. (vinegar with corrode the metal lid)

  • Let sit for 2-3 weeks. Strain off plant matter and store the infused vinegar in a spray bottle for cleaning.


Hand sanitizer

Ingredients:

  • One quart glass mason jar

  • Rubbing alcohol

  • Several bows and branches of your Christmas tree or other evergreens.

  • Pure aloe gel

  • Optional: Essential oils of your choosing.

  • Herbs like: whole cloves, cinnamon stick,

  • Citrus peel - like those dehydrated orange garlands/ornaments

    Instructions:

  • Chop or cut your greenery into 1/2 inch pieces. I like to include the stems for the additional volatile oils and resins but you can also remove the needles from the stems instead.

  • Fill your mason jar until 3/4 full.

  • Add your essential oils, herbs and citrus peel if using.

  • Fill to the top with rubbing alcohol. Let sit for 2-3 weeks.

  • Strain off plant matter and mix 2 parts alcohol to 1 part aloe in a small spray bottle. Shake well to combine.