Clean Living

Fresh Summery Scented Bedding Year Round

Winters are pretty cold & damp here in UK so windows tend to be kept shut and clotheslines hang empty for months, but there are a few tricks that help us enjoy fresh, fragrant bedding year round (with no nasty chemicals or expensive LAUNDRY PRODUCTS).
Beat Those Stale Winter Blues With These Tips


One of the things I miss most in winter is flinging open the bedroom window, stripping the bedding back and letting nature freshen up my bed linens naturally with sun and fresh air. But this list offers options that are just as easy and will provide a fragrance filled sleep year-round.

Herbal Lavender Dryer Bags

Try these easy to make dryer bags filled with lavender buds, they provide a natural moth repellent, SLEEP AID and a natural antibacterial.
Herbal Lavender Bags:
Fresh and fragrant laundry can be achieved chemical free with easy to make lavender bags. Using lavender buds gives the benefit of a natural moth repellent, SLEEP AID and a natural antibacterial.
Use 1/4 cup vinegar in your rinse cycle (for static cling help, up the amount to 1/2 cup if needed) and toss the herbal sachets in the dryer for fresh smelling laundry. For optimal benefit, use organic lavender.

Materials Needed:
5″ x 5″ cotton muslin or cheesecloth squares (2)
Thread
Lavender
Directions:
Sew large “tea bags” out of the muslin or cheesecloth squares, leaving an opening at the top to fill with lavender. Sew the top shut. No need to sew fancy, just place the squares together and sew a single seam along the top about 1/4″ from the edge.
Roughly squeeze the bags before tossing in with wet laundry. When items are done the scent is light, not overwhelming at all. Especially nice to use on loads of bedding (sweet, fragrant dreams).
Bags are reusable! When the lavender is no longer doing its job, take a seam ripper and open about 2″ on one end, empty the bag, refill and sew shut. For one last kick at the can, crush the used lavender and toss it around your carpet. Let sit for about an hour then vacuum.
Tip: Make more than one bag so that the same one isn’t in one load after another, alternate them so each bag has a chance to cool down before being used again.Easy Trick Using ESSENTIAL OILS

Directions: Fill a small spray bottle with water then add several drops of ESSENTIAL OIL (lavender, mint, whatever you like). Shake then spray a clean white washcloth with the water/EO solution until lightly damp, toss in the dryer with the wet laundry. Scent will transfer to the bedding, lovely!

Lavender Buds Vinegar Rinse

Use this recipe for making a lavender vinegar suitable to use as a laundry rinse and fabric softener

 Lavender Vinegar Recipes

Handful of Lavender FLOWERS and 1 Pint White Vinegar

Directions:

Combine lavender and vinegar, seal and let sit for 6 weeks before using. Strain. Use about 1/4 cup in the rinse cycle, increase up to 1 cup per load if stronger scent is desired.

Scented Vinegar Rinse (ESSENTIAL OILS)

Use this recipe for Fabric Softener Recipes & Dryer Sheet Tips

Using 1/4 cup vinegar in your laundry’s rinse cycle keeps clothes soft. You can set aside a vinegar jug just for laundry and add about 2 dozen drops of your favorite essential oil to the vinegar if you’d like (or as much EO as you feel necessary).

Scented Laundry Booster

Directions:

Fill a PLASTIC CONTAINER with baking soda then add a few drops of essential oil to preference (start with about 2 drops per cup). Stir well with a wooden stick or spoon (not one used for cooking). Seal the container and set aside for two weeks.

After two weeks use it as a laundry booster (1/2 cup per load in the wash or rinse cycle–your choice). Do not add any commercial fabric softener.

Homemade Scented Fabric Softener

The fragrance is light once bedding has dried and you can increase the amount of ESSENTIAL OILS if it isn’t strong enough for you. Choose your favorite scents and add 1/2 to 1 cup of this mixture at the start of the rinse cycle:

1 cup baking soda, 1 1/4 cups warm water, 8 cups white vinegar, Essential Oils of your choice.

Tips & Tricks

MATTRESS & Linen Freshener

Using your blender, grind until fine 1/2 cup of dried herbs (try mint, lavender, lemon balm, etc.).

Mix ground herbs with 1/2 cup baking soda.

Sprinkle mixture lightly over MATTRESS PAD or cover then top with clean fitted sheet.

Spread mixture more heavily on top half of bed where upper body rests to enjoy a consistent fragrance.

Here’s another recipe you can try…

Pixie Dust

1/2 cup baking soda

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp ground orange zest (dried)

10 drops of your favorite ESSENTIAL OIL

Blend all ingredients together in a blender then pour into a large shaker. Sprinkle on bed linens as needed.

Scented Starch For Linens

You can substitute the lavender EO in this recipe for any fragrance you like. 

Dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 1 pint cold water. Add 6 drops of lavender ESSENTIAL OIL. Place in a spray bottle. Shake before using.

Fresh pressed linens, nicely starched, and lavender scent wafting in the air. Nice!

Homemade Linen Sprays

Source: Hallmark Magazine

Combine vodka (which is also a disinfectant), distilled water and fragrant oils to make these lovely linen sprays. Here are three easy to mix recipes

Pour 2 TBS 100 proof vodka into a 16 or 32-ounce spray bottle then add the following:

Jasmine Bergamot: 1 teaspoon jasmine oil and 1/2 teaspoon bergamot oil

Lavender Sandalwood: 1 teaspoon lavender oil and 1/2 teaspoon sandalwood oil

Vanilla Ginger: 1 teaspoon vanilla oil and 2 drops ginger oil

Directions: Top the vodka and oils with distilled water, cap and shake to mix. Spray linens as needed, shaking bottle lightly before each use.

Sweet Dreams Pillow Spray

2 cups distilled water

6 drops lavender ESSENTIAL OIL

2 drops chamomile EO

2 drops orange EO

2 drops ylang ylang

Directions: 

Shake before using, spray on pillows and allow to dry before resting your head.  

Linen Closet Sachets

Directions: Mix 50/50 dried lavender and lemon balm and fill cotton fabric or cheesecloth sachets. Tuck sachets into CLEAN folded linens. These will scent the linens while being stored and can be used repeatedly. Lavender and lemon balm together is a very calming and relaxing mix, perfect for bed linens.

When scenting your bed linens, it’s tempting to overdo it since you’re likely choosing your favorite fragrances. However, a light application is preferable since headaches and stuffiness may occur if fragrances are too strong (you’ll be sleeping on the linens for hours at a time). Strong smells may also keep you awake rather than ease you into a peaceful sleep.

What To Use

Choose scents that are pleasing to you and help you relax rather than those that perk you up. Your sleep will be more peaceful and less restless. This is especially helpful for those suffering from insomnia or who have regular trouble falling asleep. Some suggestions:

Lavender

Lemon Balm

Lilac

Rose Petals

Peppermint

Peaceful Sleep Mixes

Lavender is commonly recommended as a home remedy for sleep since it’s thought to be effective in inducing a calm and peaceful rest. It’s also suggested as an excellent repellent for dust mites (see bottom of page), so it’s a great choice for linens. Most of the mixes I have collected include lavender…

Lavender, Lemon Balm

Lavender, Rose Petals

Lavender, Rose Petals, Thyme, Rosemary

Lavender, Rose Petals, Jasmine

Lavender, Peppermint

Lavender, Lilac

Rose Petals, Lemon Balm, Chamomile

When using dried herbs and flowers to fill sachets and sleep pillows or scent bedding, choose those that are pesticide free for best results. Here are several sachet patterns  .

Dust Mites

If you have perpetual stuffiness or the sniffles when you wake up each morning–it may be a slight allergy or reaction to the dust mites living in your pillows and mattress.

Here is a collection of home remedies and tips to try combating these mighty creatures…

Make lavender sachets to place underneath mattresses as well as tuck inside pillows

Try using buckwheat pillows (instructions at bottom of page), apparently dust mites don’t live in them.

If your bed linens can take it, Hot Water Removes Allergens Best (140°F/60°C or higher)

Launder pillows too if they can be washed without damage (even down pillows)

On hot sunny days, lay out or line hang pillows and heavy quilts outside to soak in the sun.

Regularly pull back the bedding to allow mattresses to air out.

Regularly vacuum the mattress as thoroughly and deeply as you can.

Dust mites thrive in the environment provided by beds, kitchens and homes in general, where the sun’s rays do not reach them. Mites remain in mattresses, carpets, furniture and bedding, since they can climb lower down through the fabric to avoid sun, vacuum cleaners, and other hazards, and climb higher up to the surface if necessary to get another skin cell to feed on, when humidity is high. Even in dry climates, dust mites survive and reproduce easily in bedding (especially in pillows) because of the humidity generated by the human body during several hours of breathing and perspiring.

Nasty little critters. But the thing to note is they don’t actually crawl all over you and feast on your body while you’re sleeping. They just live very close to you (and off your sloughed skin cells). It’s their feces and cast skins that pile up and make us sick.

Dust mites feed on organic matter such as shed human skin. In nature, they are killed by micro-predators and by exposure to direct sun rays. Dust mites in bedding derive moisture from human breathing, perspiration, and saliva.

The dust mite’s partially digested food, and fecal matter, is one of the most significant sources of allergens contributing to allergic asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and dermatitis.

Mite Management Tips:

*Steam cleaners may be effective at reducing enzyme allergens since the heat of the steam breaks down the compound. The application of frequent vacuuming as a dust control measure may aggravate allergic asthmatic conditions because conventional vacuum cleaners blow some dust through the cleaner’s bag into the air. Vacuuming helps remove the residue, as does washing, however, vacuuming does not generally kill mites because they cling to the surface. Dust collection by conventional vacuums results in a significant increase in air borne concentrations. Cleaners that send dust into a “liquid medium” such as water (rather than a dust bag) best accomplish vacuuming.

* Enclose mattresses, box springs, and pillows in zippered allergen- and dust-proof covers.

* Wash bedding materials, including pillowcases, sheets, blankets, and mattress pads every other week in hot water (130 °F).

* Eliminate or reduce fabric wall hangings such as tapestries or pennants.

* Purchase stuffed toys that are machine washable.

* Avoid using curtains, drapes, or blinds on windows. Use plastic shades instead.

* Remove carpeting from the bedroom of the allergic person and replace it with tile or wooden floors.

* Replace upholstered furniture with wooden or plastic furniture.

* Vacuum often with a vacuum cleaner provided with a high efficiency purifying air (HEPA) filtration system. Throw away vacuum bags after use because dust mites can leave the bag.