I hope you are all well. Only short posts this week as I am enjoying a vacation in Australia with my family! I had intended to have everything written in advance before I got on the plane. But, alas, as usual, I left everything to the last minute and things did not work out in such an organized fashion. So, I am bashing this post out as Alexandra sets up the "Dora Tea Set" my cousin gave her for her 3rd birthday, before I am expected to arrive in the "fairy garden" for our morning tea party. But I had to quickly share this natural homemade eco green wood furniture polish! This simple little mixture is really effective and takes seconds to make. I have used this recipe a lot and love it. But, I was overjoyed after giving it a real test last week after Alexandra's fairy party, cleaning up after 20 little fairies, pixies and goblins (with a Batman, Peter Pan, and Buzz Lightyear thrown in). My sister and brother-in-law made an absolutely exquisite allergy-friendly gluten free, egg free, dairy free, nut free fairy toad stool cake for the party.

I swear they are becoming cake decorating wizzes! It looked absolutely incredible, with fairies sitting on the grass underneath with their wands in hand. I will post pictures on Facebook so you can see it.duct cleaning equipment china The fairies enjoyed lots of other delicious allergy-friendly treats such as: jelly tea cups, fruit flowers, gluten free cupcakes, fairy bread stacks, honey joys, oatmeal cookies, and lots more! best mid priced vacuum cleanerThey played "pin the nose on the fairy clown", "pass the fairy parcel", stabbed a fairy castle pinata, and danced a lot! air duct cleaning companies in las vegasIt was a spectacular success, and so much fun!air duct cleaning reviews chicago

But after every last fairy had left, there was congealed "danced-in" cake all over the wooden furniture and "magic carpets". Enter this simple wood cleaner, that we whipped up in seconds in the kitchen! laptop cooling fan black fridayI have also added some wood furniture cleaning and restoring tips that we used as well. hood and duct cleaning equipmentThese tips are nothing new. They are recipes my mum has been using for years. But I wanted to share them for those of you who have not tried making your own furniture polish. For those of you who make your own cleaner, please leave a comment and share you tips with everyone! I love learning from you. I really appreciate all of your comments and emails telling me how much you are enjoying the homemade cleaning recipes. I wasn't sure how everybody would respond to my diversion from the edible treats!

Just a few more natural cleaning solutions before we head back to the blender for more culinary pleasure! Until then, I am off to the fairy garden with Dora! Homemade Wood Furniture Polish 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 1 cup filtered water 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/8 cup distilled white vinegar 1/8 cup flax oil to remove water condensation marks: mix equal parts of distilled white vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil To make the wood polish, hake in a glass jar and apply with a very soft cloth to naturally clean and polish hard wood furniture. You only need a little bit. To make the wood cleaner, use a soft cloth to wipe down wooden furniture and give it a good cleaning before polishing and restoring. To make the wood restorer, mix together and use a soft cloth to restore wood furniture. To use the water-spot remover, rub to remove marks with the grain.

Wipe off with a soft cloth. Photo by Trent Lanz and styling by Alicia BuszczakWe like to keep wood looking nice, but don’t always stop to think that what makes it look nice and shiny might not actually be good for the wood itself. Aerosol wood polish sprays generally just coat the surface in a slick, impenetrable layer of who-knows-what, leaving it looking ridiculously shiny. It doesn’t actually ‘feed’ the wood, moisturize it, or last very long at all (when I used it, I found it made a difference for all of 3 hours.) Luckily, there are several very easy ways to naturally care for your wood that, at least in my experience, work much better than a lot of stuff sold in stores. -1 ½ cups of olive oil -1 cup of lemon juice OR several drops of lemon essential oil Mix 1 ½ cups of olive oil with 1 cup of lemon juice in a spray bottle and shake to blend thoroughly. If you don’t have a spray bottle, you can do this in a bowl. Spray some of the mixture onto a clean cloth (or dip cloth in it) and gently apply to wood in a circular motion.

Let sit for 5 minutes or so, and then go over it with a soft cloth to bring out the shine. Keep in a glass storage container, or in the spray bottle, if you make more than you will use in one sitting. A small amount of this goes a long way towards protecting your wood from the harmful effects of moisture, as well as keeping it from drying out. It also leaves the wood with a nice healthy glow, and so doubles as a polish when you use it. -1/2 cup of grated beeswax or beeswax pastilles -1 ½ cups olive oil -Several drops of essential oil (optional) -A glass container for storage Melt down ½ cup of beeswax in a double boiler (I just put a metal bowl over a pot with some water in the bottom.) Stir in 1 ½ cups of olive oil, and add in a few drops of your favorite essential oil to give it a nice scent if you like. Pour into a glass jar to store, and let it harden. You can microwave it for roughly 25-30 seconds to soften it before use if you like. Before using clean the surface with a damp cloth and wipe dry.

Then, dab some beeswax sealant onto a clean, soft cloth and apply in a circular motion. When it is dry, buff in the direction of the grain with another clean soft cloth (preferably one that is lint-free.) If you just don’t feel like actually making something, rubbing some straight coconut oil into dry wood is also an option. -About 1 tablespoon of coconut oil -A clean soft cloth Clean surface with a slightly damp cloth and dry. Follow by rubbing some coconut oil onto another clean cloth, and apply to wood in a circular motion. Let it dry, and then buff in the direction of the grain. Wood is a lovely thing to have in a home, and naturally keeping it healthy and looking good is incredibly simple to do, not to mention rather satisfying. All of the above recipes are food safe, and will last in their containers for up to 12 months in a cool dark place. -There is no need to slather wood with any of the above-a thin layer is all you need (or in the case of the spray, and little spritz.)