Thursday, June 30, 2011

Magic Carpet Powder

     This carpet freshener recipe is the culmination of many years of experimenting with different powders for different purposes.  It is very simple, yet very effective at ridding your house of unwanted odors as well as a number of common household pests & is safe enough to use on the floor your baby chews crawls on.  It will kill and repel roaches, fleas, & ants.  It is also hypo-allergenic for the most part.
  • Borax (AKA Boric Acid)
  • Baking Soda (Dollar Stores are a cheap place to look.
  • Fragrance or Essential Oils
  • A large jug or jar with tight fitting lid
     The first thing you want to do is mix equal parts Borax & Baking Soda.  I hate having a sprinkle of this or that left over and this need not be exact measuring.  I use the 4lb 12oz box of 20 Mule Team Borax, which translates to 64 oz.  Then I mix in 5 14oz boxes of Dollar Store brand Baking Soda, which translates into 70 oz.  This gets me up to about 2 gallons of powder.  You can use a fragrance oil, like you find at Wally World, or any combo of essential oils that please your nose.  I use about 20 drops of oil per pound of powder.  If you used the same measurements I did, then you have 134 oz or about 8 1/3 lbs.  so you need about 167 drops of oil or 2.78 teaspoons according to this site.  The amount of oil may be increased or decreased to meet your needs.  Mine recipe is a little on the aromatic side.  I make mine in very large batches but feel free to reduce the recipe.  1 cup of  borax & 1 cup of baking soda with 20 or so drops of oil is a good starter batch.
     So anyway.  You add the oil to the powder in a jug or jar with a tight fitting lid.  You should only fill your container about 2/3 the way full so that you have shaking space.  Put the lid on and shake vigorously.  Shake daily for about a month.  Then it's ready.
     Now, here is where the magic comes in.  I like to use the principals of aroma therapy, astrological influences and herb magic in my preparations.  For instance, a floor powder made on a Friday, during a Waxing Moon in Venus, using Rose & Sandalwood oil, & adding in an opal just for kicks, would provide you with a floor powder suitable for stirring up some romance.  As a true believer that magic should permeate our lives, I encourage you to use these recipes as a chance to squeeze in some 'everyday magic'.  Burn a candle & focus on the intended result as you mix your powders.  Visualize your intent when you do your daily shaking of the mixture.  Treat it like a spell instead of a cheap, natural, home made carpet powder.
     Another thing you can do with this combo is to add Tea Tree Oil to it and use it as an germ killing soft scrub(perfect for toilets).  It can be used as a laundry detergent as well, I use about 1/2 cup per load with castile soap.

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