6 Natural Ways to Recycle Your Christmas Tree

A fresh-cut Christmas tree can be wonderful for many reasons. Not only does it add a lovey evergreen fragrance to your home, but it also creates opportunities for memory-making around the holidays. Real Christmas trees are also the most eco-friendly choice for decorating, as they will never pollute a landfill with the synthetic materials found in artificial trees. We’re here to help you plan your post-holiday clean up early with 6 ideas on how you can recycle your fresh-cut Christmas tree.

How to Safely Get Rid of An Old Christmas Tree

Curbside Pickup

If your city offers curbside tree pickup, you may have your easy solution at hand. These trees can be processed into natural mulch, which can then be used in your area’s landscaping.

Goat Farms May Want Your Tree

Did you know goats and other livestock love to munch on an old evergreen tree? It’s true! See if your local goat farmer or animal rescue could use your Christmas tree as an animal snack.

Non-Profit Pickup

Some non-profit organizations, like the boy scouts or other groups may pick up your tree for a small fundraising fee. Typically these groups will take your donation and deliver your tree to a landscaper for mulching.

Herbal Pine Needle Steam

Looking for a way to clear out your body after weeks of holiday feasting? Pine promotes relaxation and can help with winter colds, so why not take a few of those branches and make yourself a steam treatment? Simply add a few small twigs of your evergreen tree to a medium pot of water and bring it to a boil. Bring the pot to the table, placing on a pot holder for protection, grab a towel and drape it over the pot, and breathe in the steam for roughly 10 minutes.

Pine Vinegar Hair Rinse

Care for your scalp and hair in the dry winter months by using your pine needles to make this pine-vinegar hair rinse. For starters you’ll need a glass bottle with a sealing, non-metal top that holds at least 16 oz. Add 2 cups of white or apple cider vinegar and 2 tbsp of pine needles to your glass bottle. Let the concoction steep in a dark area for 1-2 weeks before use. When it’s ready to go, add 1 tbsp of the mixture to a cup of warm water and use in place of conditioner. Allow it to sit on your hair for a few minutes before rinsing.

DIY Coasters

Need a natural looking way to protect your end-tables from those inevitable condensation rings? Use the trunk of your tree to make natural coasters or other home decor items. Use a hacksaw to remove the branches and cut the trunk of your tree into thin “slices.” Be sure to sand your wooden discs and apply several coats of poly before use to protect the wood and provide a smooth finish.

A Few Tips for Dealing with that Tree

One downside is that natural evergreen Christmas trees do need to be recycled or disposed off quickly after the holidays are over, as a dry tree can be a fire hazard. If you notice dry branches, or showers of falling needles, it’s time for that tree to go. Speaking of which, even if it still looks lovely, a post-Christmas evergreen typically has dry needles. If you just haul it out without protection, you will be vacuuming up needles for months on end. Save yourself the hassle and use an old sheet or tarp to drag your tree out of the house.

How do you recycle your fresh-cut tree? Tell us about it in the comments section below!

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Photo by Irina Kostenich on Unsplash

Make DIY Handmade Soap with Essential Oils

Your choice of soap plays a critical role in the health of your home. You want a soap that gets your hands, face, and body clean without excessive drying and chemicals. Sadly, this eliminates most of the commercially available soaps at your local store. However, with minimal tools, a little DIY knowledge and a few essential oils, you can easily made your own handmade soap that cleans, hydrates, and smells amazing.

A Quick Note About Making Handmade Soap

Making your own soap seems hard, but it’s been done for centuries in homes across the world. Every soap recipe requires lye, which can be caustic so wear gloves when making soap to protect your hands. You’ll also need glass and/or stainless steel mixing bowls, glass or metal jars, and an instant read thermometer. When it comes to curing your soap, use silicone molds or baking pans as they easily peel off your finished soap.

Basic Handmade Soap Recipe

Ingredients:

●      ⅔ cup coconut oil

●      ⅔ cup olive oil

●      ⅔ cup or liquid oil (like almond oil, grapeseed, sunflower or safflower oils)

●      ¼ cup lye – (also called 100% sodium hydroxide)

●      ¾ cup cool, distilled or purified water

Directions:

1. Cover your workspace with a protective layer or newspaper and put on your gloves and protective wear.
2. Measure your water into a 1 quart glass jar, and using your metal spoon, slowly add your lye into the water, stirring as you go. Stand back from the jar to avoid the fumes. Stir until the water clears up and the lye dissolves.
3. Using a glass pint jar, mix your 3 oils together and heat in the microwave for one minute until your oils are roughly 120°. Once your lye and your oils are between 95° and 105° you can move on to the next step. Getting the temps right is important, so don’t neglect this step.
4. Once your oils and lye have reached the correct temp, pour the oils into a glass or stainless steel bowl before slowly stirring in your lye mixture. Once your lye is completely incorporated, stir for a full 5 minutes. Continue to stir until your mixture lightens and thickens, reaching roughly the consistency of vanilla pudding. This is what is known as “trace.” (Use this video to see what trace looks like.)
5. Now add in your essential oils (see recipe combinations below) and stir until well combined.
6. Pour your soap into molds, covering them in plastic wrap before wrapping them in an old towel.
7. 24 hours later, check your soap, if it’s hard and cool, you can turn it out to cure or cut it down to size. If it’s still warm and soft, let it sit for another 24-48 hours.
8. Once turned out, your soap needs an additional 4 weeks to fully cure. Be sure to turn it every week to maximize air exposure.

3 Easy Fragrance Additions Using Essential Oils

Essential oils are the best way to scent your soap naturally, try these recipes!

Lavender-Mint Soap

Mix in 15 drops of lavender oil (like this one from Plant Therapy) and 5 drops of peppermint essential oil to your soap.

Citrus Sage Soap

Add in 10 drops of orange oil and 10 drops of clary sage oil for a bright and uplifting fragrance.

Lemon Rosemary Soap

Add in 12 drops of rosemary oil (we love this one from Simplers Botanicals) and 8 drops of lemon oil for a lovely, fresh scent all day long.

Do you make your own soap? Tell us about it in the comments section below!

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Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash

Festive, Natural Holiday Fragrances

There is nothing that brings to mind childhood nostalgia quite like the timeless fragrances of the holidays. Whether it’s the smell of your grandmother’s cookies cooling by the stove or the bright, earthy aroma of a freshly cut evergreen, the holiday season has a wonderful range of smells.

These scents have been replicated over the years by candle and fragrance companies boasting products smelling of warm sugar cookie or fresh balsam fir. Sadly, these products often come with a side of chemicals which are released into the air with every use. Thankfully, by blending together a selection of essential oils, you can replicate many of your favorites while preserving the purity of your home.

Keep reading for 4 holiday fragrances that will give your home a warm, cozy holiday aroma all season long.

Wondrous Woods Blend

For all the benefits of a fresh cut tree, without having to go cut one, try this blend! Our wondrous woods blend includes the scent of earthy, spiced orange and soothing cinnamon to hit all your holiday high notes.

●      2 drops balsam fir needle oil (we love this one from NOW Foods)

●      2 drops spiced orange oil

●      1 drop cinnamon oil

Add each ingredient to your diffuser and enjoy!

Winter Stroll Blend

If you’re looking for a blend that calls to mind the crispness of a winter walk through the woods, this blend will check all the boxes.

●      4 drops frankincense oil (we love this blend from Aura Cacia)

●      4 drops pine needle oil

●      4 drops cedarwood oil

Add ingredients to your preferred diffuser and naturally transform your room.

Mulled Wine Blend

There are few things more soothing than sipping mulled wine on the couch as you admire your christmas tree. Sadly, the holiday season doesn’t always allow for a lot of couch sitting, so recreated the experience with this blend!

●      3 drops orange oil

●      3 drops mandarin oil

●      3 drops clove bud oil (try this one from Wyndmere Essential Oils)

●      1 drop cinnamon oil

Add the preferred amount each oil to your diffuser and enjoy!

Candy Cane Blend

Nothing says holidays like the smell of peppermint. Although this peppermint essential oil-based blend lacks the colorful candy cane stripe, it makes up for it in soothing freshness.

●      2 drops peppermint oil (check out this product from Dr. Mercola)

●      2 drops spearmint oil

●      2 drops spiced orange oil

Add each essential oil to your diffuser and breathe in the minty freshness!

Diffusing Essential Oils as Holiday Fragrances

If you’re new to using essential oils for home aromatherapy, fear not! The easiest way to add natural fragrance through oils is to buy an air diffuser for the main room of your home.

Experiment with the oils by adding each blend into the water reservoir and turning on the diffuser. This will not only add a seasonal fragrance into the air, but a light steam mist which helps relieve dry skin and improve air quality. For a low tech approach, try making your own reed diffuser and displaying it in a holiday vase, or simply warm your oils in water using a small saucepan on the stove. 

What are your favorite natural holiday fragrances? Share your blends in the comments section below.

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Photo by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash