Spring Cleaning Tips and Tricks: Drawer Spray

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Makes about 1/2 cup

• 2 ounces isopropyl alcohol
• 1/2 teaspoon essential oil of sandalwood
• 1 teaspoon essential oil of tangerine
• 1/2 teaspoon essential oil of Peru balsam
• 1/8 teaspoon essential oil of spruce
• 1/8 teaspoon essential oil of lavender, if desired
• 2 ounces filtered or distilled water

1. Pour the isopropyl alcohol into a spray bottle, and add the oils, using as much lavender oil as suits you. Add the water and shake to mix.

2. Before using, test the spray on a small section of a drawer–alcohol can dissolve a shellac finish. If the finish is unharmed, spray the empty drawer and allow it to dry before replacing the clothes.


Louise Gruenberg gardens as much as possible and cleans house as little as possible in her Oak Park, Illinois, home. She also writes and teaches about herbs. Due to popular demand for reprints of this article, it has been reprinted from our February/March 1997 issue with the author’s permission.

Click here for the main article, “Spring Cleaning Tips and Tricks.”

  • Published on Mar 31, 2009
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