Makes about 1 cup
This formula forms a soft paste that can be applied with a wool or cotton rag or lamb’s-wool pad. I use it on fine furniture about once a year.
• 1 ounce beeswax
• 8 ounces mineral oil
• 1/2 teaspoon essential oil of Peru balsam
• 1/4 teaspoon each essential oils of lavender, orange, tangerine, and lemon
• 1/8 teaspoon each essential oils of bergamot, rosemary, and spruce
1. In a double boiler, melt the beeswax in the mineral oil. Remove the upper pan from the lower one, allow the mixture to cool slightly (but not to the point at which the surface skims over), and stir in the essential oils. Allow the mixture to cool completely. Store in a jar with a tight lid.
2. Apply the polish to the wood surface sparingly with a rag or pad, leave it for about 5 minutes to allow the wood to absorb it, then rub off any excess with a clean cloth.
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.”
