DIY Glass Spray Bottles

Plastic...

I use to adore the convenience that plastic brought: lightweight, easy, and won't break. Most everything we had in our house was plastic.

Then the whole BPA thing emerged.

What is BPA anyway?... and why is everyone so concerned with 'BPA Free?'

My extremely brief google research surfaced this:

"...BPA is an industrial chemical that has been used to make certain plastics and resins since the 1960s...BPA can seep into food or beverages from containers that are made with BPA. Exposure to BPA is a concern because of possible health effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children. Additional research suggests a possible link between BPA and increased blood pressure." -Mayo Clinic

Well darn.

That's a bummer.

Have no fear- apparently small traces won't hurt you.

But if you're anything like me- I don't want research to catch up to common sense (as it most always does) so I'm not taking any chances.

I wanted to drop some quick precautions that we take in our house, and offer you up an EASY (like 5 mins easy) DIY to make a big change.

First, I recently learned that some canning companies are turning towards "BPA free linings." Now, that goes without saying fresh produce beats out canned produce 100% of the time... but realistically speaking, sometimes we just need the convenience. When a recipe calls for something such as "diced tomatoes" I make sure I grab one that is Organic and has a BPA free lining. Put simply: cost wise, there is not difference and you're making a better choice instantly and effortlessly.

Second, plastic bottles...

There are several BPA free plastic water/ drinking bottles out there, and for on-the-go families and individuals, please stick with what works for you. For us, we have totally stopped buying them. We have somehow collected an enormous collection of Swell, Hydroflask, and Yeti cups and bottles... why not take full advantage of that? (THIS is my go-to, given to me for Christmas. It's with me at all times, comes in tons of colors, and has a BPA free cap). Put simply: if you're going to do plastic bottles, make sure they are BPA free and if you can, rid your home of them and take the 5 seconds to fill up a stainless steel bottle.

Lastly, make these!

It's no surprise that most cleaning products come in plastic bottles. Understood, but let's do something about it.

We make our own all-purpose cleaner using doTERRA OnGuard Cleaner Concentrate. For $14 it last us for months, and you guessed it- contains no harsh chemicals or toxins, and can be used everywhere! For the other cleaners we had laying around the house- we switched them all to glass bottles with this easy trick.

Buy a pack of the glass Perrier bottles (we did the mini ones), enjoy the sparkling water, and wash them out. Soak off the labels, add your cleaner or mixture, and screw on a standard plastic bottle top (obviously, throwing away the bottle and just using the sprayer). We got ours at the Dollar Store! Here's some step-by-step with pictures:

1) Soak off the labels by putting the empty bottles in hot soapy water- they come right off in about 3 minutes!

2) Our $1 plastic spray bottle bought at Dollar Store with our clean and lable-free bottles (you're chunking that plastic bottle- you just need the sprayer!)

3) Make some cute labels! (or boring ones, like mine). I added a piece of packing tape over mine to make them as "water-proof" as possible.

4) We *heart* this stuff. Takes such a small amount mixed with water, so it last us forever.

5) Cut the sprayer tube to fit the bottles, screw on the cap, and WAH-LAH! Easy, big change! All at around maybe $10 max.

If you try this, and love it- let me know in the comments below. Hearing from you makes my day!

Naturally,

Nicki