Upcycling Your Empties

If you love to use essential oils as I do, then you probably have A LOT of empty essential oil bottles.  And if you don’t yet, you will soon.  It doesn’t take long to build up a pile of empties. Trust me on this!

 

                                                                                       Essential Oil Style 

 

So what can you do with all those empty essential oil bottles you can’t bear to part with?  Here are 30 creative & practical uses for them.  There are ideas for using up the last few drops at the bottom of an essential oil bottle. There are ideas for making essential oil sprays, roller bottles, diffuser blends, bath salts, and more using the empty (and almost empty) essential oil bottles.  And there are even ideas for upcycling the empty essential oil bottles into things unrelated to essential oils (such as magnets, lights, vases, and more).

 

 

 

 

Do you have an almost empty bottle of Purify essential oil?  Use it to get rid of that stinky shoe smell.

 

Don’t have a nearly empty Purify bottle?  No worries.  While Purify is probably the best stinky shoe eliminator, there are other antibacterial and antifungal essential oils that can be used as a substitute.  Give one of these a try:  tea tee, cinnamon, clove, thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, peppermint, lemon, or eucalyptus.

 

 

Do you have favorite essential oils that you like to travel with?  Use your empty (or nearly empty) bottles to create a set of travel essential oils.

 

Essential oils are extremely concentrated, which is why it’s so important to dilute them with a carrier oil (like fractionated coconut oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, or olive oil).  I keep my favorite roller bottle blends in my purse and I travel with them as well, but sometimes you need to dilute essential oils on the go.  So I like to keep a little bottle of carrier oil (FCO) in my purse at all times.  That way I’m always prepared.  This has come in very handy over the years!

 

To clean your empty essential oil bottle in order to reuse it for a great on-the-go bottle of carrier oil, here’s what you do:  remove all labels, remove the cap and orifice, let soak in a bowl of hot soapy water overnight, then I run them through the sterilize cycle on my dishwasher (you could boil them on the stovetop instead to sterilize), and let dry completely.

 

Here’s a quick rule-of-thumb guide to the dilution rates I try to use:

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of my absolute favorite ways to use up the last couple of drops of essential oil in an almost empty bottle.  It also works great with cleaned and sterilized empty essential oil bottles.  I keep these little hand sanitizers everywhere: in my purse, in my desk, glove compartment, picnic basket, school bag, gym bag, …

Hand sanitizer recipe for 15 ml essential oil bottle:

 

 

Here are some combinations that work great for hand sanitizers:

 

optional- as hand sanitizer can be a bit drying to the skin, add a drop or two of one or more of these great moisturizers to keep your hands nice and soft.  You can add all of these, or none of them, just use what you have on hand.

 

 

To use:

 

 

No more stinky dog!  This homemade non-toxic dry shampoo for dogs is super simple to make and gets rid of pet odor fast.

This is a great use-up for an empty (but not yet washed out) bottle of lavender essential oil bottle.

How to make it:

When you’re ready to use:

 

 

Fall asleep fast with this calming DIY pillow spray.  All it takes is water, a couple of drops of essential oil (suggestions below), and Epsom salt (optional).  Simply mix, shake, and spritz, and you’ll be dozing off to dreamland in no time.

Here are some great essential oils to use in this sleep spray.  Choose one or use a combination of 2 or 3 of your favorites.  –> lavender, wild orange, cedarwood, vetiver, marjoram, frankincense, Roman chamomile, bergamot, patchouli, and sandalwood.  A blend of lavender and cedarwood is my favorite!!  I fall asleep quickly and sleep soundly all night every time I use that combination.  Just a whiff of it, and I start to get sleepy.

How to make a homemade sleep spray with essential oils:

 

To use:

 

 

#7:  DIY Mattress Refresher

I love this mattress refresher.  I use it every time I change my sheets.  Using this refresher and vacuuming help to reduce dust mites, dead skin cells, and germs.  Plus it is a great deodorizer!

How to make a DIY mattress refresher with essential oils:

To Use:

 

Using a rollerball insert like this it’s really easy to turn your empty (or almost empty) essential oil bottles into roller bottles.  Click here for the rollerball inserts – these work on 5ml and 15ml bottles

Here’s how to do it:

Immune Booster

Tummy Tamer

Muscle Soother

Owie Stick

Anti-itch Stick

Seasonal Stick

Tension Tamer

Deep Breath

Anti Stress

Good Night Sleep Tight

Nourish

Clear Skin

Calm & Relax

Ground & Balance

Uplift

Comfort

Gratitude

Optimism

Energize

Refresh

Build Confidence

Motivate

Focus & Concentrate

 

 

 

Do you love diffusing essential oils?  Well, guess what- that doesn’t have to stop when you leave your house!

Here’s how to use an almost empty essential oil bottle to make a diffuser for your car:

The scent should last for 2-3 days, then you can add another drop or two of essential oil to refresh the car diffuser

 

 

Always have essential oils right where you need them.  Make up extra partial bottles for office, school, kitchen, bedroom, etc

 

 

Using essential oils when you vacuum is a simple way to make your whole house smell fantastic!

Here’s how to use up the last bit of essential oil from an almost empty bottle to make this vacuum refresher:

 

 

There’s a great one to use up those last few drops of essential oil in the bottom of a bottle.  Simply add a spray top like this to your empty (or almost empty) essential oil bottle and turn it into a homemade all-natural “Febreze” fabric refresher.

Here’s how to do it:

note: you can substitute witch hazel or water for the vodka, but it’s best to use alcohol if you can in this recipe.  Alcohol has a faster evaporation rate than witch hazel and water, and as a result, is less likely to cause mold or mildew in fabric.  If you do need to substitute witch hazel or water, give the fabric extra time to dry, and if possible, use a fan to circulate air over the fabric until it is dry.

 

 

Everybody has at least one stinky spot in their house, and if you’re like me, you’ve probably got a few less-than-fresh-smelling spots around your home.  Laundry room, closet, bathroom, refrigerator, shoe cubbies, basement… I could go on and on and on.

No worries.  Use an empty essential oil bottle to deodorize and freshen those stinky spots up in no time.

Here are some great deodorizing essential oils to use:  tea tree, lavender, eucalyptus, geranium, peppermint, fir, lemon, wild orange, tangerine, rosemary, lime, citronella, and lemongrass.

I think this one is just about the easiest thing you can do with an empty essential oil bottle before you clean it and upcycle it into one of the other uses in this post.

Here’s how you turn your empty essential oil bottle into an instant deodorizer:

 

 

Feeling a little congested?  Here’s a great way to upcycle your empty essential oil bottles to help support clear breathing.

How to make essential oil smelling salts:

To use:

 

 

Do you have a favorite diffuser blend?  An essential oil blend that you go to again and again to use in your diffuser, inhalers, or diffuser jewelry?  It can get a little old, pulling out the same bottles over and over again and counting 1 drop of this, 2 drops of that, another drop of this, etc. Instead, use an empty essential oil bottle to make up a master blend.  Then whenever you want to use that blend, all you need to do is grab one bottle and put a few drops in your diffuser. Super simple. You do the work once, and then you’ll always have your favorite blends ready to go.

Here’s how to do it:  Use an empty (or almost empty) essential oil bottle to make up a batch of your favorite essential oil blend.  Want some ideas of new blends to try?  Check out these recipes for blend ideas and then when you find one you like, you can just multiply the amounts to make as much (or as little) as you want.  

For reference:  a 5ml essential oil bottle holds about 85 drops and a 15ml bottle holds about 250 drops.

 

 

 

Trash Cans can be one of the smelliest places in a home.  But they don’t have to be.  Use this simple essential oil hack to have your trash cans smell fresh and clean in no time.

 

 

Now, this is creative! I would have never thought to use my empty essential oil bottles to create a pretty string of lights! These lights would be so cute for the holidays but would also be cute hanging from your office or when doing essential oil presentations.

 

To use:

 

 

How to make a mini carpet & rug deodorizer:

To Use:

 

 

I think the above photo is self-explanatory 😉 

 

Do you use toner as part of your skincare cleansing routine?  If you give this easy DIY essential oil toner a try, your skin will love you for it!!

Why use toner?

How to make DIY essential oil toner?

This is a great use up for the last little bit of oil left in an empty tea tree or lavender essential oil bottle.  If you have one of those almost empty bottles use that, otherwise, you can also make this toner using a clean and sterilized essential oil bottle for a travel travel-sized toner.

To use:

 

 

Here’s a great little use-up for those last couple of drops at the bottom of an essential oil bottle –> Homemade Flavored Sea Salt for Cooking

Use these finishing sea salts to boost the flavor in your favorite dishes.  They’re great on popcorn, grilled meats, homemade potato chips, roasted vegetables, baked potato, roasted chicken, baked goods, and more.

Here’s how to make it:

Be sure to only use 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils that are labeled for internal use.

Here are some essential oils that would well for flavoring sea salt–>  basil, thyme, rosemary, lime, lemon, grapefruit, and wild orange 

 

Do you love to share your oils with friends and family, or maybe even complete strangers you meet in line at the grocery store?  Save yourself a little money, and reuse your empty (or almost empty) essential oil bottles as sample bottles.

 

 

Use an almost empty essential oil bottle as a personal inhaler.

Here’s what you do:

Suggestions for personal inhaler use:

 

Homemade owie spray for minor cuts and scrapes

How to make:

To use:

 

Put almost empty essential oil bottles on display at a class or fair so that people can smell the oils. That way, if someone walks off with one of your bottles, you only lose an almost empty bottle and not a full bottle of expensive essential oils.

 

 

This is an easy essential oil DIY for those bottles with just a few drops left.  find more essential oil bath salt recipes here

How to do it:

To Use:  Depending on the size of your tub, use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of this salt blend per bath.

 

Here are some ideas for essential oils to use in your bath salts:

–>  lavender

–> lavender + cedarwood

–> patchouli + wild orange + frankincense

–> lavender + bergamot + ylang ylang

–> eucalyptus + spearmint

--> Adaptiv 

–> peppermint + orange + lemon + lime

–> lemon + peppermint

–> grapefruit

–> wild orange + lemongrass

–> lemon + orange + grapefruit

–> lime + spearmint

–> lavender + clary sage + bergamot

–> geranium + lemon + wild orange

–> peppermint + eucalyptus + lavender

–> rosemary + eucalyptus + lavender

–> thyme + lime + eucalyptus

–> cedarwood + rosemary + wild orange + frankincense

–> lemon + eucalyptus

 

 

How to make:

To use:

get spray tops for empty 5ml and 15ml essential oil bottles here

 

 

Keep your refrigerator smelling fresh and clean with this simple DIY project.  This is an easy DIY for those citrus essential oil bottles with just a few drops left.

How to make:

To use:  Set the open bottle in the refrigerator where it won’t get tipped over.  This mini-size refresher lasts a few days to a week.

 

 

You think everything is out of the bottle.  Not a drop left.  But you can still smell the essential oil.  That is a great time to try this ultra-simple DIY air freshener.

Just add water to the bottle, shake, and put on a spray topper.  You just made a homemade, all-natural, non-toxic, great-smelling room spray!

Spritz it around the room and enjoy.

This size is great to keep in the car, too.

get spray tops for empty 5ml and 15ml essential oil bottles here

 

 

It’s easy to make your own essential oil perfume.  All it takes is two ingredients and a little time.

Here’s how you do it:

Here are a few perfume blends to try:

note: be careful, and don’t apply citrus oils on any skin that will be exposed to the sun as that can cause phototoxicity resulting in rash, sunburn, and/or blistering.