For several days my littlest one has had the most curious hive on the back of her neck right where her collar rubs. Initially, I assumed she must have had a reaction to a new, though chemical free, laundry detergent I had been using. So naturally, I went out and bought a new one.

A new wash load (and a couple days) later, the hive was still there.  In fact, it got bigger. The only time the hive did start to decrease was when had gone off for a 10 day vacation. By the time we had arrived home that little sucker was virtually gone. However, the following day, still unpacked, still dishevelled, I was looking at my little girls sitting down to a morning cartoon and noticed my smallest was scratching her neck.

The hive was back.

And it was angry.

Her diet never changed before or during our trip. She’s a good eater and had never reacted adversely to food. So I decided the hive wasn't caused by something she ingested. I also determined it was not the dog fur that is abundant throughout our house. If she was allergic to that her hive would have exploded out of her body “a la aliens” a long time ago.

So I started to wonder if it was something IN my house that was bringing the little bugger out.

Now, I am a clean person. I wash things; I may not sort out clean laundry very well. In fact, I may just leave it in baskets until I use the clothes. But I do vacuum obsessively and wash the counters and floors daily. But after a good day of scrubbing the hive still lingered.

I was going bonkers.

For the life of me I couldn't figure out what was causing the hive on my poor little ones neck. Granted her constant scratching didn’t help.  You try telling a one year old not to scratch an itch and see how well that goes over...

I tried everything I could think of over the course of the week, and decided I had it in my brain that it must be my cleaning products. So I started making my own all natural cleaners. It was actually rather simple and involved only a few household products I already had. So far this solution was proving way cheaper then the laundry detergent theory. There were great resources online and I actually fully restocked my cleaning cupboard in minutes. I also added my own essential oils to the “recipes” so not only is my house smelling great but it’s chemical free and clean!

So was this the answer to eradicating my child’s hive?

No.

It turns out I ran out of peanut butter for her breakfast toast the next day and a few days later the hive was gone.

Imagine that...a peanut allergy.

Go figure.

My favourite all purpose cleaner recipe:

• Empty spray bottle
• 2 tsp. borax
• 4 tbsp. vinegar
• 1 tsp. liquid dish soap
• 2 cups hot water
• Funnel
• A few drops of essential oil

Using a funnel, pour all the ingredients into a spray bottle, tighten the lid and shake until blended.