Okay, so as I write this post, it’s March 7, 2020. We are currently experiencing the corona virus freakout. Yes, it’s complete madness out there. People are totally panicking and shelves are completely wiped out of certain products. All the disinfectant wipes are gone. Lysol sprays are gone. But do you know what really confuses me the most? The freaking run on toilet paper. Not once on the news have I seen or heard anyone mention anything about this virus causing uncontrollable diarrhea. Not once. But then again, with everyone else buying up the toilet paper, it kinda makes me want to buy up all the toilet paper, too. Which is totally stupid, right? Well, it didn’t matter anyway because by the time I thought I should join in on the toilet paper hoarding, it was all gone anyway and I missed out. Oh well, guess we’ll find out later if we really needed that stockpile of emergency butt wipes or not.

I digress.

One item I actually did want to purchase was just a couple bottles of hand sanitizer because we’re getting ready to go on a vacation. I mean, I don’t feel like I need to stockpile 80 bottles of the stuff, I just need enough to get us by while we’re trying to get through airports and what not – you know, the usual stuff. But it’s all gone. I mean, it’s all GONE. Seriously, this is such a weird time right now. But anyway, I’ve heard quite a bit lately about how you can make your own hand sanitizer, and so, feeling like we really didn’t have much of a choice, and I love making weird stuff, I figured I’d give it a go!

So, I’ve heard that lots of people are making this disincentive hooch with vodka. Now, I love vodka as much as the next stressed out mom, but through my research on this topic I’ve discovered that vodka is actually not the correct product to use to make hand sanitizer. Vodka is typically about 80 proof, but from what I understand you need a minimum of 120 proof for it to even be effective. Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) is an option, it’s 140 proof. But for this recipe, I chose to use Everclear (YUM!), which is 190 proof. Woof! That ought to do it. It’s actually a super easy recipe and you can make it in just a few minutes. So, here we go:

How to Make Homemade Hand Sanitizer

Ingredients:

• Everclear (or rubbing alcohol if you’d prefer)
• Aloe vera gel
• Essential oil (optional)

Directions:

This is seriously going to blow your mind with how easy this is. The only thing you need to remember is that it is an 2:1 ratio for the alcohol vs. aloe. So, find you a jar and fill it up 2/3 full of your alcohol of choice.

Then, add one part aloe vera gel. Side note, when I went shopping for aloe vera gel, this was literally the only bottle left we could find. And this sucker is bright green. So my hand sanitizer came out this super cool radioactive looking color and totally reminds me of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But honestly, it doesn’t matter what type of aloe vera gel you get, as long as it is a gel.

Lastly, if you’d like, add a few drops of an essential oil of your choice. This time I used lemon, but I think lavender would be a great choice, also.

Then, put the lid on really tightly and SHAKE IT. Shake it real, good. If the mixture turned out super liquidy, your ratio may be off a bit, so add a bit more gel until you get more of a loose gel. On the other hand, if it seems too gel-ish, add a bit more alcohol. Just think of how hand sanitizer usual looks, and kind of shoot for that.

And, BOOM! Your homemade hand sanitizer is done! Wasn’t that easy? I recommend ordering some empty pump bottles online and using a funnel to fill them. Or, if you want to be thrifty and earth friendly, you can also refill old sanitizer bottles! Happy DIYing!