Crunchy Tutorial #1- Natural Mouthwash/ Teeth Whitener

'Round here, we like our teeth-whitening mouthwash.  We both use it every single day.  It costs about $6.00 per container of this:

We were going through about one container every four weeks.  They don't sell it at Trader Joe's, and I rarely have time to go to any store but Trader Joe's each week, so I decided to buy more on Amazon.  As I read through the reviews, I started to get a little worried.  Some excerpts:

1. If I use the full dose, my tongue goes numb and stays that way for over an hour. And yes, my sense of taste is also diminished.

2. The product removes the inner membrane of my lips and cheek. It sloughs off right after the swishing. This is unpleasant and, needless to say, disconcerting. The amount of skin that comes off is in direct relation to the amount of product I use.

3. The longer I use it (I'm up to about 5 days and am only using it at night now), the more temperature sensitive my teeth become. At 5 days, they are mildly sensitive.

and:

I've used this product 4 times in the last 3 days. My gums first started to die and peel away ONE HOUR after I first used the product. I didn't know what it was, so I used it a few more times, each time thinking, "Surely this product woudln't be on the market if it was that bad..." This morning, sheets...SHEETS of my gums peeled off! Gross, white, slimy, dead mucous membranes all over my mouth. To make things worse, my taste is nearly gone and my allergies have been killing me!

Eeew.

To be fair, neither Beau nor I ever experienced anything like this, and we used the product almost every day.  However, I decided to discontinue use of this particular product.  Naturally, there had to be a way to make it at home.  Naturally.

So I did a little research and rediscovered this:

 I have used it as a gargle and a rinse before.  But it tastes...gross.  Like a fizzy, tasteless wetness- lighter than water and not refreshing in the least.  (By the way, never drink hydrogen peroxide.)

So I decided to add this:

and this:

and all of the sudden, I had a product that tasted similar to the expensive, tongue-hair-growing Listerine.  It is more concentrated, so I use less. Just a small capful each day. 

Here is the recipe.  Use it if you feel like it. :)

1 8 oz. container of hydrogen peroxide
20 drops peppermint Stevita
1/4 teaspoon organic peppermint oil

shake and store.  Enjoy.