Spring is on its way. Just this week, in addition to the buzzing of large bumblebees traversing blooms, I also heard the buzz of friends planning to eradicate their current clutter. It just seems to be a natural part of our annual cycle: assessing our belongings, choosing what to keep, and being resourceful with the rest. Sometimes that looks like donating, and other times it’s recycling or upcycling.

Have you set aside a creative recycling pile for the various empty doTERRA® bottles you’ve accumulated? If so, get excited; and if not, you might want to start doing so after today. These fun, satisfying project ideas are a little nonstandard in that they don’t actually call for any specific oils. They simply utilize the empty bottles which you may or may not have ever considered putting to good use!

One reason to hang onto your empty bottles is so you can draw out every last lingering aroma by creating your own unique and very resourceful Last Drop Liquid. Remove the lids and plastic stoppers, then place bottles inside a large container such as a jar or pitcher. Fill the container with water, letting the bottles sit for at least 10 minutes (overnight works too). The water will be deliciously infused with those last few drops of oil that were adhering to the insides of your bottles. Now you can use your Last Drop Liquid to fill the diffusers around your house! Obviously, the aroma will depend on the selection of oils you’ve kept; and it will probably turn out different every time. At this point, you’ll know each bottle was truly used to the last drop.

Now as for the actual bottles, one easy idea is to make them into tiny decorative planters. Simply remove labels and wrap twine around the bottles, using hot glue to secure twine in place. Use your Mini Planters to display air plants, which don’t need soil, or to display a lovely small bunch of flowers or herb cuttings as part of a small centerpiece.

In the process of decluttering, we often see a need to freshen up a wall space, too. Maybe that means out with the heavy, dated photo frames and in with a simpler spring look. To save yourself a trip to the home decor aisle, and to create a piece of decor that shows your oily personality and strikes up a fun conversation, read through this project and see if it’s a good fit for you. No need to be intimidated by the long-looking supply list, especially when you realize that you can just work with whatever you have on hand.

To create Amber Bottle Wall Art, you’ll need:

• 6 x 6-inch wood plank, stained or unstained

• Green acrylic paint

• Foam brush

• 3 empty 15-mL essential oil bottles, labels removed

• Ribbon

• Scissors

• Small air plants, dried lavender sprigs, or other plants of choice

• Sandpaper

• Glue gun

Apply a thin layer of green paint on the front of the wood plank. Let dry. Sand surface to create an antique look. Cut 3 ribbon pieces, each long enough to go around one bottle. Glue one ribbon length around each bottle. Evenly glue the bottles to the wood plank. Finally, place small decorative sprigs in each bottle. These could be artificial, dried, or small living plant bundles that you change out to refresh as needed.

As you clean out corners and sort belongings into piles labeled give, sell, toss, and recycle, keep these resourceful doTERRA ideas in mind. We invest in these little brown bottles for good reason, and we’d be wise to enjoy each of them down to the very last drop!