I started writing a post on why and how we use essential oils in our house. To say I got bogged down is an understatement. There is just so much to say that I felt like I just couldn’t focus and the whole post just felt scattered! So, I thought it would be best to write multiple posts in order to cover everything I want to cover without overloading you with information! I’ll start with how essential oils have helped rid our home of toxins.

WHY ESSENTIAL OILS?

What I really want to say here is, why not? But I’m sure you’re looking for a more concrete answer. 😉 I guess for me, it all started when I became a mama. Becoming a mom changes you, almost instantly! As soon as Noah was born, the changes started to occur, slowly but surely. At first, the changes were ones that benefitted just Noah. Then I realized that Noah would benefit if I started taking better care of myself. When Noah was 9 months old, I started investing in my health and wellness. I started working out, eating healthier, focusing on things that made me happy, and just taking better care of myself overall. It has been a long journey, and I won’t bore you with all of the details, but every decision we’ve made has led us to the point that we are currently at. Thankfully, that path has led us to essential oils.

Once you decide to live a non-toxic lifestyle, you will find that it’s a scary world out there! Did you know that fragrances are considered “trade secrets” and as such, companies do not have to disclose the ingredients that make up the fragrance? In other words, there are chemicals and toxins in your household cleaners, personal care products, etc., and according to the FDA, you’re not entitled to know what they are because that would mean the company would have to disclose its secret recipe! Let me make it easy for you, whenever you see the word “Fragrance” on something you are going to purchase, do yourself and your family a favor and put it back!

If you were to do a quick google search on children being poisoned by household cleaners and medicines, you’d be astounded at the grim statistics you’d find! The CDC website reports that every day, over 300 children ages 0-19 are being treated as a result of being poisoned. And that’s only the ones who are being treated in emergency rooms! How many more go untreated or treated at home? Those numbers are scary! And so rather than lock the chemicals away or store them out of reach, we’ve decided that we’d rather not have them in our home at all.

SO HOW WILL WE CLEAN OUR HOME?

Many essential oils have antiseptic and antibacterial properties and therefore can be used to disinfect and sanitize! These natural cleansing and purifying properties that make up essential oils are great for cleaning around your home. And did I mention they leave your home smelling so fresh and so clean! Lavender, Lemon, Melaleuca, and Wild Orange are a few of the more common oils that are used for cleaning. In our house, we use a blend from doTERRA called On Guard as the base of our all-purpose cleaner. Think of fall in a bottle, yum! We use it to clean the table, the baby’s high chair tray, spills and messes of all kinds! My husband is always a tough sell when it comes to change, but if you were to ask him about our cleaning solution, he’d tell you its the best cleaner he’s ever used! That’s saying a lot!

For laundry, we’ve decided that although detergents with fragrance make our clothes smell good, it’s not worth it to expose our bodies to such harsh chemicals. So we use fragrant free detergent. We always used fragrant free detergents for the kids clothes, but we now use them for our clothes as well. Again, there’s that “self-care will benefit your kids” idea I was talking about! The next thing I’ll be ordering are wool balls for the dryer to replace dryer sheets! If you add a couple of drops of lavender to them before you put them in with your clothes, it lightly scents your laundry. 😉

WHAT ABOUT PERSONAL CARE?

Deodorant: Believe what you will about the harmful effects of using deodorant (i.e., aluminum and Alzheimer’s), but one thing I know for sure, is that antiperspirants prohibit your body from doing what it’s supposed to do: produce sweat. Sweat glands help to control body temperature as well as help rid the body of toxins. As a personal preference, I’ve decided that the benefits of antiperspirants are just not enough. So I choose to use a natural deodorant (Fragrant-free is what I mean) and for a nice smell, I put a drop of my favorite oil on the stick before I apply!

Kids: One of the best features of essential oils is that they can be used on children! You will not find a more natural solution for many of your children’s ailments. My 10 month old Ryan has been teething and I have started rubbing a mixture of lavender and coconut oil on his gums whenever he shows signs of discomfort! I can’t tell you enough how amazing this has worked for him! You can literally see the relief come over him once it’s been applied. This natural solution brings relief to my son, and peace of mind to us as his parents. This peace of mind is especially true since there was recently (1 year ago) a recall of Hyland’s teething tablets.

Another way we use the oils on our children are for skin irritations – both of my children have sensitive skin and it’s important that their skin stay hydrated. A nice blend of lavender, frankincense, and melaleuca has worked wonders on my youngest son’s dry skin! I’ve also started applying a fragrant-free lotion with a drop of lavender on my oldest son after baths! It’s leaves his skin nice and hydrated and he smells amazing! In addition, we rub lavender on the bottoms of their feet at bedtime to promote better sleep!

Ailments: Whether it be a headache, nausea, skin irritation, stomach ache…there’s an oil for that! Before oils, I was the type of person who ran for the bottle of Tylenol the second I had a tinge of a headache. But yet again, that all changed after I had kids. Lou and I have always been on the same page when it comes to giving our kids traditional medicines: only when absolutely necessary. I’m not saying we’ll never again use Tylenol, I’m saying it’s now become my last resort.

Peppermint has worked wonders whenever one of us has a headache. Digestzen, a doTERRA blend that aids in digestion, is a miracle worker for any stomach issues. And Deep Blue has been absolutely amazing as a massage blend for inflammation and sore muscles (my mother will attest to that!). On Guard, one of doTERRA’s amazing blends, is great for fighting off seasonal illnesses and keeping away germs! The list goes on and on! This is just a small preview of the many ways we use oils for ailments!

 

I know I’ve touched on a lot here, but the point of this post was twofold:

1) to bring awareness to the issues with mainstream cleaning products

2.) To offer you a solution to that problem.

I don’t expect you to make all of these changes over night, I think if you did you’d be completely overwhelmed!

But I think you’ll find that onceyou start making changes, it’s hard to stop! It’s so freeing every time I replace a toxic product with a non-toxic one!

I would love nothing more than to help guide anyone who is looking to start the process of ridding your home of toxins!