I’ve been trying to do more natural stuff, ya know? I haven’t been posting too many “new” things because I hadn’t done any big projects lately. I did have a chance to stump a teen at the homeschool conference who was helping his mom at her booth in the “hall of books” (curriculum hall). This lady has a website and ministry/business (not sure which) of helping people save money by changing a few small things about their house and couponing and such. Anyway, her son saw me wandering around trying not to make eye-contact with the vendors, and he asked me if I’d ever tried homemade laundry detergent. So I pulled up and said, “Why yes, I have. I make my own!” That got the lady’s attention and we had a brief discussion of what I put in it. She was a little shocked that I used baking soda rather than “washing soda” and borax. 😉 The point is though, that homemade stuff is WAY cheaper, and natural stuff is WAY better for you, oh yeah.
So that brings me to today’s post. Many of the natural products used for various things from air fresheners to skin care products, to cleaners use essential oils. I had a hard time getting my hands on some oils, for they aren’t usually carried in most of the stores I shop in. But I found this sampler set on Amazon that has 6 different oils in it. They are little vials, but since you only use a couple drops in most recipes, they will last a LONG time. 🙂 Anyway, I thought I’d tell you what I’ve been using the oils for.
Deodorize bathroom: I can’t stand the ‘boy bathroom smell’ that greets me all the time in the lad’s bathroom, ugh! Now when I swap out the TP roll I put a drop or 3 of any oil inside the new TP roll tube, and voila! A deodorizer that spreads a little pleasant scent at every roll of the paper! 😉 Some scents work better for this than others. My favorite by fare is the Lemongrass, but Sweet Orange and Lavender work well too. Eucalyptus not so much.
Air Freshener: Another way I use it to freshen our inside air is to fill a small bowl with baking soda and drop a few drops of oils in it. I keep ours on the fireplace mantle, and every so often give it a little shake to refresh it. Yesterday I dumped the old soda/oil in the garbage disposal and put some new in it. The whole downstairs smelled nice and lavendery!!
Bug Repellent: This is one of my favorites!! I detest the idea of using chemicals like DEET or whatever else they like to use in that toxic mix that is bug repellent. Did you know that bugs detest the smell of certain oils. ‘Skeeters and even ticks won’t hang around if you use them. I’d noticed that the kiddos were starting to get some mosquito bites lately. We don’t usually have a big problem with them here. Just a couple times of year when they like to come out and feast. Well, I knew we couldn’t have that because not to far from here there have been cases of West Nile. Not good! So today I used one of my little “jam” containers and filled it with coconut oil and about 25 drops of Lemongrass and Eucalyptus oils in it. Oh, that’s an important point, when using these oils in anyway that will be contacting skin, you need a “carrier” oil to dilute it. This is potent stuff!! I got this particular concoction from THIS site. It has a list of the oils that work well against bugs. It’s such a relief to put this stuff on the monkeys and know that it’s not bad for them, and it will help keep the critters off. Plus it smells WONDERFUL which is not what I could ever say about the chemical variety. 😉
Night Time Cough Aid: So awhile back Myles had one of those wretched coughs that was keeping him, and me, up at night. His colds always seem to end up in his chest, poor lad. I had read a blog post about a gal who used Eucalyptus oil on her child’s feet and it really helped their breathing. Don’t know what Eucalyptus smells like? Imagine a cough drop… it’s mostly like that! 😉 Anyway, I didn’t want to put it directly on the lad’s feet (remember it’s very concentrated and CAN burn/irritate skin) so I put a couple drops in just a little coconut oil and rubbed it into his feet before bed. It smells something like that vicks rub, but much more natural and gentle. I probably could have put some on his chest too, but I stuck with the feet, and it did seem to help him.
I have a couple of skin-care products that I’m going to be trying out in the near future that I will use a little oil in for a pretty smell. I’ll keep you posted on that too. But you should try the oils for things like bug repellent and night-time coughs! They’re so much safer that nasty chemicals!!