Things We Use Everyday

No doubt about it, I LOVE Essential Oils.  I've been using Essential Oils for about 2 years give or take a month.  I did a lot of research and I'm still doing research.  I started with the cheap ones, because why not?  Why waste money on something that you don't know if it will work like someone says it did for them.

So... just know, if EOs work for me in one way, they may or may NOT work for you in the same way.  I'm not a Doctor and I can't remember the last time I stayed at a Holiday Inn (I know Hubby and I did on our honeymoon 34 years ago.)  Just like Rx meds and their side effects, some people get them, some don't. More on my research into EOs later.

Today I want to tell you about three ways we use EOs everyday.

1. Flavored Coconut Oil for Oil Pulling

Melt the coconut oil in the microwave

 Melt the oil at 30 second intervals.  I love these tiny Ball jars for this stuff, they fit well in the medicine cabinet too.

Add 30 drops of Young Living Peppermint EO

 If I'm using EOs for anything that goes ON or IN my body I use Young Living.  Their oils are Therapeutic Grade which means you can ingest them.  This peppermint oil is great in water too.  Drinking water can freshen your breath.

Stir the Peppermint oil in with a toothpick.

 Taste the oil from the toothpick, need a little more? Go for it!

Put it in the Fridge

 After it hardens, it's ready to put in the bathroom cabinet.  Scoop out a tablespoon and start Oil Pulling!  You've never Oil Pulled?  Read about it HERE

After cooling it looks like the jar on the left

2.  Coconut Oil with Thieves EO.    That's what the jar on the left in the above picture has inside.  I melted the coconut oil just as above and added 30 drops of Thieves Oil
then it's cooled in the fridge.  I use this oil combination everyday.  I just scoop out a less than teaspoon size dollop and melt it in my hands.  Then I rub it on my feet and legs and let it soak in while I'm getting ready for work.  

As you know I work in an Elementary School as the School Secretary.  I sit in what we call Vomit Row.  Not a day goes by that a child doesn't stroll past my desk with a trash can under their chin, or they are ailing from something worse.

Honestly I haven't been sick in close to.... 7, 8, 9 years?  I can't remember.  No I haven't used Thieves all those years but I have for the last two.  Just one more layer of protection against those germs that adapt all the time.  I have noticed (in the last 2 years) that I don't get my seasonal respiratory stuff anymore!  Could be the Thieves.  It's an immune booster.

3.  POO SPRAY - this is the item that Hubby will bring me the bottle from the bathroom when we run out.   "We're outta POO SPRAY!!!"  After Hubby's cancer in his sinuses he can't tolerate the smells of commercial made air fresheners.  They are repulsive to him and give him a headache.  They can't be good for you. 

I use a 4oz blue GLASS bottle

 Use glass because EOs tend to erode plastic over time.  You know how old Tupperware feels sticky?  Yeah, that's what happens.  The colored glass (blue or brown/amber) protect the EO's potency.  Light weakens EOs.  It's the same reason our meds come in amber bottles or solid white from the drug store. 

Add 30 drops of Lemongrass EO

Notice I'm using a different brand EO.  Yeah I'm going with a cheaper brand, it's not going on my body.  It's going in the potty!

30 drops Bergamont

 You don't want to put this brand EO in your mouth, trust me....  I thought about calling Poison Control that day that I did.  What I do in the name of research.

30 drops Grapefruit, mmmmm yummy

 You see how I'm holding the bottle here?  This is the proper way to measure out a drop of oil.  By holding the bottle straight up and down you will get the same size drop with every drop.  I just couldn't take a picture and show the name of the oil in the other pics and I'm not a professional photographer, I'm not even an amateur.

Top off the bottle with water.  Tap water, it's going in the potty.

Put the top on the bottle, shake well before each use and spray!

I got these bottles on Amazon.com.  I may have bought the spray nozzles separate there too.  We keep a bottle of this in each bathroom.  We use it like the famous potty spray that is quiet a few dollars more to buy than this stuff is to make.  (Those bottles of EO will last you quiet a while.)  You can spray it in the toilet before you go, or you can spray it as a room freshener after you go.  It works great either way.

I keep a small bottle in my purse too!

Let me know if you make your own flavored Oil Pulling blend or Poo Spray.

Next time, we'll talk about how I've used the same DISPOSABLE razor for 9 months now...  it's still going strong, and NO my legs are not nicked and hairy.

Stay warm!

I did it myself - FAIL

That's a Mexican Freetail Bat.  He's climbing up a branch of our oak tree.  I found him/her on the stepping stones in front of our house the other evening and returned him to the tree.  NO, I didn't touch him!  I used a take-out container and a stick.  I think he may have been on the ground because of this crazy wind we have been having this month.

OK, on to the DIY - FAIL.  If you remember, I have done several DIY or as I call them MIY,  make it yourself.  It's not just a doing thing, you have to make the stuff in order to do it... am I right?  So, I've made probiotic soda like Kevita, aka Water Kefir or exploding beverages as my husband calls them.

I've  made dishwashing detergent that grew into a bubbling blob that took over my deck, FAIL.  I'm still looking for something that works.

I've finally found a MIY laundry detergent that I really like and have recently made my 3rd batch.  Each batch lasts me about 7 months!  The cost is so worth it, I'll let you know about that in a future post.

This past week I have decided to try making my own shampoo.  I had seen several blog posts on Pinterest and then in a weekly email from Mother Earth News with the directions.  Hey, if it's on Mother Earth News then it probably works, right?  I'm not about to go the NO Poo route. 

I had some coconut milk already open  in the fridge and it needed to be used.  All the other ingredients were a given as we keep those in the house all the time.  One of them being Dr. Bronner's Soap.

Don't get me wrong, I love Dr. Bronner's Soap and we use it a lot!  You can wash anything with it.... but NOT your hair.  Long story short (it's always a long story with me), my hair was squeaky clean, squeaky like brakes locking up on a semi-truck squeaky.  I couldn't get my fingers through it, so I couldn't get a comb through it either!

It didn't want to dry.  After blowing it with the dryer on every setting for 20 minutes, it still wasn't dry!  Normally my hair only takes 5 minutes to dry, it's short.

Look at this!  There's a comb stuck in the back!  This is after I rewashed it twice with regular Herbal Essences shampoo.  Once I did get it somewhat dry it felt like straw. So yesterday I decided to MIY my own remedy for that.  Why not have two fails in one week?

When I got back from my walk I was hot and sweaty and was going to wash my hair anyway because it was a dry ratty windblown mess, I decided a nice big dollop of coconut oil would be a good thing.  I'm a sucker for the coconut oil.  Hey, the comb slips right through my hair when it is totally saturated in grease!  I was sporting that 50's greased lightening look, even after TRYING to shampoo it all out.

Three shampoos yesterday and one this morning and finally my hair is somewhat back to normal.  My findings on this session of research is, leave it to the professionals.  Paul Mitchel and Vidal Sasson know what they are doing.  Just let them do it.

I wish Herbal Essences would bring back their original scent from the late 60's, anyone else feel this way?  How about Gee, Your Hair Smells Fantastic?  That stuff was nice.

Have a great 4th of July!  I'm headed west to the ranch and beyond this weekend... ROAD TRIP! 

You asked for it.

Well, maybe you didn't, but Cheryl did.

Last week I mentioned that I make the laundry detergent that we yeah me and the fuzz balls in my pockets use.  Below is the process I use, and this is where I got my idea.

Gather your supplies: Borax, WASHING Soda (not baking soda, there's a difference), a bar of REAL soap.  You can use Ivory, Zote, or Dr. Bonner's Castile (shown here) or Kirk's Castile.  But it must be SOAP.  Essential Oil in what ever fragrance you choose.  I like grapefruit, it has a really clean smell.  You'll also need a bucket to mix it in and something to store the finished detergent in.

First thing, grate the soap.  Either on a hand grater (wear a mask so you don't inhale the dust it creates and do it outside... just saying) or you can do like me.  I use my food processor.  No, not an old one that is dedicated to only this job unless you have one handy.  It's soap... it washes out.  I just soak it in REALLY hot water when I'm finished and rinse it really well to make sure all the soap is out.

You'll end up with lots of shredded coconut looking soap flakes, don't worry, they break up when you start mixing with the other ingredients.  Or if you live in an area where you can buy 'soap flakes' just do that and omit this process.  I would think you need about 2 cups, same as for this batch.

 1 cup washing soda.

 1 cup Borax.

Dump all this in a big bucket so that you can stir them all together.  As you stir them together start dumping in your essential oil until you have the smell you are hopping for.  I use about half a bottle maybe more.

Then you can store it in an airtight container.  I was using coffee cans, but now... I make double and today a triple batch so I just keep it in the big green bucket I mix it in.  It's an empty and cleaned cat litter bucket.  It's huge of course, but it has an attached hinged lid and I set it on it's side on the back of the washer, just open the lid, reach in, scoop out.  You only need about 2 TBS of this stuff to do a load.  I use an old Kool-aid scoop! A single batch lasts us about 6 months.  It's been so long between batches this time that I had to look at the recipe again.

Believe me it works like a dream.  My husband can get pretty grubby, and it gets all his grubbiness out.  I spray his things down with my homemade pre-treat first. 

But that's another story. 

Hope y'all have a great week... I guess I need to put up some Christmas decorations, maybe not.