October 17, 2016

In my pursuit to keep chemicals out of our home, as much as possible, I started making my own essential oil cleaner several months ago and I love it! Not only does it smell good but there is science behind the benefits of using these oils and everything feels super clean! We have been completely healthy since getting rid of bleach and other chemical products, essential oils are enough to clean your home and kill viruses. Particularly I used the information below to know which oils to buy to get started. Always use glass containers when using essential oils as they may eat away at plastic containers contaminating your cleaner with plastic. I ordered these spray bottles and use Hopewell Essential Oils. Different sites say to use distilled water but most of the time I use tap water that goes through our faucet water purifier and add around four drops of each oil to the water. I’ve been using essential oils for a couple of years now and have found that a few drops go a long way. I had spike lavender and bitter orange already so I am using them instead of lavender and sweet orange, I also like to add lemon…have fun with your recipe!

“Certain essential oils have shown tremendous power for warding off pathogens in scientific studies, some with even greater success rates than high intensity chemicals. Below is a list of some common and safe essential oils to use in cleaning products. Keep in mind that each has a specific set of attributes and target group of pathogens, that make it unique and valuable. As you get more comfortable with making and using DIY cleaners, you can experiment with essential oil combinations that will tackle particular cleaning jobs and attack specific infecting agents. There are many studies (such as the sampling listed at the very bottom of this page) testing the efficacy of essential oils on a variety of common pathogens. This research can be helpful in getting into the nitty-gritty science of making customized cleaning formulas. To start however, I recommend a general combination of any of the following:

Lavender-Relaxing and cleaning all in one! As an antiseptic, antiviral, bactericidal, and fungicidal, this popular essential oil will leave your house spotless and smelling great too.

Lemongrass-So powerful, this essential oil has been found to fight off even the toughest multidrug-resistant organisms! Lemon is also great at cutting through grease, making it very helpful in the kitchen.

Oregano– Tested against a list of 111 bacteria species, oregano oil proved its incredible antibacterial abilities. Interestingly, some people have even used the oil internally as an antibiotic alternative- although that’s a post for another day.

Sweet Orange-An antiseptic with antifungal and antibacterial properties, orange has that tell-tale citrus quality of being an effective degreaser.

Tea Tree– As an antimicrobial, antifungal, antiseptic, bactericidal, and insecticidal, this oil combines well with others to make a truly versatile cleaner. Use it in those tough areas like the kitchen sink and bathroom.”

By Kayla Grossmann on blog.radiantlifecatalog.com (she lists links for studies on essential oils on the bottom of the page.)

---

September 28, 2016

Parenting a child with special needs leaves you exhausted and an emotional wreck most days which isn’t conducive to living healthy and being motivated to stay fit. At least in my case. I’ve come a long way in my journey the last year and am motivated recently to eat healthier and try to get some exercise in. My first step was buying a Breville juicer from smile.amazon.com along with some Epica glass bottles so that I can juice for the whole day all at once. I’m going to leave links to the juice recipes I used below. So far I’m enjoying the flavors of the juices and have much more energy today than normal.

The juicer worked fantastic!

The juicer came with this brush that cleans the basket very well, super useful! 

I used a mix of baby chard, spinach and kale for greens as an addition to the Classic Carrott-Apple-Lemon and the Hangover recipe. 

From left to right: A New Orange Juice for Breakfast, Classic Carrott-Apple-Lemon with a Kick and Hungover? This Juice Will Help  (I made this without the beet and I wasn’t hungover for the record, it just sounded good!) I downloaded these recipes from Reboot with Joe. 

————————————————————————–

If your looking for a more affordable Essential Oil brand to try check out Hopewell Essential Oils. It’s owned by a homeschool family in Waco, Texas. Click here for quality information on their oils. I have been using them for almost a year and absolutely love and recommend them to everyone. You can type the name of YL oils in their search bar to find their equivalent.