How to move forward with EO use...

Call to action

This post will be a little different from most. I'm not going to share a recipe or remedy I've discovered. It is more practical. How to put this knowledge into action.

In the beginning I spent some time with all of this essential oil and healthy living knowledge in my head and good intentions to apply it to life. However, good intentions and knowledge are just thoughts. Thoughts weren't changing how I did things, or my health. I needed action.

There were several reasons that action wasn't happening often enough.

• Missing some of the ingredients
• Missing some of the tools
• Fear I would do it "wrong" and waste the oils
• Too busy with the current pattern of doing things 
• Simply forgetting to use them when I intended

I want to address some of these common roadblocks toward regular EO use in this post.

Darn! I'm Missing Ingredients:

Don't let this stop you! If you see a recipe you want to try on Mom's EOs or any other site, determine to make it. Each EO has several qualities to it. Depending on what you're making, it is possible the recipe will work even missing one of the EOs. Do some of your own research and see if your missing oil would be a make or break ingredient. If it is... Many EOs  have similar qualities. Substitute an oils with similar qualities. You could pick just about any quality in an EO and find that same or similar quality in another oil.  Be brave. Try a substitute. There is an untold amount of information out on the web. You can use the Spark Naturals oil descriptions to learn qualities. This is a good, reliable research site as well. It also helps to have a few reference books such as this one. You can even message me and I'll be happy to give some suggestions to try. Some common substitutes I've used...

• Birch and Wintergreen  and Peppermint all have cooling and pain relieving properties. 
• Roman Chamomile and Lavender are both calming and relaxing
• Basil and Thyme both have germ killing properties
• Most citrus are uplifting and help with mood. 

Oops! I'm Missing Some of the Tools:

There is always more than one way to accomplish a goal. No diffuser yet? You can passively diffuse by using a tissue, piece of felt, rub some on your hands and

breathe in, or cotton balls in a jar. No roller? Try a spray bottle, or just dabbing the oils on. No fancy jar? Recycle a cleaned out kitchen jar. Don't know how (or have the ingredients) to make salve yet? Add the oils to your current lotion. Don't let the idea of somethings being "just so" stop you from experiencing your oils.

I'm Afraid I Will Do It Wrong and Waste Precious Oils:

Just start. Honestly, one of the things I have discovered about EOs is that it is pretty hard to "do it wrong". I mean, you have to be careful. Don't ever put oils in your ear canal or your eyes. Read your bottles and don't ingest any EO unless the bottle says FOR DIETARY USE. If you ever have question about the strength, dilute it. But when making blends or diffusing - try not to stress if you get 3 drops instead of 2. It's all good if you need to use a substitute. Experiment. If one thing doesn't work, don't toss it ~ add to it and try again. Trust your instincts.  If you can't stand a smell ~ pass it on for someone else to try (many people experience oils differently. It has a lot to do with body chemistry). Just make sure you start somewhere or you'll never know. You might be a blending genius!

I'm Too Busy and Stuck With My Current Patterns:

It can be hard to break a habit. What are your habits? Headache? Grab a Tylonol? Heartburn? Tums? If you are busy, set aside a time one day to make up a few few remedies before you need them. You can specialize to your frequent issues. Then, when the time comes you are ready to try something new.  Some of the first ones I had on hand...

• LLP in a roller for allergies
• Stress blend
• Headache roller

I Keep Forgetting To Use EOs When I Intended: 

I worked on this several ways. First, I put my roller blend oils in my purse so they were handy no matter where I was, and I took the Tylenol out of my purse. Next I "attached" certain oils with behaviors that were already natural. For example, I put some Jeddy's in a small spray and set it next to my face lotion. When I put my lotion on daily in the morning my Jeddy's was there and I used that as well. I also got my family involved in using the oils. Then, when something would come up, like a headache or cut, my kids would remind me I had oils I could use. If all else fails, you could place a reminder post-it note on your Tylenol bottle "try oils first"! Switch out one thing at a time. Don't try to do it all at once. I started with LLP for allergies. This was all I did for quite a few months. Then, when  saw how well it worked, I was compelled to try the next thing.

I'm here to help. If you have questions, feel free to message me on Facebook or comment on this post!

Are there other reasons you haven't started using your Essential Oils yet? Share your reasons and any solutions you've found!

Above all... Let's just get started!

~Wendy


There are affiliate links in this post. If you choose to buy something from Spark Naturals, you will not pay any more, but Mom's EOs will get a small portion. If you'd like to save money you can use coupon code benderboymom at checkout and save 10%. 

Containing the Chaos: Essential oil storage & organization

*****First things first... I'm sorry. I know I've owed you a blog post for quite a few days now. I was just not able to bring myself to write it. Even though I really like this blog, sometimes my fear (read paralyzing terror) of writing gets the best of me. However, if you are ever searching for information you may always just message me on FB. That's easy! Now, on with it...

Storage...Where to start....

For starters, my location and system has morphed and changed as my EO usage and needs have changed and grown. I wish there was a good answer of "this is how you organize your EOs, and it will always work great"! But *sigh* it is not that easy. You need to do what works for you at this moment. Then give yourself grace to change it when your need changes. For this reason I am going to show you several stages of my storage journey.

In the beginning I had a few bottles on my kitchen counter. That’s it. They just sat there out in the open. I then gathered them and the few more I bought into a small plastic box that sat on my counter.

Bonus! The box made my oils easily portable so that I could move them around. Then the box was moved into my kitchen cabinet once I learned that sunlight (and curious hands) are not really good for oils. So, whenever I needed one I would reach into the cabinet and pull out the whole box, get what I needed, and return the box to the cabinet. This worked pretty well for my small box. 

But as I've stated in previous posts, once I start something....I had to move into a bigger shoebox because I had grown my oil collection, as well as the accessories I used with them. Now pulling the shoebox out every time became inconvenient, as it was heavy and less sturdy. I feared for the safety of my oils! This became an issue and started the search for a better answer.

Setting up your system

The first thing you need to decide is location.

For me, this was the kitchen. This is where our “medicine cabinet” had been located; Where my family was used to going for Tylenol, allergy meds, first aid, etc. My start with EOs was to replace those OTC meds. The kitchen is in the center of our home so it is convenient, and a gathering place. I will mention, though, I DO NOT have the added challenge of little hands exploring in my kitchen. If I did, my plan may have been different. My youngest is 13.

When I started to think about this post I figured I would show you my oil drawer, where I keep “all my oils”. Honestly, as I really thought about it, I’m more spread out than that. Below is a picture with labels of my essential oil drawer.

Some closer pictures so you can see better...

This is the main location where I keep the majority of my oils. I work out of this drawer (located in my kitchen island) several times a day. It started with a regular silverware tray organizer in it, then I finally acquired this adjustable bamboo tray – works soooo much better! 

I do have to tilt my oils to get my drawer to close, but hey – I don't get everything I want… My girlfriend has a custom drawer in her kitchen that is deeper. Her oils can stand up in there. I remind myself regularly “thou shalt not covet my girlfriend's kitchen drawer”.

I keep several things in my kitchen cabinet still as well.

My bee's wax, empty bottles, capsules, summer bug and sunburn sprays. Extra salve I've made for gift giving, empty jars, peppermint spray for spiders/bugs, the list goes on. Basically stuff too big for the drawer.

Didn't clean it up for you - I'm real

This shelf has my FCO, alcohol free witch hazel, rose water, empty lip balm tubes, empty 4 pack containers (I know they are good for something, someday).

I keep a few things on my bathroom counter (welcome to the real me… no OCD organizing gene here), 

and two by my bed. (yes, those are the bobby pins I forget to take out every night before I'm already in bed, oh and my hearing aides. I'm sorry, what did you say? :)

I've already shown pictures before of what I keep in my purse, but here it is again for good measure.

Holds 30 bottles

If you are a on the go person - SN offers these great travel bags for your oils too. The possibilities of how you store your oils is endless.

I have found that the key for me is to keep things where I can easily grab them and use them. If I have to go to the kitchen to get my dream blend before bed – I don’t. That simple. This means that I do keep some doubles also. There is healing salve and pain salve in both the bathroom and the kitchen. I keep a Relief roller and LLP roller in both my purse and the kitchen. You get the idea.

I hope this has helped you get ideas on how to create your own, usable system for your oils. Once they are easy to get to, and convenient, you will find yourself incorporating them into your life more often. If you have ideas on how to store your oils, please share them in the comments! We'd love to learn from you as well.

Happy organizing.

Wendy