My Laundry Sauce Recipe

My Laundry Sauce Recipe

laundry detergent using essential oils

I am sure you are as pressed for time like I am, so I won't bore you with lots of tidbits about me. Who has time for that kind of stuff in the middle of a school year if you are a parent with school age children? And if you are not in that category, I am sure you are just as busy, so let's get on with it! You may not have ever made laundry detergent, but don't be scared. I've done it twice a year since 2006 and I'm not quite insane. Why would you want to? Because it saves you lots and lots of money compared to store brand and some of those things are made by companies I don't want to support or that I don't trust the ingredients. 

This is what you will need.

• 1 cup of Borax (I use 20 Mule Team I buy from Publix, about $3.50 a box)
• 1 cup of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda (This is not the same thing as baking soda!)
• 1 bar of Fels-Naptha bar soap (Also at Publix, about $1.30. I've been told you can substitute Ivory)
• 1 bar ofOctagon bar soap * Optional ($1 at Publix and Piggly Wiggly)
• 1 cup of Arm and Hammer Baking Soda *Optional (I buy from CostCo for about $7)
• Young Living essential oil of choice *Optional but you really should! (If you don't know where to get this, contact me at thiswholeoilylife@gmail.com and I will get you hooked up! Below will be listed the combos I've used)
• a blender
• a heavy bottom pot
• clean glass jars with lids
• approximately 10 cups of water

I've made several different kinds of laundry detergent now, and this one has become my favorite, mainly because the consistency of it (think mayo, cool whip, or meringue) melts so well into the water in my washing machine. It also takes up less room and I can begin using it the same day compared to the five gallon bucket method. However, feel free to try the others and see what you think. To see the original, what began it all 5 gallon bucket method, go here. For a dry version go here. For a laundry booster recipe go here. And for homemade dryer sheets that can compliment the scent of your laundry detergent, go here

On the first step you have a couple of options. You need to grind the soap bars into a powder. To do this you can use only your trusty knife and perfect your chopping skills on a handy dandy cutting board to get the soap into fine granules, or you can save yourself a lot of hassle and put the soap in a blender. I've done the first method, but I'm all about saving time, so I use my wonderful, how did I ever live without Ninja blender. The small one works fine for this, but chop the soap up into smaller chunks first, in case your blender can't handle it.

This is what it will look like when you get done pulsing it.

You will then empty this into a heavy bottomed pot with sides at least 6 inches high, to prevent running over later. Add a cup of water put on high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. You may have to turn the heat down to medium high, but keep a watch on it, stirring until the soap granules dissolve. Sorry I don't have a picture of this step.

While the soap granules are melting, place in a bowl 1 cup of the following

 Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

20 Mule Team Borax                                                                                A & M Super Washing Soda

This is what it will look like

                                               

Now the first few times I did this all lumped together in one bowl on this step, but the last time I put the ingredients in 3 separate bowls. Do whichever you prefer.

After the soap granules have melted COMPLETELY then add the rest of the 3 powders SLOWLY. This is why you need the high sided pot, because the interaction between the ingredients can cause the mixture to foam up. You may also need to add more water at this point. I've discovered it depends on the weather as to how much water I need. In the summer I need more water, in the winter not so much.

After the mix is completely incorporated, you will continue to cook it until they is no gritty feeling left when you stir the pot with your wooden spoon. This takes approximately 30 minutes on my electric glass top stove.

I am big on repurposing things and not wasting, so I reuse my glass spaghetti jars that have been cleaned and for the smaller amounts salsa jars I've cleaned. You could use quart canning jars if you wanted or whatever clean glass jars with lids you have.

The next step is to pour the soap mixture into the jars. I use my canning funnel for this, but you can just ladle it over if you don't have one. Just be careful! This stuff is hot!

Put the lids on and turn your hot jars upside down on your counter top with a potholder. Leave the jars for four hours or overnight. You can use this time to clean up, do other chores or drink a cup of coffee and read a good book. I am partial to the last option because life is short!

After four hours, you will open your jars and pry out the mixture into a blender. I have found a butter knife works really well for this. Just stir it around, like you are churning butter if you've ever done that. After you've gotten the cooled soap into your blender, gradually add about four cups of water per 1 cup of soap mixture. This all depends on how hard your soap mix set up and once again the weather. The consistency you are looking for is that of cool whip or a light frosting.

At the very end, add whatever essential oils you like the smell of. Since you will have more than one batch you have to put through the blender to turn into the sauce, you can experiment with what smells you like by doing more than one batch. Keep in mind the laundry soap itself has a smell so you want something that will go with it. What I generally do is open the bottles and hold them over the soap and sniff. That way I get an overall sense of the smell.

Here are the combinations I have used, only using Young Living essential oils:

This is combo is my favorite right now. I used 20 drops of Jade Lemon and 15 of Stress Away

This is the combination to have for stinky gross dirty clothes! I used 20 drops of Lavender and 15 drops of Purification. It is what I use on soured clothes or our work clothes.

This is a good one to have on hand for when someone in the family has been sick, yourself included, and you need to get rid of the germies and cooties. It also great for those things like rugs, dog bedding and such.

This laundry sauce only requires 1 Tablespoon per largest load. I use it on everything: whites, darks, lights, towels, bedding etc. except my delicate wools, which I still use Woolite for. I usually end up with 6 large jars and 3 small jars when I make this and it lasts me about 6 months for a family of 3 adults and two children. And let me tell you, this family has far too many clothes, especially the children and sometimes my 7 yr old son changes 3 times a day and his laundry hamper fills to overflowing fast! We wash approximately 7-10 loads a week depending on if we're washing bedding, etc. So about just say you will get about 200-240 loads out of this. I buy my supplies in bulk, so I can really give you a cost breakdown.

What your "sauce" will look like

A few of my jars. I used to put fancy labels on them, but I have to wash them when they are empty to reuse them, so now I just write what is in them and the date with a sharpie. This way I can make sure it is lasting long enough and gauge when I will need to make the next batch.

DIY Laundry Booster

You are not going to believe how easy this DIY project is! Even the kids can get in on this one, especially if they are at that age where they want to know how to do everything, like my two children! It is also free of all the pesticides and unknown chemicals lurking in so many products out there. And no one send me hate mail telling me that baking soda is a chemical; take it in the spirit I intended it...


So what do you need for this magic recipe?

Ta-Da!!!!!!!!!!!!

Baking Soda

Pure, Plain Ol' Baking Soda

As you can see we buy this stuff in bulk!!!!

Then you need your favorite essential oils from Young Living

If you want a slightly spicy scent and massive germ killing, then go with Thieves

If you like fresh scents and need super odor killing power, then go with Purification

 If you like the traditional relaxing scents and need stress relief, go with Lavender

At the moment, our homemade laundry detergent has both Purification and Lavender in it (see here for the laundry liquid detergent, here for the update on it, and here for the laundry soap recipe), so my next batch will be made to match. However, this batch I made up was with Thieves, one of the best smelling things on this planet!

To create this very simple recipe, all you need are the above ingredients: Baking Soda and the essential oil of your choice (I use Young Living and am a distributor for them. If you want to know more about that and to get your own, email me at spiceyourspace@yahoo.com)

Recipe:

1 cup of Baking Soda

15-20 drops of your choice essential oil

Mix thoroughly

in a bowl or container of some sort

Find a pretty thing to store your mixture in.

My choice was this canister belonging to my husband's grandmother

Inside is a dose cup like what you get with liquid cold medicine

For each load of really nasty laundry:

Add 1tsp-1T. depending on your preference, size of load, etc

 And that is it!

See! I told you it was simple!

Note of caution, though: Do not store in plastic containers if your essential oil contains any citrus oil. The citrus will eat through the toxins of the plastic leaving you with a frightful mess.

P.S.- stay tuned for my newest recipe on Laundry Sauce, a new take on laundry detergent

Coming Soon!

Overwhelmed

I can't stand it anymore! I can't contain it anymore! God is just blessing me more than I can hold!!!!!!
Had you going there, didn't I? You thought I was going to say my hubs was driving me insane or my kids were acting up or I was all depressed, didn't you? Come on, admit it! I know you did. Why? Because that's where all of our minds go in this fallen world, but, but, but there is this God, see, and He is amazing, and sometimes, usually only when we give up doing it our way and let Him have His, this grace of unreal proportions gently washes over us and what we are left with is astounding, it is amazing, it is overwhelming. Especially because we didn't deserve any of it. But that is what grace is. And then there is mercy (the word, not my daughter. It is confusing, I know) which starts with this amazing grace and takes it even further, expounding it into a blessing we could never attain for ourselves and covers every fault, every wrong decision, ever mis-step.

Have you ever noticed that when you try to make something happen, it just doesn't? And a whole lot of times, it doesn't just doesn't (do I need to repeat that?) it blows up in royal proportions that takes all of our effort and time to fix and undo because we didn't let God have it. Oh, really. You've never done that?! Need I remind you of when...No, I won't give your secrets away here. Grace already covered that for you. But when you did let God have it all and take control those times it was beyond words, wasn't it? If you have never been to a place where God's amazingness has no word to define it, then you and I need to talk. Like intervention kind of talk. Because, oooooooohhhhh, have I got something to share with you! God rocks! He is cool as in "bowties are cool" (that is for all of you fellow Doctor Who fans).

Someone told me tonight that they always see me walk around with a smile on my face even with all I've been through. I smile, I grin, I smirk, I laugh, I do that annoying, loud, obnoxious kind of laugh that everyone can hear, I show all my teeth and scrunch up my eyes and let that smile split my face into! Why? Because the joy on the inside is so, so big it has got to come out, it doesn't have room to stay in and it wants to rub off on you! I couldn't not smile for the life of me for an hour, much less a day. There is too much in this life to be happy and joyful about. Like what God is doing on the inside of me, on the outside of me, and all around me. There was sunshine today, people!!!!! Do you not know how big that is in the midst of this gloomy, unusually cold winter? Sunshine and I got to see it! I was here on this earth still to see the sun shine today, cancer free, in my lovely home with my silly children in their swimsuits doing schoolwork (cause that is how we do things around here!) and with a husband who loves me beyond my understanding. And with dogs. Mustn't forget the dogs, they're too cute and cuddly and likely to lick me for me to forget them. See, I'm blessed.

Then tonight, if that weren't enough during this 21 days of prayer and fasting we're doing, I go to help lead an info party about the essential oils from Young Living (if you have no idea what I'm talking about because you've been living in your igloo, see previous posts in the labels section under Young Living) and I'm telling you God was there before us, because it was far above and beyond what I could ask, think or even imagine (and I've got a pretty good imagination!). There is this verse that says that God will pour out a blessing to where you will not even have enough room to receive it, that you will have to expand to the right and to the left and still not have enough room (and it wasn't talking about your waistline, ok?). This is what happened tonight. The hostess, a family member, didn't have enough chairs or places for people to sit! That many people wanted to know more about essential oils from Young Living and what all they've been doing in the lives of us already using them. Now there isn't time enough to tell all the ways! Even I were to list all of the ways they've helped just me and me alone we would be here forever, cause they are so life changing. Literally. Cause I certainly didn't think I would be doing this, talking like this, living like this ever!

It was empowering to see all those faces looking back at us while we shared our testimonies and know that each of these 30+ women wanted to know how to change the lives of their families for the better. We are doing our best to change this corner of the South for the better, too. You don't have to live everyday in pain. Did you know that?! Really. I mean it. There is an oil for that. Haha, sorry I couldn't resist. Ok, I'm not sorry. These oils have changed my life and for the better, cause you know what? It is not just about the oils, it is about the community and the connections and the people. I am so Overwhelmed that God is using me, little ol' me, this battle scarred, messed up, abused, condescending person and turn me into the woman who can't stop smiling. But you know what? I'd be crazy to not be okay with that, and I'm not quite that crazy...

Homemade Laundry Soap

I've blogged about making laundry detergent before

Originally Here

and updated here

But I wasn't completely satisfied with the recipes I'd been using, that and I kinda got bored with it.

I'm sure that just shocked your socks off, right? Me, get bored? Nah!

So, handy dandy pinterest came to my rescue again when I couldn't remember which computer, and where on which computer, I had saved the link to. I'm not one to follow recipes exactly. I don't know why. It's like a challenge issued me by the recipe writer daring me to vary from the written edict by even one iota. Have I mentioned I'm a bit OCD about some things? And yes, I'm sure there is an oil for that!

So what does this amazing, spectacular new recipe include?

I'm so glad you asked!

                    Borax                                                                                       Washing Soda

Go here to read what wiki has to say                                   Go here to read a good description

Octagon soap

& Fels-Naptha soap

For a brief history on Octagon soap, go here. To give you an idea of how long this wonder soap has been around, my great-grandmother used this soap to wash all of her laundry. I still flash back to her kitchen and back porch each time I open a bar! I love that I'm passing that on to my kids...

If you want to know what wiki has to say about Fels-Naptha, the soap with the weird name, go here.

And last, but oh, certainly not least in my life: Thieves!

Go here to read what in the world Thieves is and then

go here with the magic #1434897 to get you some (only if you want to!)

Now step one is to cut up those soap bars into chunks that will fit into your food processor. If you don't have a food processor, that is fine, just grate the soap with a cheese grater or something like that. The smaller the pieces the better.

 My soap waiting to be grated.

I suggest using the pulse button and opening the lid away from your face after grating, or the "smoke" will go up in your face and make you choke while your little girl looks on laughing, threatening to blow on it to make it make more "smoke". Or something similar might happen, not that it is what happened to me or anything.

          The soap pulverized

This is what the soap looked like once I put it into a mixing bowl

The next step is to add the Borax and Washing Soda.

I used

1 c. of Borax

1 c. of Washing Soda

To this mix I added about ten drops of Thieves essential oil and mixed

and mixed until there were no clumps left.

For each load of laundry use 1 tablespoon

Yep! Only 1 tablespoon!

The only step left is to find a pretty jar to put your new Laundry Soap in!

Easy! Peasy!

Normally I would have used a clear glass jar, so I could see how much I have left and know when to make more. However, I moved these canisters out of the kitchen and like the look of them with the antique curtain over the window that was a pink tablecloth edged in green in its former life. Eventually (glad there is no time limit in the definition of that word!) I will finish pulling together all of the elements of the laundry room to give it a shabby chic look, using these canisters, the curtain and an antique, quirky drying rack hanging on the wall for our delicates to dry on. Yep, eventually....

Homemade Dryer Sheets-With Update!

Homemade Dryer Sheets? Who knew, right?
Let's just say pinterest has forever changed my life! I spend hours on pinterest, so much so I think there should be a twelve step program or something, but it wouldn't matter because I'd go right back to using pinterest! Haha! I'm a pinterestjunkie!
But there are some really good things on pinterest, and I decided it was about time to stop just pinning and actually make some of the stuff I have pinned! At this point my husband is probably hoping I stay away from my garden spaces board or my design style board to prevent him from having a mile long list of things to do with pallets and mason jars!
Hence, the dryer sheets...

Here is what you need:

Distilled White Vinegar

A Clean Cotton Rag or T-shirt

A Glass Jar with a Tight Fitting Lid

A Cutting Mat/Rotary Cutter or Scissors

The Young Living Essential Oil of your choice

(If you want to know more about Young Living and essential oils, email me at spiceyourspace@yahoo.com)

 When you get all of your items together,
fold the rag, towel, or t-shirt you have chosen to sacrifice for the betterment of your cleaning supplies. Take your rotary cutter or scissors and cut the cotton into rectangles. Size and shape really don't matter. Cut the strips into hearts, stars, or monkeys if you want!!!!! No laundry police will come knocking at your door, I promise!

So what's next?

Remember the glass jar part? Yeah, a jar like this one.

I got mine at the dollar store. Use a mason jar if you want, just something that has a close fitting lid

Word of Caution: If using any kind of citrus essential oil, do not, I repeat, do not use plastic! Citrus essential oils, ex. lemon, lime, grapefruit, etc eat away at the toxins in plastic and corrode it. You don't want your earth friendly project to go to be not so earth or home friendly!

So back to the jar...

Place 1 to 1  1/2 cups of the Vinegar in your jar

Add 5+ drops of Citrus Fresh by Young Living

(or whatever other Young Living oil you choose)

Swish

Swish

yeah I said swish 

Next, put your cut up rags in the jar

Fiddle them around (I apologize if my terms are getting to technical here)

Make certain all of the rags are damp, if not add a little more vinegar

Close the lid snugly

Voila!

 Now how do you use these thingamajiggers?

                                                                                     Simply take one portion of the rag, and place in with your load of wet clothes in the dryer. Use the normal settings you normally use. When the load is done, simply take the rag section out of the dryer and put back into the glass jar to reuse again and again! Simple!!

For those looking for economical solutions to your housekeeping duties, this certainly qualifies! I already had the vinegar, I already had the essential oil for other uses, and I already had the rag, so for me this project only cost $1 for the jar. Plus I get to keep using these over and over! Lovely! I've used these already, and have to say I really like them. You may find you can't dry on as high a heat, but that is really bad for your clothes anyway, breaking down the fibers over time.

There are other reasons to go this route. I won't bore you with citations and sites spouting info, but in this past year I have read several times and have heard that commercial fabric softener dryer sheets contain carcinogenics, and ingredients that can instigate asthmatic symptoms, and irritate the skin. What??????! You mean I am putting potentially harmful substances up against my body and the bodies of my family just so our clothes can be softer and smell good? Um, no thank you. I kind of like being alive. And, I know from firsthand (or left breast) experience that cancer ain't fun to go through! I want to make my children safe, not induce skin irritants or asthma or cancer cells into their bodies!

This was the main reason I chose to try this route. Once I started reading labels and paying attention to what we are putting in our homes and in our bodies, I've discovered way too many things that are harmful which I have taken for granted as a necessity when actually it was me buying into commercial pressure. Even if you change only one thing for the health of your family, I challenge you to do so. Take one step for change, for health, for making a difference in the health of your family. Afterall, they are kind of worth it!!

Update:
Since this post has gotten so many hits, I thought I'd give you an update on how the homemade dryer sheets are working out for us.

• Number 1- the hubs is not a fan. Just thought I'd be honest with you!! 
• The MIL and I really like them, though. However, I would like to make some amendments: 
• I would add more drops of the Citrus Fresh essential oil, and at least one drop of Purification to get rid of the stinky odors that somehow infect our bath towels and sheets. Maybe its just us and we're stinky people, but I choose to cite that we have two dogs. Just sayin'. 
• The other change would be slightly larger pieces. Not too much bigger, but a little more so.
• The last thing is really just a note for you: when you get a load out of the dryer, put the dryer sheet right back in the jar. Don't stockpile them, then put a bunch in at once. You end up with really soggy pieces and dry-er pieces. I have found it works best for me to put each one in as it comes out of the dryer and put it down in the bottom of the jar, by wedging it in with my fingers. 
• When your sheets get too dry, simply make up more of the solution and pour over the dryer sheets, but add the essential oil to the vinegar before pouring it over the rags dryer sheets.

Hope you are all enjoying your new dryer sheets and saving lots of money on this venture!

Living with Essential Oils-Allergic Reactions and Mouthwash

I've decided to change up the way I've been doing the blog a bit, to avoid boredom. Oh, you may not be bored; if you aren't then I feel much better, something I'm doing must be entertaining. However, I am getting bored with it. I mean, all I'm doing is describing my day, hour by hour to you. How can you stand that?!!! LOL Don't get me wrong, I love my life. I love living it. I love having it to live. But I've already lived through whatever I'm posting about so its kinda redundant to me. Remember I told you I get bored easily and have issues with carrying things through to completion, but as far as I am concerned my family will be using essential oils the rest of our natural lives, so that is a bit much for me to blog about day in and day out without going certified crazy! Notice, I specified certified? That is probably one of the only reasons people read about my life (other than wanting to know more about using essential oils) is because there is something about reading the screw-ups of someone crazier than you that makes one feel at least a teensy bit normal. Haha

One of the reasons for the change up is that I've got a few other projects going on. I always do, I'm notorious for reading several books at a time, doing several projects at a time, and always having a few figurative irons in the fire. One particular project I will also be blogging about soon, so as to not spend hours per day doing nothing but blogging, I will post about our lives using essential oils probably once a week to highlight, well, the highlights. That will free me up to post about some upcycling I've been doing with things from my closet, my sewing stash and the thrift store. My body is shaped a lot differently now than it was, so clothes don't exactly fit correctly, so I've been changing up some things I already have and getting some new-to-me things to alter. I can't wait to post about them! Just to give a hint, I turned a dress with a too-tight bodice into a skirt for me and a tube top for Mercy. I'm also redoing a few things in our kitchen, which takes time, and may end up being a few more blog posts.

So since its been far too long since I've posted I'll try to give you a quick run down of some of the things we've done.

I made some mouthwash. I guess I should say I made two mouthwashes. The first one was just warm water with sea salt and a drop of Thieves essential oil in a glass bottle with a lid. The second was based on one I saw in a book called Aromatherapy, a lifetime guide to healing with essential oils by Valerie Gennari Cooksley. 

It had one cup of strong chamomile tea, brewed. Take a teaspoon of honey and add two drops of Peppermint essential oil (remember to only use oils you can ingest, like Young Living oils, message me at spiceyourspace@yahoo.com to order any at my price), one drop of Tea Tree oil and 2 drops of Lavender essential oil to the honey. Then add the honey mixture to the chamomile tea. Adding the essential oils to the honey first causes the honey to act as a carrier and allow the essential oils to mix with the liquid of the tea. Otherwise they will just float. Store this mixture in an airtight bottle out of sunlight and shake well before each use. 

You could also add Fennel essential oil and Geranium essential oil, but I didn't have either of those two, so I couldn't use them. You can't drink or eat for twenty minutes after using this mouthwash according to the book.I should have added a drop of Thieves into this mixture, but didn't think about it at the time. I will on the next round though, because the Thieves has really helped with the tooth pain I'd been having. I was even able to eat a honey bun (I know! It's processed food, but it was so good!) without doubling over in pain, tears streaming down my face. It didn't hurt at all, matter of fact.

Another thing I've done is get an organic tooth soap from a company I'm a fan of here in our local area. The owner is a fellow homeschooler and my son just adores her candles (especially the quirky robot shaped one he slept with for an entire year); alas she has moved to Georgia, but she has an internet site, Cheeky Maiden Soaps. This tooth soap is made with clove essential oil, which helps numb mouth pain, and also has coconut oil in it. I love it, because it foams up when you use it and its not overly abrasive. This with the mouthwash is really good, although not the bestest tastin' stuff around according to Tim and John. My mother-in-law bought the mint version and really likes the taste of it.

John has had several scrapes lately. He is a boy afterall! Although I wish he was as indestructive as the rubber he seems to think he is. We've been using the same Lavender essential oil diluted with olive oil that we use on the kids at night to help them sleep, to apply to John's scrapes and they've looked a lot better and takes the sting out of it, which prevents the cry fest that sometimes accompanies said scrapes.

Mercy has had a few more stomachaches, hiccups, and gas pains that the Peppermint essential oil diluted in olive oil has helped with. She has also had a struggle with concentrating on her schoolwork here lately. I'm sure its because we are so near the end of the school year, but we certainly don't want her to bring down her good average with a few bad grades. She has been using Peppermint and Frankincense essential oils behind her ears and across her toes to help her focus and concentrate. Even this afternoon, I saw a significant difference after she had applied it. I just wish I had thought of it earlier in the day!!!

I have also been using Frankincense on my surgical scar from where I had my mastectomy last August. Frankincense isn't cheap, but I got a 5ml bottle of it in the starter kit I bought. Normally I wouldn't use something so “expensive” on a scar (I've got plenty of others to prove this point) however, this particular scar I need to stretch as far as it will go when I have reconstruction, so to me it is a safe and sound application of it. Frankincense is supposed to fade scars significantly and many women have raved about how it decreases under eye circles and puffiness. I haven't tried that yet, but I may.

Between the bath scrub I posted about before and the Frankincense, my scar is flat, without ridges and smooth. I do hope this helps when I have my next surgery. Hopefully the doctor won't tell me my skin is too soft and smooth! Lol

Several days ago I took around the yard and pulled a few weeds. Then two days ago I went out to my square foot garden (I have two boxes) to weed them for the vegetable plants I unintentionally bought (I got eight plants for less than eight bucks!). Something that I came into contact with caused a stinging, burning rash on my inner forearms. Yes, I wore gloves. But that didn't protect me and my uncovered arms. I also got some in my eyes and nose because my eyes started itching horribly and I was sneezing, sneezing, sneezing. Then the inside of my nose started itching like ants were crawling all inside it and stinging and biting as they went in circles. I was miserable! I washed off, but the damage was done. I have no idea what the weed was, but I know it was not stinging nettle. This weed's habit was like baby's breath, but with thicker, bright green stalks that stuck to you like glue. It also had yellow flowers instead of white.

I applied Lavender to my arms and immediately the stinging and burning stopped. If I hadn't of been so uncomfortable it might have been kind of neat. The other two things I didn't really know what to do about because it can be dangerous to use essential oils too close to the eyes or mucus membranes according to all of the warnings I see over and over. I took Lavender internally with Peppermint and Lemon in a capsule and applied Lavender behind my ears and on the inside of my cheek. I also applied Purification to my neck and Thieves on my chest. I was determined to beat this stuff, but the next morning I was still rubbing my eyes violently and sneezing. My nose was even worse. The inside felt singed and quite like my tongue felt during chemo last year; burnt. I continued using the Lavender topically and internally. My energy was gone, too. Like all of the sneezes were ripping my energy right out of me. I slept and slept like before I started all of these oils, but my body was tired of it all. I finally ended up taking some tylenol sinus to help all the oils get a hold and eradicate whatever that weed was. From what I read, the first time your body comes into contact with something it sees as a virus it develops a reaction to fight it, producing histamine. The next time you come into contact with it, your body will most likely respond with more symptoms. Hence my second reaction, apparently. Most people just call it hay fever, hives, or rhinitis. I called it misery.

I discovered something in this Aromatherapy book, though. It was a nasal soother. One part warmed toasted sesame oil, one drop of Tea Tree oil, and two parts pure vitamin E oil. Mix together and swab inside the nostrils with a q-tip. Some of these things are like being a kid seeing the circus for the first time. You think it couldn't possibly work, but somehow it does, and it is amazing and incredible and leaves stars in your eyes. I might not have had stars in my eyes, but I was certainly amazed at how instantly, instantly people, my nose was fine. I do have to admit the smell of toasted sesame oil inside of my nose was weird, really weird and the smell came back each time I subsequently had to blow my nose (another weird) but I was okay with that if the pain and torment was gone. This is one treatment I plan to use again if ever necessary.

The eye thing I never really figured out what to do about, but use a cold compress and use my prescription eye drops. Maybe I'll come across something in the future, but I most certainly am going to try to keep away from the un-named weed!

I even got a book from the library about gluten free living. I don't think we're really ready for that step yet, but little by little we are kind of heading that direction with the diabetic diet. I really like a lot of the recipes for diabetics, even though I am not one. Grandma is, and so we all are pretty much on board for that train, except maybe more sweets than she is supposed to eat. I love just about all kinds of food, especially indian, chinese, japanese, and other asian foods, which is among some of the healthiest given the amount of vegetables and fresh foods. Tim is having to grit is teeth and smile through this, cause there isn't so much meat and starch as there once was and he doesn't like too many vegetables. But I do win some, like chickpeas. Everybody in the house likes chickpeas. Score!!!! May God grant me patience in searching for more healthy things my family will eat!

Living with Essential Oils-Body Scrub Recipe

Tuesday. I got on here to talk about Tuesday and now I'm sitting with the laptop trying to remember what in the world happened on Tuesday. It was just yesterday! How can I have already forgotten? And yeah, I do know there is an oil for that. I may not recall yesterday well, but I'm learning all about essential oils, baby!!!!

Oh yeah, I started the day with Peppermint essential oil behind my ears to help wake me up, along with a cup of coffee. This time I didn't end up with Lavender flavored coffee by putting a drop of Lavender on the inside of my cheek (for allergy relief) and then taking a sip of my coffee. Ick! Yeah, take it from me, don't do that.

Tim drank water flavored by Peppermint essential oil, which he now loves. It gets rid of belly fat, curbs cravings (so much so that I have to sometimes remind myself to eat), gives energy, is a mood-lifter, helps concentration, relieves heartburn and stomach problems just to name a few things. I think it pumped Tim full of energy because before I knew it he was out the door to go do a project and he took two bottles of Peppermint water with him. I love how these oils are effecting our family! We've even almost succeeded in getting the kids and Tim off sodas. Before, we've had a huge problem when we are out trying to find something to drink, and usually end up resorting to soda to get something cold and flavored when we run out of our water that we take with us. But we are trying to rely more on VitaminWater and Fuze in those cases.

Tuesday I finally attacked the kitchen with my mind full of ideas, although I didn't get as far as I had intended.  I took the blinds down, cleaned the floors, and kept getting distracted by regular kitchen duties. I have plans, though, for a ceiling hung pot rack and an island that has a fold out leaf for a table at the window seat. I also have to make new covers for the window seat cushions. They came with the house and are ugly, ugly, ugly. However, we do upcycle so one of the covers became a new dog bed for Belle when I filled it with polyester stuffing and some quilt batting.

The most important part of the day was getting a lot of school work done with the kids. Woohoo! That little pesky worm of worry was not allowed any room in my stomach. Mercy and I got five lessons of English done. Maybe by the end of the school year she will have gotten another unit or two in. One can hope!

One thing I've forgotten to mention is this wonderful body scrub I've been using in the shower. It is about 1/2 a cup of coconut oil, 1/8 cup of salt, and 1/8 cup of sugar with two drop of Peppermint essential oil and one drop of Lemon essential oil. I use it all over, except my face, and even use it as a shaving cream on my legs. Because of having the mastectomy last August, I have to keep the area my breast use to be supple for when I have reconstruction at my next mastectomy, so my skin will stretch well. This body scrub has benefited my skin so much, I haven't had to apply lotion as often, and my skin is still smooth and soft! Plus I know with the oils coming from such a reputable company, the essential oils are only going to benefit my skin and not harm it. I however, could not have done this while getting radiation or chemo because of how the coconut oil interacts with treatment. Now it is safe though.

I also got desperate and put a drop of Thieves on a q-tip and swirled it around my gums where they hurt. It is not as numbing as Orajel, but I can also feel my tongue with Thieves and not with Orajel. Isn't it annoying how no matter how hard you try with that stuff, you always get some on your tongue or the corner of your mouth and then your drink starts dribbling down your chin? No, never happened to you? Well aren't you just all kinds of special!! It certainly felt better after using the Thieves, but once again it is not a one time cure-all, just like tylenol isn't. You have to take otc pain killers every 4-6 hours and topical relievers just as often. Thieves I don't really have to worry about overdosing on, either. I'm sold! Literally. Bought the kit and everything. Our next order is supposed to be here tomorrow and it is going to be sooooooo wonderful!!!!!

Well, I can't remember anything else about yesterday right now, so I'm going to pack it in for the night and go read a good book. Have a great one, everybody!

Day 17 & 18 of Living with Essential Oils-How Oils Helped Me With Spring Cleaning

Did you miss me? Tell me no lies. My little bit of crazy makes you feel more normal. Come on, admit it! Because you missed me so much, even if you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, you get doubly blessed this post by me ranting and raving about not one, but two days of using essential oils and all the other amazing things that have happened to us in the past two days. Have I mentioned that this God I love and serve is pretty awesome?

I decided to take the day off of posting on Sunday. If God rested on the 7th day, then I guess I can make myself do so too. Notice I said "make". Yeah, even after the whole cancer thing laid me on my butt I still haven't gotten the whole "rest" thing as well as I should. It's this little thing called guilt. It's tiny, and starts out as this little wormy thing wriggling around in the pit of your stomach, and the next thing you know this tiny thing has taken over and is a big ol' whopping weight on your shoulders, holding you down and holding you back. Pesky! Almost as a bad as a bratty younger sister. Never had one of those myself, but I'm told I was really great at being one. I know I tried!

Ok, so Sunday. Church. Can I just say awesome! I might be a little biased, since it is my church after all, and I must like it at least somewhat to be going there, but yeah, it was great. Especially considering our senior pastor was out of town and someone else was preaching. You know that moment I'm talking about! When the pastor you love and listen to raptly announces someone is filling in for him, and you get that sinking oh feeling in the pit of your stomach (along with that wriggling worm of worry that's probably hanging out down there, too) and you quickly make plans to be anywhere else but at church listening to someone who bores your socks off. So didn't have that moment Sunday! Pastor Jerome' did a great job, not only with leading our great music team (as always!), but also in preaching. He spoke about how we are God's treasure and He loves us just for us (cue JJ Heller song!). He also gave us this great big world to enjoy and use and be a part of. Everyone is given this chance, this opportunity, this enjoyment. However, not all of us let our light shine in the midst of the darkness, even though light always, always, always overtakes the darkness. To prove his point, we each lit votives off of one flame, and soon the whole place seemed to be filled with light, beautiful, glowing light.

I've still been dealing with allergies. Sunday, it was due to dust more than anything. Isn't it awful how quickly that stuff can build up?! I mean, I don't have dust bunnies eating all my carrots or anything, but still! Before we went to church, I swiped the inside of my cheek with a dab of Lavender essential oil from Young Living essential oils (the only one I know about that is safe to ingest). This put the EO almost straight into my system to quiet down those little histamines trying to cause a ruckus in my face. Then I drank some of my coffee with mocha creamer. Not so smart. I ended up with Lavender flavored, mocha flavored coffee. Just plain weird. Got rid of my allergies, but still weird.

I feel like all I talk about sometimes is God, homeschooling, essential oils and hand crafts. So if you've never met me and you end up someday having a conversation with me, I apologize in advance. I don't tend to run out of words, either. Could you tell? My pages long blog posts didn't give you a clue? Let's just say I am articulate. Or someone in my family could tell you of the time in kindergarten where I played an American Indian (I am a card carrying Cherokee, btw) named Babbling Brook. Which they threatened to give me as my "Indian" name when I became part of the tribe.

I answered questions about the essential oils at church, because apparently someone out there actually reads what I write! (Lord bless them!) I feel like I did my first year homeschooling Mercy when it comes to the essential oils: I have no clue what I'm doing! What do you do when you don't know what you're doing? You ask someone who does know what they're doing! And that is where my new-found, some old-found, friends at the lemon drop lounge (www.thelemondroplounge.com) come in. There is all kind of information over there. I even have a pdf file on my tablet that tells me 101 uses for the oils in the starter kit(there is actually more, but still). My friend Josie (whose crazy fun husband did the service Sunday at church) is the one who got me hooked up with the lemon droppers and now I am one! I should find a badge to pin here to my blog, that is if I can remember how to do that. I'm not exactly tech savvy. I have two cousins and another friend for that.

When we got home from church I guzzled down a glass or two of water with Lemon essential oil added to it. It is like drinking fresh, summer sunshine. Ahhh!

I expected for the kids to still be somewhat upset about the whole Lilly episode on Saturday (see previous post), but both of them have been calm and mentioned her like she was a well-loved deceased family member to reminisce about. Kids are just astounding! I'm so proud of the way they have handled this. If it had been me going through that at their age, there would've been lots more crying and tantrums, I assure you. It is by God's grace that they are this way, because I know it's not through me. If it were, they would be two rather screwed up little kids. Considering everything, I think they're doing pretty well.

Our nightly oils on Sunday were the same as normal, but I'll mention them at the bottom of this post(its not the never-ending post, I promise) for Monday night.

On to Monday. I liked Monday. I'm glad it came by, for it was fairly rewarding for me. Except the part where no actual schoolwork was done by either child. There is that wormy guilt again, folks! Anyway, back to Monday. I woke up before 9am (its a miracle!) with the help of Peppermint essential oil, which wakes me up like a good kick of caffeine when rubbed behind my ears (it tingles, too!) and it helps my sinuses not clog up if those annoying chain effect sneezes happen or my allergies kick me harder than the caffeine effect of the Peppermint. I also used some Lavender on my neck and (diluted in evoo) on the bottom eye bones while I watched Perry Mason. This helps keep the allergy monster at bay. And in case you were wondering Perry Mason won his case and Paul Drake still said "Hello, Beautiful," to Della Street.

Tim and his mom had to go do errands, including an appointment for Grandma at the dentist (so glad it wasn't me!) and on her off day, no less. I ended up spending almost all of Sunday afternoon on Pinterest, reorganizing my boards and finding lots and lots of new pins. Can you say obsessed?! The interior designer in me came out roaring with enthusiasm a few times (so did the sewing extraordinaire) with new ideas spurring me on. The Valor and Peace and Calming must have worked especially well Sunday night, because I managed to fall asleep well before midnight, even with all those ideas going through my head. By Monday morning, I had the whole kitchen redone in my head, using only reclaimed and recycled materials. Yep. Scary Good.

Even though I planned to tackle the kitchen with some of my new ideas, I somehow ended up starting in my bedroom. I blame it on the Peppermint. That thing ingested me with a turbo engine or something, cause I went around like the Energizer bunny for most of the day! First I took another idae from a Pinterest pin and combined four drops of Lavender essential oil, three drops Thieves essential oil, and about two cups of baking soda (by this baby in bulk; it is such a handy thing to have around!) into a glass jar with a metal lid and shook up the mixture until it was blended. Putting the oil in the bottom makes the baking soda stick to the jar, so I layered the b.k. in, then a few drops of EO, then more b.k., etc. While my sheets were washing in the washer (with a drop of Thieves diluted in white vinegar in the fabric softener spot) I sprinkled my baking soda mixture over my mattress topper and mattress using a sieve. I set my timer for an hour, at which point I came back with my vacuum and hose attachment, sucking all that white powder up. John didn't pay attention when his mommy told him not to get on her bed or mattress topper because of the white stuff taking all the yucky out of it, and he ended up getting a mouthful of it when he plopped down face first on the mattress. I was too busy laughing to be able to stop him when he ran out of the room and preceded to wipe his mouth on the carpet. Yes, on the floor. Silly boy hasn't quite grasped the use of hand towels yet. But there is time yet.

After I vacuumed the mattresses I sprinkled more stuff on the carpet and on the dog's bed (which she wasn't too sure about, bless her heart). I dusted, I wiped down doors and blinds, vents and counters. I put a drop of Lavender essential oil on each blade of my ceiling fan to circulate the smell through the air. I fluffed pillows, put clean sheets on the bed, did three loads of clothes, put them all up plus two more loads I had somehow not gotten around to (gasp!). I moved furniture from our room, and furniture to our room. I vacuumed (don't tell my doctor). I hung a canopy our daughter isn't using at the moment (but promised she would want back soon) above our bed and gave our room an overall french/shabby chic look. It worked together well, considering not one piece in our room (except the mattress) did we buy. They were all inherited or given to us, including the tv! The Lord, from whom all blessings flow!

Our bedroom has now been cleaned thoroughly for until after my next surgery. I'll just have to do maintenance until then, something that helps me rest easier knowing I won't be trapped in a messy room.

Even after all of these things, I had enough energy to fix supper. We had baked ziti. It was delicious! If I mentioned here that it had tofu in it, my husband won't be too happy, but he didn't care for it anyway and he didn't (for once) ask what it had in it. I'm not denying it, but I'm not admitting it either. Love you all kind of special, honey!

I also have had some mouth pain that has gotten worse here of late. I also figured out why. I had a tooth extracted in November when I was getting radiation, and it wasn't removed well. Now that area sends shooting pain through that whole side of my mouth. So I tried this thing called "pulling" (don't ask me, I'm new here remember). I used a teaspoon of coconut oil with a drop of Thieves (it has cloves in it which deadens gum pain I know that from The Murder on the Orient Express when Poirot knows a suspect used it for "de mouth pain") and swished it around and around in my mouth for as long as I could stand it (about ten minutes) before spitting it out and rinsing. It helped some, but I need to do it more often from what I've read, until this pain is gone. I do not, do not, do not want to go back to a dentist anytime soon. The enamel on my crazy crooked teeth has been worn down horribly from the effects of chemo and maybe even radiation. My gums are super sore, too. Hopefully the Thieves will help all that and I can keep on ignoring the dentist for a while longer. One can hope!!!!

Also, an update on the Thieves we used in the white vinegar on the water spots on our ceiling. Yeah, we can't tell a difference. I'm sure it has helped with the whole killing bacteria thing, but the discoloration is there. Tim plans to spray bleach on it one day when I'm gone, since it makes me try to hack up my lungs for some reason, not that bleach is exactly user friendly anyway.

My Monday ran out of steam at precisely 8:30pm and I went to bed, complete with oils. I haven't gone to bed that early since I don't know when! I'm a natural night owl (which can be annoying when your husband is an early bird, but neither of us wish to change our ways) so going to bed early is weird for me. My kids were watching something in my room, so I just curled up next to them and was out. Later I was inadvertently awoken by my husband and thought it would probably take forever for me to go back to sleep, since it normally does (he goes to sleep in like 3 seconds, mean old man!). However, in less than thirty minutes I had gone back to sleep and slept all night, without waking several times which has been known to happen on a regular basis (that is pre-essential oils).

Maybe we should stop calling these the "snake oils" (my husband's term) and "voodoo oils" (once again, my husband's christening) and start calling them the wonder oils. I'm amazed at how much energy I've had lately without giving out. Don't get me wrong, I still have to rest and rest a lot, but nothing like in January or February or March. I can't wait for my order to get here that has more vegetable capsules in it, so we can get back to taking the essential oils internally besides just the Lemon and Peppermint in our water and tea. Grandma has even started putting a drop of Peppermint on her tongue to prevent heartburn and to promote energy during the day.

Our nightly oils were:
kids-Valor on the feet to promote sleep, courage, and bravery. Peace and Calming on the shoulders to induce relaxation and promote peace. Lavender on the neck to promote sleep and reduce allergies.
Grandma-Valor on the feet to relieve sleep apnea and arthritis. Peace and Calming on the shoulders to induce relaxation. Purification on the chest to help her breathe better. Lavender on the neck and temples to promote sleep and relieve allergies.
Tim-Valor on the feet to relieve sleep apnea and arthritis.
Silly Me-Valor on the feet for relief of bursitis and arthritis and on the jaw for TMJ and teeth grinding. Peace and Calming on the shoulders to induce calm. Thieves on the chest to prevent bacteria and cause I like its smell! Lavender on the neck and temples to relieve stress, promote sleep, and prevent allergies and migraines.

I wish there was a prize for whoever makes it to the bottom of this post! That I haven't bored you to tears is so endearing. My heart just went pitter-patter...

Day#14 of Living with Essential Oils-How an 8 yr old Can Use Oils

Day#14 did began very, very well; if you can call waking up to your big ol' dog barfing as a good start. We have a rule in this house. Whether or not my husband agrees to said rule, either. I can handle many, many things. Blood, guts, hunting deer, plucking chickens, cleaning toilets, nursing children through the night, even surgery! However, vomit is on a totally different level and one I can not aspire to reach. shudder I got the dog outside and even brought Tim the rags to clean it up, but that is as far as this woman goes! Even if it is our children. Mommy loves you dearly, but if you start hurling, dear child, Mommy will be running out of the room to keep from experiencing the monster gag reflex that takes over Mommy's throat and makes her tummy roll over like a dead possum. Yep, Mommy is brave! How nice of you to notice and not point how ridiculous Mommy can be sometimes!

I put a drop of Thieves essential oil on Belle's dog bed before I flopped back into the bed to leave my wonderful husband to clean up the vomit. He's mine, you can't have him. I know I've got a great thing going with him! Anyway, the Thieves will help get rid of airborne bacteria and helps it smell much better. I don't know about you, but the smell of cloves, lemon, etc is much, much better than vomit!

When I awoke, it was near 11 o'clock. Yes, in the a.m. Not everyone is perfect! Nor is everyone a morning person! Honestly though, I woke up to sneezing. Not my most favorite way to wake up to the world for the day, but I've experienced worst. My sweet daughter came into the room and said, “What helps with sneezing?”. I answered Lavender and Peppermint, which she brought me to apply. Once I had applied, she put the oils back for me. I don't know who taught her such helpfulness and willingness to serve! I love that little girl's heart! She was a chatterbox today, more so than normal. Throughout the day of talky talky talky, she told me the different oils she or someone else needed to use. When it was time for schoolwork, she put on a little Frankincense and some Peppermint to help with clarity and concentration, after she had informed me that is what she needed to, that is. She went running for the Peppermint instead of a Pepto tablet when she had some stomach cramps later on. Within moments of applying it, she was better, saying, “This stuff really works!” There is the testimonial of an eight-year-old, folks! You can't get better than that. Seeing the changes in my kids is enough to be willing to buy the kit of essential oils from Young Living all over again, even if for just the change for the better in their sleeping habits.

During this day, I've really struggled with feeling down in the dumps. I'm not one to cry. I actually hate to cry, and will avoid it whenever possible, but I felt like I could've just crawled into God's lap and had a big ol' cry. There were some expectations I had held, concerning how others perceived me or evaluated me that I felt inadequate in. And this feeling of inadequacy was wearing on me heavily. I've journeyed through a really rough time these past two years and had to overcome living my life based on someone else's views and expectations of me and spreading my own wings to how God wishes me to fly. I know my self worth is not tied up in what someone else thinks of me, only what God thinks. I know that if these things I'm concerned with don't happen, it is because they are not right for me and God has something better planned. It is not the end of the world. It is just emotions. Haha. It is not so easy to believe those things sometimes, though. I've felt desperate today. I think sometimes God needs us to get desperate so that we don't get stuck in the doldrums and become stagnant. Though sometimes it takes a hurricane to get us out of the stagnant place. I'm not at a hurricane moment, just one that is the vine being pruned, I think.

With this inner turmoil going on, and knowing it was also a spiritual thing, and emotional thing, I put on Frankincense to lift my spirits and Peppermint to give me a boost, mentally and physically. I also used Lemon to buoy my spirits, along with, most importantly, some prayer. Now I wasn't able to run races today, or even make a nice dinner like I was able to last night. I'm sure I was snippy, and snappy, and surly at times. I'm not perfect and these oils are not a fix-it-all, but prayer is. God knows what is going on. He will prevail where my strength would only fail. I love the comfort that the oils bring me, though.

It was also heartening to hear Mercy tell her Grandma what EO she should use before they went for a walk after supper. I let Mercy put the oils on her and John tonight (although a tickle/laughing fest resulted), because last night she was telling me which one was which and asking me to clarify what each one was for. I'm impressed by her interest and aptitude. It is certainly important what we teach our children, for when they are older they won't depart from those ways. I'd rather teach my children to investigate products, ways of living, and alternative means to the traditional medicines than to teach them to rely on what the doctors, media and commercials tell them they should buy and use for their whole lives. It just might be that my daughter and my son do not have cancer visit them (because it won't, by the prayers prayed already) because the prayers of their parents were supported by a lifestyle of essential oils instead of chemicals, toxic free living instead of living a toxic life. I'm willing to learn how to live this lifestyle with the hope of what it can do for my children long term. It is also another reason we must be guided by prayer in all that we do.

Nightly oils:

Mercy put Valor on her and John's feet, Peace and Calming on their shoulders, and Lavender on their necks.

Grandma used Valor on her feet, Peace and Calming on her shoulders, Lavender on her neck and Purification on her chest.

I used Valor on my feet and on my jaw, Peace and Calming on my shoulders, Lavender on my neck and temples, and Thieves on my chest.

Tim fell asleep before all of this so the only way he'll get some is if he starts snoring so horribly I can't stand it and I attack him and his feet! lol