5 Essential Oils for Cleaning (Chemical Free)

Did you know that most retail cleaning products contain chemicals? Of course you do! But did you know that a majority of those chemicals are considered harmful? The industry isn't really well regulated and often the laws that are in place allow manufactures to hide hidden ingredients in "fragrance" or "perfume" even if it's considered "all natural". BOOOO!!!!

Did you know that 96% of air fresheners are derived from petroleum? The EPA lists the 4 most common ingredients in air fresheners as formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, p- dichlorobenzene, and aerosol propellants. YAY! That should smell amazing, right?!

If you want to find out what's in your cleaning products, you can go to the EWG's Guide to Healthy Cleaning to see how your cleaning products rate. I know when I first found this site I was shocked at how badly my "organic" and "green" cleaning products scored! That's why I became determined to make my own DIY cleaning products for my family!

5 Essential Oil Storage Solutions

I have gotten a lot of emails lately asking about how to store essential oils for travel or just for every day use.  Lucky for you, I'm completely obsessed with essential oil and I have about 10 different storage solutions at my house. Some of them I love, some of them I'm okay with and some of them I would never recommend (don't get the tacky plastic tower one-- I don't know what I was thinking).

Let me show you some of my favorite essential oil storage solutions for every day use, long weekends, travel/storage, and for the home diffuser, too!

Ultra Moisturizing Spearmint-Citrus Lip Balm

This winter I've had seriously dry lips! I went on vacation and FORGOT my lip balm {gasp} and I was seriously in pain from the winter dry lip curse. Horrible!!!

As soon as I got home I made this DIY lip balm recipe which is ultra moisturizing to help relieve dry lips and create a really soothing, nourishing feeling.

Ultra Moisturizing Spearmint-Citrus Lip Balm
This recipe made 15 tubes of lip balm (with lots of spillage) 

• 2 TBSP Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
• 1 TBSP Shea Butter
• 2 1/2 TBSP Beeswax Pellets
• 1 TBSP Avocado Oil (Organic) or Calendula Oil
• 1/4 tsp Vegetable Glycerin
• 5 drops of Vitamin E
• 12 drops of Citrus Fresh Essential Oils (I recommend this brand)
• 8 drops of Spearmint Essential Oil   (I recommend this brand)
• Empty Lip Balm Tubes Containers

Over a double boiler, melt the coconut oil, shea butter and beewax. Once melted, add the avocado oil, vegetable glycerin, and vitamin E. Remove from heat and add the essential oils. Immediately pour into tins or tubes and let set for up to 12 hours.

4 Uplifting DIY Ideas to Support a Healthy Mood

Who wants to be sad when they can be happy! No one. Well, except maybe my Aunt (not to be named), but she's a special case. {sigh} You have one of those in your family too, right?

So if you're anyone other than THAT person, you may decide that you would rather try to be happy, but it's not always easy. Sometimes we have events in our lives that are just plain sad or maybe we are just normally sad people, but we can all use a little uplifting to help our mood when we experience those kind of emotions.