Kids learn by example. Sometimes you don’t have to say a word and they still watch and learn. And they are pretty good at it.
Our kids share my and my husband’s love for sports and are definitely active above average and I’m so very thankful for that. They also know how important it is to make good choices in health and nutrition. It’s become our new normal if something hurts or they have any other issues, they come to me and ask if I have an oil for it. They don’t ask for a pill or a medical cream but they ask for an oil. You can imagine how happy this makes me.
The other day I ran out of my Thieves soft scrub and my little girl offered right away that she will help me to make a new batch. Since we’ve gone natural in the cleaning department, I don’t have to worry about her touching our cleaning products because everything in it is natural, plant based and without any harsh chemicals. No more gloves when cleaning, no more headaches afterwards from fumes.
In just a few easy steps, the whole process of making the scrub took her about 2 minutes and she was proud that she could do it by herself.
Going natural doesn’t have to be complicated at all and the whole family can be easily involved. Let the kids be kids, let them get messy, curious, experimenting. They will thank you one day.
It’s a win win for everyone.
We are in that season again. The days are getting longer, it’s warmer outside but it also means the mosquitoes are back as well.
We are an outdoor family and spend a lot of time outside; not just hiking or walking our dog but also exercising. On Wednesday while I was waiting for my son to finish his MTB practice in the woods, there were tons of mosquitoes flying around at the parking lot. A friend of mine offered me her OFF bug spray but I got stung anyway and all the time on our way back, I couldn’t smell anything else than the bug spray. So the first thing, when we got home that night, was to look at home for a small glass bottle and a recipe for a natural bug spray.
The next day it was another practice and I was biking in the woods as well. This time I took my new spray to test it out. I was pleasantly surprised, I didn’t got stung once and I loved the smell. Not mentioning that there are no chemicals or anything toxic in the spray.
So here is a recipe to our homemade bug spray:
- 1 oz glass bottle
- pinch of salt
- water
- essential oils: citronella, peppermint, lemongrass, tea tree, lavender, lemon
Put a pinch of salt on the bottom of the bottle, add your essential oils (I did 3-5 drops of each mentioned above), fill with water and you are done. The salt helps the oils to mix better with water. You can use distilled water, I use just filtered tap water, works just fine.
I use Young Living Essential Oils (my personal preference) because I know they are safe to use on skin, they are pure high quality oils.
The cute label on the bottle was made by my little girl. I just love the cute personal touch!
Who doesn’t like a gentle natural way of skin care. This is a re-post from Young Living’s blog .
When it’s time to recover from a long day, it’s best to climb into bed with a fresh face. Scrubbing with ineffective or harsh removers can do more damage than good though, especially near the sensitive eye area where the skin is thinner and more prone to fine lines and irritation.
Instead of harsh makeup removers, opt for gentle DIY makeup remover pads infused with Lavender essential oil. You’ll know exactly what goes into this formula, plus you’ll get the benefits of Lavender’s relaxing aroma. Use the instructions below to add them to your nighttime routine.
DIY Makeup Remover Pads with Lavender from Young Living on Vimeo.
Ok. I have to admit that I have forgotten one thing while getting rid of the toxins in our home…
The air refreshener (crossed out on the photo above) was hidden behind the toilet. The top was covered with dust, it didn’t “smell” anymore and it just looked gross. I pulled it out to just take a photo of it and it went straight into garbage. Just looking at the ingredients makes you wonder; what exactly SCJ formula #35*14785 means? And what about the Dye and Fragrance? Do you know that’s in it? Artificial fragrances are definitely on the Dirty Dozen list which we teach in our classes.
To be honest, how many of you have those in your bathrooms? Well, not us anymore. As I really do care about the health and wellness of my family.
You are probably asking so what do you use for air refreshing? We use our homemade air sprays, which are safe to breath in, and just recently started using this very simple trick which was recommended to me by the awesome ladies in our oil community. Put a few drops of your favourite essential oil into the inside of your toilet roll and every time you roll the paper, the amazing smell will get released into the air. How awesome and simple is that?
We use Young Living‘s oils at home because I trust this company for many reasons I’ve mentioned already in my other posts; but the main thing is their Seed to Seal process. So far I’ve tried Purification in our downstairs bathroom, Citrus Fresh in kids bathroom and Northern Lights in our master bathroom.
So next time when you want to refresh your bathroom or any room at home, just think what you use and how it effects your health.
Air fresheners have become a staple in so many households, marketed with the promise of creating a clean, healthy, and sweet-smelling indoor atmosphere. But many of these products contain phthalates – hazardous chemicals known to cause hormonal abnormalities, birth defects, and reproductive problems.
Phthalates: Health Hazards in Many Forms
Phthalates are used in many common consumer products—to soften plastics in children’s toys, as sealants and adhesives in nail polish, and in perfumes and air fresheners. When people use air fresheners, the phthalates are released into the air where they may be inhaled or may land on the skin and be absorbed. Once these chemicals enter the bloodstream, they can alter hormone levels and cause other health problems.Phthalates are known to interfere with production of the male hormone, testosterone, and have been associated with reproductive abnormalities. Numerous animal studies have linked prenatal exposure to certain phthalates with decreases in testosterone, malformations of the genitalia, and reduced sperm production. The State of California notes that five types of phthalates—including one that we found in air freshener products—are “known to cause birth defects or reproductive harm.” Phthalate exposure in indoor environments has also been associated with allergic symptoms and asthma.
Read this article if you have a spare minute, it is one of hundreds posts about this issue and sadly people have no idea how dangerous are those “nice smelling” sprays they buy at your grocery store.
So are you sure you still want to buy those in the stores?
I am definitely sure that I won’t be buying any of those. Ever. There is much easier and cheaper solution to make your home smell amazing. Homemade air refreshener. You will choose exactly what aroma you want/like and you can change it anytime.
What you need to make your own spray :
- glass spray bottle (amber or any other colour you can get)
- 3-4 drops of pure essential oil (because you want to breath the best you can) – my favourite is Purification, Thieves or Citrus Fresh, Lavender
- pinch of salt
- water
On the bottom of the bottle put a pinch of salt and mix with a few drops of your choice of essential oil (I personally use Young Living essential oils because of their quality which is quaranteed by the Seed to Seal process). It’s totally up to your taste (well, smell buds) what you put into your mix. Then just fill the bottle up with water and that’s it.
If you have any questions, ideas for new homemade things or would like to know more about Young Living essential oils, you can contact me through comments or the Contact tab on the top of the page.
In the next few weeks I will share with you the little steps I’ve made in my process of changing to a less / toxin-free household.
The very first step I’ve made on changing our home to more toxin-free was changing our soaps. Our skin is the biggest organ and a lot of people are not aware of it. It is not only what we put into ourselves (what we eat) but also what we put on ourselves, that’s what can change our health and wellness. We wash our hands so many times during the day and changing the soap can actually make a big difference. And it is such a simple thing to do!
I was born with a very dry skin, the top layer of my skin isn’t able to hold onto moisture. This skin issue has a medical name but I don’t remember it. As a kid my mom took me to dermatologists and they recommended so many different creams, lotions etc but every time I got out of shower or was just washing my hands a lot of times, the skin was always dry and cracked. In the past couple of years the knuckles of my hands cracked and were bleeding a little during the cold months of the year. I was worried every fall that I will go through this for the fall/winter season once again.
I switched all our store bought soaps in every bathroom and at the kitchen sink to the homemade ones in the first week of November, so we have been using them now for more than 3 months. Guess what? My hands are not terribly dry and no cracks! Not a single tear on my skin, no bleeding. Nothing. Zero! And my hands smell absolutely amazing after each washing!!
Funny little story: I gave my homemade soap to a few friends for Christmas. They came over in January and after the kids (boys age 10&11) went to the bathroom to wash their hands I could hear them saying how much they love the smell of it and that they use the same one at home (of course, they do!). The same boys came the next day for my son’s B-day party and after the cake all kids ran into bathroom to wash their hands and the boys were telling to the other ones that they should use this soap because it smells amazing. It made me chuckle a little bit but also very happy that even boys (and in this age) can appreciate the stuff they are putting on themselves.
So how do I made my soaps? It’s very easy. You need:
- foam soap bottle ( I use 8.4 oz | 1 cup | 250ml bottles)
- castille soap (scented or unscented)
- essential oil of your choice
- carrier oil (sweet almond, jojoba, grapeseed
- water (distilled or boiled is the best but I’ve used tap water as well)
Directions:
- fill the bottle up with water about 1 inch from the top
- add 2 tbs to 2 oz (1/4 cup ) of castille soap
- add 1/2 teaspoon of liquid carrier oil
- 3-4 drops of your favorite essential oil
Once you mix everything together, just put the pump head on the bottle and you are ready to go.
Foam soap bottle: on the first photo you can see two different kinds of bottles – one is clear plastic and the other one is amber glass. I use the plastic ones in our bathrooms as there is no direct light exposure and the glass one is sitting on the kitchen desk near our sink. You can get them online, at your local health/soap making store or on amazon.
Castille soap: the first time I bought Natural Pure Castille soap at our local soap making store. The next time I used Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps (I used Lavender but also Unscented Baby-Mild), it’s totally up to you what you prefer. If you want a specific scent and you want to save your essential oils, you can go with lavender or peppermint castille.
Essential oils: this is my favourite part! You can make your soap smell whatever aroma you want! I use Young Living essential oils, just my personal preference because I trust this brand I am guaranteed their quality. But it’s totally up to you what oils you will choose. I LOVE love thieves in our soap. In one bottle I mixed the lavender castille with thieves and one drop of peppermint. In my second bottle I used the natural pure castille and added lavender and thieves oils. It is totally up to you. Please note: if you use a citrus essential oil, do NOT use plastic bottles. Citrus oils, in particular, have a chemical com-position that is known to interfere with the chemistry of plastics. The best option is amber glass.
As you can see, changing soap can be very easy and non-expensive solution. You will enjoy the feel of your hands after each washing and your hands will thank you for that.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. And if you feel like saying hello, please do. I’m always happy to hear from you.
