5 Simple Life Hacks with Essential Oils

by Bonnie Kao

Life can be hectic.  Here are 5 tips and tricks to keep your family well and home smelling fresh! 

 

First, what are essential oils and why is it gaining so much popularity?  Essential oils are highly concentrated extracts from plant material such as seeds, flowers, leaves, stems or roots.  It's often used as an alternative medicine, aromatherapy, or natural disinfectant and cleaning agents.  Still, to-date there is no conclusive  evidence that prove essential oils can actually cure any health conditions. 

Now having said that, I personally love using essential oils for a lot of reasons.  When it comes to setting my mood, scents play a big role in altering how I feel emotionally and sometimes physically.  It's quite easy to incorporate into your routine too, so let's look at these 5 simple hacks.

1. Let's talk about funk.  Bathroom funk.  A very simple hack I learned is to add 1 drop of Lemongrass, 1 drop of Grapefruit or Orange, and 1 drop of Bergamot inside the toilet paper roll.  It acts sort of like potpourri, except every time you spin the roll, the incredible clean and fresh scents are released.  Hubby and the kids love it!


2. Convenient spot cleaning.  Be the clean warrior. We run a zoo in this house with two young kids, so spills and icky messes happen often and everywhere.  Especially now in cold and flu season, disinfecting is just as important as cleaning.  We used to place packs of sanitizer wipes and paper towels throughout the house, but now we keep these disinfectant sprays in strategic places and replaced paper towels with microfibre cloths.  These disinfectant sprays are made with 80% ethanol, vegetable glycerin and key essential oils with antifungal, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties.  It cleans, disinfects and smells incredible!

3. More restful sleep.  Amen.  Lavender is one of the most popular scents in aromatherapy known to relieve stress, anxiety and improve sleep.  A simple use is to mix a few drops (about 10 drops for a 4oz bottle) of lavender essential oil with distilled water and spray all over the bedding and pjs for a relaxing sleep.  What I do instead is mix the lavender essential oil with coconut oil and use as a foot rub.  Super relaxing and great bonding time for kids and adults alike.

4. Reviving damaged hair.  Coconut is your new best friend.  I love everything coconut - it really is an all-in-one natural solution for your body.  A quick and easy hair treatment to make at home is a coconut oil hair mask using 2-3 tablespoons of melted virgin coconut oil (or fractionated coconut oil) and add a few drops of essential oils for your specific needs.  For example I would use of Lavender or Rosemary for their hair growth properties, or if you have dry scalp or dandruff, consider adding Ylang Ylang, Tea Tree or Lemongrass essential oils instead.  Simply apply to hair, massage into your scalp, and wrap in a warm towel or oversized tshirt. Leave in for a minimum of 30 minutes and wash it out.  If you prefer to wear a hair wrap over night, then I would recommend using just the coconut oil because essential oils are highly potent and may cause irritations to the scalp.

5. Let's talk about funk again.  This time think sports equipment.  Nothing brings me more joy than to see my kids get active and play a sport or ride their bikes and just have fun. However, there are numerous types of bacteria that lurk around in helmets, gym equipment, sports pads, shoes, etc.  So no thank you to germs and smells, I always keep a bottle of disinfectant spray around to kill germs and help deodorize smells.  I also keep a smaller bottle in my bag for when we're outside and one in the car.
 

 

And there you have it, 5 simple life hacks with essential oils to save the day.  If you have other tricks up your sleeves, please do share!

1 comment

  • Very well written Bonnie 👏 thanks for the tips.
    Coconut oil is a staple in our house, for cooking and beauty. I especially enjoy using it in my night time routine as a makeup remover.

    Keisha

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