Autumn Store cupboard Essentials

In this blog, we look at which Essential Oils are great to have in your home and we have divided them up by use, to make it super easy for you to choose what you need…

Essential Oils for your Home: For natural cleaning and to keep your home smelling amazing.

Oils for your Body: Oils you can use to combat dry skin, sore lips and achy muscles.

Essential Oils to Support the Mind:  The Essential Oils you need on hand to help keep you calm and relaxed this Autumn.

Key Essential Oils for the Home

Firstly, always keep your Essential Oils away from babies and small children, so somewhere high and out of reach and sight.  Also, it’s a good idea to store them together as the little bottles can easily get lost on their own, and spillages of neat oils can damage surfaces as they are very concentrated, so keep them upright in a box if possible – we love our little 12 or 24 hole storage boxes to keep those precious oils safe!

They should also be somewhere dark to preserve their quality as sunlight can alter their composition.  It’s a great idea to make yourself up a caddy filled with everything you need for natural cleaning and home fragrance (check out our little list at the end of the blog).  White vinegar is a great essential as you can easily make a household cleaner with it – half and half quantities with water and vinegar, plus three drops of Essential Oil for every 100ml of liquid you make.  So For 100mls of vinegar/water, simply add 3 drops of Essential Oil, or for a 500ml bottle add around 15 drops.  Some great oils for home cleaning are the classics of Tea Tree, Lemon, Eucalyptus and Peppermint.  Some of these also have naturally occurring anti-bacterial properties as well; they will therefore leave your home clean and also smelling really beautiful.

Also in your cleaning equipment box, arm yourself with some bicarb of soda – it makes a great foaming, hard surface exfoliant for removing grime, grease and limescale.  Use old torn up clothes for reusable wash cloths to save waste as they can be washed again and again.  Lemons themselves (or Lemon Essential Oil) are great to keep on hand – half a lemon cut up and popped in your dishwasher will help aid rinsing and cut lemons also make good scourers when sprinkled with bicarbonate of soda – this is a really great way to clean an oven naturally too!

Cabinet Essentials for your Body

Without a doubt, everyone should have a bottle of Lavender Essential Oil in their stash of essentials.  You can mix it with a carrier oil like Sweet Almond Oil for a luxurious moisturising skin treatment, or add some to a hair conditioner base as Lavender is known to promote hair health and will leave it smelling lovely and feeling soft.  Don’t ever add Essential Oils to products that already contain them, or are artificially fragranced as they may become a bit too potent – check out our base body products under our Bath and Body tab on our website.  Of course, Lavender is amazing in a bath too to help you unwind at the end of the day – make sure you use something to help disperse the oil such as a tablespoon of vegetable oil, a teaspoon of honey, or half a cup of milk…The honey and milk are great emulsifiers and will help evenly dilute them in the water – it’s a bit of an old wives’ trick but it really does work!  Lavender can be wonderfully calming for the skin if it is applied diluted too – It’s great for skin that has been over exposed to cold winter wind and is a wonderful ingredient in a relaxing foot bath too.

Eucalyptus is another cabinet must-have as it is so versatile.  When applied diluted to the skin it can be really awakening and can stimulate circulation when used as part of a massage – it’s ideal if you’re a keen sportsperson or if you suffer from sore muscles or stiffness.  If added to a moisturiser base or carrier oil it can be used to ease symptoms of Autumn chills when rubbed into your chest or a couple of drops in a steam inhaler is great.  It’s the perfect oil to add to your diffuser too as it’s clearing and cleansing.  We love our Breatheasy Blend which contains Eucalyptus – it’s amazing to have in the cupboard in the winter months to help ease those autumn chills!  The final Oil we love to have on hand in Autumn is Sweet Orange Essential Oil as it’s just so warming and luxurious.  It’s amazing in a bath bomb, gorgeous diffused around your home or diffused in an oil burner as those darker evenings are upon us… it’s great combined with Clove Essential Oil and Cinnamon Essential Oil.  Tea tree and Peppermint Essential Oils are also great to have on hand – it has antimicrobial benefits so is handy to keep as part of a first aid kit as it can be used to treat acne and skin troubles, foot and nail complaints and insect bites.

Essential Oils to Soothe your Mind…

Obviously we have already covered Lavender Essential Oil which is so well known for being relaxing and soothing to the body and mind, but having a Chamomile on hand is a great idea too.  Not only does it combine well with Lavender, it also works well on its own as a rest-inducer and all-round-calmer.  Again, it can be used in the bath before bed but you can also pop a couple of drops on your pillow before sleep too.  It is such a gentle scent; it won’t be overpowering and it appeals to most scent pallets!  Chamomile can also help calm busy minds and is lovely when popped on your wrists (diluted) for a quick sniff if you’re feeling overwhelmed.  Another of our favourite Essential Oils is Lemon – it is so versatile – it’s a great mood booster when diffused, it can help your home feel fresh and helps you feel clean too – add a few drops to some Organic Castile Soap for a really zingy handwash which will leave you cleansed and awakened with a scent that will last![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]