Essential Oils For You & Your Home

Essential oils are becoming more and more popular, and for good reason.  People are becoming more aware of what’s in the products they use in their home and on their bodies, and want to make a change by switching to more natural alternatives.  Essential oils allow you to slowly cut the toxins out of your home as they provide so many different possibilities, from cleaning to beauty! 

The essential oil world can be intimidating and overwhelming for beginners, but like any new experience, learning the basics is key.  We’re sure you’ll want to try your hand at some oil DIY’s right away!

Here are some fun and interesting facts about essential oils:

• Essential oils are all-natural compounds found in the root, petal, rind, leaf or bark of a plant
• They have anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fungal properties
• 1 drop of peppermint oil is equal to 28 cups of peppermint tea
• Essential oils can get into our bloodstream within 30 seconds
• Oils are 50-70 times more powerful than herbs.
• They help support physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing

You can use oils for just about anything and everything.  You can diffuse them; which makes your house smell great, helps support a relaxing environment for you and your family and helps get rid of unwanted odours.  You can apply them topically when mixed with a carrier oil like fractioned coconut oil.  Some oils can even be ingested and be used for your cooking and baking (these are specialty oils so please ensure that the bottle you purchase states they are edible). 

Anna’s carries Rare Essence, an organic oil line made in the USA.  They offer a large variety of products; singles, blends, diffusers, soy candles, perfume, body products and room sprays, all at affordable prices.  Along with all of their essential oils, we are big fans of their soy candles.  The Bergamot and Lime scent is so refreshing, perfect for those sunny Spring days when the windows are open, or when it’s gray and cloudy and you need something to boost your mood.  We’re also loving this essential oil-infused “Uplifting” room mist, a wonderful blend of Spearmint, Peppermint and Sweet Orange.  A great way to prep your house just before guests arrive or to help eliminate strong, unwanted odours.  

Diffusing oils is probably how most people get introduced into the oil world.  Like we mentioned earlier, diffusing oils not only makes your house smell wonderful, but it can help lift your mood and aid in creating a relaxing environment before bedtime. There are so many great diffuser blends you can mix to help boost your immunity, keep you focused, get you motivated and so much more.  We also love coming up with seasonal and holiday blends, here are some perfect Spring diffuser blends for you to try!

Garden Bed Blend:

• 4 Cedarwood
• 3 Orange
• 2 Geranium

Bloom Blend:

• 3 Lavender
• 2 Orange
• 1 Rose

Bright & Happy Blend:

• 3 Bergamont
• 2 Grapefruit
• 1 Peppermint

Light Breeze Blend:

• 1 Geranium
• 2 Lavender
• 2 Lime

Creating a calm, relaxing atmosphere is key to getting a good night’s sleep, and if you have little ones at home you know how important and precious sleep is. Incorporating oils into your family’s night time routine is a great way to achieve a serene environment leading up to bedtime. Diffusing a blend of Lavender, Cedarwood and Orange and spraying your bedding with this “Sweet Dreams” linen mist, is a sure way to calm everyone down and prepare for a blissful sleep.

Sweet Dreams Linen Mist:

• 20-30 drops of Lavender essential oil
• Fill 1/3 of the bottle with Witch Hazel or rubbing alcohol
• Top up bottle with distilled water

Shake before use.  Mist on bedding, stuffies, lovies (anything your little one cuddles) an hour before bedtime.  Make sure to spray this on your pillows and bedding too!

Sleepy Time Diffuser Blend:

• 4 drops Lavender
• 2 drops Cedarwood
• 2 drops Orange

We’re already in full Spring cleaning mode and wanted to share our DIY all-purpose cleaning spray we are using and loving right now.  It only requires 3 ingredients and is very cost effective and toxin free.  Who doesn’t love when that sunshine pours through your windows and everything is clean and sparkly?  Well this spray does the job, so come on in and grab a bottle of Rare Essence Lemon Essential oil to get you started!

Essential Oils are not only beneficial for you and your family, but they’re also great for your plant babies too!  Here’s a tremendous Happy Plant Spray you can make to give your plants some extra TLC.  This spray will give leaves moisture, encourage growth and the oils will keep bugs and disease away.  

All-Purpose Surface Spray:

• 3 cups of water
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 15-20 drops of Lemon essential oil
• 1 spray bottle
• Funnel

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and give it a stir.  Using a funnel, transfer your mixture into a spray bottle.  We used an amber glass spray bottle but you can also re-purpose an empty spray bottle (make sure you clean it thoroughly, depending on what was in it previously).  We chose lemon oil but you can switch it up, here are some other suggestions: lavender, tea tree, peppermint, orange.  You can even combine a couple of them to create a nice blend.  

Happy Plant Spray:

• 16oz. spray bottle
• 15 drops Geranium
• 15 drops Lemongrass
• 15 drops Rosemary
• 15 drops Cedarwood

Put oils in first, then fill bottle with water.  Shake before each use.  Simply mist your plants once or twice a week.  Bonus: your house will smell like a spa, happy plants, happy house! 

We hope that this short intro into the world of essential oils has removed any of your hesitations and has inspired you to start your journey.  Come in to Anna’s today, and grab your first bottle (or two) of essential oil.  If you’re already an avid oiler, comment and let us know what your favourite diffuser blend is.