Must-Have Essential Oils, Using Them Safely

Essential oils are powerful and a great tool to use in your home, when done properly. There are many essential oils out there, these are my must-haves. 

I’ve been using essential oils since before it was trendy. My mom discovered them when I was a kid. I’ve been using them ever since. I have quite the collection now.

I use essential oils around my home for cleaning and I also use them in some DIY personal care products. When used safely essential oils can be very useful.

My favorite way to use essential oils is by diffusing them. I have diffusers in several rooms in my house. I like to change up the scents seasonally and I love playing around with different combinations. While I have many different oils there are some that are my must-haves essential oils, the ones I have to always have on hand.

Must-Have Essential Oils

1. Tea Tree Oil. Tea tree oil is one of the first essential oils I was introduced to, my mom used it a lot when I was a kid. Several years ago we tested mold levels in our home and found we had some toxic mold, we found the cause, our bathroom was built wrong and water was getting behind the tile. We had the bathroom redone but that wasn’t enough to kill all the mold so we also cleaned EVERYTHING in the house with a tea tree oil spray and retested, the results were great. The toxic mold was gone and the normal mold count was way down. I now use it in my daily shower spray to help keep mold out of my shower. 
2. Lavender Oil. I love lavender just as a nice scent for my home but it’s also great for headaches, stress, and trouble sleeping. You can make a lavender linen spray to spray on sheets to help relax you at night or diffuse it in your home when someone is stress or not feeling well. Lavender also has antibacterial and antiviral qualities. It’s even thought to be anti-inflammatory. It can even be used to kill fleas.
3. Peppermint Oil. Peppermint oil is a great holiday scent but I use it all year. Peppermint oil is a great way to keep mice away from your home. Just soak some cotton balls in peppermint oil and put them around your home or mix it up in a spray bottle with some distilled water or vodka/grain alcohol, and spray it around your home. We don’t get mice in our home but when it gets cold we will sometimes find signs in our garage so we just spray our garage once a week or so and it really helps. I like this method because it doesn’t harm the mice and is more sanitary as you don’t have to deal with the mouse poop while trying to catch them. Peppermint oil is also good for opening up sinuses when diffused and great for headaches.

Bonus- Eucalyptus oil is another great oil. I can’t use it because I’m allergic to it but this is a go-to oil for colds and flu for those that can use it. Eucalyptus is the ingredient in vapor rubs that help clear stuffy noses and is great for helping break up mucus. Be sure to add it to your collection.

Using Essential Oils Safely

Many people selling essential oils now recommend ingesting oils and using them neat, without a carrier oil, on your skin. This can be very dangerous. I personally do not ingest oils or recommend it. If you do choose to make sure to do your research and it’s best if you do so in the care of a medical professional.

I do use oils on my skin at times but only with a carrier oil. I like to use apricot oil but there are many great carrier oils. Many oils can also make your skin more sensitive to the sun and can lead to blistering from minor sun exposure.

Essential oils can be amazing things but only when used properly. Natural doesn’t always mean safe or without risk so do your research.

Keep in mind many oils shouldn’t be used around children and babies. You also need to be careful when using essential oils on or near pets as they can be sensitive to some oils. When in doubt consult your doctor or vet and check out the below resources for more information.

Essential Oil Resources

• Ways to Use Essential Oils Around Your Home
• 3 Reasons to Avoid Ingesting Essential Oils
• Risks and Uses of Essential Oils
• Common Essential Oil “Mythstakes”
• How to Dilute Essential Oils

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