I’m a Closet Crunchy

Feb192013
February 19, 2013 by 29 Comments

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Maybe you’re scratching your head wondering what that means, but here’s the basics – granola{ish}. Crunchy{ish}. Although I’m not quite claiming it, according to many of my friends I crossed that line some time ago, and I somehow am in denial{ish}.

Yes, we have chickens. I grind wheat to make our own bread. I cook from scratch {mostly}. We used cloth diapers. Make kefir…and well, there are LOTS of other things too, but this week we dipped our toes into something even more crunchy.

free essential oils 101 class

Essential oils.

This is a whole new world for me, even though we have been trying to do things ‘naturally’ as much as possible. Fortunately, I have a fabulous friend, Jodi from Naturally His, that is nice enough to make videos explaining the various uses of different oils and talk me through things.

And yes, I’ll be watching those videos carefully. I need all the help I can get.

So Why Essential Oils Now?

Natural remedies aren’t something new to us, but I have been wavering back and forth on taking the plunge into essential oils for some time. Truthfully, I was worried about how others might see me {as crunchy}, but apparently I crossed that line already, so we’re good {grins}.

I’m excited since my hubby is VERY on board and has one oil in particular that he wants to try out – Thieves. He has had major issues with his sinuses for years and is constantly getting sinus infections.

Personally, I am wanting to use the Peace & Calming for sleeping. For well over a year now, I’ve had a lot of trouble falling asleep and sleeping at night. During that time, I’ve had to use a sleep aid, and quite truthfully, I do not want to use it anymore. Instead of using that, I would prefer to use something naturally and help my body get back into a natural groove. Migraines are another area that I have issues with and while some of that is diet related, essential oils can help with that issue as well.

Find Out More

quick reference guide

The one thing that pushed me over the ‘order’ edge this month is that Young Living has a February deal right now that gives you a $40 credit to your account if you sign up as a new distributor during this month! Jodi also is offering a book for free to go-along as well {The Quick Reference Guide to Essential Oils or the Pocket Guide to Essential Oils}.

Although our family is just using these personally, if any of you are interested in taking advantage of the special that Young Living has til the end of February, you can sign up under me before the deal ends. Doing so will help Jodi out as her family is planning to re-enter the mission field and this will help support their efforts!!

Our essential oils are arriving tomorrow and we can’t wait to get started! If you are interested in learning and joining along with our family, head over to the page she set up on her site for me and learn more!

 

If your family uses oils – what are the ones that you have found most helpful? Leave a comment today and let me know!

 

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This post may contain affiliate or advertiser links. Read my full disclosure policy here.

Filed Under: My Ramblings 29 Comments

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  • Anita Chamblee

    Peace and Calming is my favorite; it’s now my signature scent…I keep it in my purse and put it on anytime we go anywhere. My 16yos has started diffusing it in his bedroom this week when he is doing his school work! Told me not to tell his friends! LOL!

    • http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/ Jolanthe

      I won’t tell!! :) I’m thinking our diffuser will be really handy – especially in the school room!

  • Dawn Prather

    I love this. We are becoming more crunchy all the time. But have some family and friends who would be weirded out if we publically claimed it. Lol

    • http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/ Jolanthe

      That is so the truth. :)

  • photojenic

    I just learned about YL and joined about 6 months ago. It’s been an eye-opening and pretty educational adventure so far. I’m lucky to have an upline that gives training once a month.

    • http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/ Jolanthe

      I know what you mean. :) Jodi has been a huge help already to me – having someone who trains is fabulous!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/lauren.servingfromhome Lauren Servingfromhome

    Everyone is pushing me over the edge! I’ve been sitting on the fence for a long time too as far as just getting the distributorship – I have lots of oils, some I’ve won, some I bought, but it is TIME! And I hear you about the hubby part – he’s still not totally sure, but when Will had something we needed to look at treating he was googling and said, “Hey, you can use essential oils to treat it…” :D

    • http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/ Jolanthe

      When Rick was all for it, it was a done deal. :) He’s been bringing up different things to me – love that! I’ve been reading some neat stories and can’t wait to try a few things out.

  • Rebecca Sarine

    I use a variety of oils around the house. Lavender and Tea Tree for diaper rash, Tea Tree on cuts and such, Lavender for sleep and calming (for my children), Lavender for burns and Tea Tree (diluted) in the ear for ear infection protection on occasion, Eucalyptus for stuffiness, peppermint for nausea/stomach ache (mixed with tea tree and lavender), peppermint for headache (although i have ordered a blend from doTerra called Past Tense that i am excited to try out on migraines), peppermint on my daughter’s feet in the morning to help her wake up and focus on getting things accomplished (we are also newly trying a blend from doTerra called In Tune which i like and she likes but i can’t say for sure how well it works), diffusing On Guard throughout our house (like Theives oil) for warding off germs and my husband and i will drink a drop in a glass of water or tea if we feel something coming on, my husband uses Peppermint/Frankinsence massged onto sore and aching muscles after a long hard day of yard work/chopping wood/etc, i use Frankinsence to help me sleep better, and sometimes the peppermint works on my sciatic pain or at least dulls it. We are getting ready to try Breathe (by doTerra) for respiratory/allergy things as that season comes on and Deep Blue is something my husband wants to try as it has even better reviews on sore muscles. Also we have ordered Helichyrsum to use on his shin splints. I keep the citrus oils around (grapefruit, orange, and lemon) for many uses. I have made a happy spray of sorts for when the kids or I get moody or the day starts to go sour. Lemon is great from disinfecting, cleaning, freshening, etc and the actual esstential oil is best. It was suggested to me by a knowledgeable friend and physical therapist/yoga teacher to start drinking a glass of water each morning with one drop lavendar, one drop lemon, and one drop peppermint for seasonal allergies as we approach that season and I am going to try that. Sorry about the super long list but i could go on. I keep chamomile, oregano (be very careful), rosemary, and geranium around the house for less common uses.

    BUT learn from someone reputible before getting started (sometimes the info on the internet is confusing/contradictory), know where your oils are coming from so that you know they are pure (some of the companies on amazon are questionable in how pure they really are and there is little to no regulation of those standards right now), learn how to use carriers, diffusers, etc. I think it is a bit of a steep learning curve and upfront investment but i have had really enjoyed learning and trying things. Young Living seems like a great company for blends. They and DoTerra have some others that i want to try out. I found a local company in my area that sources oil so in order to support her, that is where i get my single oils.

    • http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/ Jolanthe

      Rebecca,

      Thanks for the long comment!! I really appreciate it. I am blessed to have several friends {and Jodi} who are helping us out with different things along the way. Young Living is definitely a company I trust and did quite a bit of research into them before joining. I completely agree about making sure the oils are pure {another reason I trust YL}.

      I so appreciate all of your suggestions and am glad to have them in one place to reference. :)

  • http://kregerhouse.blogspot.com Rikki

    I just signed up with YL under a friend this week. I’ll be happy to read about your use of these oils because I am far from crunchyish. Ha! But, it sounds so intriguing and I’m excited to try it out!

    • http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/ Jolanthe

      I’ll share things that help us out for sure!

  • Joesette

    Yep, you’ve been crunchy for years dear! I’ve been looking at the oils as well. I’ll be interested to read about your experiences!

    • http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/ Jolanthe

      Thanks for telling me. :) ha!

  • Whitney

    I’ve read a lot about tea tree oil being helpful for earaches. I haven’t gotten to try it yet, but I have it ready for the next round of earaches!

  • Mama Fry

    I started using some of the YL oils back in October 2012. I put Thieves in a spray bottle of water and spray it everywhere (like Lysol/Febreeze). Smells good, but I have found the household has had a significant lack of sniffles, sneezes and general yuck. So I see this as a winner.

    I also found a diffuser at Lowe’s for $20. I use lavender, lemon, Thieves and the “Christmas Blend” in it. I love it. I am looking at the brain manager (?) and Frankincense for focus during homeschool.

    Hope you enjoy YL.

  • http://www.momsmustardseeds.com/ Rebecca Brandt

    I have heard great things about the YLO – we haven’t gone this route yet. My husband and I used to have horrible sinus problems. However, we quit buying any processed bread or grain products and grind our own wheat and make pasta, pancakes, waffles, cookies, bread, etc – because it’s whole grain – you get all of the nutrients and the wheat germ – which is a HUGE reason people have so many digestive and sinus issues. Though, the grains today are not the same due to GMO, you can find them and even make your own gluten free breads. Good luck with the oils!

    • http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/ Jolanthe

      Rebecca – I wish the bread was the solution. I started making our own bread over 6 years ago {and we love it!}. We grind our own wheat for everything, but his sinuses are still blech. Really hoping that the thieves helps!! :)

  • Jennifer @ Milk & Honey Mommy

    Jolanthe,

    I’m not a closet crunchy. I’m out there and let it shine. Even before we started using YL oils, we were just that way. It could be our California roots :-). Using oils has been a new experience for me and now you can just call me “lavendar girl.”

    • http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/ Jolanthe

      Ha – I just think I didn’t realize I WAS as crunchy as I was. On the phone with one of my friends, she was cracking up at me and ticking off all the different things our family does. Gotta love it. :)

  • Jennifer @ Milk & Honey Mommy

    Let’s make that “lavender girl.” :-)

  • Joy

    I love my oils I just got! I have used them daily ever since! I need to see about buying those books that you mentioned! :)

    • http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/ Jolanthe

      Ours just arrived yesterday – already putting the Thieves to use and ordering a few additional ones for migraine and sleeping. :)

  • Julie Bloyd

    I love my young Living oils. Been using them for about a year. Good for you for stretching out and trying something new.

    • http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/ Jolanthe

      started using them this week and ordering a few additional ones – definitely enjoying them so far and no reactions {i.e. me getting a migraine from the smells} – so YAY!!

  • Leigha

    Hi! I just signed up under you! Thank you for sharing!

    • leigha

      And really, thank you for posting up all of your FREE homeschool resources!! seriously..can’t thank you enough for that. We have just started (3.5)and my son asks me all of the time “can we do school?!” haha I love it! Thank you thank you thank you!!

  • Kirstylee Cassidy

    I use doTERRA essential oils and they have a great blend for sinuses. It’s called Breathe. I think Young Living has a similar blend, but I’m not sure what it’s called. The Breathe has Laurel Leaf, Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Ravensara, Tea Tree, and Lemon. We LOVE On Guard (which is pretty much the same as the Thieves’ blend), but if you are looking for something more specifically for sinuses, I would look into the Young Living blend that is similar to Breathe. Sorry I don’t know what it’s called. :)

    • http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/ Jolanthe

      there is one called RC for respiratory and also another one called Breathe Again that is in a roll-on form. Still going through all of them!! :) I ordered M-Grain for my headaches and a few additional ones as well last month. LOVE the Peace and Calm though!!