Citrus Fresh: A Favorite Essential Oil Blend

In the wintertime, in the snow country, citrus fruit was so rare, and if you got one, it was better than ambrosia. 

~James Earl Jones

Is there any other scent that reminds you of sunshine more than the scent of citrus?  It certainly brightens the atmosphere in the room and is most welcome in February in Indiana when the days are snowy and cold and sometimes dreary.  

Young Living Essential Oils has a blend called Citrus Fresh and is one I love to have in my diffuser at this time of year. The oil is a blend of orange, tangerine, mandarin, grapefruit lemon and spearmint. 

 

Citrus Fresh

Citrus fruits are available to use pretty 

much year round now and are considered to be one of the healthiest foods around.  The vitamins they contain are essential to your body as structural materials for healing and health. 

The blend of the oils in Citrus Fresh come together to create uplifting freshness in your home when the scent is diffused.  

When you are performing difficult tasks, consider diffusing it to increase your focus and alertness.  It also helps cover odors that may be lingering in your home in this time when it is too cold to have your windows open.  

Another use that I like is to put a drop in my drinking water.  For me, drinking water is easier when it is ice cold and has a bit of flavoring.  One drop is enough to create a citrus-y, minty freshness in my glass of water.

For a really refreshing change of pace for the children (and adults too!), make Citrus Fresh popsicles with water and a few drops of the oil.  It tastes great and has no sugar or artificial coloring. You can also make ice cubes with it. 

Citrus fruits have long been associated with well-being and I hope you consider adding Citrus Fresh Essential Oil to your home for well-being too.  If you don't have this essential oil, use a small saucepan and simmer orange slices or other citrus over very low heat to fill you home with a wonderful scent.  

I'm so glad you stopped by today.  Tomorrow, I'll investigate different ways to prepare for a winter time power outage, specifically methods to use for backup lighting.  A winter night will seem very long if you don't have some way to provide light.  I hope to see you then. 

Peace be with you, 

Star Schipp 

This post may contain affiliate links which means if you make a purchase using one of those links, I may receive compensation at no extra cost to you.  It is a great way to support your favorite hobby farm blogger.  Thank you!   

DIY Hand Sanitizer with Essential Oils

The main ingredient in hand sanitizer is paranoia.  

short-jokes-quotes.com

I am making a bold statement here that I'm sure won't surprise anyone:  I’m not a fan of hand sanitizer.  

I know that many people carry it around with them and even reflexively use it throughout the day.  Schools include it on the list of required supplies but it just seems like a bad idea to me. 

I used to use it.  In fact, when I managed a nursing unit in a hospital, I had hand sanitizer stations installed in the patient rooms, hallways, nursing station and break room.  I knew that when I used it, my hands didn't react well – dry, cracked skin and then it would sting like fire but wasn't that a sign that it was killing all the nasty germs? 

And then one of the containers leaked on the floor.  That hand sanitizer dissolved the finish on the laminate floor covering….no wonder my hands were hurting so much! 

Hand washing is the preferred method for decreasing exposure to pathogens but sometimes it just is not available as quickly as you might want.  The commercially available hand sanitizers are not the answer at least for me. 

There are studies that show that those sanitizers do kill germs – bad ones and good ones too.  Those same studies suggest that alcohol based hand sanitizers allow more severe forms of germs to grow on your hands and those germs are more disease causing and antibiotic resistant. 

There are many essential oils that have antibacterial properties and could be used in homemade versions.  Some of those oils are:  

Cinnamon       Clove      Eucalyptus     Lemon      Lime    Melaleuca (Tea Tree)

Oregano     Peppermint     Thyme     Rosemary   Lavender

My favorite to use is a blend available from Young Living Essential Oils called Thieves. Thieves is a blend of therapeutic grade essential oils and includes clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus and rosemary. I encourage you to consider which oils you like best and to create your own blend to use in your own version of hand sanitizer.  Here are two versions I like: 

Thieves Hand Sanitizer with Aloe Vera Gel

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons aloe vera gel

1 teaspoon distilled water

Contents of 2 vitamin E oil gel capsules (poke with a pin and squeeze out the oil)

20 drops Thieves essential oil

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a 2 oz. squeeze bottle.  Use as you would any other hand sanitizer.  

Tea Tree, Lavender, Peppermint Hand Sanitizer

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons aloe vera gel

1 teaspoon distilled water

Contents of   2 vitamin E oil gel capsules (poke with a pin and squeeze out the oil)

20 drops Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca) essential oil

5 drops lavender essential oil

5 drops peppermint essential oil

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a 2 oz. squeeze bottle.  Use as you would any other hand sanitizer.

Which oils will you choose for your own blend? Leave a comment and let us all know :) 

Thanks so much for visiting today and considering the switch to hand sanitizers with essential oils.  Tomorrow, I’ll share with you some of the farmgirl fun I've had in the past few weeks.  I hope to see you then!

Peace be with you,

Star Schipp

This post may contain affiliate links which means if you make a purchase using one of those links, I may receive compensation at no extra cost to you.  It is a great way to support your favorite hobby farm blogger.  Thank you!   

25 Ways to Use Peppermint

O'peppermint tea --

two delights per sip

as steamy hot as passion

cool as a wintry lake dip

~Terri Guillemets 

Come sit with me and share a pot of peppermint tea - I'm so happy you are here!  Peppermint is one of the gifts of the plant world that is extremely versatile.  It can seem both warming and cooling at the same time.  The plant grows easily and spreads quickly so make it one of the first plants you choose for your herb garden - just be sure to set it some boundaries or you will have it EVERYWHERE! 

It is a good thing that it grows so easily because there are many uses for it fresh, dried and as an essential oil.  If you harvest right before the plant blooms, you will get it at its most intense, peppermint-y goodness.  As promised here are my favorite ways to use this herb. 

Ways to Use Peppermint

Fresh: 

• Use leaves to flavor lamb, fish and poultry
• Use leaves to flavor vegetables like peas, new potatoes and carrots
• Use leaves to flavor green salads and fruit salads
• Use leaves in beverages such as punch, lemonade and tea 
• Freeze leaves in ice cubes for your iced tea

 Dried: 

• Makes a caffeine free tea that is invigorating and also helps settle upset stomachs 
• The tea helps some with headache relief 
• The tea is also a source of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. 
• Sprinkled in the back of cabinets helps deter ants and mice
• As a hair rinse, it can help with dandruff
• Steeped in a warm bath relaxes tense muscles
• Simmer some in a large pot of water to make your home smell great - especially good to do when someone in the house is ill as an air cleanser 

Essential Oil

• For motion sickness, inhale the peppermint scent
• Add to a humidifier to help with congestion
• Mix with a carrier oil and rub on temples and neck to help with headache relief
• Mix with a carrier oil and apply to abdomen to help ease cramps
• Use in your diffuser to increase alertness and relieve stress
• Use some in an epsom salt foot bath for tired feet
• Add a few drops in some water and drink to aid with digestion
• Add a few drops to scent your bath water 
• Add a few drops to your shampoo to help with dandruff  
• Inhale the scent before a test or difficult task to increase alertness
• Place a few drops in a spray bottle of cold water and spritz yourself to help with hot flashes
• Put a few drops on a cotton ball and place in the bottom of the trash can to dispel odors
• Put a few drops on a cotton ball and place where you have seen spiders.  They do not like it! 

That's the top 25 ways I use peppermint.  How do you use it?  I would love to hear in the comments.  

Tomorrow is Farmgirl Friday and the intermediate level of the Going Green badge has tasks to make laundry soap (I'm still experimenting and looking for a liquid one that won't separate); make all purpose, window and floor cleaners (done); and.....making soap.  I have to admit that making real soap - not the melt and pour stuff - is something I have always wanted to do but have hesitated.  

Let's learn together and support each other to get this task done. Tomorrow, I'll investigate the equipment needed, the supplies and the safety precautions to take to help boost my confidence. We can spend the week gathering both supplies and courage... I hope to see you then.  :) 

Peace be with you, 

Star Schipp

This post may contain affiliate links which means if you make a purchase using one of those links, I may receive compensation at no extra cost to you.  It is a great way to support your favorite hobby farm blogger.  Thank you!   

I Dedicate This Year to CREATE (Plus a couple of essential oil projects)

Creativity is intelligence having fun. 

 ~Albert Einstein 

Hello, thank you so much for joining today!   I have a couple of recipes to share using essential oils that were in the Homegrown Collective box I received this week.  But first I want to share why I choose to make things like these myself.  There are many reasons: I want to control ingredients or I want to save money but the real reason is that it feeds my need to CREATE! 

As a child, I was always drawing or writing or reading or creating something - in fact, I taught myself to crochet before I was a teenager and knitting followed pretty closely behind that. I learned to sew at 4-H and I spent the whole summer between my junior and senior year of high school working on a huge embroidery piece. 

Then life happened:  parenting, working, schooling, and various other "have to's" took up more and more of my time.  I drifted away from my need to create and missed it so.  I even pretty regularly added to my craft "stash" for *someday* when I have time.  For years, that time rarely happened.  

So this year, I'm pledging to do something CREATIVE every day. It might be as small as knitting a dish cloth or as big as starting to paint again but I will do something every single day.  Writing this blog is one of my projects to keep me in the CREATIVE spirit.  

Has it made a difference?  It truly has.  I am hopeful for the future and not completely overwhelmed with work projects because I know that, at sometime during the day, I will put my hands, my heart and my brain to something solely for the act of creating. When was the last time you spent some time nurturing your CREATIVE spirit?  

 I received a wonderful gift from a Farmgirl friend in the mail today:  a magazine called Daphne's Diary.  It is an exquisitely beautiful publication and I'm putting it on my gift wish list (that's a hint my dear husband, daughters and sons!)  Every page is a delight for the eyes and sparks the creative fires even more.  I hope you get a chance to see it for yourself sometime.  

Anyway, back to what I made today. These are two useful items to keep in your cabinet for days when you have a cold, body aches or sore muscles.  

DIY Vapor Rub

(inspired by Homegrown Collective)

Ingredients:  

1/4 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

2 heaping tablespoons of beeswax pastilles or  soy wax

20 drops of mint or menthol essential oil

10 drops of star anise essential oil 

1/4 of a cinnamon stick, finely grated 

Instructions:  

• place olive oil and wax in a double boiler and heat just until the wax melts
• add essential oils and cinnamon and stir to combine
• pour into a small jar and let cool 

The salve is helpful for congestion when rubbed on the chest and some people like to use it on the soles of the feet too.  

DIY Sore Muscle Oil

(inspired by Homegrown Collective) 

Ingredients:  

1/8  cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil 30 drops of mint or menthol essential oil 

20 drops of star anise essential oil 

20 drops of lavender essential oil 

Instructions: 

• add all ingredients to a tinted glass jar with a dropper, close lid tightly.  Do not overfill.   
• Percuss vigorously on your palm about 40 times to emulsify the mixture.   

Use as a massage oil for sore muscles. 

That's about all I have for today.  I'm so glad you were able to visit!  Thank you so much.  

Tomorrow is our day with MaryJanesFarm and the merit badges. My post will be on milk paint - how to make it and how to use it.  It is the paint I will be using when I remodel the little house on our property which will become our Farm School.  I'm so excited about this project and the classes I will be offering. 

I hope to see you tomorrow! 

Peace be with you, 

Star Schipp 

This post may contain affiliate links which means if you make a purchase using one of those links, I may receive compensation at no extra cost to you.  It is a great way to support your favorite hobby farm blogger.  Thank you!  

6 Essential Oils for Your Home Diffuser

We each have the innate ability to heal ourselves.  To empower ourselves with natural solutions, instead of succumbing to life-altering chemicals.  There's a time and place for pharmaceuticals, but it shouldn't be the first answer, nor the only form of treatment.

 -Dana Arcuri-

Many of you are seeking out more natural ways to care for your family and I am right there learning with you.  When possible, my first thought is to prevent illness.  If it does occur, seeking appropriate medical treatment is the correct thing to do - appropriate sometimes includes antibiotics but not always.  Antibiotics can be life-saving but should not be over-used.  I'm going to post here some of my own thoughts on prevention but please remember that I am not a physician nor am I giving medical advice.  Everyone needs to seek out the level of knowledge needed to make their own personal decisions.  

We are right in the middle of flu and cold season and so far, we have avoided it.  Prevention is the first thing to consider.  Bodies with healthy immune systems are more likely to fight off germs when there has been an exposure - and we are exposed at every turn.  Door handles, keyboards, shaking hands can all transmit germs to our hands which then carry them inside our bodies when we touch our face.  Of course, being in the direct line of a sneeze is also a huge potential for exposure - Yikes!  

The first level of defense is handwashing.  Wash with soap for at least 20 seconds (Sing Happy Birthday through twice) and then dry with a clean towel.  Be sure if you use a cloth towel that you change it often or have a separate towel for each person especially if someone is already sick.   

Maintain a diet of healthy foods, plenty of fluids and get enough rest.  You have heard that advice for when you are sick but practice it before you get sick to help boost your immune system.  

My mother always tells the story that she and her brothers never were sick as children (well, except for that period of whooping cough!) and she says it is because their father made them each eat a pickled hot pepper every single day.  I cannot imagine getting any of my children to actually do that but I can see some wisdom in it. Those peppers would have been full of Vitamin A and Vitamin C.  Those vitamins help keep immune systems strong!  

The natural world has so much to give to help us all avoid illness.  I use a home diffuser with high quality essential oils as a line of defense for my family. The oils are very pleasant to diffuse.  

Here are my favorites:  

• Eucalyptus - This is the oil that smells like those mentholated rubs you may be familiar with.  The oils of this plant have been shown to be a good antiseptic.  It can help relieve congestion. 

• Melaleuca - This oil is also called Tea Tree Oil. It is also well known as an antiseptic and can support the immune system.   

• Cinnamon - I find this essential oil to be quite comforting in the diffuser.  It makes our home smell so wonderful and everyone gets in a better mood when I use it.  That decrease in stress is very helpful to your immune system.  Cinnamon oil is also another antiseptic. 

• Oregano - Oregano oil enhances the immune system and also supports the respiratory system plus is a great anti-oxidant. 

• Sage - Another oil that is a good boost for the immune system and the respiratory system.  

• Sacred Frankincense - The gift that was brought to Jesus by one of the wise men is also a wonderful gift for us. Diffusing this oil is very relaxing and a decrease in stress is very good for your immune system too.  

There is one more essential oil I use which is available from Young Living:  Thieves.  This oil is a combination of several oils and is said to mimic the aromatics that robbers used to protect themselves when robbing victims of the plague and yet they never succumbed to the illness. 

I'm into my second year of using essential oils in my home and love doing it.  I'm happy to answer any questions you may have on how I use oils.  

The oils can be purchased here: https://www.youngliving.org/starschipp

Now that link takes you to my website with Young Living and I hope you have time to look around.  On the landing page, I have loaded the oils discussed here along with the diffuser I use in my home.  

There are opportunities to get distributor pricing instead of retail and also opportunities to get your own web page if you are interested.  Send me an email if you want to know more.  At any rate, I hope you consider adding essential oils to your illness prevention plan whether you order from Young Living or another company - it is well worth doing.  

Tomorrow is the day I talk about my work on MaryJanesFarm Merit Badges and I'll discuss why I'm getting rid of the carpets in my home. I'll also let you know how you can earn some badges of your very own!   I hope to see you then.  

Peace be with you, 

Star Schipp 

This post may contain affiliate links which means if you make a purchase using one of those links, I may receive compensation at no extra cost to you.  It is a great way to support your favorite hobby farm blogger.  Thank you!