I am a novice when it comes to essential oils. I have started a small collection and hope to keep adding to my bounty in the near future. Right now my collection consists of grapefruit oil, tea tree oil, and now lavender. When I first bought my lavender I wasn't quite sure what to do with it other than open the cap and enjoy the whiff. My intent was to use it in my laundry which ironically I have still not made my detergent! As I researched the many uses of lavender I was blown away by all the applications. THIS list was most fascinating to me and I hope to try all of these some day!
But for now, here are a few easy (and wonderfully soothing) ways to use lavender essential oil in your home with little effort.
Fabric Softeners
Though I have not made laundry detergent yet, I have made fabric softener. I love to hang my clothes out on the line but sometimes they get a little scratchy feeling. Enter fabric softener. The first one I tried is a vinegar and essential oil mix. You simply fill a glass jar with white vinegar and add several drops of lavender and voila! You have homemade fabric softener. The vinegar will not hurt the clothes believe it or not, you cannot smell the vinegar once the clothes have dried.
We use a Downey ball and put about a 1/2 cup of the vinegar solution in it. Just toss it in the laundry with the rest of your dirty clothes. You could also use the fabric softener compartment on your washer if you have one.
The clothes were considerably softer when using this solution and they smelled great after they dried. The downside is that I washed some of my Zumba clothes this way. I sweat of TON in my Zumba class. Somehow my sweat managed to release the vinegar smell on my clothes. So the moral of the story, don't get the clothes wet again or you will smell like vinegar!
Because of this I went on a search for a different method. One that did not involve vinegar. I found one that uses Epsom salt instead. Again, it is simply Epsom salt and a few drops of lavender. It works out to be about 10 drops per cup of salt. I keep mine in a quart size mason jar. All you do is simply add a quarter cup of the salts to your regular laundry. It works pretty well too. I like this method because there is no vinegar smell but I feel the vinegar does a better a job.
Bath Salts
Bonus!! The above fabric softener can also be used in your tub! Fill your bath tub with warm water and sprinkle some lavender infused salts in. The Epsom salt will help sooth tired muscles and the lavender will act as a calmer. It's the perfect tension relieving mini spa treatment for pennies on the dollar.
Face Wash
Remember the Oil Cleansing Method I blogged about a while back? Well I'm still using it. And I discovered that lavender is an excellent skin healer used for all sorts of skin issues like healing wounds and scarring. It even helps with acne. So I have added a few drops of my lavender oil into my facial oil and I LOVE it! It not only helps with acne but it also is quite soothing to wash my face with it before bed time. It is very relaxing to smell it right under my nose.
Room Spray
This is probably the most used lavender product in our house besides my face wash. The recipe is super easy and lasts a long time. I used a large spray bottle that I bought at Walmart for about a dollar.
You will need:
Distilled water
Vodka or Rubbing Alcohol
Lavender Essential Oil
Fill your spray bottle about 2/3 of the way with distilled water. Fill the rest of the bottle with rubbing alcohol. Add in about 30 drops of essential oil. Put the lid on and shake it up! It smells fabulous. We use it in our bathroom a lot but also in our living room and bedrooms as well.
Linen Spray
That same room spray can also be used to spray your bed sheets and pillows. It makes bed time quite relaxing. If you have troubles sleeping, lavender is an excellent way to signal your body it's time to go to sleep. Make it a regular part of your bed time routine!
Kids Sleepy Time Trick
We have not actually tried this yet but I look forward to it. Because lavender is so soothing and calming, it is said that you can rub some lavender essential oil on the bottom of your kids feet before bed to help calm them down. I don't know about your kids but my 2 and 4 year old boys are CRAZY before bed! I'm hoping adding this little trick before they hit the sack will help calm them down some.
Sunburn Relief
Another one that I look forward to trying is a sunburn spray. None of us have had bad sunburns yet this year thanks to my compulsive sunscreen use! But when we do, we will be trying this trick. Fill a small spray bottle with water and add a few drops of lavender. Spray on your sunburn several times a day for relief and healing thanks to the skin healing properties found in lavender.
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