Category Archives: Essential Oils

All about how I use Young Living’s Essential Oils and products in my day to day life.

Abundant Living

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I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and praying about living abundantly.  If you’ve been here for a bit you’ll know that my One Little Word for 2018 is Abundance and that it’s less about having MORE and actually about appreciating what we already have.  It’s less about the physical and more about my mindset.  A couple weeks ago as I was praying through this I had such a clear message placed on my heart, I wrote it out on a piece of paper and left it to resonate for a while and I think it’s time to share it here.  I pray that it blesses you.

In times of hardship we tend to just “survive” to just “get by.”  We don’t live our best life and feel as though that’s an impossibility, we feel trapped because our circumstance is unable to change and so we accept defeat.  In our acceptance we probably make poor choices which don’t line up with how we “wish” our lives could be.

I’m using “we” here very lightly – maybe you can’t relate to this at all and I’m sorry if I’m clumped you into what’s actually my own reality or I guess what WAS my reality.

I spent the last 3 years in a poverty mindset.  I was working as hard as I possibly could just to keep our heads above water financially and because I was just barely making it work I thought we were poor.  That mindset that was initially only applied financially eventually trickled into all the areas of my life.  I came out on the other side quite literally broken thinking there was no other option and that it was just an inevitable consequence of my circumstance.  My question after reflection is: what if there was another option?  What if changing my mindset from thinking we were poor to thinking we had everything we needed could have changed the outcome?

Is it possible to be living a seemingly unbalanced life and still thrive rather than just survive? When our circumstances are not what we had hoped can we change our mindset to accept them and learn to live well within them?  Can we dig deep, work hard and get to the other side stronger, healthier and happier rather than beaten, broken and barely alive?

If we can (I really think we can!) what is the formula?

While I don’t pretend to think I have this all figured out, there are some things I think will definitely help.  These are things I’m going to try my best to adopt into my life:

  • Daily “me time” of at least 30 minutes.
  • Daily prayer and surrender – acceptance of what is.
  • Compromise – we can’t do it all, pick your priorities and let the rest go.
  • Accept the sacrifice and know it’s temporary, stop feeling bitterness towards it.
  • Find a tribe, confide in them and accept help from them rather than isolating yourself.
  • Eat well, sleep well and make time for movement.
  • Use oils daily for emotional, mental and physical wellbeing (the Abundance oil pictured above has been very helpful!)

I would love to hear your thoughts on this and if you have anything to add to my “formula.”  This isn’t an easy journey to abundant living but I’m convinced it will be worth it times a thousand!

Peppermint Almond Chocolate Bark

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Recently Young Living got the go ahead in Canada to label a select few of their essential oils as food grade. Though in the US they have been able to label them this way for quite a while.

This opens up so many more possibilities on how to use the oils! Though the label is different the actual oil inside the bottle is the exact same so if you have the oil from before you can still use them this way.

I’ve been on a chocolate kick lately and have seen several versions of this recipe floating around the Internet. It’s not my first time making chocolate, but I normally use cocoa butter and cacao etc. This time I just wanted a fast and easy recipe and I thought it would be fun to try out some essential oils in it too.

This took me less than the time it took to make a cup of tea – I know that because I made it while waiting for my tea to steep. I usually have a bag of this in the freezer and grab a piece or two whenever I’m craving chocolate (usually daily!).

So without further ado:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 2 tsp coconut oil
  • 1-4 drops peppermint vitality essential oil
  • Handful of crushed almonds
  • Sea salt (optional)

Directions:

Melt chocolate and coconut oil together. I prefer to use the double boiler method but putting it in the microwave in 30 second increments and stirring after each time also works.

Once melted add the peppermint oil to taste. I love lots of peppermint flavour so I added 4 drops.

Line a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper. Pour out the chocolate and spread with a spatula. Top with almonds and sea salt if you want.

Put in freezer for 30 minutes.

Take out break apart and EAT!

DIY Toilet Bowl Cleaner

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Toilet bowl cleaner was the last thing I began making in terms of cleaning products.  I just couldn’t find a recipe I thought would work or that I would like.  Toilets, in my mind seemed the dirtiest and I couldn’t wrap my head around how a DIY cleaner would do a good job at cleaning them.

So silly how we’ve been in a society of chemicals for so long that our minds don’t allow us to believe that anything but a chemical can do the job we want!

Let me tell you about this cleaner because if you are like I was and unsure if you can trust a homemade cleaning product to get the results you want, this recipe will change your mind.

Not only does it smell amazing but it gets the dirtiest of toilets clean.  The best part is that you can leave it within arms reach of your kids and not be worried AT ALL about them touching it.  I have a bucket of cleaning supplies that I carry from room to room as I clean and when I was buying the chemical laden toilet bowl cleaners I was constantly worried about Ezekiel getting into the toilet bowl cleaner.  Now I let him squeeze the cleaner into the toilet himself!

So without further ado!

What you will need:

  • A squeeze bottle (I use a plastic bottle that was once dish soap)
  • 1/4 cup Baking Soda
  • 1-2 Tbsp Dr.Bronners Castile Soap (I use unscented)
  • 15-20 drops Young Living Purification essential oil (or any oil you’d like but I LOVE this one for this recipe)
  • Water to fill container

What to do:

  • Using a funnel add each ingredient into the bottle in order listed.
  • Shake to mix and use as you would any other toilet bowl cleaner!

I like to put this in the toilet when I start to clean and let it sit.  I always clean the toilet last and the smell will linger for a bit after your done.

Let me know if you try this and how you like it!

PS: if you want to follow my oily journey closer you can now find me on Facebook

DIY Bathroom Scrub

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Happy Sunday friends!

Yesterday I managed to get my whole house clean (save the floors which I did today), it had been far too long since my bathrooms had a good scrub.  As I was cleaning using the products I make myself I thought that it was about time I start to share some of my tried and true DIY and toxic free living recipes with you.

I’m going to start with one of my very favourites – my husband was even blown away after seeing how powerful this is! This scrub is amazing for showers, tubs, sinks, stove tops or really anything that needs a good scrub.  I use this once every month or two on our shower when I notice the hard water spots building up.  My all purpose cleaner (which I’ll share soon) keeps the build up at bay for the most part but every so often it needs a bit more of a cleaning. When using this on the shower I make sure to clean it right before I’m going to have a shower.  I scoop it out with a wet sponge, scrub the walls and then to rinse off I just jump into the shower – because of the peppermint oil I use I get a wonderfully invigorating wake up shower at the same time as getting a sparkling clean shower!  I’ve used this on tough to clean bath tub, dull and stained kitchen sinks, caked on and burnt food on stove tops and it’s worked amazing every time.

The recipe:

1/2 cup baking soda
1-2 Tbsp Dr.Bronner’s Castile Soap (I like non-scented so I can add my own scents)
Enough distilled water to make a paste (you can alternatively boil water and let it cool down)
10 drops each lemon and peppermint oil (or essential oil of your choosing)

Add everything to a glass jar and mix well.

Give it a try and let me know what you think! If you don’t have any essential oils (and want to try them out) feel free to contact me via e-mail or leave me a comment and I’ll give you some more info.  If you want to know why I use essential oils check out this post.

Becoming Oily

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I’ve been wanting to start writing a lot more about my journey with essential oils – why I love them, how I got started, and how we are using them.  As always I don’t really write unless I get a spark of inspiration and today that inspiration is coming from my husband jumping on my oily band wagon! So before the inspiration fades I’m going to just hammer out a post in true “Ashley” fashion.

I’ve been using essential oils for about 3.5 years now – ever since Ezekiel was a baby.  I’ve written before about how I really started to focus on wellness when he was a baby.  I’ve been back and forth on this wellness journey – one step forward a couple back, two steps forward one back and it goes on and on.  I’ve found beauty in this journey and I have no shame about my set backs because each one has taught me something new.  So anyways, when Ezekiel was a baby I ordered a starter kit from Young Living.  I chose Young Living after researching other companies and realizing that their Seed to Seal process was and is far superior to any other company out there.  I guess the gardener/farmer in me just really resonates with planting a seed, growing that seed and preserving the amazing product that comes from that, but I don’t think you need to be a farmer or gardener to appreciate knowing EXACTLY where the product is coming from and how it got there.

After receiving my starter kit I basically only used my oils for diffusing in replacement of candles as well as for all my own cleaning products.  I didn’t dive any deeper into the science of the oils or how they could really support our bodies and our health.  My main purpose in using them was to eliminate some toxins in our home, to have cleaning products that I could use while my small son could be right beside me helping and I wasn’t worried about him putting anything in his mouth or touching the products.

Fast forward to this past year, and specifically the last few months and I’ve been diving deep into the health portion of essential oils and I am BLOWN AWAY at just how incredible these little bottles are and how they are changing our lives.  I’m not going to share all of the ways here right now – that post would be far too long.  Here’s the thing: there is actual science behind these oils.  They may not be researched much in western medicine (but we are getting there!) but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t true science in the oils.  I used to think they were a bit “hokey” but since starting to learn the actual science I’m 100% a believer in these oils.  The same science that applies to any drug also applies to oils but oils are FAR superior!

Please don’t get me wrong – I am in no way saying we should all ditch the drugs we are on and use only essential oils.  I am currently taking two prescription medications and I will not be replacing those with essential oils but I WILL be supporting my body and all it’s systems with essential oils especially my immune system.  My husband is hoping to reduce the amount of prescription drugs he is taking by starting to eat healthier and use essential oils to support his body as well because the drugs he is currently taking definitely can be reduced by lifestyle changes.

So don’t think that just because I’m a bit more crunchy than before that I’m swearing off western medicine – not true and I don’t think that will ever be true of me.  What I am saying is that the less toxins and man made and manufactured things we put into our bodies the healthier we will be.  I’m so excited to be on this journey and the more changes I see in myself and my family the more I want to share!

If you have ANY questions at all PLEASE connect with me, I have so much more to share and I’ll be doing that on the blog from time to time but I really love a good one on one chat!

You can find me on Facebook or Instagram (m_l_ashley) or E-mail me at joyofsimplicityblog@gmail.com

Are you currently an oil user? Have they changed your life like they have changed mine??

Beating the Cold and Flu Season Naturally

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For as long as I can remember I have been, what seems to me, unnaturally prone to being sick.  I remember all through college and then university having to have an endless supply of tylenol cold and flu on hand.

For the most part I just accepted what was and instead of fight it I let it run it’s course while medicating my way through it.  I knew that as soon as I felt a bit run down that the next day I’d have a stuffy nose which would last 7 – 14 days and on about day 4 or 5 my lungs would get hit, finally around days 9-14 I’d have the most annoying tickle in my throat that would force me to have coughing fits in the most awkward of times.

I thought I had some relief from this in the past.  From about 2012-2014 I was fairly healthy and happy to be so! Then, back to work for me and to daycare for Ezekiel which means being very tired and run down.  Mix that with all the germs in the world being brought home and I have been sick far more than I care to count in the past year (not to mention my poor toddler who gets the brunt of the germs).

I am so happy to tell you I have found the perfect mixture of all natural remedies that don’t just help me through a cold – they stop the cold from happening!

I know, you probably don’t believe me – I wouldn’t believe me either, but I’m telling you this works for me! It’s so amazing in fact, that I tell most people I know and I even share my supplies at the first mention of anyone getting sick.  I haven’t yet found something that is safe for my little guy but at least us adults can ward off the germs and take care of our littles in the meantime.

I’ve been using Young Living Essential Oils for some time now, and originally I was so very skeptical of them.  When I bought them originally I thought if nothing else I’d be able to get rid of my candles and have an all natural scent to diffuse through my house instead but I’ve found them to be so useful in so many areas in my house.

Young Living’s RC blend is by far the most amazing results to me because I know my body and I know the exact course it takes when it gets a cold.  At the slightest discomfort in my chest I began to rub 2 drops of RC on my chest 3-4x/day and the results were almost immediate!  I’d inhale for a few minutes and the burning would subside.  I’m not joking.

I also diffuse Thieves to cleanse the air daily.

Then I take 2500mg of Echinacea 3x/day and suck on a Zinc Lozenger 5 times a day, doing this for 3-6 days depending on how I am feeling has helped me to not ever feel bad enough to have to take anything else.  This is amazing – pure magic.   Once I get a week of great sleep (which isn’t happening any time soon while I work nights) I’m back to feeling great.

If you are interested in trying out Young Living Essential Oils let me know, I’d be happy to lead you in the right direction!

Wishing you a happy and healthy rest of the winter!