You may not know this because I haven’t talked about it much lately, but I am a big fan of aromatherapy and essential oils. I guess you could say that I have a strong belief in many alternative ways of medicine. I’ve sort of always had an interest in the power of essential oils and after giving birth using only self-induced hypnotherapy, I’ve come to appreciate a lot more of the less traditional medicine practices.

Since fall is here and cold season is sure to follow soon, I was thinking about my favorite essential oil blends which work little miracles on a regular basis around here. Some of my most popular posts are about essential oils, but if you haven’t been hanging out around NOH since 2009, you probably missed a few of them.

So here’s my list of natural remedies using essential oils and a few other ingredients you’ve likely got around your house already.

  1. I really love this natural cold remedy for kids. It is my go to blend when Mackenzie starts sniffling or coughing. I usually mix up the oil blend, then add a few drops to her bath water or mix it with a carrier oil to massage on her chest and back. This time around, I also added a few drops to a bit of tissue and put that in the edge of her pillow. Her symptoms started clearing up the next morning. And this stuff smells really good too! It’s also great for big kids.
  2. Thieves Oil is a really versatile blend which can be used to clean and disinfect, and has even been shown to be strong enough to kill black mold (as is tea tree oil). I use the blend to help curb migraines (just add a few drops to your tongue and press it to the roof of your mouth for a few minutes) and to sterilize our toothbrushes (plus it adds a heck of a kick for to your normal brushing to promote healthy gums). And there are a LOT more ways to use it in your home for cleaning and health.
  3. Since Thieves is not recommended for kids under 6 years of age (clove and cinnamon oils are a bit too heavy for them), I also needed to devise a kid-friendly homemade natural room spray to disinfect & freshen the air. This will attack germs but also almost instantly eliminates odors in your room (even cigarette smoke). Just make sure not to spray it directly on furniture or drapes which may stain due to the oils.
  4. Shortly after Mackenzie started eating solid foods, she started getting the WORST diaper rash. Any contact with poop on her butt would leave raw sores within minutes. (Sorry for the graphic, early morning conversation). First we started with an amazing natural diaper rash treatment spray which was recommended by a fellow Texas girl in Germany. It started to help immensely
  5. Then I discovered these homemade baby wipes which are oh so practical. Not only are they cheap, but the super green folks can also use cloth instead of paper towels for these wipes. I am convinced that something in the wipes causes the rash to worsen, because we still use store bought wipes from time to time, and a nasty rash would be back in no time until I switched back to the homemade ones.
  6. Although we don’t seem to have issues with fleas here in our area (thank God!), we are in a highly tick infested area — and they are great hosts of lyme disease. So every spring, I make sure to pull out my essential oils and mix up a natural flea and tick spray which is not only fantastic for our dog, but also for humans.
  7. There was a time last year when my husband and I started to feel like we were drowning in chaos around us. Our home was overwhelming, jobs were getting the best of us, we were just exhausted most of the time, and Stefan’s was barely sleeping at night because he just couldn’t get to sleep. So I consulted my aromatherapy books and found two fantastic essential oil blends for natural stress relief, helping you sleep & waking you up in the morning.
  8. After our car accident last year, I was in serious need of some help to soothe & heal all my bumps and bruises. Having an 8-rib serial fracture is not all that fun and there is virtually nothing that you can do besides wait for them to heal. So I discovered a blend that made it easier for me to cope with that pain and get a peaceful night’s sleep, without being all doped up on pain meds (which they really don’t give you over here anyway).
  9. I think that some exposure to germs is really healthy, so I don’t go overboard about sterilizing our hand. But when we’re out and about shopping, and touching the carts, it’s nice to have some homemade hand sanitizer. This was even more important to me last year when Mackenzie was still wanting to touch everything and put everything in her mouth. Yuck.
  10. Now I know that pretty much all of these are for yourself and not your garden, but I think this is worth talking about because it’s my new favorite homemade remedy: natural fungicide. It’s super simple to mix up and everything in it is safe for consumption — so you don’t have to worry about digesting a bunch of chemicals with your fruits & veggies after using this!
  11. I know this is supposed to be a list of 10 awesome home remedies — but I’ve never actually talked about this blister buster blend, and it is so fantastic. If your feet have had a long, hard day and you find yourself with blisters, you are going to love this! Just mix a couple drops of lavender and a couple of chamomile together in a small, shallow dish. Dip a clean cotton ball or pad into the oil and apply it to your blister. You can put this inside a sock if you’re wearing them. Leave it in contact with the blister for at least a few minutes. Longer is better. Your blisters should start to feel better immediately.

There you have it. Ten fantastic home remedies using essential oils. Most of the blends use the same essential oils so you don’t need a drug store full of oils either!

This post is also linked to the Farmgirl Blog Hop.