People have been using essential oils for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians used essential oils as incense as well as for health uses like skin protection and medicine. Much of the ancient world, including the Roman Empire and the Chinese, used essential oils as perfumes and as potential cures for the plague and other diseases.
People continue to use essential oils for a variety of uses today in the modern world.
Even some of the best cleaning companies are already using essential oils in their cleaning process to help create healthy and clean living solutions that not only clean your home but also purify and deodorize it too.
There’s scientific proof of their many applications for health and wellness. They have a number of benefits for your health and applications around your home.
Now, let’s look at six of the best ways to use essential oils in your home.
1. Promote Stress Relief
Many different types of essential oils help relieve stress. Some of the most common used to relieve stress are lavender, bergamot, and frankincense essential oils.
Many studies show that exposure to these essential oils can lessen anxiety, reduce stress, and provide a feeling of calm. This isn’t only for humans either: lavender helps to lessen pet anxiety as well!
Everyone wants their home to be a place of comfort where you can unwind from the stressors of life. Consider getting an essential oil diffuser for your home to diffuse the therapeutic effects of these essential oils throughout the space.
You can also put a few drops into a relaxing bath, put some on your temples after a long day, or even mix some with water in a spray bottle to spritz onto your clothes, bedsheets, pillowcase, and more.
2. Disinfection Agents
Essential oils also make great natural cleaners to keep your home smelling fresh and clean of any harmful germs. Lemon oil is one of the most common essential oils for cleaning, but you can also use peppermint, clove, tea tree, and rosemary.
These essential oils can kill bacteria, mold, fungus, and other germs that can make you sick. Mix a few drops of your essential oil of choice with some water and soap and get to disinfecting!
You can also put a few drops on a washcloth with some water and soap and wipe down countertops, tables, doorknobs, etc. to kill germs and make your home feel and smell fresh and clean.
3. Make Your Home Smell Amazing
Essential oils have a range of smells and types; you’ll definitely be able to find one that you love. From orange to peppermint to cinnamon, you can fill your home with the amazing and natural smell that comes from these concentrated oils.
A warm and comforting cinnamon essential oil would be amazing during the winter months. Lemon and orange essential oils will make your home smell fresh and clean. You could also switch it up with thyme or rosemary essential oils.
You can use a diffuser to disperse the smell, you could clean with the oils, or you can create a misting spray with the oil of choice to scent different rooms.
4. Freshen Clothes and Laundry
Clothes in drawers and closets can eventually lose their fresh laundry smell and even smell musty or old. Try soaking cotton balls or cloths in a fresh smelling essential oil and putting them into your clothing drawers, wardrobes, and closets to keep your clothes smelling great.
You can also make your own natural “dryer sheets” by putting a few drops of an essential oil on a cloth and throwing it in the dryer with your load of laundry.
5. Pest Control
Essential oils don’t only defend your home against invisible germs and invaders. They can also fight off other pests like mice, ants, insects, and more.
If you think you have mice, try soaking some cotton balls in peppermint essential oil. Mice don’t like peppermint and they’ll avoid it at all costs. Place the cotton balls in areas the mice go along with areas you think they’re getting in to keep them away.
Similar tactics can make essential oils into bug repellents for both inside your home and out. Do you have a garden that’s plagued with pests? See bugs inside? Get a million bug bites when sitting on your porch?
Combine essential oils (like peppermint, eucalyptus, lemon, and cedarwood) with water to create a natural bug spray. The spray will be safe on your skin, on plants, and on surfaces in your home to repel pests like mosquitos, ticks, mice, ants, and more.
You can also try combining these essential oils with lotion or coconut oil to create a bug repellent lotion that will keep you safe when you’re relaxing in your yard during the summer.
6. Soothe Colds, Aches, and Pains
Essential oils have great healing properties that can soothe pain and even help you feel better when you have a cold or the flu.
Let’s look at pain relief first. Essential oils can soothe a number of causes of pain, including:
- Inflammation
- Breathing/respiratory problems
- Headaches/migraines
- Menstrual cramps
- Neuropathic pain
Some of the best oils for pain relief are lavender oil, rose oil, and other oil blends. These oils can either be diffused in the home, added to hot baths, or applied to the skin via a carrier oil, lotion, or soap.
Essential oils can also help clear up congested airways, help promote sleep, reduce inflammation, and reduce fevers caused by infection and illness. The best oils for relief when you have a cold or the flu are chamomile, eucalyptus, sandalwood, lavender, and tea tree oil.
You Can Use Essential Oils to Keep Your Home Fresh and Clean
Essential oils have been around for thousands of years for a reason: they work. They can make your home feel fresh, clean, and healthy without having to use harsh chemical cleaners.
Try and use essential oils for these things and let us know what you think! You can also check out our other cleaning guides for more tips and tricks on how to keep your home clean in a healthy and natural way.
