Lavender

Cleaning your home with toxic synthetic chemicals can have adverse effects on your health. Here’s a detailed look at ten ways these harmful substances can impact your body and how switching to natural alternatives like Thieves Household Cleaner, baking soda, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and essential oils can benefit you.

**Toxic Impact:**

Chemical-laden cleaning products can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can irritate the respiratory system and exacerbate conditions like asthma.  

**Natural Alternative:**

Mix Thieves Household Cleaner with water in a spray bottle for surfaces. The blend of clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus, and rosemary essential oils in Thieves supports respiratory health.

**Toxic Impact:**

Harsh chemicals can cause dermatitis, redness, and allergic reactions.

**Natural Alternative:**

Create a gentle scrub by combining 5 drops of Pine essential oil,  baking soda and water into a paste. It’s perfect for scrubbing sinks, ovens, and tubs without irritating your skin.  

 **Endocrine Disruption**

**Toxic Impact:**

Many cleaning products contain phthalates that can interfere with hormone function.

**Natural Alternative:**

Use distilled white vinegar diluted with water to clean glass and countertops. Vinegar is non-toxic and does not disrupt hormones.  Interestingly, my mother use to use white vinegar diluted with water and a newspaper to clean windows without streaks.  I use Thieves Household Cleaner for all my glass surfaces, stove top, windows, mirrors, everything.  It works great! 

**Toxic Impact:**

Chemical cleaners can cause burning, redness, and tearing in the eyes.

**Natural Alternative:**

Employ hydrogen peroxide for sanitizing surfaces like cutting boards. It kills germs without causing eye irritation.

 **Neurological Issues**

**Toxic Impact:**

Prolonged exposure to neurotoxic chemicals in cleaners can affect brain function and mood.

**Natural Alternative:**

Diffuse lavender or lemon essential oils to freshen your air naturally, eliminating the need for synthetic air fresheners that could impact your nervous system.

 **Allergies and Sensitivities**

**Toxic Impact:**

Fragrances and dyes in synthetic cleaners can trigger allergies and sensitivities.

**Natural Alternative:**

Infuse baking soda with a few drops of lavender essential oil for carpet cleaning. It’s hypoallergenic and safe for the whole family.

 **Toxic Load**

**Toxic Impact:**

Continuous exposure to toxic chemicals can accumulate in your system, increasing your overall toxic load and potentially inhibiting liver function.

**Natural Alternative:**

Thieves Household Cleaner can clean almost everything in your home, reducing your overall exposure to harmful chemicals and aiding in maintaining a healthy liver function.

 **Gastrointestinal Issues**

**Toxic Impact:**

Ingesting residues from chemical cleaners that linger on dishes and surfaces can lead to stomach aches and gastrointestinal problems.

**Natural Alternative:**

Use a mixture of vinegar and water to clean your kitchen surfaces and dishes. Vinegar is food-safe and eliminates residue that could lead to gastrointestinal issues.

 **Headaches**

**Toxic Impact:**

Strong chemical odors can trigger headaches and migraines.

**Natural Alternative:**

Create a room spray with distilled water and Peppermint essential oil. It refreshes your space without causing headaches.

**Toxic Impact:**

Synthetic chemicals can contaminate water supplies and harm wildlife.

**Natural Alternative:**

Opt for cleaning with hydrogen peroxide. It breaks down into water and oxygen, leaving no environmental pollutants behind.

**Safety:** Natural cleaners like Thieves Household Cleaner are free from harmful chemicals, making them safe for children, pets, and sensitive individuals.

**Health:** Using essential oils for cleaning can support overall well-being. For example, Lemon oil has mood-boosting properties.

**Environment:** These natural solutions are biodegradable and environmentally friendly, reducing your carbon footprint.

**Cost:** Many natural cleaning solutions are cost-effective. Ingredients like vinegar and baking soda are inexpensive and versatile.

 

Switching to natural alternatives from toxic synthetic chemicals not only benefits your body's health but also contributes positively to our environment and overall well-being.

Want to know more?  I have a class for that!  Let me know what you're interested in learning about and I'll pull all of the information together for you and 10 of your friends and family.  Don't forget great aunt Sally!  

Toxins are all around us, in our environments, on our food that we buy, and all of the products that come in to our house.  I can help you figure out where to start and how to figure out what products you're using that are full of  *ick* and need to be tossed in the trash!  We can replace them with toxin free cleaners, laundry soap, shampoo, conditioner, dishwasher soap, pet shampoo, and more!   I can show you how to do this without breaking the bank, too.  There is a wonderfully frugal way to purchase these toxin free products and I'd love to show you all about it!   Just go to the top of this blog page and click the "Contact Me" button.  Send me an email or a text message letting me know your name, how you found me, and what you are interested in learning about.  

I'd love to help you! 

Love & God Bless,

Regina Graham

My husband uses oils!  

There!  I said it!  LOL

I just wanted to be the first (2nd, 3rd, 4th,...100th) to say, "Essential oils are for E.V.E.R.Y.B.O.D.Y. no matter what!"

That said, my hubby has been a part of all this wonderful exciting essential oil ride with me and he's found some oils that he's loved!  

Evergreen Essence we've found he's loved the scent!  It's more than just a scent, though.  There are wonderful properties to these oils that work so well for our bodies and he's learning about all the wonderfulness, too!  

Another one he's really loving is Northern Lights Black Spruce!  He's enjoying these 2 scents alternately in the den when he's in there doing whatever he does.  

He uses them for practical reasons, too.  For example, he gets ingrown toenails, and uses Lavender to help with the healing process after he trims them.

He also uses Lemon essential oil to get paint splatters and sticky stuff off things. 

There is so much more he uses essential oils for, but I just wanted to share 4 of those wonderful oils he uses.  

Whatever your manly man needs, there's probably an oil for that. 

I absolutely love that my hubby is using more natural products.  He keeps learning about it all and enjoying the journey!

Do you have a manly man?  Try some oils! 

Love & God Bless,

Regina 

I believe I first heard the phrase "Carpe Diem!" in the movie Dead Poet Society.  I didn't really pay attention to the meaning, but as life has progressed for me, it has rung true more and more as time goes on.

I love visiting friends and family.  I love to travel and experience things I wouldn't normally here in southern Georgia.  I love using my senses to experience the surroundings.  What a wonderful world we live in!  I especially like experiencing new restaurants--which goes right along with those 5 senses.  

This past weekend we decided to visit my husband's family.  We planned this months ago because we didn't know if our kids would be here for Thanksgiving.  We thought it would be nice to be availble for our kids, then head to his parents to spend time with them the week after.  It made for the sweetest time for both hubby and I.  I can't speak for my kids, but they are progressing with their own lives with their own choices and that's how it should be.  

As it turned out, we had 3 of us here for the first time since that young man was a little guy!  Only this time, he ate a little bit more than when he did as a wee babe and a toddler.  Our other 2 had time constraints with their jobs and couldn't come, so they made the best of their situations.  We had a scaled back Thanksgiving which is a good thing.  We had a first this year...leftover mashed potatoes that actually went bad in the refrigerator!  I couldn't believe it!  But, we live and learn! 

We got ready to head to my in-law's and while I got ready, my oldest son said, "Mom, why do you need to take all those oils?"

  So, I picked one up and said, "This one is for _____", and "This one is for _____"  and he asked me how I used them while I travel.  I told him, "You know how you roll Deep Relief on your wrist?  It's much the same way, but I just put a couple drops of Juniper or Lemongrass to help with my swollen ankles."  

He is learning just like I've learned and just like you, I'm sure.  These oils can help with great benefits!  When I have leg cramps, I add Lavender to my legs and within a few minutes it's helped so much!  My mother-in-law had hand cramps while we were playing cards one night and I got out my Lavender and put a couple drops on her finger and rubbed it in.  Within a few minutes it was gone.  

As you go about your day, helping people, serving folks, loving on family and friends, "Sieze the day!"  Take the opportunity to spend time with someone, even if it may take a little bit of planning and setting a little bit of money aside to do that.  It is so worth it!  

Why?  Because some day, maybe not tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year, but some day, that person is going to be called home to be with Jesus.  Don't let time go by without visiting those folks.  If you have hard feelings between you, ask for forgiveness for your part in it, make ammends; take time to make memories.  You won't regret it!  

Carpe Diem! 

Love & God Bless,

Regina Graham 

Siezing the day to be silly with my hubby! 

Is it just me, or do these things come along at 4AMish for everyone?

I put my kids in bed for the night and got into the tub to relax.  My left leg started cramping in waves from my hip to my knee and all the way around my thigh.  It was all I could do to get out of the tub and in to bed with some Ibuprofen.  Tthrough the tears I called my husband and asked him for help.  He brought me a heating pad which made it worse.  So, we didn't know what else to do, but go to the ER.  I had to drive myself because there was no one to come stay with the kids and it was snowing outside.  

Three days, 2 ER visits, 1 Chiropractor on a Sunday, and no releif in sight, I called my Dad who was in Florida at the time & he prayed with me.  Then I called the elders of our church. At 8:30PM on a Sunday they came with their wives and all 5 laid hands on me and prayed.  At 8:37, I stood up for the first time in 3 days without pain.  If I could I would have jumped and leaped and praised God! 

In the days following, I still had small charlie-horses at night, but with the help of Quinine, Valerian Root, Calcium-Magnesium-Potassium supplements, a sleeping pill, and Naproxen, my muscles settled down enough to allow me to sleep.

I had an MRI a few days later which revealed a disc had ruptured in my back.  The gelantinous material oozed out ever so slightly and touched the left side of my spinal cord.  I was referred to a neurologist and upon entering the building and checking in, everyone was in awe that I wasn't wheeled in to their office in a wheelchair.  I told them my story and they were all amazed.  The Dr asked me which church I went to!  LOL  

So, almost 20 years later, I still occasionally get charlie-horses in the middle of the night.  Last night it was my right leg.  And you can rest assured that the pleading with God was already happening.  I never get them in my right leg, so I thought this was new.  I asked my husband to grab me a couple Naproxen, then I knew I didn't have any of the other things I'd used 20 years ago because I'd weaned myself off them long ago.  

What else did I have that would help?

I reached for my Lavender.  I liberally applied it everywhere I felt the pain from the charlie-horse.  With the Naproxen and the Lavender, my pain was gone in minutes.  I could stand up and walk to the bathroom.  I laid back down in bed and fell back to sleep.  

Praise God!

Love & God Bless,

Regina