Peppermint

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

When a loved one has surgery, it really causes you to rethink so many different things.  Many times, you think, "Well, we're just going out of town for a couple days, I won't need to do this until I get back."  But that thought is so different when you're going out of town for a surgery.

 

As I type this, hubby is currently in surgery having a reversal of the partial replacement he had done last year.  I'm having the Asian entree for lunch while I wait for his Dr to call me and let me know how things went.  

 

As a caregiver, the cafeteria is such a blessing!  I know many of you who read this are very adept at being in hospitals as the caregiver.   This particular hospital has been one that I've become familiar with because it is our 2nd time here.  I love the people here and find myself relaxing more than I'd thought I would, even for the 2nd time here.  

 

For the past few weeks my mind has been on "what can I do to make things easier for my hubby once we get home."  So, we rearranged the sectional in the blue room, cleaned everything up, made sure where he is recuperating is equipped with an outlet for charging his phone, a side table for his water, coffee, meal tray, and pain meds.  I wanted to make sure everything was done, cleaned, and in place before we left so that once we got home, he could just get comfortable and rest.

 The next day I'll run to town and get his medication filled, get whatever groceries we need, then come home.  I won't leave him unless someone is with him with explicit instructions--if he falls, do not try to help him up, just call 911 to help.  He is going to be in a lot of pain and to help him up may strain his shoulder and/or hurt him further. 

 

I try to plan out the things that I need to get so that I am not away from him for too long.  I plan for some of his favorite foods and making them nutrient dense, so the healing process is moved along at a good rate.  

 

I usually don't leave him after surgery for 2 weeks or until I feel well enough that he can get himself some water, make a sandwich, or let the dogs out.  He may be a little bit longer with the recoup this time though, so I need to mentally prepare for that.  

 

With all this going on, we also have our grandbaby coming in mid-June some time, so his big brother will be under our care while our son and daughter-in-love are giving birth and recuperating in the hospital.  What a blessedly busy time!   Giving of ourselves, caring for others, and loving on them is one of those things we are called to as Christians.  I take this call seriously and do all that I can within my own power to fulfill this calling.  Caring for others does not mean you are weak, but to the contrary.  You have to be strong for the work physically, spiritually, and mentally.  It demands many things of you, so to take some time to yourself to rest, nap, read a book, or do something you enjoy is not selfish at all.

 

Our hearts are full, our plate is full, our arms are full, and God is so good!  

 

(This was written 5/24 while hubby was in surgery.)

 

Today--June 2nd, 2022

 

It's been a little over a week since my husband's surgery.  I've been working hard to balance caring for him, doing what I can at home, tending to appointments, driving, as well as trying to allow myself to rest as well.  Isn't that just like many of us who just don't allow ourselves to rest, or nap?  

 

When we came home from the hospital, I was focused most on making sure he had ice packs, meds, food, and enough pillows to rival the "Princess and the Pea."  LOL    

 

THEN...

 

When going to the Dr yesterday, he removed hubby's staples:  

Then he moved hubby's arm around in some pretty incredible ways and told me to "not baby him" and do this at home, too.  So, I'm putting a lighthearted loving spin on it by having him put his arm up on my shoulder.  It's not nearly as high as Dr lifted, but it helps.  Tomorrow I'm going to add a sway to it and a smile.  I think he needs that, too.  

 

He'll start PT next week and I'll be driving him places he needs to go until he's no longer taking meds.  He's had a pretty significant surgery, so he kind of needs those to help him with the pain at least for now.  

 

So for now, I've been putting a couple drops of Frankincense on the top of his shoulder, not the incision yet, a couple times each day.  I've also put Peppermint around the incision to help with swelling.  These are the only two oils I've used with him so far.  I plan to add Cedarwood, Lavender, and Cistus as well once the incision heals.  I'm going to put them in a roller bottle for him to use more easily twice a day.  I'm going to take a look at more oils in the Ancient Oils of Scripture Collection as well for their help with healing.  I'm sure I'll be looking at Hyssop and Myrrh, but I want to research all of them more in-depth.  Hence the reason I always say, "If I had 7 lifetimes to learn all there is to know about essential oils, that still wouldn't be enough time!"  Whew! 

 

As time goes on, I'll share more about the process and what we come up with.  

 

In the meantime, have a wonderful day!

 

 

Love & God Bless,

A tired, but thankful...Regina Graham

 

Every year I get the itch to start Spring cleaning around the first of Februay.  I love a clean house, dust being tamed, and puppy dog kisses off the doors and windows. 

This year has been a little different.  Our daughter moved out in mid February, so we decided to overhaul her old room making it light, bright and airy feeling, and dare I say add "sea turtles" to it too, but that will come.  (I love sea turtles).  It's a very light seafoam green now with the shalves and doors to the cupboards below coordinating nicely.  It is very peaceful now!  

So once this was finished, I moved on to the shelves in our living room.  At this point in time I'm still not able to lift or carry anything over a gallon of milk, I needed help.  My oldest son came along to help me and we were able to finsih 2 of the shelves.  The other shelves are higher, but we'll get to those soon.  Every day we work on deep cleaning a different area, so it's all good.  

What do I use to clean with?   

All I ever use anymore is Thieves Household Cleaner.  When I do sinks, tubs, and toilets, I add baking soda and a citrus oil or Purification Essential Oil blend.  When I'm done things smell absolutely divine!   Like Christmas all year long! 

You can find these items here:

*Thieves Household Cleaner--This replaces every single cleaner in my home.  I use one cap full to 20 ounces of water or 2 cap fulls to 30 ounces of water.  I clean windows, counter tops, tables, floors, sinks, tubs, toilets, 

EVERYTHING with this cleaner!  It is $1.29 per bottle when you do the math.  You can get 20 bottles of spray out of one bottle of Thieves Household Cleaner.  It's the toxin free stuff I've used for 4 years and it is safe for people and pets!  Disclaimer!  If you're allergic to cinnamon, let me know and I"ll give you another recipe that you can use with Purification Essential Oil! 

In case you were wondering what you could clean with this natural, nontoxic plant based cleaner, take a look! 

I love this cleaner so much that I can honestly say without a shadow of a doubt that I will never use any other cleaner again, EVER!!!  

In fact, if you'd like to learn more, let me know and I can send you a super informative textable class!  You can listen to this while you're driving to work, waiting in the carpool lane, after the kids are in bed, before the kids get up, while you go for your daily walk, or walking on the treadmill.  If you need pockets of time, that works too!  The important thing is that you're not only learning about this product, but you're learning about all the things that are currently under your roof and how toxic they are!  

Now, what other oils do I clean with and how do I use them?

I'm glad you asked!  

This is one of the many ways I add oils to my Thieves Household Cleaner bottle.  Give it a shake before you use to make sure all the oils are incorporated.  

Why not just use oils in water?

Oils will lay across the top of the water, so you need something in your mixture for the oils to grab ahold of and mix together in to the liquid.  So, with 1 capful of Thieves Household Cleaner as the base cleaner, you can add oils like:

Citrus Fresh: Orange, Grapefruit, Mandarin, Tangerine, Lemon and Spearmint--This is the only blend that contains Mandarin oil as of the writing of this post.  Mandarin OIl is not avalable at this time as a single oil at this time.  If you would like a sample of this oil, let me know and I'll send it to you.  It smells absolutely wonderful!  I love diffusing this oil as well as cleaning with it!  There are so many benefits from this oil, just look up "Benefits of...." any of these oils and do the research!  You'll be blown away!  

Orange:  This is a single oil that is so very uplifting and fresh!  I love diffusing this oil, using it in my hair, or adding it to a roll-on with Lavender to use as my perfume.  Adding this to my Thieves bottle makes a wonderful addition to this cleaner!  I love it!  Once again, google "Benefits of..." and you'll be surprised! 

Lavender:  According to the Young Living website, "Lavender essential oil is the most universal oil and has a tranquil aroma that is soothing to the senses, as well as to the skin when applied topically. Taken internally, it contains antioxidants, may provide immune support, and can be used to add a floral flavor to your evening tea." 

Pine:  Many people liken this scent with a popular cleaner, but that cleaner is filled with cancer causing toxic chemicals.  This essential oil is all there is in this oil...just pine.  Nothing else!  Once again, ya'all just google "Benefits of..." to see for yourself the benefits of these essential oils and make the switch today!  

How do I use this in my cleaning?  I use 10 drops in my Thieves Household Cleaner bottle or with 4 cap fulls of Thieves Household Cleaner in a bucket of mop water.  I have 4 big dogs and a cat, so that means BIG messes.  Four cap fulls in a mop bucket takes care of those big messes really quick and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I"m not introducing cancer causing chemicals in to their bodies through their noses or their paw pads.  (More on this later)

Eucalyptus Globulus (One of 3 that Young Living has to offer):  This oil has a special place in my heart.  This oil began my Young Living journey in 2010.  I was so tired of not being able to breathe.  I wanted relief and this worked so well for me that I bought Lavender, then fell in love with it.  Then when my son needed some help paying attention to his school work, I bought Vetiver.  With every single oil I've purchased or received for FREE, it holds a special place in my heart and mind.  This one helped me with this _____, that one helped me with that _____.  This is such a beautiful journey!   I love that the Lord gave us these wonderful plant oils to use to help our bodies!  My appreciation of Him and His goodness has grown more and more with the use of each "new to my home" oil that comes in the door!  

Read the link above about this gloriously wonderful oil.  You'll see some words like 

Lime:  I found out about how lovely this particular oil was from a friend of mine who suggested 6 drops of it and 2 drops of Peppermint in her diffuser.  OH MY WORD!!!  This combination smells absolutely divine!  Just imagine the riches you'll find when you see the key constituents of this little ditty!  It will bless your socks off!  Yes, putting it in to my Thieves Household Cleaner bottle or my mop water works fantastically with all sorts of pet odors and cleans like crazy!  I love it! 

Peppermint:  This oil was purely left in my Starter Kit when I bought it back in 2015.  I figured, "I don't like Peppermint Ice Cream, tea, or mint jelly, so this will just stay there until I learn more about it."  And that's perfectly ok!  Each of us are on a different journey with these oils.  Like I tell everyone, if I had 7 lifetimes to learn all there is to know about essential oils, that still wouldn't be enough time to know all there is to know!  Take a look at this one!  It's awesome!   It helps with muscle aches, breathing issues, and tummy troubles, so just read sbout it and do the research about this oil like I did!  You'll never regret the time you invest in researching things for your health!  

OH MY Word!!!!  There are so many more that you could use as well!  These are just a few to clean your home! 

 Just a reminder, though, these oils are so much more than just scents.  They are health giving, life supporting, plant juices given to us by God Himself for the "healing of the nations!" (Revelation 22:2b; Ezekiel 47:12)

How do you get your hands on this wonderful cleaner and all the oils above?  Easy!  You can click on any of the links to those products above.  If you want to save 24%, click the "add to subscription" button.  Create your account, add your address as your default, and make sure you go to your "Account Details" and set up your PIN number.  Remember to write down all of your information--email, member number, password, and PIN number--so that you can use it when you need it in the future.  Then check out.  Easy Peasy!  If you need help, I'm available to help you maneuver the process.  

Let me know! 

Love and God Bless,

Regina Graham

Years ago, about 24 to be exact, the general "rule of thumb" was when your kids were 2 years old, take them to the dentist, get started with flouride treatments for their teeth, get their teeth cleaned, as much as they will handle, and continue doing that every 6 months until they have their own insurance.

By the time my oldest son was about 8 years old, we noticed brown marks on his teeth. We didn't know what it was and the dentist didn't seem too concerned with it, so we didn't think much of it.  We just told him to keep brushing his teeth twice a day and we left it at that.  

As time went on and things came to my attention--oxidative stress from the wrong oils in our cooking and baking, using vinegar and baking soda to clean with, and subsequently flouride poisoning, this Momma bear's ears pricked up and more research ensued.  

Can you imagine what I found when I looked up flouride poisoning?!  Try it!  


That's just in drinking water! 

And I wondered how my son's teeth were getting brown spots!?

What did we do?  I had been trying to get him to use baking soda and peppermint for a while, but the baking soda just didn't feel good to him.  

As a mother who is concerned, you do all that you can, keep researching, and leave the rest up to God.  

When we moved to Georgia, we've used a filtration system on our refrigerator for our drinking water and use bottled water for our coffee.  I'd like to eventually get a Berkey system like the one below which filters out so much more than our refrigerator filtration system.  

Click the picture to see this particular Berkey filtration system!

 I'd like to say we've reached a point where we're no longer using flouridated toothpaste, but so far it is only me who is using the non-flouride toothpaste.  I think everyone else is more concerned about taste than anything else.  

As for floride free toothpaste for kids and adults, you could make your own toothpaste from Bentonite Clay, which remineralizes your teeth; Organic Food Grade Activated Charcoal, which draws out impurities, Organic Coconut Oil which is a good binding agent; Thieves Vitality OIl and Peppermint Vitality Oil.  You could also add Orange Vitality Oil for whitening instead of bleach.  

Another option for kids is KidScents Toothpaste which is flouride free.  For adults there are quite a few options for toothpaste, including Thieves Whitening Toothpaste.  Take a look and see which one(s) you might be interested in learning more about!  Of course none of these products are made with flouride, so you don't have to risk the flouride poisoning from the OTC products.  

For me, it's a no-brainer!  

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Love & God Bless,
Regina