Unique Everyday Uses For Essential Oils

Essential oils are a wonderful resource with a TON of benefits, but if you don’t know how to use them, it will be hard for you to reap those benefits.

Maybe you were just gifted some essential oils and are curious on what you can do with them.

Maybe you’ve just purchased an essential oil or two, or even an entire essential oil kit and are looking for unique ways to put them to use every day.

Or maybe you’re simply curious about essential oils and want to know some unique uses for them. Regardless of the reasoning you’re here, you’ll find some pretty interesting and unique ways to use essential oils in your everyday life below! Read on and enjoy 💕

#1: Repel Insects

This is personally one of my favorite uses for essential oils. I absolutely HATE bugs. I know hate is a strong word, but I have some VERY strong negative feelings towards creepy crawly bugs, so hate is a pretty appropriate word to use in this case.

If you are like me and you hate insects and creepy crawly things, then this tip is for you!

Common bugs like mosquitoes, flies and spiders are repelled by peppermint essential oil. Here are some ways you can use peppermint oil to repel these insects:

Mix 15-20 drops of peppermint essential oil into a 2oz spray bottle. Shake well and spray a few sprays on your clothing before going outside. If you have sensitive skin, you can also add a few drops of glycerin to the mixture to protect your skin, as peppermint essential oil can be irritating to some. Shake well before each use.

Create the same mixture as above minus the glycerin and spray in the corners of your home to reduce the number of spiders. This also works wonderfully for basements.

Mix 1 cup of baking soda and 15-20 drops of Peppermint essential oil together in an old sock. Tie off the top of the sock and you instantly have a moisture absorbing, odor absorbing, air freshening insect repellent ball! These are perfect for leaving in closets, basements or even your car as it has multiple properties besides just repelling insects.

#2: Make Your Home Smell Amazing

There is no secret that essential oils smell absolutely amazing. They each have such a unique smell and feel to them, and when combined there are endless scent possibilities.

When I first bought my essential oils and was looking for ways to use them, I immediately thought of using them for their scent. Here are some cool things I have personally used different essential oils for in my home to add scent:

Create your own air freshener/fabric refresher. This is actually a LOT easier than it sounds. All you will need is a glass spray bottle and your favorite essential oil (or oils!). The bottle must be glass though, because certain essential oils like peppermint, spearmint and tea tree oils do not do well in plastic bottles. Simply fill the bottle with water and drop in 10-20 drops of your favorite essential oil or essential oil blend.

Create “scent bags” for around the house. These are really similar to the insect repellent bags, except you can pretty them up a bit with different sachets and different scents. To make one, fill your sachet about 3/4 of the way full with baking soda. Then drop in 10-15 drops of your favorite essential oil or blend. You can put these around your house in places you would like the scent to be. You can even make different ones for each room of the house with different scents! My all time favorite is rose. I love to put that one in my bathroom. I also use lemon for the kitchen.

#3: Pain Relief

Along with repelling insects and smelling absolutely amazing, essential oils can also be used as an aid in pain relief. You can add a few drops of any of these essential oils into any unscented lotion or body cream to enjoy the pain relief benefits they offer.

Eucalyptus: has the ability to control heightened neuropathic sensitivity. This is due to eucalyptol, the substance in eucalyptus essential oil that gives it the cooling effect.
Chamomile: When it comes to nerve pain, chamomile is a great option. The bio active compounds in this oil can decrease the excitability of peripheral nerves, making for some serious nerve pain relief.
Peppermint Oil: Peppermint oil has a cooling effect when applied topically, which can give some pretty instant relief to minor muscle aches and pains.
Lavender Oil: This oil has a very calming effect when you are in the presence of it, which can help to decrease the perception of any pains you may have in your body. This one works as sort of a temporary distraction and relaxation away from the nagging pains you may experience.
Rosemary Oil: Rosemary Oil is a great decongestant, so when diffused it can help with headaches caused from stress or tension.

#4: Cleaning

Essential oils are an amazing way to clean your home of dirt and germs, while at the same time clean your home of harmful chemicals that are found in most household cleaners.

Having a 3 month old baby in the house means that I am very cautious about using chemicals in my home. Using essential oils to clean has been a life saver for my cleaning routine, and gives me an extra sense of security knowing that they are free of harmful chemicals that could hurt my baby if inhaled. It really is a win win!

You can drop a few drops of any of the following essential oils into a glass spray bottle of water and get right to cleaning:

Grapefruit: Use grapefruit for an all purpose spray. You can also use it as a bathroom spray to cleanse and purify counter tops and other hard surfaces.
Tangerine: Use tangerine essential oil in your toilet to remove unwanted odors.
Lemon: Lemon essential oil can be used as an all purpose cleaner. You can also mix it with olive oil and use it as a wood furniture polish.
Tea Tree Oil: Tea Tree oil is a natural disinfectant. Because of this, I recommend adding a couple of drops to any cleaning blend you decide to create to give it a little extra cleansing power.
Lime: Lime essential oil can be used to remove grease spots from surfaces.
Wild Orange: Wild orange is a very powerful cleanser, and works well in the kitchen. It also smells very fresh, which is awesome to have in the kitchen/dining room area. Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh citrus?

#5: Flea/Tick Treatment (Dogs ONLY)

Flea and tick treatments can get expensive, and sometimes they do not even fully get rid of the issue at hand. Using essential oils can not only save you money, but it can also be more beneficial to your dog than traditional medicines.

It is important to make a note here that these essential oils can ONLY be used with dogs. DO NOT USE THESE ESSENTIAL OILS AS A FLEA TREATMENT FOR CATS. Cats and Dogs have very different body chemistries, and therefore have allergies to different substances. An essential oil that may be very beneficial for a dog could potentially kill a cat. Be safe and be smart. With that said:

Lavender Oil: This oil is great for repelling ticks and soothing your pets skin. To apply, add 10-15 drops to your dogs shampoo before using.
Lemongrass Oil: The smell of lemongrass is extremely unpleasant for fleas, and its active ingredient works as a natural flea repellent because of this. To use, add 5 drops of the oil to a spray bottle of water and spray a few squirts on your dogs coat. You can do this daily to prevent fleas as long as your dog allows you to.
Peppermint Oil: This oil relieves skin irritation and inflammation caused by flea bites. To apply, simply drop 1 or 2 drops directly to your pets skin in the affected area to help with the healing process and prevent further itching/biting of the area.

That’s the end of the list!

I really hope you enjoyed reading this article and got some value from it. I love to create helpful content for you guys! Have an idea for a blog post or want a specific question answered? Feel free to leave a comment down below and let me know. Thanks for reading!

This post contains affiliate links. To read the full disclosure, click here.

XOXO,

Lia

Processing…

Success! You're on the list.

Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.