Americans now days spend as much, if not more, on healthcare than they do on food. In the era of rising healthcare costs that is even going up. That to me sounds crazy! I would rather spend less (a lot less in healthcare) and more on healthy food. In fact I look at healthy choices actually are far more preventative and healthcare expenses are more reactive. Â So anyway I can find to shave money off of healthcare expenses leaves more money for other important issues like healthy and organic food, or food production.
I often refer to ourselves as homesteaders. As homesteaders we want to be more active in all areas of our life. Grow our own food, manage our own health and all in all live a simpler life that requires less living the hustle and bustle of average America. In fact I recently wrote a post about how to be more self-sufficient, and I talked a lot about doing more for yourself, and relying less on others. That really is what the homestead life is all about. So that being said as a family of 6 I do not care to spend $600 or more on healthcare! No way! One way to save a ton is to collect a few essential oils and a few handy resources and skip the pricy Doctor visits in a waiting room full of sick people.
So I have made a list of 10 different essential oils that one could collect and that would prevent, heal or cure almost all your ails. Now in a case of emergency that is not what I am talking about here. But cough, cold, flu, ear infection, sore throats, hand-foot and mouth, warts, rashes, minor burns, skin infections and the like.
1. Frankincense
A long while back I did a whole post on the amazingness of frankincense (check that out here). It is super healing and you can add it to just about any mix or body part to speed recovery or healing. It’s gentle enough for babies, pregnancy and powerful enough that N.D. Use it to help heal cancer. So keeping this one on hand is a must for helping to keep you and your family out of the pricey medical clinic.
2. Lavender
Another one that I often put in or use on everything or almost. Another one that speeds healing. This one benefits almost all systems in the body in one way or another. Both of these first two are also considered to be anti-aging and are both used in natural skin care for just that. Good for calming both the skin, but the mind and body as well. Great for helping colicky babies, restless children or even pets in need of calming as well. In fact when our old boxer began convulsing for the first time I knew immediately this would be one I would put on him.
3. Clove
This one is a go to for us, I use it in many home healthcare remedies. I even use it in our DIY toothpaste. It was also an immediate go-to for Jesse’s tooth infection a few years back. We completely healed that issue while the local dentist wanted to put him on antibiotics and the do a $1200 root canal, (guess what didn’t happen? right the $1200 root canal). Clove you could use in almost any sickness, in baths, teas or taken internally in capsule for more of an internal antibiotic need. I also want to add these first 3 I use in our summer time, always on hand DIY skeeter stick, mainly this is because it is an antihistamine, and calms down your bodies reaction to the mosquito bite. Also one to keep in mind if you suffer from a lot of seasonal allergies!
4. Peppermint
This one is very helpful on stomach issues (gas, colic, nausea indigestion, diarrhea, etc) as well as headaches and  sore muscles. Also very helpful during cold and flu season helps with congestion and very helpful diffusing in the air, for ease of breathing.
5. Thieves
This one is actually a mix, but it is so amazingly powerful it has to be on the must have list! In fact just the story on where the name comes from attests to this. I will give you the cliff notes version, in case you haven’t heard it before. Basically 4 thieves in the time of the European Black Death. There were 4 thieves who were robbers of those who fell victim to the sickness. They were eventually caught and forced to reveal how they were able to escape the sickness while  getting close enough to it to rob people. What was revealed is not completely known and there are many different variations of the story. What came out of that is the modern-day thieves mix. I can say this was a mix we used when 2 of the kids came in contact with hand foot and mouth. The sickness lasted less than two days and they were done. I also used teas and Thyme to overcome this one. However cousins fared far worse, and we never seen the inside of a doctors office for it.
6. Oregano
Another powerful anti-sickness one. In fact I have even used this our livestock in keeping them healthy. We had a duck with animal bites that would have likely killed her due to infection but I immediately started treating her with a oregano, lavender and frankincense mixture diluted in regular old olive oil. Luckily the ol’ girl pulled through and she is just as though it never happened. Oregano does tend to be very warm when on the skin so dilution is absolutely necessary, and I don’t really ever put this one on my kids. I would if I had to in a very serious situation, but it would have to be pretty extreme. I do love this one to keep my animals healthy and keep vet bills to non existent if I can.
7. Chamomile
Very calming and usable on everyone, baby and pregnancy safe. Great for skin, inflammation and pain issues. Arthritis, stomache issues, colic, nervous system, and sleeplessness. So absolutely helpful especially with fussy babies. In fact Lavender and chamomile are often used hand in hand in natural baby items like lotions, baths and naturopathic medicines.
8. Tea tree
This one is another anti-infectious type. In fact I included this in a recent post about 3 great ways to cure and ear infection (check that out here). It is claimed to be great at skin issues as well including acne, however it can have a drying effect, however no more so than all OTC acre medications. I have all heard many mothers that have used this with things like mastitis and issues like that, In which case an essential oil will always be healthier than an antibiotic.
9. Eucalyptus
This one I like because it is also a powerful antiviral, and as we all know viruses can be tricky to fight off. This is generally included in the thieves mix but I also like to have it alone. I have used it to rid our newly acquired wild baby kitty of ringworm. I have also used it to make a chest rub when breathing has become difficult with chest congestion, I would mix this and peppermint along with lavender and diluted in an oil an applied to the chest and back.
10. Sweet Orange
This is one that can be used on many different areas for healing. I used this one on certain areas of my feet that are associated with different body parts when I was working on healing my thyroid and endocrine system. This is also very handy at making your own green and natural cleaners to give a fresh citrus smell. It is helpful at lifting the mood and great for depression, or the winter blues. It is a sedative to the nervous system but a stimulant to the digestive system. This one is just all around handy.
Now I don’t represent a essentail oil company like I see many people online doing, however I do love and believe in essential oils that being said I have a few different brands I like the most, and that is because they are the most cost-effective. Like I said we like to manage our own health for one to save money, Â so spending $100 on an oil I could get the same quality for $10, $15 or at the very most $20 makes absolutely no earthly sense to this gal. Many companies that claim “they are the only ones that have a specific grade”, that simply means they own a patient on a title of grade. For example if I wanted to sell you a plant that I labeled “super superior” and I patented that title no one else could use it, so it is with many expensive essential oil companies.
So here I added some Amazon links to some that I use, I try to only add links to Amazon prime items, that is because I love prime and free shipping I assume you do too! Â I will also show you two essential oil books that I consult whenever we have a sickness, or I am wondering what to use on a specific issue. Also take note you can buy oils directly from some of the suppliers and save a great deal that easy as well.
Healing Solutions has some great mixes, blends and singles, and I love their Oil of the month club. A great way to build up your essential oil stock on a small monthly budget.
Another one I really like is Edens Garden. They also have some great prices and if you need a whole bunch at once they have some great prices on ‘create your own’ sets of 2, 6, 12 and even 32. Now their ‘create your own’ set of 12 costs less than other companies charge for 1, yes one single oil!
Money savings is what I am about, not titles or brands. Don’t need to be the “in girl” just the girl who saves money and lives healthy. And truth is that today you can greatly take care of a huge extent of ailments with a few essential oils and a little knowledge on hand.♡♡♡
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From our family to yours, thanks for stopping by
Beth is a mother of 6 living on a handful of acres in an old farmhouse in central Kansas. Beth has a background in the military and health and fitness however her passions come from her homestead life. Beth is an enthusiastic homeschooling mom, avid organic gardener, chicken & goat wrangler, who is obsessed with herbs and natural remedies and maintaining an all-around Do-It-Yourself lifestyle. Beth loves to share all she has learned about and sustainable living. While striving for a healthy, natural life, family-centered life.