Why I Ditched Off the Shelf Household Products and Started Using Natural Products
Growing up, natural health and alternative medicine weren’t topics we talked about or even entertained in our home. We had a cabinet full of cleaning products with a skull and crossbones on them and drawers full of medicine for a wide variety of ailments. If anyone showed signs of a headache, my parents reached for the Advil without thinking twice.
It had never occurred to us to seek out alternatives. This was the norm for our family and many families of that generation.
Sound familiar?
As a married woman establishing my own home, I came to the realization that I was the gatekeeper of my home. I could control which products I bought and allowed into our home.
I began to pay attention, read labels and ask questions.
I became aware of the possible toxins we were being exposed to and the way those toxins would affect my family.
This was a jumping off point for our journey to natural alternatives and, ultimately, what led us to Young Living Essential oils.
I can vividly remember mopping the floor of our first home. I was 4 months pregnant with our first child, and our sweet golden retriever Stella was running around leaving paw prints on the damp floor. Boy was I frustrated at those little marks on my clean floor!
But then I got to thinking.
How was the cleaner I had just used on the floor going to affect our puppy? Scared for Stella’s health, I grabbed the bottle of cleaner and read through a long list of warnings:
“Harmful if swallowed”
“Skin & eye Irritant”
“Call poision control”
“May cause headache”
Those words did NOT sit well with me.
This was a product I used ALL the time. We were about to have a baby and I knew the time to act was now. There had to be an alternative that didn’t come with any warnings. An alternative that would give me peace of mind AND work effectively in our home.
I felt that there just HAD to be something better.
And there was!
My sweet new neighbour, Lisa, introduced me to Young Living. I am forever grateful that she took the time to share and truly show me a different way to think and live.
I started with the basic oils kit and a diffuser, thinking that is all I needed. It was so great! I had a little tool kit that I knew was safe for everyone in our home, even the dog.
As an “all-or-nothing” type of person (Enneagram 1, anyone?!) I felt compelled to switch out ALL of the products in our home for safer alternatives. This felt like an overwhelming task, but Young Living allowed me to do it slowly, one product at a time.
I also discovered that in many cases I could eliminate MULTIPLE toxic products with a SINGLE clean, toxin-free alternative from YL!
No more Windex. No more Vim. No more Bleach. With Thieves household cleaner I could use one product for everything. Talk about a game changer!
When someone got a cough, we reached for R.C. Essential Oil. If we felt a headache coming on it was Peppermint Essential Oil to the rescue.
I could go on and on but these are a few examples of the YL products that helped me eliminate toxins from our home.
Was it hard to give up the things I had always used? YES!
Did I miss the smell of fresh laundry I had grown accustomed to? YES!
Were there a few products that I held on to because I didn't believe they could be replaced? You bet!
Our lives have changed so much since my first introduction to Young Living. When I started eliminating toxins from our home I had no idea how important these steps would be to our family’s future. With our girl's diagnosis (you can read all about that in this post) having a clean, toxin-free home became even more important to us.
Those little bottles of oils gave me so much control and empowered me to make many changes that were necessary for the lifestyle we wanted to live.
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. The information on this blog is not intended to cure, treat, or heal any disease. Please use essential oils and other Young Living products at your own risk (and with lots of common sense).