How do you actually begin using essential oils? What is the first step? Where do you start without it costing you a fortune because essential oils ain’t cheap! As a busy working mum with two young children and not much spare time these were questions that I was asking myself at the start of my journey with reducing toxins in my home. I was introduced to essential oils by a dear friend of mine who in passing conversation mentioned the wonderful benefits in which she had seen improvements with her kids sleeping habits (this got my attention stat!) and with her own mental well-being from using essential oils.   This also happened to be about the same time as my son was diagnosed with a dust mite allergy and my friend had mentioned some ways in which essential oils could help with his allergy. My other son was also having issues with sleeping and staying in his own bed every single night! So she had piqued my interest to say the least. Not having a clue about essential oils and their uses I decided to trust her knowledge and give it a try as I’d already been contemplating the idea of reducing toxins in my family home but just didn’t know how to get started. The extent of my knowledge about essential oils was what massage therapists used to give you a nice relaxing massage. Ahhh remember those days pre-lockdown? So, being the cautious and sceptical person I am, I decided to just start small with just 10 of the most popular essential oils (in sample size too because they definitely aren’t cheap!!) in case they didn’t work for me or I didn’t like them or they just didn’t deliver as well as they did for my friend. My main purpose in wanting to try out essential oils was for the health of my family in particular my son and his newly diagnosed allergy plus I was getting sick of the smell of the dishwashing tablets I was using. All my cups, plates and cutlery were starting to taste like those horrible dishwashing tablets!! So gross! As my journey began with the 10 samples, I started to explore more uses and created a new DIY recipe board on Pinterest dedicated to essential oil recipes. I discovered more and more ways that I could ditch other toxic products in the home and substitute them for much lower or no toxic options. Even better, it was quick and easy to do!! Winning!! I was sold Essential oil recipes began to consume me as I experimented with more and more uses for them in my home. I started making my own laundry powder, dishwasher powder, stain spray, all purpose balm, face serums, face cleanses, bug sprays, nit sprays, chest and cough rollers and the list goes on. A true convert! As my scepticism started to lessen I got more and more amazed and enthusiastic about all the wonderful uses I’d discovered. Since I enjoy researching, learning new things (I’ve always got my head stuck in a book trying to hide from my family for just 15 minutes of peace)…..and passing all the fascinating facts onto others is something I love to do.  I’m passionate about helping others and if I’ve done most of the leg work for you and it’s going to be a nice smooth transition for those that want to give a lower tox life a go then I hope you’ll stick around and come on my journey with me.