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Monday, October 21, 2019

My Top 10 Young Living Products Outside of the Starter Kit

My favorite thing about using Young Living is how easy it has been to switch from toxin in our home and personal care products to safer options! Young Living has much more than just essential oils. There are 600 products available, and everything for our home we would normal buy at Walmart, target, and amazon!

Essential Rewards, Young Living's monthly wellness box shipped straight to our door, has been amazing. Instead of adding an expense to our budget, we just use the money we normally spend on things like household cleaners, make up, personal care products, and baby products.

There are so many products we have seen a huge difference with, that work better than what we were using before. If you are starting your journey with cleaner living, but don't know where to begin, this is for you! I made a list of my 10 favorite products outside the starter kit.

1. Thieves Household Cleaner   |   Item #20830


This is my number one favorite. Thieves household cleaner is perfectly safe for kids and pets. Young Living is completely open about the ingredients in their products.

Thieves cleaner is not only safe, it is also EFFECTIVE! It has been tested to kill 99.9% of bacteria! When tested against other popular brands, thieves cleaner killed much more bacteria. See the results below!


The thieves household cleaner comes as a concentrate that lasts MONTHS! It makes 30+ spray bottles of cleaner and comes out to about $.88 each. We use this one cleaner on ever single surface of the house! Instead of buying a different cleaner for each area like counters, bathrooms, mirrors, toilets, and floors, we just buy the one bottle of Thieves Cleaner!

2. Diaper Rash Cream   |   Item #20398


This Diaper Rash Cream has been awesome for my babies! It helps them heal from rashes quickly and soothes at the same time. Joslynne has always cried with every other cream we've tried, but she asks for this one!

This is also amazing for postpartum! ;)

One of the coolest uses for the diaper rash cream is as a concealer! Trust me, it's incredible. I just mix a tiny bit of the diaper rash cream with my mineral foundation. It is perfect to put on blemishes/acne because it's healing spots under your make up instead of clogging pores!

3. Seedlings Baby Wipes   |   Item #20428


Seedlings Wipes smell amazing! They are also soothing and alcohol free. They are perfect for all things baby and toddler. But, they also make awesome make up remover wipes!

4. Saavy Minerals Foundation    |   Item #20776


I love this foundation. The color is a perfect match and I love how it feels. I know it's not clogging my skin up and it lasts forever. ;)

5. Thieves Wipes   |   Item #3756


We never leave the house without these. I wipe all the surfaces in public places that the girls will touch. They smell like Christmas, so we always get asked what smells so good. I like how safe these are for me kids while still killing germs! Especially since I've seen my girls lick things like the seat on planes!

6. Charcoal Bar Soap   |   Item #23799


This has been a game changer for my face! I have struggled with acne quite a bit as an adult, but my skin has been so different in the last couple weeks. Activated charcoal acts like a magnet to pull dirt from your pores. I felt a difference in my face after one wash.

7. Thieves Laundry Soap   |   Item #5349


Laundry Soap was one of the first things I wanted to switch in our home to a cleaner option. I wanted something that works well, but is free of toxins and fragrances. I love how this smells. The awesome thing about scents with Young Living products is that instead of smelling "like" citrus and cinnamon, these products actually have citrus and cinnamon oils in them. No synthetic chemicals here! I love how clean our clothes turn out too!

The Laundry Soap is a concentrate as well, so it can be diluted to last longer! We use one bottle of it for 2.5-3 months! The instructions for diluting it is HERE.

8. Thieves Foaming Hand Soap   |   Item #3674


This soap is awesome! It smells so perfect for fall and winter. It is also actually antibacterial! It lasts a long time, and can be doubled by diluting it with water and baking soda! I like having the thieves blend in our hand soap because it is effective against germs, but also boosts are immune systems.

9. Ningxia NITRO   |   Item #3064


NITRO is similar to a preworkout or 5 hour energy drink without the crash! It supports alertness, cognitive, and overall fitness. It is perfect to drink after a night of little sleep, before a workout, if you need to stay up late studying or working, or before a day of walking and sightseeing. I love drinking it during my afternoon slump when I normally reach for sugar!

10. Thieves Toothpaste   |   Item #3039


Thieves toothpaste leaves my mouth, teeth, and gums feeling super clean. It has helped with sore gums for me as well! I know natural toothpaste usually doesn't have a minty flavor/taste and some people miss that. Young Living's Thieves Whitening Toothpaste is more minty! I am hoping to try that one soon!

I am planning to share my top 10 favorite Essential Oils outside the starter kit later this week! If you need help becoming a member of Young Living, let me know and I'll walk you through it! If you are already a member and need help signing up for Essential Rewards, I'm happy to help with that too. ;)

Other posts that might help:
How Our Family Affords Clean Living
7 Ways to Save Up for You Young Living Starter Kit

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

How to Stop Spending Time on Laundry


Our Laundry Routine

I've spent a lot of the past couple years trying to figure out how to stop drowning in laundry. The constant piles that just get bigger and bigger are so overwhelming to me. I hate passing them knowing they won't go away until I can block out a chunk of time to fold. I've tried scheduling in time regularly, having a laundry day, or folding the clothes straight out of the dryer. However, it always is the last priority when life gets busy. I think because we can technically live straight from our piles of clean clothes, it just always if the first chore to be tossed to the side.

This cycle drives me crazy, so I have been trying all the laundry tips I can find. I finally found a method that has been a game changer.

Everyday, we wash the clothes we wore the day before.

It's so simple, why have I not been doing this sooner?! It seriously makes the time spent on laundry pretty much nonexistent.

We do 3 loads a day.
1. Our clothes
2. Kids' clothes
3. Whites
About every other day, we wash towels.

It's so easy! The loads are so small. We just take them straight out of the dryer and put them away. It cuts out the "sit and fold into piles" stage.

I know it seems like more loads would be more work when you can just wait until you have more to wash at once. But, staying on top of it before there it piles up keeps me from having to fit it into the week.




FAQ's:

Doesn't that take a ton of laundry detergent?

We use Thieves Laundry Detergent which is highly concentrated. It that requires a very small amount per load! One bottle of it lasts 2-3 months.

Isn't that a waste of water?

We do run the water 3x a day, but I don't wash the clothes on the longest cycle. Especially because I'm washing them so soon after we dirty them, they haven't been sitting long. ;)

What if you skip a day?

I'm not going to lie, it can be easy to get behind on this method, and let everything pile up again. Especially after trips or vacation! I try to remember that even if it feels like I don't have time to throw my 3 loads in, it will take even more time if I don't get it done.

When we get behind and the laundry piles up, I just try to push through and get back to empty laundry baskets in one day. That way we can start over on track!


Tips:
To dry clothes faster

Dryer sheets are some of the worst toxin and harsh chemical laden supplies in our homes. They can have more than 25 volatile air pollutants including carcinogens and benzene.

You also have to keep buying them over and over again. But, they speed up drying time, and make our clothes smell great.

Our replacement solution is wool dryer balls. It blows my mind how much faster our clothes dry with them! We also just drop of few drops of essential oil on them and throw them in with our clothes. This helps our clothes smell great without toxic chemicals and synthetic fragrances!




To Prevent shrinking

I used to air dry almost all my clothes. If I put them in the dryer, they seemed to shrink every single time! :( This is the most simple tip ever, but someone told me about drying on low heat, and it has been life changing! ;) Our dryer's low heat is perfect to still get the clothes dry without shrinking them!


To Get rid of Odor

Who doesn't leave a load in the washer a little too long now and again? #momlife ;) I hate when I do that, and the moldy smell is so hard to get rid of. I recently started adding a few drops of Purification oil to the fabric softener compartment with white vinegar when I rewash the load, and IT WORKS! The clothes come out smelling so good!

Purification is also amazing for stinky work out clothes too! Some of my other favorites to use to make my clothes smell great naturally, are Orange, Citrus Fresh, and Lemon. :)

To make it easy, I put about 20 drops of the oils I want in little 10 ml dropper bottles and keep them in the laundry room. Then, I just squeeze a dropper full into the fabric softener compartment, and top with white vinegar!




To Remove Stains

I got this recipe from my friend Cheryl! It's a perfect way to fight stains without harsh chemicals! The photo below is just in a 10 ml bottle, because that's all I had. I just cut the recipe into 3 bottles! ;)

Stain Stick:
30ml roller bottle
1. 1 capful Thieves Cleaner
2. 1 capful Thieves Laundry Soap (or Thieves dish soap in a pinch)
3. Fill rest with water


To save money on toxin free laundry detergent

This little bottle of laundry detergent is enough for 128 loads and lasts us 3 months! Many products from Young Living's Thieves line are highly concentrated and can be diluted to last a long time! It's pretty awesome that we don't get charged for water.  
Here are the instructions to dilute the detergent to make it last for months! 

1. Pour entire Bottle of Theives Detergent into glass drink dispenser. (mine is $12 at Walmart) 
2. Fill up empty detergent bottle with water and pour into dispenser 
3. Add 3-4 capfuls of Thieves Cleaner to dispenser 
4. Stir!




These are just the tips I've gathered that have been helpful for us! I know there are tons of laundry hacks and schedules out there, but I thought I'd share incase you're on the hunt for some fresh ideas like I was! ;)

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

7 Ways to Save Up for Your Young Living Starter Kit


It's no secret that we use and love Young Living for all our personal care, beauty, baby, and cleaning products! The best way to get your hands on Young Living is to become a member. The amazing thing is that there are no membership fees! All you have to do is purchase one of Young Living's starter kits, and you automatically get 24% off every order, forever. Many companies require you to pay a membership fee upfront, and yearly just to maintain it, and you haven't even purchased anything to use yet!

So, the starter kit. It's an upfront investment, but it's priced at over 50% off it's value, and includes 12 Young Living's favorite and most versatile oils and more. We seriously use the starter kit daily. It is the single most life changing purchase I've ever made. So, you get the point, it is well worth the $165.

I saved up for my starter kit, and I know many of my friends are doing the same right now! I just wanted to share some ideas to save up! I did a few of these to earn enough for my starter kit, and others I have done or am doing to pay for our Essential Rewards box each month!


1. Sell stuff that is collecting dust on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist

It's so nice that you can sell used items locally on Facebook! It's such an easy way to earn back some of what you paid for high quality or gently used items you just aren't using anymore! Especially baby items! I have found so many pieces of furniture, baby carriers, and more online that were like new. I have sold some things as well, and it's just such an easy way to make some cash! If you live in the West, and have access to KSL, that's my favorite!

2. Marie Kondo your garage and have a yard sale

I have been going through each section of our house regularly over the last year and a half to purge when we don't use. It frees us up so much to make sure we aren't accumulating clutter. Some stuff may seem like junk, but you never know if someone might want it for the right price. We had a yard sale in the early summer, and made quite a bit. Especially for stuff we were just going to throw away.

We added a lemonade stand with cookies, to lure customers in! ;)

3. Download the Ibotta app and earn cash back on grocery trips and online purchases

Ibotta has been such a huge help for us. I've yearned enough for a starter kit 3 times over on this app alone.

For grocery trips, all we do is check the available offers before heading to the store. We also check for bonuses! We get cash back on several items we are buying anyways, and when you hit a bonus, it is more cash on top of that!

BONUS TIP: You can now pay with Ibotta at places like Walmart and Home Depot for 1% back on every purchase. That's earning money just for opening an app and having the cashier scan it!

We also use Ibotta for online purchases! I just open Ibotta to direct me to places like Amazon or Old Navy and earn cash back just for opening an app when I shop!

4. Sell handmade products or services

Have a special talent? Make a stash of products and sell them on Etsy. Etsy is so easy to use and it's nice because the perfect audience looking for what you have sell comes to the site on their own, so no advertising necessary! :) So if you draw, paint, craft, sew, knit, crochet, make jewelry, woodwork, etc, Etsy may be worth a try!

Or, you can offer babysitting, cleaning, or tutoring services to friends and neighbors!

5. Lower Your Food Bill

Pocket cash you normally spend on food by buying in bulk, shopping your pantry, or giving up drink stops for coffee or soda for the month.  I recently wrote a blog post with 14 simple ways we've saved money on food, you can find that here.

6. Host a Class

One of the best ways to learn more about Young Living and natural living is to host a make and take class. We have a class at your house, I teach it, you invite your friends and family, and earn money towards Young Living! This would also allow you to see, feel, smell, and try some of the products. If you are local to me, (or in the Raleigh, North Carolina area) ;) and would like to host a class, let me know! They also just a great excuse for a girl's night! :)

7. Earn a $50 dollar paycheck from Young Living for EACH friend you share with and help grab a kit. 

This is obviously an idea for after you've purchased the kit, but a pretty awesome perk! You can earn a $50 paycheck for each friend you share Young Living with and who buy a kit! You don't have to send spammy messages to everyone you've ever met, or even have a social media presence. Just share what you love, and would share with friends anyways!


What's in the Premium Starter Kit?

12 Essential Oils
2 Packets of Ningxia Red
1 Hand Purifier
1 Bottle Thieves Spray
2 Roller Ball Attachments


Let me know if you have any other ideas! I'd also love to talk with you more if you have any questions about these ideas, or what we've tried.

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