The Afdem Farmhouse

I’m sure you’ve heard the term “your why” a lot lately. It seems like when anybody starts a new endeavor, whether it be physical, mental, a new job or lifestyle change they are looking to find their why. It’s an important part of starting something new or remembering why you started something in the first place. It’s basically finding your purpose.

Today I want to share with you why I started using essential oils. Like most of you I had been hearing about them pretty frequently from some bloggers I follow. I was a HUGE skeptic though. I heard the amazing claims people made, read the testimonies and still it took me more than a year to bite the bullet and order my kit. The final push I needed came last year when I had a health scare.

It’s kind of a long story so I’ll try to trim it down. After having my son in September of 2017 I had high blood pressure that lead to postpartum preeclampsia. Immediately after delivering I was having issues with shortness of breath. All the doctors said it was most likely due to the high blood pressure. Ok fine. I went on with my life. My blood pressure went back to normal 7 weeks postpartum but I was still having severe shortness of breath. It was so bad some evenings I really thought I was going to die. In February (5 months postpartum) I decided I had better see my doctor. I asked him if I could possibly be dealing with postpartum anxiety but he brushed me off and ordered a ton of tests. He said I needed to be checked for blood clots because I had a c-section. I had an ultrasound of the heart and a scan of my lungs. Both came back free of clots (thank goodness!) but they noticed a spot on my liver. My doctor finally agreed that I had pp anxiety but offered me no support or answers. I dealt with that on my own (sort of). I was sent to a liver specialist who ran more tests on my liver. It was concluded that I had a mass in my liver (no kidding!). He couldn’t determine what exactly it was so I was sent to another specialist in Seattle. After months and months thinking I had cancer it turned out to be a benign tumor, called focal nodular hyperplasias.

So long story short, cancer scare = use of essentials oils. HAHA. But really I wanted to ditch all the chemicals from our house in the form of candles, plugins, cleaners, etc. I had also heard that oils were great for supporting emotions and aiding in sleep. Both myself and my kiddos needed help in these areas! I ordered my starter kit last November and now we use essential oils daily. Even my husband is a believer now. He still calls them snake oils but it’s cute and I let it slide.

Diffusing is probably my favorite way to use them. I have a diffuser in our main living area that goes all day and one in my kid’s bedroom that we use at night. I’ve also since thrown away all the chemical cleaners and hand soaps in our house and use Young Living’s Thieves line. I haven’t completely switched every product we use because money! Every month I try to switch one or two products. I no longer burn candles or use plugins. Do yourself a favor and ditch those quick! The research on them is real and disturbing. I do still have a ton of candles as part of my decor. Those babies aren’t going anywhere. I just don’t light them because I know better.

Why am I telling you all of this? Well since essential oils are becoming a part of our lives I figured it would be fun to share some ways we use them here on the blog, some of our favorite blends etc.

So that’s my why! If you’re interested in chatting about essential oils send me an email {kerry@theafdemfarmhouse.com} or leave me a note below.

Make sure you check out my Facebook page later today because I will be sending out roller bottles with some of my favorite blends (sleep, immune, or emotional support) to 5 people!