Lavender essential oil is one of the most popular of the essential oils and with good reason.  It is extremely versatile, smells wonderful, and is inexpensive and easy to use.

Essential oils are created by distiling the various parts of a plant using a steam process.  In the case of lavender oil the flowers of the lavender plant are used.  Lavender has been grown and harvested for centuries for its medicinal, homemaking, cosmetic,  and culinary qualities.

Lavender is one of the most calming and relaxing of the essential oils and will produce a relaxed, sedative state in a very short time. 

There are many ways of using lavender essential oils in your health and in your home.  The scent that is so pleasant to so many people is not pleasant at all to moths and bugs and so lavender sachets or sprigs of dried lavender are often used in linen closets to deter them.  You can tie some lavender buds in a vintage hankie and toss it in with your off season clothing in storage.  Your clothes will smell fantastic when you are ready for them again and they will not resemble gourmet swiss cheese.

Because lavender essential oil has antibacterial qualities it is a perfect addition to cleaning supplies.  Just add a few drops of the oil to your homemade cleaner and not only iwll your home smell fresh and springlike, but it will be disinfected, too. Added to the rinse cycle in the laundry will keep dishrags from smelling stale and kill various bacteria that might be lurking in your clothes.  It is perfectly safe to use with cloth diapers, for example.

By adding twenty five drops of lavender essential oil to a pint of distilled water you will make a sweetly scented, antibacterial room freshener that will help keep colds and flu away from your family.   Spray on countertops to disinfect them as well as on telephone recievers, door knobs, etc.  Always shake before using. 

If you hand wash dishes use ten drops or so added to the bottle of dishsoap to make it antibacterial.  Washing dishes will be come a relaxing activity as you are surrounded by the fragrant scent. 

The home is not the only place lavender can be used.  It is as important as Tea Tree oil in a first aid kit because it helps with so many things. 

Use lavender oil full strenth on mosquito, bee, and other insect bites to stop the itching or stings of them and to cut the risk of infection.  By spraying a mixture of lavender oil and water on you the mosquitoes will be repelled all evening. 

By keeping 50 drops to a pint of distilled water in a spray bottle you will have a great spray to use of cuts, scrapes, and abrasions to keep harmful infections from getting started.

Tired, sore muscles? Ten drops to an ounce of sweet oil massaged on the sore muscles will help you relax and feel better.  The same mixture can be massaged on temples, neck, and forehead to stop a migraine or soinus headache in its tracks.

Lavender essential o il is often used to lift the spirits and, especially when combined with tangerine essential oil, is very good for depression.  Researchers believe it actually changes the alpha waves in the brain. 

Lavender essential oil has many uses in the modern home.  It is not expensive or hard to find and is easily tucked into a first aid kit or purse for emergencies.  A little research will help you dicover many more uses for this amazing herb.