6 Easy Uses for Lavender

Recently, we moved into a new apartment in Philadelphia, which means I went through my regular routine of trying to settle in while experiencing about a month of insomnia. It strikes every time I move, but this time I decided to be more pro-active. Lavender oil was incredibly helpful at helping me reestablish a night-time routine, and in my research I also stumbled upon this recipe for lavender tea (below) and had to try it. Ever since my pregnancy with my first baby, I'd been hearing about the magical, soothing properties of lavender. Here are a few of my favorites that I've learned about since then. Would you try lavender tea? Does it sound as good to you as it did to me?

1. Lavender Scrubs to Revitalize Winter Skin

Not only is lavender great for eliminating the nervous tension caused by, oh, childbirth-- before I gave birth every blog I encountered, insisted I had to pack lavender oil for my hospital stay-- but it improves blood circulation as well. Put a few drops of lavender oil into your next foot scrub or foot soak. Along with epsom salts and sea salt, just add a few drops! (Or check out this recipe for more details for an at-home spa soak.) Keep in mind the smell is pretty strong, so experiment before you dump in, say, a whole tablespoon the way I did to my diffuser the first time I used lavender-- oh dear God, that was an intense two weeks before the smell faded, which brings us to point 2. 


2. Lavender for Insomnia 

You can add a few drops of lavender oil to your diffuser if you're suffering from insomnia. Again, keep in mind and learn from Mama Izzy's misadventures. A little goes a long way. I love this
diffuser for only $23, because you can also use it as a humidifier and it's super duper easy to refill the water and keep it clean as well. My kids love the changing lights. It's one of my favorite possessions.  

3. Lavender as an Ingredient in Dessert
One of the things I've loved most about blogging is having my world opened up to new possibilities. When I first started blogging, I mostly followed either poetry or fashion pages, but as I began to join blogging communities, lots of recipes and interior design inspiration got added to my daily blog intake. I love the idea that you can add lavender to honey and cheese or to cupcakes or to puddings. The result is so pretty a purple it's just guaranteed to be delicious. I pinned a bunch of the yummiest options that I can't wait to try myself. Just keep in mind, it's not lavender oil but loose, dried lavender, which you can ingest and purchase for about $20 a pound. If possible, maybe even find someone to share that pound with. A pound of lavender is A LOT of lavender. 


3. Lavender Tea 

I was so excited to hear of lavender as an ingredient in tea, because I knew about it's calming, soothing, and antiseptic qualities when applied externally. I had no idea you could also drink it! Lavender is an anti-inflammatory that also helps maintain cardiovascular health. In addition to its antiseptic qualities, 

4. Lavender Candles

When I was looking into uses for my giant bag of lavender, one of my followers suggested I try making my own candles. One of my favorite memories from childhood is making candles at Busch Gardens when I was a kid, and I think my kids would really enjoy making candles with me! I love this Town & Country blog post for making your own candles. It sounds like a fun rainy Saturday afternoon activity. 

5. Lavender Oil for Cleaning

The cat bathroom has to be my least favorite part of apartment living, although to be fair in our last house, the basement was only half-finished, so I ended up using the top floor bathroom for the kitty litter for the kitties' safety as well. (We have two rescue cats and one large Newfie... and two toddlers-- keeping the house smelling nice used to be, well, challenging. Lavender has really helped our situation!) When I heard I could use lavender for cleaning, I began adding it to the cat bathroom's garbage can after I washed them out and sprinkling it around the litter box. The smell is about 1,000% better in there! 

6. Upcycling Garment Bags into Lavender Sachets

Most of the sustainable designers and secondhand shops where I shop, now send their items in little muslin sachets like the ones pictured above. Making sachets is probably not that difficult, either, but it takes about two minutes to gather your muslin bags and fill them with lavender from my pound bag. The kids watched Wreck-It Ralph, and I poured a glass of wine and listened to John Mulaney on Pandora's comedy channel. Maybe it was the soothing scent of lavender filling my nostrils, but it was one of the nicest, most relaxing evenings I've had in a while. And the first two sachets, went straight to the cat bathroom! Thankfully, cats aren't as attracted to lavender as they are catnip, which is kind of what the little bags look like. I've also been leaving them throughout the house. 

Do you keep the bags your jewelry or clothes come in? Sometimes I reuse them for gift-wrapping as well! Any other uses for lavender that I should know about? Be sure to let me know in the comments below, and I'll do a follow-up post! ​