Is it just me, or are the walls closing in?! Many of us are now spending more time at home than ever before. Our homes have taken on new roles like classrooms and home offices.
What at first felt like a much-needed break from the office and the daily commute, has now become a burden. It’s time to reclaim your home and make your house feel more like a sanctuary again! Organic West Virginia lavender might be the extra kick you need to make home feel more like home again and less like the office.
Setting the Stage for Relaxation
It can be so difficult to transform your “home office” back to your bedroom or dining room again, free of work stressors and pressures. Transitioning from your workday to normal life is harder now and takes some creative imagining or reframing to do so. Developing nighttime rituals can help your brain to settle back into the home life and unwind after a long day of work. In order to do this, it’s best to enlist one of your strongest allies – scent.
Lavender is used in aromatherapy to promote feelings of relaxation and calmness. It’s one of the most popular scents in the world and is a staple in many sleep routines. Your sense of smell has the strongest connection to memories and feelings of nostalgia, so it can trigger a response in your brain that you’re home now, not at work. There are many different ways to use lavender in the home to create your own me-time ritual and separate your mind away from work and back into play mode.
One benefit of working from home is that you don’t have to worry about irritating your desk-mates with the sound of crunchy snacks or your favorite scents seeping into their workspaces. If you’re “WFH” (work-from-home), lavender essential oil can be used all day to help you stay calm, focused, and alert. In that way, you can really optimize your workspace, taking into consideration all your senses. Turn the thermostat as high or as low as you want and take in all that lavender goodness, it’s your workspace!
Or, conversely, you can designate certain rooms in your home for relaxation, like the bedroom or basically any other room that isn’t used for work and homeschooling, by using an essential oil diffuser. Entering these other rooms filled with the relaxing scent of lavender will signal your brain that you’re not at work anymore and that this is your personal space. If you have a hard time “turning your brain off” for sleep after a long day, you can also spray lavender mist on your bedroom pillows to promote feelings of relaxation and rest when it’s time to get some shut-eye.
Lavender-Infused Self Care Rituals
You might also benefit from an at-home spa treatment in your “new normal” routine. One of the best ways to do this is to grab a good book, turn on a podcast, or listen to some music as you take a relaxing lavender bubble bath. All you need is some warm water, a gentle unscented bubble bath, and a couple of drops of lavender essential oil. It’s important to note that lavender essential oils are extremely potent, so you’ll need to dilute them before they come in contact with your skin. Ten to twelve drops of pure organic West Virginia lavender essential oil into a bath of hot water is the perfect mixture!
If you have plans for the evening, you might like to use a lavender infused lotion to hydrate your skin and take the soothing scent of lavender wherever you go. If all day typing is causing aches and pains in your hands or your neck, you can supplement your relaxation routine with a CBD and lavender body cream to promote relaxation and hydration. Give yourself a nice massage using either of these lotions or with some lavender essential oil mixed with a neutral oil to squeeze in some more self-care to signify that you’re on your own clock now, not work’s.
West Virginia Lavender belongs in the Outdoors
Sometimes, the best cure for cabin fever is to leave the cabin behind! After a long day, try taking a walk or going for a drive to leave your stressors behind. You can use lavender hand sanitizer and lotion on the go, or leave the lovely scent at home in your diffuser and walk back into a relaxing and transformed home when you return.
You can also reclaim your patio or backyard while still continuing your aromatherapy journey with West Virginia lavender stems. Start up a fire and toss in these lavender stem bundles to fill your back yard with the comforting scents of bonfire and lavender. Gathering around a fire with some friends and family is arguably the best way to share comforting feelings of home.
Whether you’re WFH, need a house warming gift for yourself, or are just looking for ways to make home feel more like home, lavender can transform your space into a sanctuary. The proof is in the plant, it’s up to you what you do with it!
MEET THE AUTHOR / ELIZA TALVOLA is a writer from Pittsburgh, PA who considers herself to be a conscious consumer and traveler, slow fashion advocate, and devoted foodie. She is a firm believer in creative reuse and putting people over profits, and is a long time lavender enthusiast. Her favorite product: Lavender Hand Sanitizer Spray