Mom Products I Can NOT Live Without

Hey y'all! So as a busy mom of two, I am constantly finding new ways to do things faster and easier. I am constantly trying to shave time off of meal planning, organizing, laundry, you name it. Sometimes, I feel like there isn't enough of me to go around. I know every mom says this, but I'm pretty sure both me and my husband would benefit from there being two of me! Ha!

But until then, here's a list of the products I simply can not live without!

1. Thirty-One Large Utility Tote

 If I had to bet my commission alone on our best selling product, I would place my chips in the LUT's corner. There is no reason for any mom not to own at least 5 of these things. From groceries to storage to trunk organizer to life saver, this thing does it all. Get one. That's all I can say.

2. Plum Paper Planner

I have been a planner girl ever since before I can remember. They used to pass them out to us when I was in grade school, and I think that's when my addiction started. I can not function without this thing. It has a section for everything-and what I love about PPP is that it can be customized to fit your needs. In 2015 I knew I was having a baby, so I ordered a baby tracking section in there. It's been great to have at little man's doctors appointments, I just jot down his stats and then I have them for my records to transfer into his baby book. I also added a "home" section, which has spots for projects and cleaning. There's also a section for my business, and a full 10 pages of contact information, so it's my address book all in one. I can not live without the thing, and would encourage you to try them as well!

3. Zipper Pouch

Just like the LUT, I probably have 10 Zipper Pouches stashed through out my house. There's one in my car with some random survivalist stuff in it like a box of matches and a flash light. Another one holds my range gear for my pistol. Another holds my baby's diapers and wipes. Another is for mail. You get the picture. I have a ton. Bottom line, they keep me organized, and I'm so glad they're only $15. Some of the earlier ones I have are still in perfect condition, and I'm super glad I discovered these.

4. Mason Jar with Lid & Straw

I made it a priority at the beginning of the year to drink more water and waste less plastic in 2015. Water is so, so, so good for you. Everyone knows that the body is made up of like 70% water-but it really is so vital to our organs in order for them to be able to do their jobs. Especially organs that filter, like the kidneys. It's obviously easier to drink water when you are carrying a jug of it with you. We recently went out and picked up some of these large mouth mason jars to fill a few areas in our life-for both drinking, AND canning salads. We bought the tall ones, but this picture shows the lid and the straw mechanism. With all of the talk about BPA and how many bottles of water American's consume in a year, I just decided to make the switch to glass. It's safer, easier to clean, and I can put my essential oils in it, which brings me to my final must have mama item.

5. Young Living Citrus Essential Oils

I used the term "citrus" to include any of those in the category-lemon, lime, grapefruit, citrus fresh, tangerine, and orange. Since I've been drinking a lot of water lately, I've been experimenting with adding a drop or two of these powerful EO's to my water. I can say, without a doubt, that they are having a profound affect on my body. Entering TMI zone. I refrained from ingesting YLEOs during my pregnancy, and I was subject to repeat UT and bladder infections.  These have to be treated with an antibiotic. I felt like I was on an antibiotic for my entire pregnancy-and what comes with antibiotics? Recurrent yeast infections. This made me miserable for almost the entire 9 months. Obviously under the care and direction of my midwife, when I finally popped out the little one, I asked her what my options were for treating these issues naturally. Everyone knows that using antibiotics repeatedly decreases their effectiveness. Recent studies have shown that they can also interfere and permanently damage good bacteria in the digestive tract. So I was ready to get off of antibiotics as soon as possible. I inquired about using essential oils as a way to treat them, by ingesting them internally. At first she was wary of me ingesting the oils-these things can and do enter the body in a way that a drug would, so it is of the utmost importance that anyone using them understands how they work. But after she did some research on them, she said I would be fine to put one to two drops in my water and to see what kind of affect it had on my bladder issues. During my pregnancy, I was coming back with a flora count of over 60,000, which indicated an infection of some type. After I started putting 1-2 drops of YLEO in my water, my counts were coming back less than 10,000. My midwife was astonished! She encouraged me to proceed with caution, but after I educated her on Young Living's Seed to Seal Guarantee, she felt confident in my ability to use them safely. So right next to my water jar, you will find an abundance of citrus oils. I encourage you to research essential oils before you start using them. Taking time to understand the chemistry can help you make the best decision on whether or not they are right for you! I do want to note that I do not have any experience with any other oils but Young Living, and I can not encourage you to ingest any other brand because I can not speak on their purity!

So that's it, mamas! What are your must have products right now? I've got lots of great things planned for the blog so please subscribe. As we move into fall, I plan to incorporate some giveaways. I would love to keep in touch with you!!

Be well.
-C