Hurricane Evacuation Survival Kit--Essential Oils Edition

I am a Florida resident these days. Northeast Florida, specifically. You probably heard we had a little hurricane passing by last week... Irma! My husband was suddenly called away for work less than a week before the storm hit (he's in the Navy--real world problems!), so with a minimum of power outages looming, and preemptive school closures I decided to pack up my kiddos and evacuate, along with 1/3 of the state!  Have you ever been through a hurricane, or other natural disaster? There is a LOT of work that goes in to preparation! Not to mention all of the work that goes in to travelling spontaneously with children. So, I did what I always do when I have stuff to do...turned to my oils to help me! I'm going to share my personal little hurricane heroes--the essential oils and oil infused products that got me through that crazy week!

It started with the decision. The decision to leave town. I admit I went back and forth, but when they decided to close school in preparation, I went for it! My parents, my grandmother, and my sister with her family live outside Atlanta, a mere 6-7 hours away. At least we wouldn't be bored!


Naturally, the first thing I do is check the weather forecast. The warmest forecasted temp while we're there is in the low 80s (nice!). The coolest... 50! 50-80 degrees! Sure, no problem! I didn't even know how long we were going to be gone! What if the storm was really bad and we stayed for a week or 2? I was immediately overwhelmed by packing for all of us. Essential oil #1 to the rescue: Clarity! I took a moment, calmed myself, and cleared my head with a few sniffs of this blend. I was on it! My mom does have a washing machine, after all. Everyone got approximately 2 of everything-- 2 warm long sleeves, 2 light long sleeves, 2 T shirts, ect, all the way down to 2 pairs of shoes. We can layer and change and do laundry. Packing, done!

Next task, preparing my property. The hubs is away, so mama's on the heavy lifting. Patio furniture, the grill, the kids' slide, my herb garden, it all has to be secured for the wind. Suitcases have to be loaded. This means tired shoulders and back! My go-to is the Deep Relief roll on blend. It has peppermint and wintergreen and invigorates my tired muscles! It is one of my favorite products and I keep it with me always since muscle tension is a frequent issue for me.

It was a long day, and I knew I had another one ahead, so I was sure to load my diffuser at bed time. My "Calm Before the Storm" combo: 4 drops Copaiba, 2 drops each lavender, and bergamot. I was beat and I slept great!

All too quickly, departure day is here! We get up and go to school like normal.  While both kids are out of the house, I finish getting ready: packing and loading, stocking my freezer with ice, bringing in the last couple of chairs from the porch, showering, and organizing the car. I pick up the kiddos and hit the road around 3pm. Right off the bat, there's an accident with traffic backed up 4 miles. Awesome.

The kids are tired and hungry, like they are everyday after school.  I'm already stressed and cranky and we aren't even out of the city yet! And then, of course, my 5 year old had to pee. We were  just on the other side of town and we've been in the car for an hour already. While we're stopped, I break in to my cooler and pop a NingXia Nitro, a super energy shot with B vitamins, green tea extract, and wolf berries. I also applied a drop each of Peace and Calming and Joy essential oil blends to my (very simple DIY) vent clip diffuser, and get my kids a snack. Then it's back on the road! And back to the traffic! The traffic is so bad, at our usual halfway mark we are a full 2 hours behind schedule.

Around 10 pm, we make our 3rd pit stop. I tell the kids, it's potty time, then they have to go to sleep! I give each of them a roll of the Tranquil roll on blend on the back of the neck, and a perky peppermint, rosemary, and frankincense blend for alertness and focus for myself. I refreshed again when I stopped one last time at midnight. I had to pull over just to take my tired eyes off the tail lights for a few minutes! Thankfully, my babies slept right through until we arrived at 1am!  None of us needed any help sleeping that night!

Bright and early the next morning--the only way kids know how, am I right?-- we awoke to a brisk 51 degrees! Just as predicted! I was sure to run a diffuser (I packed 2 of everything, remember ;) ) in the living room with Thieves and lemon to support our immune and respiratory systems with the change in weather. The other thing I needed that first morning... Cool Azul Pain Cream! After being in the car so long, actively driving, then sleeping in a strange bed, my body was aching!



After all that, we were able to settle in and enjoy some time with my family. After a whole week, the kids were getting antsy and ready to be home, and I was ready to get a full night sleep without being interrupted by a child on me, so we got set to redo--or undo--everything... the packing, the driving (which was a merciful 7 hours!), the unpacking, the putting everything back where it belongs outside. This round includes a little storm clean up. I am very grateful that my home was unharmed, and the trees that fell didn't damage anything else! Whether or not my garden is salvageable remains to be seen. It still had cucumbers and okra producing, but both were damaged. My young tomatoes seemed to just love the rain! They grew like crazy! So that's a plus!

Now, the suitcases are put away, the fridge restocked, and the kids back at school, but my oily products, in addition to the ones I use everyday, really helped me through all of this, supporting my body, my mind, and my emotions during such a hectic time!