Getting Your Essential Oil Collection Organized

by Stephanie Chambers

Before I started working for Amrita Aromatherapy, I didn’t really know anything about essential oils. But having worked here now for over 8 months, I now know a lot more and I have developed quite a collection of essential oils and aromatherapy products at home due to my regular purchases.

I now have 15 essential oils, 3 perfumes ( Bergamot, Jasmine and Vetiver), 3 roll-ons (A Woman’s Balance and Deep Rest, Muscle Tension), 4 Tri-Essence Power Blends (Allergy Relief, Body Regenerator, Cardiovascular Health and Digestive Nectar) plus the Natural Lime Deodorant (which my husband and I both love and use on a daily basis). I have also bought an Amrita Ball Diffuser and some Amrita Unscented Body Oil with which to dilute the essential oils.

Often I need to dilute oils and apply them to my skin for various conditions. I also bought some Clear Jojoba Oil because it is more absorbent than other oils. I have also bought two Amrita face creams (Chamomile Facial Creme and Myrrh Facial Creme) and the Regenerating Facial Serum (which I put on at night sometimes before I go to bed). These are just products my husband and I wanted to try. I am sure I will eventually buy even more products.

Because I now have so many, it was getting harder to find what I want. So I needed to get organized. Here are the steps I took:

1. Put them on the shelves in the medicine cabinet (or use a display stand – more about these below).
2. Organize them into categories (as the book “Unstuff Your Life” by Andrew J. Mellen suggests – always put “like with like” – so roll-ons with roll-ons etc).
3. Within each category, organize each item alphabetically.
4. For the essential oils, add a label to each to remind yourself why you bought it (e.g. on Oregano, I put “Fungal nail & psoriasis”). If necessary, to find this out, search for the oil on www.Amrita.net and look at the “Therapeutic Benefits” and “How To Use” sections.
5. If appropriate, research how to use the product. For example, for essential oils, how many drops to add per tablespoon of carrier oil or the percentage (e.g. “1%” or “5 drops”). To find this out, search for the oil on www.Amrita.net and look at the “How To Use” section. Most will be 1-2% or 5 to 10 drops, but some may be more, like Oregano, which is 5% or 25 drops.
6. If appropriate, write on the label how to use it (e.g. how many drops to mix with a tablespoon of carrier oil). For some of the Tri-Essence Power Blends like Allergy Relief, I wrote “20-40 drops water”, so I would remember that it is mixed with water, not oil.
7. If appropriate, if it should be blended with a particular carrier oil, write its name (e.g. for Roman Chamomile - “Jojoba/Hazelnut”).
8. Create a blended version of each essential oil you are currently using in a separate empty small bottle with an air pump (see gold and silver examples below). For example, I used a small plastic funnel and put a tablespoon of Amrita’s unscented body oil and 25 drops of Oregano in one of these and wrote “Oregano - fungal nail” on it. I put this bottle in front of the Oregano essential oil bottle.
9. For the oils that you want to diffuse, put a diffuser pad into a sealed plastic bag with the name of the oil and why you are diffusing it (e.g. “Pink Grapefruit - Uplifting”). This will stop you from using the same diffuser pad for different oils, which isn’t ideal.

WOULD YOU LIKE AMRITA TO START SELLING ESSENTIAL OIL ACCESSORIES?

Amrita currently sells a number of wooden display stands to its resellers. We are currently working on a new “flat pack” display stand with special inserts for different sized bottles of oils. The advantage of putting your oils in a stand rather than in a medicine cabinet, is that it makes them more portable (e.g. you can move them from room to room). Would you like us to start making these available to you (as a retail customer)?

We are also considering selling small empty bottles with a pump or a dropper lid. Would these interest you? Otherwise, you can just mix the oils you are using in small empty containers like empty vitamin bottles and dip your finger in each time. But, this isn’t as hygienic as spraying or dropping out a small amount onto your palm. And some of the vitamin bottles, especially the glass ones with the childproof lids, don’t seal tightly so they will go rancid sooner and they can leak if you are traveling with them.

Please place a comment below to let us know if you would like us to sell accessories like these or to suggest others you would like us to sell.

Even though getting organized can be a large task, remember what the King said in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, "Begin at the beginning,...and go till you come to the end; then stop."

Happy organizing!

Disclaimer: The statements made in this blog have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They are not intended to diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. If a condition persists, please contact your physician or healthcare provider. The information provided is not a substitute for a face-to-face consultation with a healthcare provider, and should not be construed as medical advice.

Original Published: 2015-10-27 / Last Modified: 2021-10-11