HELLO AND WELCOME

HELLO AND WELCOME

Hello and welcome to our teeny tiny corner of the internet.  We are Amie and Tracey, two sisters, besties and homeschool mums doing life in Gisborne, on the beautiful East Coast of New Zealand. Tracey is mum to 3 teenagers, two girls aged 18 and 16 and a boy aged 12. Amie is mum to two girls aged 9 and 6. 

HOW BOTANICALS FOR CALM CAME ABOUT

About 18 months ago we were both feeling a little lost in the depths of motherhood. With approximately 10 years homeschooling between us, we were convinced we had chosen the right path for our families but were both feeling a bit burnt out from being everyone’s everything. Both in our 40s we later realised we were also teetering on the edge of perimenopause. 

It was around that time that Tracey visited a market in Mount Maunganui and stumbled across a stall selling Young Living essential oils.  She was searching for something to support some pretty bad episodes of depression and anxiety which we now know to be mainly triggered by hormonal imbalances. We had both used essential oils on and off in the past but never fully understood the power that they could have in our lives. 

About 4 years ago, after her husband was diagnosed with an autoimmune skin condition and her girls were both complaining of itchy skin, Amie started looking into the toxins in her household laundry and cleaning products. What she learnt prompted her to embark on a mission to remove all the toxins from her household cleaning products within the space of a year. She soon realised that it was a little ambitious. However, as a girl Mum, she knew she wanted to give her girls the best shot at a healthy life so started swapping things out, one change at a time. Although she enjoyed making ‘Do It Yourself’ cleaning products, Amie’s days were becoming fuller with homeschooling and running a family business from home. She knew there had to be a simpler way. Enter the Thieves range from Young Living.

Fast forward a few months and what Tracey was learning about essential oils and the power of plants motivated her to put aside her self limiting belief that she was “no good at academic learning” to train and qualify as a certified aromatherapist. What Tracey learnt prompted her to share her knowledge with other mums also wanting to detox their homes.

With Tracey’s aromatherapy qualification and Amie’s passion for low tox living, we knew we wanted to use what we had learnt to help other families. Since then we have been running workshops educating other women on how to use essential oils in their homes and how to low tox their household cleaning routines.

In the midst of all that, we decided to launch Botanicals for Calm as a means to get essential oils into the hands of people not ready or keen to do their own DIYs. 

WHAT WE ARE ABOUT

This website is very much born out of our sincere desire to help people, to tap into our creativity and our drive to keep homeschooling our kids whilst providing a little income to support our hardworking husbands during these challenging times. 

What can you expect from this website:

• Our very own essential oil blends and wellness products specifically curated to provide hormone support to mums and their daughters
• Printable pdfs
• Monthly blog posts on a variety of topics including: Simple botanical recipes and ideas, natural living tips for families, reflections on all things motherhood, homeschooling and self care and our favourite wholesome recipes.

WINTER WELLNESS TIPS

But for now, we will leave you with one of our favourite wellness tips that we are both leaning into over the winter months. One of the simplest ways to support our mood and immune systems in the colder months is by diffusing essential oils. Winter can feel heavy - emotionally and physically - but diffusing a grounding and uplifting blend can transform the energy in your whole home.

Here are some of our go-to diffuser blends for calm, clarity and immune support.

For more recipes and inspiration on all things essential oils and low tox pop into our private Facebook community. It’s a gathering of like minded women and mums who are passionate about sharing what they have learnt about living a low-tox lifestyle without the overwhelm. https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1Bqx7gfh56/

Thank you so much for being here. We certainly don’t see ourselves as experts. We’re two mums with a passion for learning and sharing our knowledge with like minded woman. Not perfect by any means. Progress over perfection, all the way.

Tell us what you’d love to read about. We’d love to hear from you.