Essential Oil storage was a problem for me until last year when my Mom gave me this cool old cabinet. My sweetie mounted it in the corner of our bedroom so I’d have a cool, dark place to store my growing essential oils collection.
I’ll give you a tour, make a confession, and then I’ll share a MOST amazing find.
Then I’ll give you my “nice list” of top quality affordable brands of essential oils.
My Essential Oil Storage Cabinet
The cabinet was made my my Great Aunt Ada- the sister of my Great Grandfather. She was a spinster, and very creative and handy. She knew how to do all of the lady handicrafts of the day, including tatting, needlework, and crochet. But she also did woodworking. I’m so proud to have this cabinet made by her!
On top of the cabinet, I have a few bottles that are too tall to fit inside. One holds some colloidal silver that we were gifted from a friend, and the other is grapeseed oil to use as a carrier oil.
Inside my cabinet, I have a collection of oils, and accessories that I often use when putting together a mix. I’ll give you a closer look below. 
What’s In My Cabinet
Affiliate links provided where available.
- my own oil blends in labeled bottles
- an assortment of essential oils from several TOP quality companies that produce and test to offer pure oils (more on that below). I store my oils in alphabetical order from left to right so they’re quicker to find.
- travel USB diffuser from GreenAir <— this is the newer model to what I have. BUT I really want this travel usb diffuser model because it doesn’t require disposable wicks.
- disposable pipettes for measuring oil, and a sharpie super fine point marker for labeling them
- MCT oil – to use as a carrier oil
- mini stainless steel funnels
- epsom salt- often recommended to help oils mix into water- widely available at pharmacies or grocery stores.
- empty containers: roller bottles for blends, spray bottles, and tiny vials to take in my purse.
- labels of different sizes and packing tape to cover them so they’ll stay nice looking and can wipe-clean
- a SUPER handy printable Essential Oil Reference Guide pinned on the door.
A Confession
I set up this lovely cabinet months ago, but I rarely use it. Here’s why- I confess that I’m a little intimidated by essential oils. I consider them to be VERY powerful natural products, on par in strength with prescription strength medicines in most cases. I respect their power, and I know that I don’t know enough to really use them properly.
I am not planning to become an aromatherapist, and I don’t have hundreds of dollars to buy lots of resources and classes, but I’d really like to learn to use my oils appropriately. I can tell you this: Pinterest is NOT the place to learn how to intelligently and respectfully use essential oils. I’ve seen a recipe for eye drops using essential oils. Just. No.
But my frustration over not being able to use my oils is about to change. 
The Essential Oil Easy Button!
The Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle is my MAJOR score in getting over my fear of essential oils.
UPDATE: The Healthy Living Bundle goes on sale only once a year. If you missed it, and would like a notification the next time the bundle goes on sale, just subscribe to my email list- I’ll make sure you get a heads up.
If you’re not familiar with bundles, check out my Favorite Things from the Healthy Living Bundle Page here.
This bundle is *packed* with an entire section devoted to Essential Oils. There are 2 e-courses that I can do at my leisure this year, plus boo-koodles of e-books.
And I just have to say that as much as I love a good normal book, when it comes to resource book, I am kind of in love with the search feature on my Kindle and .pdf reader.
LOOK at all this stuff! (and please note the emphasis on *safely* using oils…Hallelujah!)
And y’all…it’s only $29.97.
That’s just AMAZING.
But there’s an even MORE AMAZING bonus:
One of the bonuses is a FREE set of Plant Therapy essential oils. They make my “nice” list for companies that are SUPER serious about giving you top quality, lab tested for purity essential oils. I just can’t say enough about how happy I am with ALL of these resources for such a tiny price tag.
And this is just *one* of the many areas *FULL* of great stuff in the bundle. You can learn more from my affiliate link here.
Want a heads up the next time the Bundle goes on sale? Subscribe below and I’ll send a notice right to you.
My Essential Oil Nice List
Here are just a few of the companies recommended over on my Herbal Chick Chat group on Facebook, by the aromatherapists on the group:
- Eden Botanicals
- Heritage Herbs
- NOW essential oils
- Mountain Rose Herbs
- Plant Therapy
I’m partial to the fact that Plant Therapy labels their oils right on the front as “kid safe”. That’s a great help.
Tell Me In the Comments
What are your favorite brands of oils? What accessories do you love to keep on hand? What do you use for essential oil storage? I need to know these things. 🙂
THANK YOU for using a certified aromatherapist who has taken the NAHA course and for being so wonderful at pointing out that they require proper training for usage. I use oils from one of your companies listed and love them. My only concern is that one puts “kid safe” on the label: No essential oil is kid safe. They all must be used under adult supervision. I use Edens Garden oils and love them. I took an informational course in aromatherapy and my instructor was an Aromatherapist from Greece who distills her own oils. When she sampled those from Edens Garden, she said if she wasn’t making her own, those would be the ones she would use. I’m also partial to Mountain Rose Herbs because they work with several American Herbalist Guild approved schools. I’ve not tried their products yet but I’m hoping to soon!
Great point about “kid safe” 🙂 I understand that oils are not for kids to use on themselves, but I appreciate knowing which ones are safe to use with my kids. Many are not! So I just like that visual reminder.
I like and use essential oils from a few of the companies you named above, but you named NOW as one that you use and a lot of their oils are scented or fragrance oils not essential oils. Some are already mixed with a carrier oil and some use synthetic ingredients, just please make sure that you read the fine print on all the bottles that you use.
Hi Colleen!
Great point: some of the NOW oils are already diluted (ready to use), and they state that right on the label.
Their rose oil is one that I can think of off the top of my head- pre-diluting makes it easier on me and also more affordable…a good full strength rose oil is SO pricy. So I totally understand the draw of having pre-diluted oils, and many other companies offer read to use (pre-diluted) roll on oils too now.
The NOW brand also offers a very large line of high quality pure, full strength essential oils.
I would disagree that they use synthetic ingredients. You can see more about NOW essential oils, and their purity and testing procedures at these links.
And I’m NOT affiliated with the NOW brand at all. I just like and use their products, and have done my research with the brands I recommend. 🙂
FWIW, Native American Nutritionals and Eden’s Garden are on the list of “not recommended” and untrustworthy eo companies on the Facebook list for the “Blue Tansy Analysis” group (see their files section for specific reasons on testing that did not measure up to claimed products). They also have a list of currently recommended companies. I have found their research to be excellent.
Great info, Cynthia! I was unaware of the issues that he brings up with some of their oils. I’ll pull those two off of my list.
Here’s the Blue Tansy Analysis Group for anyone who may want to follow along: https://www.facebook.com/groups/764639060290026/files/
I’m not sure who you mean by Heritage Herbs. I’m not finding anything on google.
For the most part I use Heritage Essential Oils, which are actually changing their name to Hopewell Essential Oils. HOWEVER, I’m becoming more and more convinced that the nuances of individuals and different oils creates a combination that means different brands may work better for different people. Obviously the different parts of the plant harvested can create a different oil, but I also think the time of day, location of growth, right down to the the particular field and even amount of rain/sun will affect the healing factors of an oil. I tried an oil for an issue a family member is dealing with. We haven’t seen results, so I’ve ordered a different brand.
A friend of mine has a child with a very rare disease which causes a lot pain. She was using a high quality oil from a certain company, and seeing some results, but when she began using the same oils manufactured by a different company they got far better results with the pain being managed for about 4 hours longer between applications.
So I believe we need to be diligent in find high quality oils, but be willing to switch out to find what works best for our individual bodies.
Our go-to is lavender. It’s amazing. We’d also be lost without tea tree. I have about 15 different ones on my shelf though.
Hi! I just ran across this article! It’s interesting seeing other people oils collection 🙂 I have heard about the NOW ones though not being pure as the FDA only requires 3-4% of any oil on the market to actually be labeled pure (with the rest carrier oil like she mentioned.) Fun article though! I use DoTerra and if you ever start using them also they offer free education that will help!
Hi Lindsay,
The NOW brand does offer pre-diluted on a few of the oils, but they’re clearly marked. They also do thorough in house testing of every essential oil to ensure that their oils are accurately labeled, and don’t contain any toxins, impurities, or adulterations. You can read more about how they source their oils here.
I have many friends who sell DoTerra and Young Living, and who are very educated about oils. IMO, the ones who really take the time to get educated outside of the brand marketing are receiving the better education. For myself, I use a mix of brands based on purity and affordability. I know NOW are not the top shelf, but the price is very affordable and they are pure oils.
If I were to invest in top shelf oils, I’d be looking for responsibly wild harvested plant materials from their indigenous regions. Not farmed or bulk sourced plant materials like the MLM’s, and other brands like NOW uses.
Mountain Rose Herbs have great oils. I also love Aura Cacia and Wydmere. I have a handful of oils that I reach for repeatedly: patchouli, black pepper, tea tree, lavender, sweet orange, clove, lemon, and rosewood. I store mine in an old wooden cheese box that my dad gave me in a cupboard in the kitchen. Another great resource to learn about oils and safe use is this book: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Essential-Oils-Aromatherapy/dp/0931432820
I reach for this book all the time!