How to store essential oils

It's time to sort it out! Whether it’s forgotten kitchen cabinets, a closet with outdated clothes, or secret bathroom corners with all sorts of essential oil bottles you love to store - there’s no better time to tidy up than you do now! While we can’t help you decide which clothes to keep, we’ll definitely advise where and how to store essential oils correctly.

3 most important rules

While you can find the indicated expiration date on bottles of essential oils, some oils keep getting better over the years, like matured cheese or aged wine. Thus, proper storage conditions can extend the shelf life of your essential oils.

Avoid heat. When essential oils heat up, oxidation can begin, which is especially true of citrus essential oils. During oxidation, essential oils can lose their properties. So to protect your essential oils, keep them in a cool, dark place. Some people like to keep essential oils in the fridge! However, this is not at all necessary, the most important thing for your collection of essential oils is to find a dark and cool place.

Avoid light. Light is another thing that can cause essential oils to break down. Leave the oil in the original dark glass bottles. If you use oil to make mixtures, the container must also be dark glass to protect them. Avoid direct sunlight, so a windowsill is definitely not a good place to store essential oils.

Avoid the air. Finally, it is always important to make sure that the stoppers of the essential oil bottles are airtight. When the plugs are not screwed on properly, the oils can evaporate, which can reduce their flavor and effectiveness. We really don’t want that.

Where to store?

Here are some tips on where to store essential oils.

Shelves

Don’t you want to show your entire collection of essential oils to your friends? These beautiful bottles will not only decorate your space, but will always be at hand whenever you need them. True, put your favorite and most commonly used essential oils in the first place. This way, they will be easily accessible whenever needed. Since these are the oils you use the most, they are unlikely to be able to oxidize.

Drawers

Not only does it perfectly fit the definition of a “dark, cool place”, but it is also ideal for storing essential oils. You can use inserts and special boxes with compartments so that all your oils are neatly stacked and can’t ski when you open and close the drawers.

Boxes and cases

Both boxes and special cases are a great place to store essential oils. Plus, you can always pick them up and bring them where you need them. The cases are made of durable material and additionally filled with soft padding that protects the bottles from breakage. With a few smaller boxes, you can divide your essential oils even by scents, such as: citrus, floral, forest.

Travel cases

We all have essential oils that we don’t want to stand out with. It could be peppermint essential oil if you feel sick in the car, and maybe lavender for a hard day’s work, or a mixture of essential oils for a restful sleep if you decide to stay overnight with friends. The travel case will protect the bottles and keep your "friends" close by, no matter what happens. Just throw it in your handbag or bag and go!

So once you know all the rules on how and where essential oils should be stored, it’s up to you how you put them together. Some like to enter alphabetically, others like to color or type. You can even combine essential oils from the least to the most popular. It's up to you!