Let's start a revolution!

Let's start a revolution!
-A revolution where our money isn't sucked right out of our hands by major chains that pump out caustic product and convince us that we need it. Let's control what comes into our households, and if need be- make our own product. I've drawn a line in the sand as to what I'll put up with putting into me and my children, my pets, my house. Here's what I've learned:

5/31/13

Orange Peel Candle

I've seen people make emergency candles out of all sorts of things including cans of crisco. This- to me- is a little more kitschy-cute and can be made out of reasonably stored and usable items.

Items Needed
sharp knife
orange
olive or canola oil

Directions
Cut the orange in half. Remove the pulp, being extra careful to preserve the white 'stem' of the middle unharmed.  Fill the peel with olive oil until just a little bit of the white part is still sticking out.

Use a lighter to start the white bit burning. It may take a few seconds if it is still moist. The orange will burn for around 30 minutes.

Herbal Foot Soak

My feet are very sensitive critters. If I'm ill with a head cold, I soak them. If I'm aching from fibro pain, I soak them. If I wear my lemon yellow keds or any kind of dress shoes for more than three hours, I soak them. I despise most shoes.

Ingredients
1/2 cup epsom salt
1 tsp olive oil
Sprigs of fresh eucalyptus leaves, lavender flowers, peppermint leaves, rosemary, sage leaves, thyme, or oregano (If fresh herbs are unavailable, substitute with dried herbs or a few drops of essential oil)

Boil water and pour over herbs, then add salt and olive oil. Once the water has cooled to a comfortable temperature, soak feet for as long as desired. For an even more luxurious experience, place a few smooth stones into the bottom and gently roll your feet over the stones to naturally massage and relax them.

Yogurt Sunburn Relief

Yogurt contains enzymes and acids that sooth, cool, and reduce irritation. Adding Aloe Vera Gel and Lavender essential oil further increases the healing and soothing properties.

Ingredients
4 oz plain yogurt
1 oz aloe vera gel
15 drops organic lavender essential oil

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Apply directly to sunburned areas and allow to dry. Once finished, rinse off with cool water. This process may be repeated as often as desired.

Ylang Ylang and Cocoa Massage Oil

Adding Cocoa Butter gives this massage oil a creamy consistency.  It is wonderful for massages, but can also be used as a general body lotion for moisturizing the skin.  This massage oil has the seductively sweet floral scent of Ylang Ylang flowers with undertones of Cocoa.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons cocoa butter
½ cup sweet almond oil
¼ cup jojoba oil
15 drops Ylang Ylang essential oil

In a double boiler, gently warm the oils and cocoa butter until the butter has melted.  Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes at room temperature.  Then, add the essential oil and mix together until thoroughly blended.  Pour into a bottle.  The mixture will continue to thicken, so allow up to 24 hours for it to reach its final texture. 

Note: Use less cocoa Butter if in colder climates, otherwise the massage oil will become almost solid.   If it is too firm, simply re-melt and add more carrier oil.  If you desire a firmer consistency, re-melt and add additional cocoa Butter.

Shoe Deoderant Sachets

I used to be in the SCA, so I can tell you all about the various body funks of sweaty men in south Florida dressed in armor and leather for a good chunk of the day. I wish I'd had these then. The shoes were almost always smelling a little like the Black Plague.

Ingredients
2 cups of baking soda
40 drops rosemary essential oil
1 cup of sage leaf
6 large cotton muslin bags

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Fill the tea bags with the mixture and then stuff inside the cotton drawstring bags. Place one bag inside each boot. Makes enough for 3 pairs of stinky shoes and lasts up to 3 months. The baking soda will absorb the rosemary scent after a while, so feel free to add a few more drops of essential oil when needed.

5/30/13

Lavender All Purpose Cleaner

If you have to spray something all over the place, why not have it smell great? Lavender also has disinfectant qualities which makes the smell qood quality an investment.

Ingredients
2 tbsp white vinegar
 1 tsp borax powder
 ¼ cup organic liquid castille soap
 10 drops organic lavender essential oil
 5 drops organic lemon essential oil or 1 tsp lemon juice

Mix the white vinegar and the borax together in a 16-ounce bottle. Fill the bottle ¾ full with hot purified water. Shake well until the borax is dissolved. Add the liquid castille soap and the essential oils to the solution and shake well. Use as you would any other all-purpose cleaner.

Dishwasher Detergent and Dishes Rinse

Notice how much the same few ingredients keep coming up? Isn't it neat? Here's your automatic dishwasher detergent. And yes, it is septic safe.

Ingredients
1 cup Washing soda
1 cup Borax
1/4 cup Kosher salt (reduces the effects of hard water)
1/4 cup citric acid (or fruit fresh or 2 lemonade flavored unsweetened powdered drink mix packets)
low-sudsing dishwashing liquid soap
white vinegar

Add 2 tablespoons of this mixture to your dishwasher detergent compartment along with 3 drops of dish washing liquid. Splash 1/2 to 1 cup of white vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher or n the rinse cup and start the machine.

Tea Tree Soft Scrub

If you have to scour something, it's handy to have some soft scrub around- minus the bleach and the breathing hazards. Here's how to make it without any of those issues..

Ingredients
3/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup liquid castile soap
1 tablespoon water
15 drops of tea tree oil

Mix first 3 ingredients together, then mix in tea tree oil. Transfer into a squeezable container and clean away!

Soft, Sweet Laundry Routine

H'okay folks: I gave you my laundry detergent recipe here, so now I give you the rest of my fluffy, happy, good smelly recipe to make you love your fresh dry clothes. Here you go.

With Wash Fabric Softener
1/4 cup epsom salt

Add to each load with the soap.

Good Smelly Dryer Sachet
pair of new sheer knee highs
lavender buds, citrus peels or fabric swatches with 15-20 drops of essential oil on it

Stuff the knee highs with your choice of good smelly stuff, tie tightly and toss in to your dryer. Replace as needed.

Anti-Static Quick Dry Dryer Balls
two unused tennis balls
pair of unused ladies socks in white

Wrap the socks around the tennis balls tightly. Toss in with dryer.

Coconut Moisturizing Shampoo For Dry Hair

Personally I don't have dry hair. I have hair that does what it wants when it wants and at different parts in hysterics at opposite spectrums. If you do, this may be helpful.

Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut milk
2/3 cup castile soap
30 drops essential oil (If you get dandruff I suggest tea tree oil)
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Combine all the ingredients in an empty shampoo bottle or jar and shake.The mixture will keep in the shower for one to two months. Shake well before each use.

NOTE: If you find that your hair remains oily and still heavy use apple cider vinegar to rinse it out.

Tick Spray for Pets and their People

Before this year I had never seen a tick in Florida. Now they're popping up left and right and they're gross little bugs! I've heard all kinds of ways to remove a tick from you, but I'd rather not have them attach in the first place. Ticks are attracted to butyric acid, which is found in sweat among other things.

Ingredients
grapeseed oil
cedar or citrus essential oil

Use a ratio of three tablespoons grapeseed oil to 15-20 essential oil and rub on yourself and your pet.

Quick and Easy Bug Spray

Can you see it? Well if you can, there's no need for powders or dusts or traps. You might not want to smoosh it (my answer) and instead want it dead from a distance by whatever means necessary. Here's your answer.

Ingredients
Ivory liquid dishsoap
spray bottle
hot water

Add the dish soap to the bottom of the spray bottle, fill most of the way with hot water and shake well. Spray on bugs. According to experts this suffocates the bugs. What does that tell you about Ivory, huh?

5/29/13

Fabulous Head to Toe Bar Soap

Use the crockpot soapmaking tutorial pages offered on this blog to make this soap. It's great for hair as well as cleaning your body. Most people that I know who use bar shampoo don't bother with liquid shampoos any more. All weights are gathered using a kitchen scale. If you eyeball it or go by liquid measurement, you will not get good results.

Ingredients
9 ounces coconut oil
9 ounces olive oil
5 ounces castor oil
3 ounces jojoba oil
2 ounces shea butter
2 ounces cocoa butter
1 ounce beeswax
4 ounces water
6 ounces coconut milk (or an herbal infusion of water)
4 ounces lye

Optional Essential Oils
Rosemary and peppermint for dark hair
Lavender and lemon for blonde hair
Lime and coconut for all types
*Use approximately 0.5-1 ounce of essential oils for this recipe.

Directions
Place the water and coconut milk into a large glass measuring cup. Measure out the lye by weight into a 1 cup measuring glass. Carefully add the lye into the liquid and stir to combine. (Adding the liquid to the lye could cause and eruption so be careful. The liquid is caustic.) The outside of the bowl will be extremely hot. Allow the lye mixture to stay under a vent and cool down while you prepare the oils.

Measure all oils, by using a kitchen scale, and pour into a pot. Warm oils and beeswax on low heat until all are melted. Pour melted oils into a crock pot. Be sure the crock pot is on the lowest setting.
 Add the lye/liquid mixture to the oils in the crock pot and stir. Note: Any equipment the lye touches needs to be neutralized in a mixture of vinegar, soap, and water. Vinegar will neutralize the lye. After a brief stir, grab your stick blender and get to work! Blend the oils, lye, and liquid in the crock pot for at least 3-5 minutes. We are working toward ”trace.” Blend until the mixture becomes a thick, pudding like consistency.

Once the mixture is pudding-like, cover the crock pot and “cook” the soap for approximately 1 hour. By the end, the mixture should have folded in on itself and it should be completely transparent. Turn off the crock pot. Prepare the molds. Add the essential oils (if using). Spoon soap mixture into molds.

Allow soap to cool and harden for 24 hours. Remove from mold on to cutting board and cut into 1 inch thick bars. Place bars on a tray with good airflow so that they can harden further.

Natural Flea Regiment

Harsh chemicals and poisons don't belong on your pet. They simply don't. Look up how many pet deaths are attributed to reactions to major flea treatments and dips and you'll be horrified, I swear. This is the natural regiment that I use to treat fleas. Ticks I remove by hand.

Shampoo
1/3 cup glycerin
1 cup liquid castile soap
1 cup white vinegar
1 quart of hot water

10-15 drops rosemary essential oil
10-15 drops clove oil

Mix well and apply to dry dog. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. Wetten slightly and scrub pet until sudsy- especially in areas like under the tail, arm pits, ears and other infestion hot spots. Rinse with cool water.

Lemon Rosemary Flea Spray
Four sliced lemons
1 tablespoon of salt
6 cups of hot water
15 drops of rosemary essential oil

Bring lemons, salt and hot water to a boil, then allow to rest for 24 hours. Remove lemon casings, squeezing to remove retained juice. Fish out seeds. Add rosemary oil. Pour into a spray bottle. 

Apply after the dog is bathed or as needed during an infestation. Can be used several times a day.

Flea Powder
Diatomaceous earth
Dried rosemary
Dried fennel
Dried yellow dock
Dried wormwood
Dried eucalyptus

Crush all herbs in equal part then mix with the mass herb's equal part of diatomaceous earth. Rub through the dog's fur and sprinkle in his bed and play areas.

Flea Collar
Normal nylon collar
2 tablespoons almond oil
5 drops rosemary oil
5 drops cedar wood oil
5 drops of clove oil

Mix oils together and soak into nylon collar. 

If all else fails....

Rub neem oil into your pet's skin and hair drops at a time using your bare hands.

Pain Relieving Cream

As I have fibro and TMJ- not to mention the herniated discs in my back- I go through a lot of tiger balm and Icy Hot. Where as I have no issues with tiger balm, Icy Hot is not exactly what I'd call a very natural product. One Good Thing by Jillee offers this recipe for a homemade alternative.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Coconut Oil
2 teaspoons Beeswax pellets
2 teaspoons Camphor crystals or 5 drops Camphor oil
2 teaspoons Menthol crystals or 5 drops Peppermint oil
5 drops Eucalyptus oil

Melt the coconut oil and beeswax together. You can do this in the microwave, in a double boiler, or what I did was set a small saucepan on the stove for a minute or two and then turned the burner off and added the coconut oil and beeswax. Stir until melted.

Allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes, then add the camphor crystals or oil, the menthol crystals or oil, and the eucalyptus oil.

Put in a container and allow to cool completely. When it is completely cooled it will be a solid rather than liquid…but the minute it hits your warm skin…it will liquify again. That’s what coconut oil does, which makes it perfect for massaging onto sore muscles and joints.

This amount of camphor, menthol and eucalyptus seems to be working for Kell…but you can increase the amount of each until you achieve the desired level of effectiveness for you without causing irritation.

And finally, if you don’t want to mess with making your own “base” cream just purchase a jar of Vitamin E Cream at just about any grocery, dollar or drug store and add the oils to that, and mix. Voila! Done.

Basic Body Wash and Hand Soap

Sodium Laurel Sulfate is a no-no in my house. Yes, it technically is natural, but I have an allergy to it, so I can't use just about all soap found on the market. In the case that I'm too lazy to make my deluxe body wash, this is my standby using goats milk castile bar soap.

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) bar of castile soap, any type
1 gallon distilled water
2 tablespoons vegetable glycerine
essential oils (optional)

Store unused soap in a cool, dark place. If you're a nervous Nelly type, you can store it in the refrigerator.

Bring the water to a boil in a large non-reactive pot (stainless steel or glass). Grate the bar of soap on a metal box grater. Add the soap shavings and vegetable glycerine to the boiling water, stirring frequently, until the soap shavings are completely dissolved into the water. Remove the pan from the heat, cover tightly, and let rest undisturbed overnight or for at least 8 hours. 

After it has rested, break up with an egg beater or with a hand mixer until smooth. If it is too solid, warm over the heat again, add a little distilled water and let cool again to test the consistency. Repeat until you reach the desired viscosity for your soap. 

Put a funnel into the now empty distilled water jug and ladle the soap into the jug. Ladle any extra soap into empty hand soap bottles or jars with tight fitting lids. 

Store any unused soap in a dark, cool place. It should have the consistency of snot (eww). If it is too thin, add more soap shavings. Too thick, add more water. Do not use typical bath bar soap as the extra additives in it will not come out correctly 9 out of 10 times.

Non-Toxic Toilet Bowl Cleaner

My dogs drink out of the toilet sometimes. I hate it- I wish they would stop it, but two of them can open the lid, so it's difficult to keep them out of it. I won't use store bought products because of how toxic they are. Instead, take a cue from Sara at My Merry Messy Life and use an all natural toilet bowl cleaner.

Ingredients:
¼ cup liquid castile soap
1¾ cup water
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 teaspoon of essential oils (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a 16 oz. or larger squirt bottle and gently shake or swish. Squirt in the toilet bowl and use a brush to scrub it clean.

Natural Hair Spray

This lovely DIY comes from A Blossoming Life. A nice, light, lovely hairspray without a ton of goop in it.

Ingredients:
1 cup hot water
1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar
10 to 15 drops of essential oil
fine mist spray bottle

Dissolve sugar in hot water. Let mixture cool completely and mix in essential oils (if the water is too hot the essential oils may decrease in smell). Fill spray bottle and its ready to use.

To use: Lightly mist over hair, wait 30 seconds to dry, and reapply if needed. Be careful not to over spray and soak your hair. Plus, this stuff is strong and a little goes pretty far.