Homemade Air Freshener

Homemade Air Freshener

I have been thinking for quite awhile about making some air freshener, but I did not get around to make any. It is very handy for a family with small children, specially if you are still potty training a couple of the babies.

So today needing a gift for a birthday, I got the courage to make a batch. So far, I have to admit it smells and looks good.

Materials needed:

Small jars (I have plenty of babyfood bottles, so I used those. A good way to recycle ;) )

Wooden spatula (I used waxing sticks)

Measuring spoon 

Ingredients:

Unflavored Gelatin (I use Knox gelatin)

Food coloring

Water

Essential oil (I used lavender )

Preparation:

I put my bottles out and open the tops (don't through the caps away, you will need those). I opened my gelatin packages and emptied one in each bottle. 

Then poured 60ml of boiled water (had just boiled in teakettle) in each bottle and quickly stirred the gelatin in the boiled water (if you can get all the gelatin mixed, it would be good. I got some lumps in the water, I could not melt all the gelatin in the water. I think next time I might use a small whisk or fork for mixing). 

I put three drops of food coloring in each bottle and stirred. And added 60ml of cold water in each bottle and stirred some more with spatula. 

As you can see from the picture, there are some lumps in the liquid. 

Since the mix is not too hot and not hard, it is the best time to add the essential oil. I added 10 drops of lavender in each bottle. Then I placed my bottles on a tray and put them in the fridge as I needed them to cool off and get jellied sooner (the upcoming party in about 2 hours).  You can just let them sit over night and it would be jellied in the morning and ready to use.

Now you can see, the mix is jellied and staying in its place, put the cap back and package it however your want it. I just wrapped a strip of gift wrap around the bottle to make it more presentable. 

When you want to use it, you can just make holes on the cap for the scent to spread around your bathroom etc or you can just take the cap off.

Homemade Flushable Wipes

As every other person on the face of this planet, I would like to stay clean as well as not spend too much money and not harm the environment with too much waste.

As a mother, you deal with a lot of 'poo' etc here and there. While, you can't just leave the 'dirty' be dirty, you can just make it a bit easier on yourself. So that is what I been trying to do: Clean the lil bottoms with wipes and then wash it.

Though, it gets expensive when you are using flushable wipes (as I mentioned trying to minimize the damage to the environment). I did a bit of search on the web to see the easiest way to make economical and environmentally friendly wipes and the one at Wellness Mama's webpage I found interesting.

So I did take her suggestions into consideration. While I did not have everything she suggested, I just used what I had at home and my wipes works perfectly fine.

What I used:
1 TBSP almond oil
2 TBSP Dr Bronner's soap
1 TBSP Witch hazel
1 roll of paper towel, Target brand
1 empty bucket of gallon ice-cream
2 cups pre-boiled water ( which should be lukewarm when you are pouring it over your towels)

Cut the paper roll in half using a sharp knife. Mix all the ingredients in the water and pour it over your papers and let it sit for 5-10 minutes so the water is absorbed in the papers. Pull out the cardboard roll from inside your wipes to bring the inside part out. Voila, your own flushable wipes for a fraction of the cost!

Homemade Lotion

As part of my DIY and 'green' project, I made my very first lotion at home and it was not as hard or time consuming as I had assumed.

Ingredients:
Beeswax 1ounce
2 TBSP Organic Shea Butter
2 TBSP Organic Coconut Oil
2 TBSP Organic Olive Oil
1 TBSP Vitamin E
40 drops essential oil of your choice (I used Lavender)

Direction:
In a pot melt beeswax. Then add your oils and once they have are mixed, take your mix off the heat and add your vitamin E. At the end you add your essential oil and mix well and pour it in container of your choice and let it cool down all the way before putting your skin.

I have bought all my products from iHerb.com (gift code: CHG895). 

Organic/Natural Lip Color

For those of you concerned about what chemicals we’re putting in and on our bodies, you can’t get more natural than this homemade berry lip stain! We love it because it adds the perfect “just-bitten” hint of color to fake that Snow White luscious lip! Here’s how to do it yourself:  

INGREDIENTS: 3 Blackberries (for their bright berry color), 1 Raspberry (for its feminine pink color), 3 Pomegranate Seeds (for their vibrant red color), 1/2 teaspoon edible oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil), a small Bowl + Spoon (or mortar + pestle if you have them), Fork or Sifter to drain, small 5-gram Pot/Jar with screw top from any craft store

STEP 1: Mash the blackberries and raspberry in the bowl thoroughly with the back of your spoon.

STEP 2: Add the pomegranate juice into the mixture by individually squeezing them between your thumb and index fingers over the bowl.

STEP 3: Pour the olive oil into the bowl and stir everything together with your spoon.

STEP 4: Finish by draining the liquid from the mixture into your small portable jar.

For application, use your fingers, a lip brush or a Q-tip. It’ll only be good for a few days so refrigerate it for longevity. Have fun with it and even try different fruits (acai berries, cherries, etc)! You can play with the ratios of each fruit to customize your desired shade but you’ll get the most color payoff from the blackberries.

Recipe from here

Homemade Shampoo

Homemade Shampoo

Homemade Shampoo 

• 13 cups water or tea
• 1 cup cold water
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 3 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/4 cup castile soap
• 30 drops essential oils (optional)

Add 13 cups of water to a large pot. In a seperate bowl mix together the remaining cup of cold water and cornstarch, whisk until no lumps remain. Pour cornstarch mixture into large pot with the water. Bring to a boil and whisk constantly for several minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, whisk in baking soda (very slowly as it will boil over), xanthan gum and castile soap. Let cool completely, mix in essential oil.

 Source

Dish Soap

Homemade Liquid Dish Soap

A natural, liquid homemade dish soap is easy to make with simple household ingredients!
Why make your own? Cheaper, less packaging waste and you’ll know exactly what it is made from. After all, you eat from your dishes!

Natural Dish Soap Recipe #1:
liquid Castile soap
water
2-5 drops essential oil of choice*
*Some essential oils options are lavender, lemon, cinnamon, clove, peppermint, tea tree, etc. This is optional and purely for scent – though all of these essential oils do also have anti-septic properties. Purchase a concentrated liquid castile soap which will be dilluted with water in equal parts.

Natural Dish Soap Recipe #2:
1/2 cup grated soap
3 cups hot water
2-5 drops essential oil of choice (optional)
Grate a bar of natural castile soap with a vegetable peeler and add to hot water (boil on stove if necessary) to dissolve.

Tough, Grease Cutting Dish Washing Recipe
1/2 bar shaved castile soap
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tablespoon washing soda
1 quart of hot water
The washing soda (sodium carbonate) makes this solution more caustic and helps to cut grease.

What, no suds?

None of these basic natural recipes will yield a sudsy soap. Why? Because suds aren’t necessary to clean anything. In fact, they actually make soap less effective because it becomes harder to rinse off from a surface. Suds in commercial soaps are from the surfectants that are added because consumers like suds. People think that suds = soap that works. Not true, don’t be duped by this! Not only are surfectants not necessary to clean, they are often nasty chemicals…sodium lauryl sulfate to name a common one.


The recipe is taken from here

Liquid Soap

Liquid Soap

 I do not want to restrict myself,  but rather find the most organic and natural type of soap you can find around you would be the safest choice for you. As we are trying to stay on the budget side as well as green, we do not want  to break the bank just to buy one bar of soap.

I found the original 'olive' soap in the last place I expected; oriental shop. I did know that I could buy it in our super organic stores, but each bar cost three times more than it costs at this oriental store. 

How to make
1. Grate 1 bar of castile bar soap into large container.
2. Add about 1.5 liters of hot water, stir well and cover.
3. Let sit 24 hours, stir some more and voila.

Original recipe