Homemade Deodorant

The woman of a blog I read is absolutely sure that her homemade deodorant is the best.  She even tried it on and didn't shower for three days just to see how well it worked!  Now that's what I call dedication!

Because of her enthusiasm and guarantee of such a great product, I will post her blog before I even try the deodorant.  If you try it first, let me know!  It is 100% natural without chemicals, aluminum, and propylene glycol (anti-freeze).  I'll be sure to try this soon and let you know what I think about it :)

Here's the recipe from her blog:

It's NO Secret:  Best Natural Deodorant Ever
1/4 cup Baking Soda
1/4 cup Arrowroot Powder
4 Tablespoons Beeswax
1/4 scant cup Shea Butter
1/4 heaping cup Coconut Oil
Favorite good smelling Essential Oils

I used Tee Tree, Lemon and/or Lemongrass, Grapefruit, Rosemary, Orange

5-20 drops of each according to "smell" I used more of the citrus ones and less of the others. You could use Lavender or other oils you like but I would for sure use some Tee Tree and a Citrus I think these are key to smelling good they not only have a good smell themselves they help fight potential bad smell from you.

Mix the Baking Soda and Arrowroot powder in a medium sized bowl. In a double boiler melt the Beeswax, Shea Butter and Coconut oil. When melted remove from heat and add the essential oils. Then pour onto soda mixture and mix. Quickly Pour (before it sets up) into empty roll on deodorant containers or other container of choice. Should make about 3 sticks. Enjoy being B.O. free!! Naturally!

Hutch transformed- Love it!

Looking for some great ideas using old furniture but still making your house look fantstic?  Check out this blog below!

http://theblueberrymonkey.blogspot.com/2010/07/drab-2-fab-great-grandmas-hutch-almost.html

Spice rack idea

I enjoy finding other peoples inventive ideas!  I found a great way to make spice racks in a way that saves and utilizes unused space.  This is going to be put on my to-do list!

http://www.diylife.com/2010/07/16/diy-warrior-back-of-door-spice-rack/

Homemade Dehumidifier

Do you have too much moisture in your home and want to get rid of it, but don't want to buy an expensive dehumidifier?  Try this instead:
(found here)

THINGS YOU'LL NEED:
Drill
Screwdriver
Buckets
Pen
Snips
Salt
Stand
Fan
Hygrometer (measures humidity level)

STEP 1

Drill a hole in the bottom of a medium sized plastic bucket with an electrical drill. The hole should be at least quarter inch in diameter. (Alternatively, you can bore the hole using a screwdriver or other sharp pointed object.) Be sure to wear safety goggles and loves when working with sharp tools.

STEP 2

Place a piece of chicken wire or mesh at the bottom of the bucket to cover the hole. Size to fit by placing the mesh underneath the base of the bucket and tracing the perimeter onto the mesh using a marker pen. Use tin snips or wire cutters to cut the mesh.

STEP 3

Fill the bucket with rock salt (the kind used to melt ice) and place on a stand. The stand should be resistant to drying or corrosion from the salt and be porous enough to allow moisture to drip through. The ideal stand would be similar to a stack of plastic milk crates. The height of the stand depends on the amount of space available.

STEP 4

Place a second bucket underneath the stand to catch moisture content. This bucket does not have a hole in it and is simply a net to prevent captured moisture from seeping onto the floor.

STEP 5

Give the homemade dehumidifier a few days to get working properly. The industrial strength salt should pull water into it and then release it, letting the water drip out of the bottom of the top bucket into the bottom bucket.
Direct moisture towards the bucket system using a box fan to increase effectiveness. This is not necessary in smaller areas, but will help collect moisture in larger rooms.

STEP 6

Check the effectiveness of the dehumidifier by testing the relative humidity inside the home using a hygrometer. Hygrometers are available at large home and garden stores. Increasing the size of the dehumidifier will increase its effectiveness.

Natural Food coloring

HOW TO MAKE FOOD COLORING:

Cooking delicious food is not enough. It is much more important to make the dishes look appetizing as well. In fact, it is the appearance as well as the aroma of food that attracts people, especially kids to it, in the very first instance. It is only later that they get to explore its taste. Coloring plays a great role in making a food item look tempting. Just a pinch of edible food color added to your recipe can do wonders in making it look very enticing. For the purpose, synthetic food coloring of innumerable brands are available in the market. However, such food colors have chances of containing toxic ingredients, so it is better to avoid them altogether. Rather, you should make use of natural food coloring, made at home. In order to help you out, we have listed ideas on how to make food coloring, in the lines below.

NATURAL FOOD COLORING IDEAS:

If you want to give yellow color to any food item, make use of 1 tsp, or more, of stale turmeric powder. It is fairly flavor neutral and is often used to give an "eggy" shade to vegan puddings and tofu scrambles.

For adding a blush or pale pink color to any food, make use of the juice of fresh, thawed or frozen raspberries.

Pastel shades can be acquired by mixing in avocado to a dish. Take a small avocado and mash half of it, until creamy, before mixing it with your recipe.

In case raspberry purple is the color you desire, make use of blueberries or blackberries. Using a sieve, mash the juice from fresh or thawed frozen blueberries and use it for coloring. You can also use fresh or thawed frozen blackberries for the purpose.

Pomegranate juice or dried, powdered, boiled and unsalted red beets are perfect for adding red color to any food item.

In order to get a brown color, instant coffee granules or cocoa powder is what you need to add.

If green color is what you desire, go for thawed or frozen spinach that has been blanched and pureed.

Kashmiri chili powder (red chili powder that contains more redness than normal) is the perfect fit for giving a firing red color to your recipes.

Making use of the puree of bright red tomatoes can give a reddish tinge to your food.

Saffron is a great herb that gives a crimson touch to the food and gives a nice flavor too. You may make use of saffron in two ways - either mix it with half a teaspoon of milk (for crimson color) or combine it with water (for blood red color).

For a light green color in your food, soak pistachios in water and then grind them to make a paste. This would be the best bet for puddings and desserts.

Sugar, when caramelized, gives a brownish tinge and rich flavor to puddings. Use caramelized sugar in moderation, to enhance the color of your hot puddings.
 
(Found here)

Garden Markers

I saw this blog and fell in love with the idea.  I think if I ever do it I would try it on a knife instead of a spoon, but other than that, I think these would make cute little gifts with a pot full of herbs or something.

Let me know if you have any other ideas like this!

http://thepleasuresofhomemaking.blogspot.com/2009/07/thrifty-treasures-how-to-make-cute.html

Another way to mince garlic

When you don't like to use the garlic press because it is a pain to clean, or you just don't have one, here's an alternative:

use a lemon zester!

(Idea found here: http://www.tightwadblog.com/)

Homemade Compost Bin (recycled materials too!)

I feel very accomplished.  We had a huge to-do list that we wanted to finish by the end of this past weekend.  "Dee" and I buckled down and did all but three things.  I say we did a really good job!

One of our to-do projects was to build a compost bin.  We completed one side of it (pics below).  We will add another bin in a week or two so that we have one bin for new green compost, and one for the compost that's been rotting away and turning into soil.  The green pile we are piling up now (with weeds, kitchen scraps, leaves, etc), we will end up using in summer 2012.  That way we always have compost.

Here's the progress we made.  Granted, these pictures don't really show all the hard work involved.  We reused pallets, pulled them apart, and re-built them to have planks close together.  That way when we turn our compost, it won't be falling through the cracks and getting lost behind the bin.

Us in progress putting together the planks.  We're working on the ones on the ground.

The one propped up against the tree is what we started with (some were spaced farther apart that that one).  The one laying on the ground is our finished product, after taking off planks and putting them back on.  Then, of course, we had to saw off the tops because the planks were too long.

This is the space we cleared for our compost bin.

Here are our two compost piles- one is "green" from this year, and one is "brown" and already well on it's way to being composted for the garden next year.

I'm guessing these are bean sprouts from some beans that got  moldy before we consumed them all.  I think that's pretty cool!

Our grand finale masterpiece!!  It doesn't seem like much work but it really was!  We will add another bin to the side of this one, and I'll post a pic of the adjoining bins later.

Unusual uses for Asprin

A couple of aspirin can do more than alleviate your headache -- they also help cut flowers last longer, remove laundry stains, and even ease the sting of mosquito bites.
(Safety tip: If you have aspirin allergies do not use these methods.)

Flower Power

Freshly cut flowers are lovely; if only they'd stay fresh a little longer. Well, they can with a little help from the contents of your own medicine cabinet (we're talking real aspirin, like Bayer -- not ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or other common pain relievers). The next time you get a fresh bouquet, crush a few aspirin tablets using the back of a spoon and add the powder to a vase filled with water. The salicylic acid in the aspirin will help keep the water clean and free of flower-damaging bacteria.

Stain Removal

Aspirin can also take the headache out of doing the laundry -- especially when dealing with stubborn protein stains like sweat, egg, and antiperspirants can be removed with an aspirin solution.
- For sweat and antiperspirant stains: Crush a couple of aspirin and mix them into a half a cup of warm water. Use the mixture to saturate the stain and then let it sit a couple of hours. Launder as usual and the stains will be gone! (For really tough stains you may have to either soak longer or re-treat the area).
- For an egg stains: Scrape off as much of the stain as you can and make a paste of crushed aspirin and water. Working from the back side of the fabric, spread the paste over the stained area and work it in with a soft toothbrush. Then rinse it with some warm water.

Pest Control

Warm summer months bring sun and fun -- but also insects who want to bite and sting. But the itch of mosquito bites and bee stings can be soothed with -- you guessed it -- aspirin. Wet the pill and set it on the bite for instant relief.

(All information found here).

Uses for Vinegar

I recently became aware of how versatile vinegar is for daily use.  I think vinegar will become my new best friend! 

The list I found is a mile long, and has some excellent ideas for using vinegar!  It can be used on floors, in your yard, for cleaning, laundry, dishes, sunburns, pets, etc! 

Check out the list, and even print it for your convenience!