Homemade Drain Cleaner – Green and Non-Toxic You can make your own drain cleaner using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, with no worries about the toxic and even fatal chemicals found in drain cleaners. You just need vinegar, baking soda, and citrus fruit peels. Drain cleaners are one of the most toxic chemicals there are, in fact, they are on the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Hall of Shame because they can cause blindness, burns, and be fatal if swallowed. I got rid of our drain cleaner about a year ago so the children could never get a hold of it – way too risky for me. I used to work in Internal Communications for a large company and a lady in our office nearly died after accidentally drinking Drano that a janitor had left at the soda machine. She mistook the janitor’s cup for her’s, and had such severe burns in her esophagus that it required many surgeries and several months in the hospital before she could even function normally. Garbage Disposal and Drain Cleaning – Baking Soda and Vinegar
Home Remedies for Headaches and Wildcrafting Wednesday Instead of reaching for over the counter medication, you may want to give these home remedies for headaches a try the next time you have an aching head. What causes headaches? Mayo Clinic explains that headaches are classified as primary and secondary: A primary headache is caused by dysfunction or overactivity of pain-sensitive features in your head. Secondary headaches are a symptom of a disease that causes pain in the head. They note that there are several lifestyle factors that may trigger headaches, including: Alcohol, particularly red wine Certain foods, such as processed meats that contain nitrates Changes in sleep or lack of sleep Poor posture Skipped meals Stress Dehydration The following headache remedies are based on the book Home Remedies: What Works and Earth Clinic – Headache Remedies. Headache Remedy #1 – Drink a Glass of Water Sometime headaches (and muscle aches) are caused by simple dehydration. Headache Remedy #2 – Apply Ice or Heat Headache Remedy #3 – Take a nap
How to Make Homemade Peppermint Extract Part of the reason that I decided to grow mint this year was so that I could try making my own peppermint extract. Jesse and I are pretty much obsessed with mint (especially mint plus chocolate) so we go through a lot of mint extract. Even though I buy my extracts through Azure Standard, they’re not exactly cheap, so making my own seemed like a great way to save some money. I finally got down to it last weekend. How to Make Peppermint Extract I did a quick Google search and found a multitude of recipes, all of which followed the same basic outline. Harvest a bunch of mint leaves from your mint plant. Harvested mint leaves Remove mint leaves from stalks (if applicable) and pack leaves into a measuring cup to determine how much mint you have. Mint leaves ready to be rinsed Rinse mint leaves with water, then squeeze leaves in your hands to bruise the leaves before placing them into a clean glass jar. Cover your jar with a lid and allow to steep for about a month in a cool, dark place.
Dawn soap There are so many harmful chemicals in regular dish soap- why? Well, it has to cut grease. Of course. We can now make a dish soap with all of the above qualities we are looking for in a soap, minus the negative health effects from the toxic ingredients. Here is the quick, simple, and cheap recipe: 2 c. You are ready to do dishes! Like this: Like Loading... How To Make A Chemical Free Shower Spray Shower sprays are amazing at preventing a build up of mold and mildew in your shower, however store bought brands are often full of chemicals. So Becca at thedabblist.com created a non-toxic version which works just as well. This non-toxic shower spray is one of the easiest things you could ever make, using only three ingredients, most of which you will already have in the home. Included in this life changing eBook are: 105+ Natural Home Remedies -treat almost any illness with natural ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. 75+ Natural Beauty Recipes - Get the best hair and skin you've ever had and look younger with these insanely clever natural beauty recipes. 35+ DIY Household Products & Cleaners - Never buy a toxic cleaning product again!
Practical Household Uses For SaltOne Good Thing by Jillee A couple of weeks ago I found this great pair of black Calvin Klein jeans at Costco that I have absolutely fallen in love with! They are, most importantly, COMFORTABLE, they fit great, are the right length (ie. long enough!), and they are a nice dark black color! I know that sounds strange, but not all black-colored fabric is created equal. For that reason I have been hesitant to wash them because the other day when I went to wipe some dog hair off my pants with a damp washcloth there was black dye on the washcloth! Since I was so impressed with many of these, I figured you would be too, so I decided to compile a list of my favorites to share with you. Starting with……..How To SET The Color In New Clothes and Towels. Salt is used commonly in the textile industry, but works at home too. In the Kitchen Prevent browning – Apples, pears and potatoes dropped in cold, lightly salted water as they are peeled will retain their color. Cleaning Health & Beauty Around The House
9 Natural Ways To Keep Spiders Out Of Your Home Want to be notified each time we publish a new blog post? Then make sure you like Natural Living Ideas on Facebook here where we share not only our blog posts, but the best natural living ideas from around the web. Image Credit: cheetah100 @ Flickr Let’s be completely honest. Nobody REALLY likes spiders. But, how do you repel them naturally without hurting them, and without exposing your family to any potentially harmful chemicals? Read on for the answers you are looking for! Mint Them Out Did you know that spiders HATE peppermint? For more info on repelling spiders using peppermint oil, check out this great article: Clean It Up The cheapest and most organic way to repel spiders naturally is probably not the easiest! Use Vinegar White vinegar has about five trillion uses around the house (look it up!) Enlist The Help Of A Furry Friend Cats are a great spider deterrent! Don’t Let Them In Chestnuts Tobacco
Oven cleaner It was my New Year’s resolution….to start the year off with a clean oven. I realize it sounds a bit silly and mundane. But I cook/bake a lot and every time I open that oven I am embarrassed for myself. I recently had some friends over for a small Holiday party….and they were helping me in the kitchen—“please don’t judge me by the inside of my oven…” it was really bad. I have put it off because I can’t stand the smell. I have tried everything….finally I found something that is all natural and doesn’t smell one bit! Badly in need….so sorry little oven… You can almost hear it crying….. Mix up 5 T baking soda, 5 drops of Dawn, 4 T vinegar….mix into a paste. Take out all your aggressions and go at it….coat the paste everywhere with a sponge. I also used a lemon, cut in half and pour some salt on it….then I did a tequila shot…I joke, I joke—put a few drops of dawn on the lemon… Trying to get all the grease off the door was a challenge…. Here is what it looks like now…not too bad!
DIY Naturally Scented All-Purpose Citrus Vinegar Cleaners I've been on a quest to rid our home of toxic chemicals for both health and environmental reasons. Did you know? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air can be 10 times to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air. One of the culprits is common household cleaners emitting toxic fumes. UGH! It freaks me out when I read stuff like that. After my recent post about using fruit, herbs, and spices for making natural home fragrances, it occurred to me that I could use some of those same scent combinations for making natural cleaners with vinegar. These scented cleaners don't completely eliminate the vinegar scent when first sprayed. THESE MAKE COOL, INEXPENSIVE GIFTS. HOW TO MAKE NATURAL CLEANERSwith vinegar, citrus, herbs, and spices Assemble these ingredients: view on Amazon: essential oils, bulk pricing on cinnamon sticks, whole cloves Assemble these supplies: Jars or other sealable containers. Peeling the citrus (only use the peel & pith, not the juice & pulp inside): Wood.
Ginger and Coconut Oil Sugar Body Scrub How to take a few things from around the kitchen and turn them into a ginger-infused coconut oil sugar scrub for body and face. 72K+ Today’s post is not about food that you eat. It is, however, about things you normally find in your kitchen like oils and ginger and sugar and kosher salt. It made sense for me to seek out all-natural ingredients when thinking about skincare, especially considering my history with products, and so, I’ve been mixing up a few things and looking for ways to go all natural in what I put on my skin, as well as with what I put in my body. Making Your Own Sugar Scrub: Use this to exfoliate every other week or so in the winter on your face as a way to rejuvenate the skin and shed dead skin cells. Copyright © Food for My Family. Like it, love it, share it:
The Burlap Bag - High Quality Handmade Goods Shop - Austin Texas December 20, 2011 by Lauren (Check out our new ONLINE SHOP for The Burlap Bag!!) We have two cats. They get stanky. And I refused to buy air fresheners. It turns out I already had everything I needed for a homemade and EASY air freshener! What you need: A container (we used these) Baking sodaEssential oil Foil (or a lid you want to ruin and poke holes in) This gets really complicated so pay attention…. 1. Oh. Well, add a lid if you want. Seriously the easiest thing I’ve ever done. Done. Follow us for instagram for updates! (p.s. we’ve had a lot of people email us asking where to get those jars! Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.