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! 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. view on Amazon:half gallon mason jars, quart mason jars, spray bottles,jar funnel, mason jar lid strainer, wire mesh strainer 1.
10 Amazing Cleaning Tips It is time for me to get some Spring Cleaning done around here! I am sharing today 10 Cleaning Tips and Tricks that will change your life. These are amazing ways to clean your home with things that you may have around. Pure awesomeness! Let me show you… Clean Your Air Conditioner Unit yourself. Save money and increase your system’s efficiency. Step by step directions over at The Family Handyman. Grout Cleaner I hate dirty grout. This cleaning solution is made with just four ingredients: water, baking soda, ammonia (or lemon juice) and vinegar . Get the recipe over at A mum’n the oven. Tub Scrub Here’s a nontoxic way to clean your tub. Get the recipe over at marthastewart.com Use a simple bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide to clean windows, mirrors, toilet, and bathtub. Get all of the details at Desiring Virtue. All-Natural Homemade Floor Cleaner over at Nature’s Nurture. Hello awesomeness! How to keep your Tupperware Stain and odor free. Who knew that newspapers and lemon could do the trick! Besos Desiree
Natural Insect Pest Control: Safe, Non-Toxic Methods & Solutions Cymbopogon citratus, also known as Thai lemongrass, is a natural and effective mosquito repellent. It contains the natural oil, citronella, which is safe and effective; in fact, lemon grass citronella is considered more effective than true citronella as an insect repellent. You can buy Thai lemon grass at garden centers and supermarkets, and it grows readily into a clump about 15” across and about two feet tall. To use as a mosquito repellent, break a stalk off from the clump and peel off the outer leaves, until you find the scallion-like stem at the base. Bend the stem between your fingers, loosening it, then rub it vigorously between your palms: it will soon become a pulpy, juicy mass. Rub this over all exposed skin, covering thoroughly at least once. Cymbopogon citratus, also known as Thai lemongrass, is a natural and effective mosquito repellent.
One more Moore: Spring is here! Doesn't it feel good? It's warming up here in Southern California (well, it's always warm...but you know.) We hit the beach for the first time this year on St. Patrick's Day. Charlies' first time there and it was good. We stayed & watched the sun set. You need a small stockpot filled about 2/3 full with water. 1 lemon, sliced, and a few sprigs of rosemary (on a cold dark night, armed with scissors, I did a little snippy snip of rosemary from the apartment bldg next door. Then add 1-2 tsp of vanilla: (can I get a HUZZAH for taking the picture while pouring the vanilla???) I let it simmer all day long, adding water as needed. Here's to Spring!
Homemade Vanilla Extract I love the scent of vanilla in anything from candles to soap and the flavor of vanilla in baked goods and desserts is second to none. If a recipe calls for one teaspoon vanilla extract, I use at least two; but likely more and use a slow, heavy hand when pouring. All that pouring makes my food taste amazing but my wallet doesn’t like it. Homemade vanilla extract saves money and even if it didn’t, when it comes to taste and flavor, there is just no comparison. The only thing special that’s required when making vanilla extract is patience. To make vanilla extract you need vanilla beans. When selecting beans, they should be soft, pliable, tender, and flexible. Next, you need alcohol (at least 35% by volume) in order to extract the vanilla from the vanilla beans, thus the name, vanilla extract. Bourbon, rum, or brandy may be used instead of vodka. You need a glass jar that seals in which to make extract. I figured as long as this was a two-month project, I may as well extract in bulk. Notes
Green & Thrifty Cleaning Products | 10 Homemade Cleaner Recipes Hopefully all this de-cluttering is getting you all excited for the deep, deep cleaning that is going to happen soon! I don’t know how it is for you, but with every box of stuff I get rid of I feel like another little load has been lifted off my shoulders. We are still going to take some time in the next week for more weeding and purging, but in the meantime I thought it would be a good idea to also start gathering some of the necessary tools you’ll need to get your space spic & span. I have always had a bad habit of thinking that more cleaning supplies would result in a cleaner house. The thing is, until he said that, I actually thought they might. As hard as it was to finally accept the sad reality that there are no magic mops, I am happy to report that we are now down to one broom, one dustpan, and one mop in our broom closet, and that is just exactly enough. Here is my magic list of 10 essential green & thrifty cleaning products: {P.S. And here is how to use them! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
13 Natural Ways To Keep Mosquitoes Away 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. I’m sure everyone reading this right now has experienced the redness, the swelling and the uncontrollable itching that comes with a mosquito bite. Many people turn to store bought insect repellents to keep mosquitoes away, but these insect repellents often contain a toxic pesticide that is dangerous to human health. Heavy exposure to DEET has been linked to memory loss, headache, weakness, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, tremors and shortness of breath in humans and is particularly toxic to children. Needless to say, this is a pesticide we do NOT want to be using – especially when there are so many more effective ways to keep mosquitoes away using natural remedies and ingredients. Homemade Citronella Candles Find out how to make these citronella candles here at GardenTherapy.ca
How To: Soft Flat Iron Curls Recently I've had a lot of requests for a step-by-step on these curls - These curls are done with a flat iron. A huge part of getting your flat iron curls to turn out is using the right kind of flat iron! When picking out a flat iron that's good for curling, look for one that's skinny, has rounded edges, and gets somewhat hot on the outside of the plates as well. For these curls I used the GHD Classic Styler. See a video tutorial for flat iron curls HERE. 1. 3. 5. 7. 9. 11. Lovely flat iron waves! Recommended Products:
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. The extract has only been sitting for a few days so far so I can’t tell you how it came out, but I wanted to share the method now in case anyone else has an abundance of mint just begging to be used for something. 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
Creatively Domestic: Homemade OxyClean What a great inexpensive laundry fix! This came from The Grocery Cart Challenge and I was so excited to give it a try. I feel like I go through gallons of Shout at a time, so I needed to step up my spot removal a notch. When you have a child, you never quite know what you'll be praying comes out in the wash. Let's stop that conversation there! *Updated 9/28/11* I've been using this concoction for over two years and I've had ALOT of questions about this Homemade Oxyclean, so I thought I'd show everyone exactly how I use it. Here is my plastic dishpan that I have stashed in my laundry room and a batch of the Oxyclean mixed up and ready to go. As for baking soda vs. washing soda: I use baking soda and have found it to work really well. Here is one of my son's jumpers that I want to get some weird funk out of. This is how I left the clothing sit for an afternoon, (hello gray yoga pants with chocolate ice cream on them...tee hee... Homemade OxyClean recipe from The Grocery Cart Challenge
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. 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.
How to Make your Stainless Shine Addition: Hi y'all! I just have to say WOW, I can't believe the traffic that this post has been getting from pinterest, other bloggers, home improvement sites, and even personal recomendations. Thank you to everyone who has commented or emailed about this post. I just have a few things I should add. - I don't clean my sink like this every day...this is for when I have a really dirty sink and it needs a good deep clean. - This specific way to shine my sink was used after I had painted several rooms and rinsed dirty brushes in my kitchen sink. - I clean in a almost all "green" way, and I'm not bothered by the use of goo-gone. - To everyone who has a different cleaning method. So if you're the owner of a stainless sink {or any sink for that matter!} Supplies - Vinegar {In a spray bottle} - Baking Soda - Boiling Water - Goo-Gone - Olive Oil - Sponge - Paper Towels or Rag Directions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. I LOVE this sink cleaning system, I only wish I had taken a before picture!
Making Glow Jars | The Gold Jellybean Yesterday Sydney and I had a major art and craft day, and also experimented with making glow jars. They have been floating around Pinterest for awhile now and look like so much fun! However, there is one tutorial that frustrates me. The image is clearly Photoshopped, and I think it’s very misleading. You will need a glass jar, glow sticks (I picked some up from the dollar store), rubber gloves to protect your hands, scissors, I recommend protective eyewear, and a piece of tulle (optional). If you are using the tulle, cut a piece slightly larger than the jar, and place inside. Now, put on those rubber gloves. Next, stir and shake the cut glow stick around inside your jar. Once you have the desired amount of glow material in your jar, replace the lid and shake it up. Here are all three jars we made. Now turn off the lights and watch them glow! And here is the jar with the white tulle. All in all it was a fun project.