What could be better than saving money, reducing landfill waste and at the same time making your home safer for you family?  Making your own simple cleaning products will accomplish all three of these and give you a sense of self sufficiency that is very powerful.  Who knows, it may start you down the same path that I took ten years ago to simplify my life by teaching myself to do things that I had previously relied on others to do for me. 

Maybe you have started on this journey already but haven’t had the confidence till now to defy the huge marketing machine that bombards us every day declaring that only their chemical laden products can make our house safely clean.  Take heart, with a few simple and safe ingredients you can make products to clean most of your home and make it much healthier.  And despite what the huge cleaning industry bosses say, you don’t need ten products to clean you home.  The following two creations will clean almost every surface that gets dirty.  Have fun!
The long list of complicated ingredients and supplies that will cost you lots of cash (not!):

Clean spray bottle (can be recycled but rinse well before use)
Glass or plastic wide mouthed jar (I use a pint canning jar)
Baking soda
Liquid castile soap (Dr. Bronner’s is good)
Rosemary, Peppermint or Lavender essential oil (can be mail ordered or found at health food stores)

Disinfectant Cleaning Spray
Fill a one quart spray bottle to within two inches of the top with warm tap water.  Add 2 tablespoons of liquid castile soap.  Add 1-2 teaspoons of your essential oil (EO) of choice.  All three of these have disinfectant properties so it is a matter of personal preference.  Adjust the amount of EO to lighten or strengthen the scent.  Shake to mix and shake before each use.  Label the bottle.

This cleaner will cost you about $.50 to make and can be used in so many ways.  Here are the things that I use it for.  Sinks, toilet (both inside and out), wood floors, tile floors, carpet stains, ceramic stove top (for non baked on stains) counters, bathtub and countertops, walls and anything else that gets dirty.  You can spray this directly on dirty little hands too. Just rinse with water to avoid the soap getting into the eyes.  This cleaner is completely natural and non toxic and cleans amazingly well.  Just spray it on, let it sit for a couple of minutes will you receive an aroma therapy session from the EO and then wash off.

Scrubbing Powder
Pour two cups of baking soda into a clean bowl.  Add about 4 tablespoons of liquid castile soap and 1-2 teaspoons

 of EO of choice.  Make sure you use pure castile soap and not liquid dish soap as the dish soap creates a bad chemical reaction with the baking soda.  Mix thoroughly and store in a plastic or glass wide mouth jar.  Label the jar. This will cost you about $.50.

I use this on stubborn sink stains, bathtub rings, and my ceramic stove top.  It also works great to scrub out pots and pans.  If you leave out the liquid soap, you can use it as a great refrigerator, cat box or garbage can deodorizer.

Mirror Cleaner
I know I said we’d talk about two cleaners, but I just had to throw this one in for the pure shock value.

Fill a quart spray bottle with water.  That’s it.  Plain water.  Spray it on and use a clean rag to wipe the mirror.  Switch to another clean, dry rag and wipe till it’s dry.  Amazing huh?  Who needs that stuff that’s dyed blue?  Some folks add a little vinegar but I haven’t found it to be any better.  Make sure you label the bottle as most liquids look alike.

Simple isn’t it?  And talk about saving money.  If you replace just these three cleaners with the expensive ones you are using now, you could save hundreds of dollars every year.  And think of the health benefits to you and your family and all of the bottles that won’t go from you house to the landfill every year.  Please give these recipes a try and you’ll be well on your way to frugal and healthy self sufficiency. 

Herbal Blessings, Theresa Lim

Theresa is an herb farmer and beekeeper in North Carolina.  I am very fond of her natural and therapeutic products.  You can find them at Honey Thyme Herb Farm.

image via Honey Thyme Herb Farm

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Our first giveaway is from Honey Thyme Herb Farm.  If you’d like to know more about these natural products, please read my review or visit Theresa’s Honey Thyme Herb Farm website. 

Here’s what Theresa is giving away:

• 2 lip balm
• 1 hand salve
• 1 lotion bar (my favorite)

The package is valued at $21!  A note from Theresa:

My philosophy is to keep my recipes pure and simple using organically grown herbs mostly from my garden and honey, beeswax and propolis from my bee hives. My honey is 100% pure and unfiltered and my body products are made with pure vegetable oils, specifically chosen to pamper and heal the skin.  Most of my products are scented with pure essential oils which are 100% plant based. For some products I give a fragrance oil option. These oils are synthetic but smell great. I never use artificial preservatives substituting instead Vitamin E and bee propolis. I am fond of saying that if I can’t pronounce an ingredient, it won’t go into my products and I hope you enjoy using them as much as I do.

To enter this contest, all you need to do is leave a comment at this post between now and Friday, April 25th.  The winner will be contacted via email, so please be sure you leave a valid email address.  Please leave your email address in the box under your name instead of in the comment section. 

Please check out my other giveaways at A Healthy Balance and Little Fun; Little Learning.

Good luck!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

A few months later, when I visited my aunt again, I used the lotion bar a few more times.  Again, I received quick results.  I decided that I needed to contact Theresa at Honey Thyme Herb Farm to get some of these products to try for myself.

These are the products I tried and a little about them:

Lavender & Rosemary Bath Salts – Some of the ingredients include honey, powdered milk, lavender and rosemary flowers, and essential oils.  The bath salts smell wonderful.  The fragrance is very soothing.  After using the salts, my skin felt smooth and moisturized.

Lip Balm – The lip balm is sweetened with Stevia.  This is a sweet herb that does not raise blood sugar or have calories.  I tried the coconut lip balm, but it is available in different flavors.  I like that the lip balm leaves my lips feeling moisturized, but not waxy.  It smells and tastes good too.

Healing Salve -  I used the healing salve on my eczema and cracked hands.  Calendula, Lavender, Plantain, Chickweed, and Comfry are infused with vegetables oils and then strained.  The oils are then thickened with beeswax, bee propolis is added and it’s ready to use on cuts, scrapes, insect bites and other minor mishaps.

Lotion Bar – This is my favorite product that Theresa makes.  As I stated earlier, this was the product that my aunt had me try.  I was excited to receive the lotion bar and begin using it on my dry skin.  The lotion bar looks like a bar of soap.  It contains Mowrah butter and Jojoba oil.   You just rub it on your skin to begin enjoying the natural products working to heal your skin.

All of Theresa’s products are made right here in my home state of North Carolina. 

My philosophy is to keep my recipes pure and simple using organically grown herbs mostly from my garden and honey, beeswax and propolis from my bee hives. My honey is 100% pure and unfiltered and my body products are made with pure vegetable oils, specifically chosen to pamper and heal the skin.  Most of my products are scented with pure essential oils which are 100% plant based. For some products I give a fragrance oil option. These oils are synthetic but smell great. I never use artificial preservatives substituting instead Vitamin E and bee propolis. I am fond of saying that if I can’t pronounce an ingredient, it won’t go into my products and I hope you enjoy using them as much as I do.

Be sure to check back next week.  I am so pleased with Theresa’s products that I have asked her to sponsor a giveaway for our readers!!!! 

There are more products to choose from at Honey Thyme Herb Farm.  Which product would you like to try?

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Some suggested items for dyeing eggs are onion skins, red cabbage, coffee, beets, and tumeric.  You’ll need some vinegar too.  Here’s what Martha Stewart has to say:

Dye Recipes
Select a dyeing agent, and place it in the pot using the amount listed below. Add 1 quart water and 2 tablespoons white vinegar to pot; if more water is necessary to cover ingredients, proportionally increase the amount of vinegar. Bring to a boil, then lower heat. Allow the ingredients to simmer for 30 minutes. Strain dye into a bowl.

Red-cabbage dye: 4 cups chopped cabbage

Turmeric dye: 3 tablespoons turmeric

Onion-skin dye: 4 cups onion skins (skins of about 12 onions)

Beet dye: 4 cups chopped beets

Coffee dye: 1 quart strong black coffee (instead of water)

Other sources for information:

Martha Stewart:   Dyeing Eggs Naturally
About.com
Mama Lisa

Image from Martha Stewart.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy