Homemade Natural Shampoo

I finally ran out of my store bought shampoo, so I made my own. After using this recipe I have decided I won't be buying shampoo from the store anymore. It is SO easy to make, and it is SO much cheaper to make it. Also, I love how it suds up and really cleans my hair. I can customize it to my hair needs. For example, it can be more moisturizing in the dry winter, and more sudsy in the summer when I'm trying to wash away garden dirt and sweat. Here is how you can make this wonderful shampoo:

Ingredients: 

•  1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/3 cup Liquid Castille Soap (I use Dr.Bronners) 
• 20 drops of Essential Oils (I used lavender and tea tree oil) 
• 1/2 tsp Almond oil or Olive oil (This is great for dry hair, or during those dry winter months)

Mix together and put into a empty shampoo bottle. 

A little bit goes a long way, and it really suds up! 

Leave a comment and let me know how you like it.

You can get all the above ingredients at VitaCost. For $10 off at VitaCost click here. You and I will both get $10 off.

Homemade Hair Gel

Hair Gel

This recipe came from Mommypotamus. She deserves the credit for this, I just adapted it a bit for my needs. 

Hair Gel

What to use:

• 1 teaspoon gelatin (if you want less "hold" then use 1/2 teaspoon gelatin)
• 1 cup very warm purified water
• 5-10 drops essential oil (optional)
• 8 oz mason jar

How to make:

1. Dissolve gelatin into warm water.

2.. Add essential oils if desired. Store in mason jar in the fridge.

What I do with it:

Apply to hair like regular hair gel. Store in fridge.

*Mommypotamus came up with this info. I am just passing on what her blog says about the essential oils.*

A Few Essential Oil Options

• Lime essential oils smells amazing, and is helpful for balancing oily hair. In a more concentrated form it may also lighten hair.
• Peppermint and rosemary essential oils stimulate hair growth and add shine. Great for normal hair. 
• Basil, thyme, patchouli, tea tree and lemongrass have astringent properties which are beneficial for oily hair
• Chamomile, lavender, sandalwood and rosemary are helpful for dry hair.
• Clary sage, tea tree, eucalyptus, and patchouli are helpful for dandruff

Need some doTerra essential oils? Check out my site... CLICK HERE

My (mostly) chemical-free home.

A while ago I decided once we finally moved into our new home (it was a 4 month long buying process) that I was going to make it "chemical-free". Considering my limited, but growing knowledge of the ingredients I need and how to use them, on what, I am sure this will be fun experience for everyone.  :)

The things I make thus far are:

• General household cleaner and sanitizer - my recipe here
• Kitchen/bathroom cleaner and sanitizer - my recipe here
• Laundry detergent - my recipie here
• Floor cleaner - Mop with a bucket of hot water, 10 drops of lemon essential oil, 10 drops of pine or cedar essential oil, 2 cups of white vinegar.
• Glass cleaner - Spray window/mirror with 1 part white vinegar and 3 parts water, wipe with wet (with water) microfiber cloth.
• Fabric softener - my recipie here
• Rinse-aid for the dishwasher - I just use white vinegar.
• Fabric/room freshener - Still perfecting it, will post when I am happy with the results.
• Fruit/Veggie wash - I fill sink/bowl with water, then add about a cup of white vinegar.
• Wood oil - 1 cup olive oil, 10 drops cedar oil, 10 drops lemon oil.
• Mouth wash- my recipe here
• Hand/Body Soap - my recipes here
• Teeth Whitener - 1 part hydrogen peroxide (pre diluted to 3%), 1 part water. Swish, Spit, let bubbles work for a bit, then swish with mouth wash.
• Toothpaste - I get my recipes for this from here (for now until I come up with my own)
• Hair Gel - here
• Solid Loton - here
• Healing Salve - here
• Face scrub - coming soon
• Body butter - here (This is someone else's recipe that I have used. I will post my own version soon)
• Shaving Cream - same as body butter (above)

The things I still buy (but get the least chemical filled brands/types I can find) are:

• Hand/Body Soap - from here
• Shampoo/Conditioner - also from here
• Deodorant - Buy from here or I make the recipe posted here 
• Bubble bath - from here
• Sunscreen - same as bubble bath
• Automatic dishwasher detergent - from here
• Dish soap - same as dishwasher detergent

Just as a side note; I do not have any affilation with the above companies. They are simply the ones that work for me, and have less "bad stuff" in them then most.

A majority of the things on the "buy" list I have tried to make, I just haven't found a recipe that I really like yet. As far as makeup and other beauty products I have not converted over 100% yet. Mostly because I almost never wear makeup (as in once every couple of months) so I don't feel that is a big concern at this time. I also still buy regular chemical-filled mousse. I just haven't found anything that makes me happy that is natural yet. When it comes to chapstick and things of that nature I use a variety of natural brands. Coconut oil, and almond oil are about the only things I use as moisturizer, lotion, or face creams.

Want to get good quality essential oils? Click here.

My Homemade Flu/Cold/Allergy Remedy and Preventive.

My Homemade Flu/Cold/Allergy Remedy and Preventive. 

Elderberry Syrup

What you need:

2-4oz Elderberry Concentrate
2-4oz Raw local honey
Tea ball full of dried echinacea 
Fresh ginger root
Pint size mason jar



How to make:

Fill the jar half way with boiling water, and steep the echinacea while you work on the other ingredients. In a small pan pour in your elderberry and honey, heat the pan on low and stir slowly until the honey has dissolved. Pour your mixture into your mason jar. Grate your ginger root into the jar, about an inch or so. Shake and store in the fridge. 

What we do with it: 

For immunity: Take 1 tbs daily. 

When sick: Take 1 tbs every 4-6 hours as needed. 

For children: Take 1 tsp daily, or every 4-6 hours as needed.

This is for information purposes only. Please do your own research and know the benefits and risks of each ingredient before taking or giving this to someone. 

NEVER GIVE INFANTS UNDER 1 YEARS HONEY!

Need some doTerra essential oils? Check out my site... CLICK HERE

Itchy foot relief.

My husband came home from work and said his foot itched. I told him after his shower I would put some essential oils on it. He said it itched really bad and has gotten worse all day. While he was showering I put together what I labeled "itchy foot relief". It consists of:

2 oz coconut oil

2 oz almond oil

10 drops oregano essential oil

5 drops peppermint essential oil

10 drops tea tree oil

I put this all in a small mason jar, and labeled it. 

As soon as I put it on his foot it stopped itching. Here are before and after photos of his foot. 

As you can see, it healed right up! According to my husband he had this rash for about 2 days, it had finally started it itching so much he couldn't I gore it and finally asked me to put something on it. After applying the "itchy foot relief" that I made he said it didn't itch anymore until about 24hrs later at which time I took a photo and applied more. 

I buy my essential oils at: http://www.mydoterra.com/kennatimmons/

Pickles!

Pickles...

As you probably know I have a very large, organic garden. This garden has several cucumber plants. Which means I have a BUNCH of cucumbers! My solution this issue? Pickles! So far I have only made refrigator pickles. However, they are freaking awesome! I got to use up quite a few cucumbers, spend a couple hours with my mom, and as a reward we have sweet, delicious pickles. Here is the recipe I'm using incase you would like to make your own.

Refrigerator Pickles 

Ingredients:

1 cup distilled white vinegar 

1 tablespoon salt 

2 cups white sugar 

6 cups sliced cucumbers 

1 cup sliced onions 

1 cup sliced green bell peppers 

Directions:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil. Boil until the sugar has dissolved, about 10 minutes.

Place the cucumbers, onions and green bell peppers in a large bowl. Pour the vinegar mixture over the vegetables. Transfer to sterile containers and store in the refrigerator.

Mine didn't have the bell peppers in them. I didn't have very many bell peppers ready yet, so I saved them to just eat on their own. 

Let me know if you try out this recipe! 

Want to get good quality essential oils? Click here.

Homemade Mouth Wash

I simply can not believe I didn't read the ingredients on our mouth wash sooner! Ugh! I was standing in the bathroom the other day chatting with my husband while he brushed his teeth. He reached for the mouth wash and when he sat it down I realized there was a whole paragraph of ingredients on the back. At that point I already knew I would be throwing it out and making my own, but I went ahead and read them. Disgusting! I immediately told him to spit it out and we would not be buying any more! He told me that was just fine as long as I replaced it with something because he really likes using mouth wash. Right away I went to work trying to find a recipe that I thought would work. This is what I came up with...


1 quart of water
3 drops peppermint essential oil
1 drop clove essential oil

Mix together in mason jar. Shake before use. Swish in mouth then spit out.


My husband tried it today and absolutely loves it! It is so cheap it is nearly free, and it doesn't have any chemicals, dyes, or any bad for you junk in it. It tastes great, smells great, works great, and is actually very good for your mouth. I have never been a big fan of mouth wash, I didn't like the *burn* it always left in my mouth. This mouth wash, however, is quite pleasant. I am a big fan. Try it out, let me know what you think. There are many, many ways you can customize this to your liking. These just happened to be the ingredients I had on hand when I decided to make it.


For more of my homemade tips click here.


Want to get good quality essential oils? Click here.

An alternitave to this recipe is to use 3-4 drops OnGuard essential oil blend by doTerra. It tastes much better then the clove oil, and has many more protecting properties.