Homemade All Purpose Healing Salve

I found another recipe that kind of goes over most others. Therefore, I shall post it.

All purpose salve. You know, because I constantly burn and hurt myself on accident and end up with all sorts of hurts. So, here's a way to help heal.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup beeswax
1/3 cup calendula flowers
25 drops tea tree oil
25 drops lavender oil

1. Put coconut oil and olive oil in double boiler. Or just have a glass bowl with water around it! Melt coconut oil.
2. Add calendula flower petals and simmer on low for TWO hours. Stir a couple times while this happens. If wanted, you can take this mixture and put it in the crockpot for three hours (on low).
3. Strain mixture through cheesecloth.
4. Add calendula oil back to saucepan and add beeswax. Melt beeswax.
5. Remove from heat. Let cool 15 minutes.
6. Add essential oils and stir.
7. Pour into glass jar and keep up to a year!

*makes one cup

Source.

Peace.

Homemade Mouthwash

I like to brush my teeth. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to take cool pictures like this smiling.

So, I use a bamboo toothbrush, I make my own toothpaste, I use floss that I get for free, but mouthwash. I haven't had that in quite a long time.

I found a recipe today for homemade mouthwash! Again, I haven't made it. But I'm going to post it here so that I can find it later.

1 cup distilled water
1 tsp baking soda
5 drops peppermint oil
1 drop lemon oil
3 drops thieves oil

Anyways. Steps.

1. Mix together water and making soda. Shake vigorously until soda is dissolved.
2. Carefully add oils.
3. Adjust to taste.
4. Use so your teeth are the best.

And that's it! This is what I'm going to be doing tomorrow and putting in my old apple cider vinegar bottle.

Peace.

Here's my source.

I found another recipe!

12 oz. purified water
2 Tbs 3% hydrogen peroxide
2-3 drops peppermint oil
Optional: small pinch of pure stevia

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Shake.
3. Use.

Source.

*I made the first recipe today (9/24). It. Is. Awesome. I would highly recommend it. Please do that. You can be cool like me.

Homemade Cough Drops

*cough* *cough* *cough* OH NO. It's that time of year again. The time when we're all sick because the weather is unpredictable because Kansas.

I've wanted to try and make my own cough drops. Chances are, I'll probably fail. Anyways, here's the recipe I have. 

1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 to 1/4 ground cloves
powdered sugar/cornstarch for coating
parchment paper

JOYFUL TODAY. I found the lemons, sugar, ginger, and cloves at the Asian Market today. That's my favorite place in town. It brings joy to my heart. I got a piece of parchment paper from a dear friend today, so that was lovely, too, as I didn't need to go to the store for it.

Why honey? It's a natural cough suppressant. And lemon adds Vitamin C. Ginger is anti-inflammatory. As well, ginger keeps to immune system strong. The oil of cloves helps fight germs and loosen phlegm.

1. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Combine all ingredients (NOT powdered sugar) in a pot. Cook until "hard stage", 300 degrees. This may take 15 to 20 minutes. How to test? Drop some in a bowl of ice water. Does it crack? It's ready. 
3. Don't let it burn. That's terrible.
4. Let mixture cool. Drop on making sheet in drops. Like raindrops! Dust with powdered sugar/cornstarch. This helps them not stick together. 
5. Store in airtight container, as anything that lets moisture in will cause them to stick together.

Here's my source. 

Homemade Deodorant

I'm going to be trying to make lots of homemade things. Instead of leaving up like 17 tabs, I think I'll just consolidate all of them onto this here blog. And then I'll tell you how they all worked out!

The first task: homemade deodorant.

I have discovered three different recipes. I don't know which ones work. But here are the recipes! 

Recipe 1
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 Tbs baking soda (use less if sensitive skin)
1/3 arrow root powder
10-15 drops of essential oils
small mixing bowl/spoon
small container to contain

1. Mix coconut oil, soda, and arrow root in bowl. Make into a cream-like mixture.
2. Mix in essential oils. 
3. Put mixture in container.
4. Put on your pits so you don't stink.

Recipe 2
2 1/2 Tbs coconut oil
2 1/2 Tbs shea butter
1/4 cup arrow root powder
2 Tbs baking soda
6 drops lavender essential oil
6 drops grapefruit essential oil
2 drops tea tree essential oil (optional - some are sensitive) (tea tree helps fight bacteria, therefore that's why it's included)

1. Put coconut oil/shea butter in glass bowl and put in a saucepan.
2. Fill saucepan with water (to surround bowl) and bring water to a boil.
3. Make sure to stir shea/coconut as it begins to be heated. Until it all melts.
4. Once all melted, add arrow root powder, baking soda, and essential oils.
5. Place all in jar and let cool until reaches solid state.
6. Cover and use (to use, wet underarms, scoop out pea-sized amount, apply once a day [or more, if needed]).

Recipe 3
3 Tbs baking soda
5 Tbs arrowroot powder
6 Tbs shea butter
30-50 drops essential oil (tea tree, frankincense, lavender, patchouli are good options)

1. In big bowl, mix soda and arrow root. 
2. Using hands or fork, work in shea butter. It'll look like crumbly dough. 
3. Add in essential oils and work together using hand mixer.
4. Transfer to clean jar. Use (a little goes a long way).

French Press

I have a french press at school. And a water heater. Y'all. This is super smart and super grand. I'm able to make my zero waste coffee in the morning (you know, because no coffee filter) and then I have it throughout the day. Between you and me: I think french press tastes better than drip coffee. And pour over tastes better than french press. Anyways.

So, that. I think it's so lovely to be able to make myself coffee that doesn't hurt the environment. Yet another way to be sustainable! 

Peace

No WiFi

So, I've been without WiFi for about the past month. It. Is. Fantastic. I'm getting so much done and I feel like my mind is so much more clear. How odd is that?! I would just like to tell you the benefits of this, so maybe you can do it, too!

1. I've had so much more time to spend doing practical things...like cooking. And cleaning. And decluttering. 
2. I've had so much more time to spend with friends! It's amazing. I feel like my relationships are more intentional because I don't have the distraction of the Internet. 
3. Time. So much more time. I can't believe it. 
4. Blue light - let's talk about that. I'm sleeping much better because I'm not having the blue light intake before I sleep. Here, you can read about it here.
5. I think this has also been helpful in making sure that I use my time well. Intentional friendships, friends. Those are the real deal. Invest in those.
6. It's been amazing to see how much other places I can access Internet other than my apartment. My friends have been kind to offer, as well as I've been spending time in other places. There's more than enough places for me to access Internet, therefore I would rather spend my time building community somewhere else rather than staying at home. 
7. Sometimes, though afraid of doing them, it's good to do things that make you nervous. They turn into the biggest blessings!

This made me smile so much after the entire
conversation.

So, those are some of the benefits. My Internet service, as it was starting back up on the 12th, has been terminated, as of this night. I got to talk to James B, which I referred to as James Bond. Above, or maybe to the side, is a screenshot of our conversation.

Anyways, before I did this, I was really nervous that going without WiFi would be really difficult and make life really complicated. It definitely didn't. If anything, it did the opposite. It made me get out and do new things! Spend time with more people and be more intentional with my time. 

I'm thankful, to say the least. I encourage you to do something that you're nervous about. It can make all the change.

Peace.

*note - though I know the correct term is Internet service, I almost exclusively call it WiFi. So I have gotten rid of the Internet service. That includes WiFi.
*double note - a big gift of this, also, has been that I haven't had the opportunity to go online and buy things. Sounds silly. It's not. If I'm given the time to think about purchasing something, I tend to make a better decision. Then I don't waste money.
*triple note - another benefit would be that I'm not paying for WiFi. Or Internet service. That's a perk.