When Life Hands You Lemons...

... you make your products - but we're not talking lemonade here. We're talking home and personal care. The vision for my blog and my other social media sites is to encourage you to find your truths in wellness; which is multi-faceted. 

Wellness is more than just nutrition (though it is the foundation for everything) but wellness embodies advocating for your life in the decisions you make. I want you to see that making your own products can be empowering and you don't have to take it all on at once. Pick a recipe you want to try, incorporate it and let it become your go-to then add another one. 

So, when life hands you lemons, maybe you can make a tub and tile cleaner with a bit of baking soda and a little elbow grease or you can use them to make an alternative bleach with a couple other common household ingredients. The choice is yours! Be open to learning, sharing, and growing. 

Join me over at Handcrafted HoneyBee where owner, Stacia, asked me to share my experiences in how I got started DIYing. The guest post was shared during her new website launch. More about Stacia's business: 

Handcrafted Honey Bee was founded with the goal of helping you to create healthy, handcrafted skin care products with ease in the comfort of your own home.

View our selection of kits, find us on social media, and let your love affair with creating your own skin care begin!

Give DIY a try! You may surprise yourself with your innate know-how. Your house will be clean, your kids can help, and there will be no harmful chemicals to breathe in. Your house will not smell like Clorox, but it may have small hints of lemon here and there and who doesn't like lemons? Oh, well, if you don't like them try lime juice! If you're allergic to both then skip the lemons, and go with baking soda. And, if you're not feeling any of those options, trust me, there are a ton more!

In the guest post on Handcrafted Honeybee, you'll learn how I was able to repair my own hair after a hairdresser said I need to cut it all off. Sounds kind of like other practitioners that may make people feel there is no other option. There IS always another option but you have to be willing to put in the time and effort AND speak up! Feel confident this day that you can advocate for your own wellness in all regards!

Don't forget to click over to the guest post here. 

Choose, eat, and live well! =) 


Print This Post

Spring into Natural Cleaning

Spring into Natural DIY Cleaning 

Well, it's that time of year again - good ole Spring Cleaning!! I want to encourage you to make your own cleaning supplies and to get you started (or to add to your arsenal) with a choice of over 50 DIY recipes. Bonus: Personal and Pet Care links are shared, too!

Here's something to ponder - Do you know what's lurking in store brand cleaning products? Would it be shocking if I shared with you that they don't have to be 100% truthful in disclosing all of their ingredients? Well, at least as it stands today but thankfully groups like Women's Voices and Safer Chemicals are spreading the awareness and we can stay in the know. 

Women's Voices has shared the common hidden chemicals as seen here. 

The task to make all of your own may be overwhelming, so my personal recommendation for you is to start with replacing one store bought cleaning product. I am starting slow. I began my journey about 4 years ago with an all-purpose cleaner. 

Before you run off pinning the recipes below, take a moment to sign the Mind the Store petition spearheaded by Safer Chemicals. With our signatures we are telling the nation's largest retailers to get tougher on toxic chemicals found in commercial cleaners. Your signature makes a difference! Please share.

Home - Care

All-Purpose

Non-Toxic Household Cleaner from Actual Organics

All-Purpose & Floors from Healing Cuisine by Elise

All-Purpose Lemon Cleaner from Faulk Farmstead 

DIY Citrus Infused Vinegar from Don't Waste the Crumbs

DIY Orange Cleaner from Natural Living Mamma 

Grapefruit All-Purpose Cleaner from 5 Little Homesteaders

How-to Make an All-Purpose Cleaner from Mommypotamus

Make Your Own Cleaning Products from Natural Living Mamma

Natural Cleaners (oil free) from Hands On Learning 4 All 

Bathroom

Soft Scrub and Mold Killer from Naturally Mindful 

Cheap and Easy Drain Cleaner from Natural Living Mamma

Homemade Peppermint Scrub from 5 Little Homesteaders

Mold & Mildew Spray from Rooted Blessings

Tub & Tile from Healing Cuisine from Elise

Furniture

Furniture Polish from Learning and Yearning 

Wood Furniture Polish from Healing Cuisine by Elise 

General

DIY Disinfectant Cloth Wipes from Red and Honey 

Carpets & Stains from Healing Cuisine by Elise
Chemical-free Cleanin' on the Cheap from Wholesome Mommy
Cleaning with Baking Soda from Conveying Awareness 
DIY Remove Labels From Jars from Don't Waste the Crumbs 
Easy Homemade Floor Cleaner from Homemade for Elle 
Essential Oils for Green Cleaning from the Untrained Housewife 
Glass Cleaner from How We Flourish
Green Clean Glass Cleaner from Girl Meet Nourishment 

Making Your Own Cleaning Products from Natural Parenting 
Non-Toxic Carpet Cleaning Solutions from the Untrained Housewife
Non-Toxic Disinfectant (Better than Lysol) from Real Food RN 
Windows, Mirrors & Glass from Healing Cuisine by Elise

Kitchen 

Easy Natural Oven Cleaner from Health Extremist 

Drain Cleaner from How We Flourish
Homemade Dishwasher Detergent Tablets from 5 Little Homesteaders
How-to Clean a Burnt Pan without Toxic Chemicals from Little Owl Crunchy Momma
How-to Clean the Kitchen Sink without Toxic Chemicals from Little Owl Crunchy Momma
How-to Clean Your Dishwasher Naturally from Natural Living Mamma
Non-toxic Cleaner for Stainless Steel from Real Food Whole Health 

Non-Toxic Grapefruit Mopping Solution from Homegrown & Healthy
Zap Kitchen-Bathroom Germs from Scratch Mommy

Laundry

5-Minute Chemical-Free Laundry Detergent (liquid) from Wholesome Mommy 

DIY Guide to Laundry Detergent (powdered) from Homegrown & Healthy 
Homemade Laundry Detergent (powdered) from Mommypotamus
Homemade Laundry Soap (without Borax) from Little Owl Crunchy Momma
Laundry Detergent (powdered) from Live Essentially 
Make Your Own Dryer Balls from Nourishing Joy
Making Your Own Laundry Soap (powdered) from the Untrained Housewife 
Safe Alternatives to Laundry Day from Conveying Awareness

Personal - Care

Face Lotion Bar from Don't Waste the Crumbs 

10 Ways to Use Coconut Oil from Conveying Awareness 

Cloth Diaper Solutions from Vintage Kids Modern World 

DIY Spa Recipes from Fiddlebump's 

How-to Make Non-Toxic Hand Sanitizer from Mommypotamus 

Treating Yourself Naturally from Conveying Awareness

I recommend a few Pinterest boards worth following: DIY, Health & Wellness, and Recipes from Conveying Awareness.

Every blogger featured on this round-up has given me written permission to share their links and where applicable, their images. If you're a featured blogger and wish to have your link removed and /or image, please contact me via my blog. I will remove it promptly upon your request. Every link points directly to the blog from which it was collected. 

Choose, eat, and live well! =)

DIY Tomato Sauce

Got Tomatoes? Make Tomato Sauce, of course! 

I've wanted to make my own tomato sauce for a minute now. Now that I have made my very first test batch, I can be sure to replicate this recipe (doubling, tripling, etc) for the next time I get an abundance of tomatoes. Though the flavor profile was spot on, it was a bit loose and I know it's because of the lack of tomatoes I had on hand. 

I've seen similar recipes online that used canned tomatoes. You can do this in a pinch but I recommend fresh (and organic) whenever possible. 

This recipe yields about 14 oz of tomato sauce. You'll need a scale to weigh your diced tomatoes. You can gently boil the tomatoes so the skins can be removed. 

Ingredients:
14 oz of diced tomatoes (*fresh when possible; use your scale)
* You'll need up to 1/4 cup of water since you're not using canned tomatoes.
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
3 T EVOO 
1/2 cup diced bell pepper (I like yellow or orange best plus it adds some color.) 
1/2 T oregano
1/2 T basil
1/2 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp sugar (raw or organic)

Preparation: 
1. Dice 4 large tomatoes preserving as much of their juices as possible.
2. Dice bell pepper and garlic. 
3. In a pot, heat EVOO on medium and add garlic, oregano, and basil. Cook until aromatic or about 3 minutes. 
4. Add bell pepper and cook for another 3 minutes. 
5. Add tomatoes with the reserved juices and stir to incorporate the flavors of the ingredients and cook on low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
6. When sauce is nearly done, add the sugar and salt. Stir.
7. If you find that your sauce is too chunky, you can add in up to 1/4 cup of water. 

You can serve it two ways: 
1) chunky (which would be superb over bread for bruschetta) or
2) smooth (using an immersion blender which I did for this recipe).

Choose, eat, and live well! =)

Print this Article