Recently,
my daughter and I have been reading the "Little House on the
Prairie" series, and I've been reminded of how life used to be. As we've
experienced these books together, we've begun to explore what it would mean
to make some of the everyday things we usually buy. (See also: Grocery Items You Should Make
at Home)
For the
most part, we've found recipes readily available and fairly easy to make, and
that the finished products work at least as well as their counterparts in the
grocery store. You can dive as deeply as you want into making things on your
own. I'd suggest that you pick one or two of the recipes to try and see how
you like them. Once making and using them becomes routine, add more recipes
to your repertoire.
For the Body
Most of
that stuff in those bottles of personal care products that you lather on
every day is probably safe, but not very frugal. These homemade body products
are all-natural, and all are affordable. (See also: 4 DIY Facial Products)
1. Body Wash
An
infusion of oats and rosemary adds depth to this body wash recipe that
has its base in liquid castile soap. In doing so, it avoids many of the scary
ingredients, like sodium laureth sulfate. Some people worry that the castile
soap will be too harsh, but I've found that the other ingredients temper it
enough that I don't experience any difficulty there.
2. Lotion Bars
These lotion bars are not only great for
personal use, but they make great gifts as well. Who doesn't like a
sweet-smelling, useful gift? Some of the ingredients may sound intimidating,
but if you can't find them at Whole Foods or your local natural food store,
you can always buy them on Amazon. I recommend adding the vitamin E oil for
preservation, as the recipe makes quite a few lotion bars, and they each take
a while to use.
3. Lip Balm
I have
been a lip balm addict for most of my life. It started with Lip Smackers in
grade school, progressed through all sorts of specialty balms later on, and
now most often manifests itself in plain old Chapstick. Or, it did until I
found this recipe for basic lip balm.
The recipe itself is very basic, and it can be made with any flavor you want.
Again, this is not only good for you, but makes a good gift, as well.
4. Body Butter
Pretty
much all I have to say about this body butter recipe is
YUM! It can seem just a little oily going on, but I love the way my skin
feels after I rub it in. I've never loved either the texture or the scent of
most lotions, but I could use this stuff several times a day. In our dry
Colorado winter, it has helped keep my skin summer smooth.
5. PH Balanced Shampoo
I've
been a fan of the "no 'poo" movement for several years, but every
time I tried to wash my hair with a baking soda rinse, it got coarse and
unruly. For my fine, light hair, that's saying something. So when I found a shampoo recipe I liked (and
the accompanying article, which talks about why the baking soda may not work
for some people), I felt relief. I will say that this shampoo takes some
getting used to — it doesn't foam, and sometimes it feels like it leaves a
bit of residue on the hair. But it has also kept my hair soft and manageable,
and it hasn't caused any oil problems. (See also: DIY Hair Conditioners)
6. Baby Wipes
It
really wasn't until baby #3 that I realized just how much I spent on wipes,
and I also noticed that they seem to irritate the skin of at least one of my
kids. Both of those things motivated me to try these homemade baby wipes,
and I've been pretty happy with them. Even the thickest paper towels don't
hold up like regular wipes, though, which can be annoying. Also, I usually
add a couple of drops of essential oil, because I hate the smell of baby oil.
7. Dry Shampoo
For
those days when you don't want to wash your hair, or when your scalp is
adjusting to the "no 'poo" shampoo above, dry shampoo can be a
lifesaver. Just sprinkle it on and any minor oil problems will seem to
disappear almost immediately. To avoid looking like you have some serious
dandruff problems, there are separate formulas for dark hair and light hair.
8. Deodorant
I'm
gonna tell you the truth: I've been a little wary of trying this all-natural deodorant formula.
I've heard wonderful things about it from a couple of different people,
though, so I include it here so that you can let me know how it goes! Just
kidding. I'm including it because I have heard such good things about it, and
because it's still unclear as to whether the
ingredients in regular antiperspirant/deodorant are harmful.
9. Bubble Bath
My kids
love bubbles in their bath, but the stuff you can buy at the store is
expensive and it has a ton of ingredients I can't pronounce, which always
makes me a little nervous. Thisbubble bath formula, on the other hand,
has ingredients I'm familiar with and seems to work just as well. The bubbles
don't always last quite as long as with the stuff from the store (I'm not
sure why), but I love being able to make it whatever scent I want.
For General Cleaning
You
probably buy lots of different cleaning products for general cleaning inside
and outside. Now you can make your own. (See also: Clean Everything With Just 3
All-Natural Cleaners)
10. Glass Cleaner
Wipes
These homemade glass cleaner wipes aren't
quite Windex, but they're the next best thing, and they are all natural. I
have found that they clean as well or better than Windex, actually, though
occasionally they leave streaks and, even when they don't, I have to work
harder to achieve that than I do with the blue stuff. Since nearly all
chemical cleaning products cause me to have breathing problems, though, I've
been happy to work a little harder in exchange for clean windows.
11. Window Cleaner
Although
this DIY window cleaner fluid doesn't
produce wipes and has slightly different ingredients than the recipe above,
it does clean your windows. I prefer the above formula (whether I make the
wipes or not), but another all-natural friend likes this one. You can try
them both and choose the one that works best for you.
12. Bleach Wipes
These bleach disinfecting wipes aren't
all-natural, but they're cheap, super easy to make, and great to have around
for spills and stains that just need bleach. I go through a batch of these so
slowly that I sometimes have to re-moisten whatever I'm using for wipes
before I can use them. I actually like that, though, because it means I don't
have the bleach mixture sloshing around in my cupboard, but I still have
wipes to use when I need them.
For Laundry
Wise
Bread recently covered a bunch of DIY laundry detergent recipes,
so I'll focus instead on those not-quite detergent products we use in the
laundry room. (See also: 8 Ways to Make Your Clothes
Last Longer)
13. Fabric Softener
This fabric softener formula is
so easy and works so well that I can't believe people use anything else to
soften their clothes in the washing machine. It doesn't hurt your clothes or
your machine, and you have your choice when it comes to scents (so you can
avoid some of those awful floral mixtures they sell in the store). Some
people worry about a vinegar odor on their clothes, but I've never noticed
it.
14. Bleach Gel
Again,
this recipe is not all-natural. But this bleach gel is a
lot cheaper than buying those bleach pens over and over and over again, and
seems to work just as well. I'm a little hesitant to leave it on clothes for
too long, because I worry about bleach stains, but I feel the same way about
the commercial products. I will say that you should probably make this in a
well-ventilated kitchen, if you don't want to smell bleach for the rest of
the day.
15. Dryer Sheets
I've
never made my own dryer sheets because
I'm trying a set of homemade dryer balls right
now, but this recipe intrigues me. I don't know that these would function
very well to keep down static, like commercial dryer sheets do, but I think
they'd do a great job of leaving your clothes smelling fresh and I like that
you can use them more than once before you have to wash them, and change the
scent every time you do wash them. If you try them, let me know how it goes!
Other Useful Recipes
And
here are a couple of bonus recipes, just because they are cool — one for
outdoors and one for the kid's playroom.
16. Insecticidal Spray
(for Plants)
This all natural plant spray is
supposed to ward off insects, as well as keep other animals away from your
plants. I haven't started my garden yet this year, so I haven't used the
spray, but I have heard raving reviews, and you can bet I'll be whipping up a
batch here in the next month or so. (See also: The 7 Easiest Plants to Grow)
17. Polymer Clay
My kids
are still in the Play-Doh phase, so we haven't graduated to making clay yet.
But I saw this homemade modeling clay formula,
and now I can't wait until we do! I loved modeling clay as a kid, and I
remember feeling like I had to ration it because it was too expensive to just
play with. Who knows… if I could have made my own, maybe I would have been a
famous sculptor by now!
Written by Sarah Winfrey and
published on Wise Bread. Read more articles from Wise Bread.
|
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Being Amish Frugal - DIY Tips
Our Amish friends work at being frugal and self-sufficient. Once a week I plan on posting tips we all can use to live a more frugal life and hopefully, make us little more self-sufficient. One way to find more ways to save money is to subscribe to online blogs that deal with money saving tips. One of my favorites is WiseBread. They describe their daily blog as "Living Large on a Small Budget". Please try their website and see if what they have to offer is helpful to you. The interesting article below was written by Sarah Winfrey, a senior writer for WiseBread who says she is "a new mother, a writer, a saver, and a sometimes artist":
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