We Like Making Our Own Stuff

This homemade body spray recipe is both simple to make and inexpensive. All you need are four ingredients and a little time. You will want to begin by eating some oranges.  In fact, make your whole family eat an orange, because you need some peels!  The peels will go into a pot with just enough water to barely cover them.  Be careful not to use too much water, or your orange fragrance will be too dilute. Bring the water to a boil, and then immediately cover the pot with its lid and remove from heat.  Allow the pot to sit for 12 to 24 hours. When you take the lid off the next day, you will see that a lot of the liquid is gone. If you dip your finger into the liquid, you may notice that it feels somewhat oily.  That's good!  It's orange oil, extracted from your peels. To get the most oil out of your peels, you'll want to squeeze the crap out of them.  Pour the liquid and peels into a cotton tea towel or jelly bag that you ...

Yes, yes, I know.  It's about time I got around to posting my recipe for homemade powdered laundry detergent.  Thank you to those of you who have been patiently waiting, despite the fact that you requested the recipe weeks ago. I haven't been lounging around eating bonbons, I promise.  Things have just been a bit hectic; on top of all the food preservation that goes on this time of year, we've also recently experienced a loss in the family (my husband's sweet grandma). And, as I think I may have mentioned in a previous post, my hubby and I are currently expecting--twins!  I haven't felt this pregnant since...well, I can't honestly remember ever feeling so pregnant!  So, anyway, I don't quite move around as fast as I used to, but I am steadily getting some posts put together, and hopefully getting to some recipes that readers want. With that all explained, I will move onto today's post:  Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent. I have made both ...

To me, pickles taste like summer--a time when the cucumbers in our garden are going crazy, and we are harvesting them by the dozen.  They're great on grilled hamburgers, sandwiches, and on relish trays and family barbecues. There are so many different recipes out there for pickles of all kinds, but I'd have to say my favorite type of pickles are sweet pickles.  I knew that I'd be making them this year, because I've been craving them badly (pregnant women really do like pickles), but I had yet to find a recipe that I liked (translation:  an easy recipe). Often times, when I am stumped on a recipe, I turn to an unusual cookbook: As you can see, this cookbook has seen better days!  The cover is gone, the pages are tattered, the binding is coming off...but still, I love this cookbook.  It is a compilation of recipes put together by a local church.  Honestly, I don't remember how I ended up with it--I don't go to this church, nor do I know anyo...

Ouch!  Got my first sunburn of the year. There is a triangle of red, crispy skin on my back.  That's what you get when you wear a shirt with an opening in the rear.  Apparently, my back doesn't get much sun, because it's the only part that burned (thankfully), but it sure is sore. Though we try to be careful, sunburn happens, especially on those first few hot, sunny days.  So what can you do to relieve some of the pain and minimize skin damage?  There are numerous home remedies out there for sunburn relief, and many of them are inexpensive, using ingredients you likely already have at home (my favorite kind of home remedy). Vinegar Probably one of the simplest remedies for sunburn out there is apple cider vinegar.  You can either pour some onto a cloth and dab it onto burned skin, or you can put some in a spray bottle (this works best) and spritz it on.  Gently apply the vinegar to the sunburned areas to relieve pain and itching (avoid the...

Whether you grow your own beans, or would just like to save money by buying dried beans, freezing cooked beans, legumes, and lentils is a great idea.  It is as convenient as having a can of beans in your pantry, only less expensive !  It's a bit more work to prepare, but the savings are worth it in my opinion. When I grow my own beans, such as black beans, I will allow the beans to stay on the plants in their pods until the pods have turned yellow and crumble easily.  I have learned the hard way not to wait too long to harvest the beans--if you leave them on the plant for too long, the pods will split open, and your precious beans will be on the ground.  Great if you want them to self-seed, but not so awesome if you were planning on storing them for food use! These black beans have a ways to go before they are ready to harvest . Purchasing Dried Beans If you are not growing your own beans, you can purchase dried beans from many sour...

Did you know that many commercial furniture polishes contain ingredients that are known neurotoxins?  Common products, such as Pledge, contain ingredients that can cause depression, damage to the central nervous system, and memory loss. Do away with that junk, and make your own lemony furniture polish at home.  Not only is it a healthier alternative, but it is very inexpensive and easy to do.  In the past, I used a recipe containing oil and lemon juice .  This recipe is good, but I found one that I like even better!  It smells so nice, and it has a secret ingredient in it:  alcohol.  The idea with the alcohol is that it will evaporate, pulling up some of the oil with it, which will in turn leave less of a residue on your furniture.  ...That's my theory anyway. You will need to infuse some oil with lemon peels before you mix this up.  This is quite simple to do, so have no fear! Lemon Infused Oil Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups o...

Making your own fabric softener is both easy and inexpensive.  It can be as simple as buying a jug of vinegar, or a little more complex if you'd like to have added scent.  Vinegar does a great job not only softening your clothing, but also in brightening colors and removing odors.  Following are a few easy recipes to get you started. Fabric Softener #1 - Plain Ingredients: White Vinegar Place 1/2 cup of white vinegar in your fabric softener dispenser per load of wash.  (Pretty darn simple!) Fabric Softener #2 - Scented Ingredients: 1 gallon jug of white vinegar A big handful of your favorite herb (such as lavender, chopped orange peels,  or peppermint) 20 drops of a matching essential oil (optional) You will need to remove some of the vinegar from the jug in order to infuse the herbs in it.  Just pour a cup or so into a jar or bottle.  You can save it to pour back into the jug of vinegar once it is infused, or use it f...

This is my first year growing yellow pear tomatoes and I have a bajillion of them! These little tomatoes are only a couple inches long and have a nice golden color.  They are less acidic than red tomatoes, which gives them a more mellow, sweeter taste.  They have been very prolific in my garden this year, producing far more than any of our other tomato varieties.  They make a nice addition to salsas and look pretty in salads.  I also dehydrated a batch and packed them in olive oil, and am looking forward to using them. My latest culinary creation utilizing my abundance of yellow pear tomatoes was jam.  Now, at first when you hear "tomato jam," it may sound weird, and even kinda gross.  But trust me, this jam is anything but gross!  It somewhat reminds me of sweet and sour sauce, and it's got a little bit of spice to it, which I find to be absolutely delicious.  You can use this jam as a topping for toast or biscuits, poured on cream chees...

If you've gotten into making your own cleaning products, like I have, you will want to try this super-easy recipe for furniture polish.  This is a great way to make your wooden furniture look clean and shiny, without the creepy chemicals being added. Ingredients: 2 Tablespoons olive oil 2 Tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar Combine ingredients in a small bowl.  Dip a small section of soft cloth (I like to use old, cut up t-shirts) into the oil mixture, and rub into wood, buffing until it has a nice shine.  And that's all there is to it!  I hate cleaning, but using my own homemade products helps to make it a little more tolerable. Bonus Recipe:  Furniture Polish II

Photo Credits  Pineapples are one of the world's favorite tropical fruits, coming in second only to bananas.  This sweet, juicy fruit is high in vitamin C, which is why it was carried by sailors in the days of old to protect them from scurvy.  Pineapples made it on the Environmental Working Group's " Clean 15 " list, since they are relatively low in pesticide residue.  If you do not have access to organically grown produce, pineapples are a good alternative to many fruits that are high in pesticide residue, such as apples and strawberries. Not only are pineapples a delicious food, but the juice of this fruit is a very useful commodity to have around the house.  When using pineapple juice, it is always best to use fresh, raw pineapple juice.  Canned or bottled juices have been pasteurized, and this heating renders one of pineapple's most useful components, bromelain, inactive. To get the juice out of your fresh pineapple, you can use a blender or food ...