DIY - Some Great Homemade Cleaner Recipes to Save You Money

DIY - Go Green & Save $$$

Not only will these cleaners save you money, but they are also non-toxic, which is great news for you and your family!
I get such a sense of accomplishment from making my own products and using them, instead of paying a fortune for the packaging and advertising of those "big names".  Plus, you're re-using packaging, which is good for the environment and your wallet.
So, have fun with these!

Homemade Liquid Dish Soap:

1/2 cup liquid castile soap - I like tea tree oil scented, but you can use unscented as well
1/8 cup water
4 drops of essential oil of your choice - I like lemon or orange flavor when making citrus scented
1 tsp vinegar or Homemade all-purpose citrus cleaner (see below)

Mix ingredients together & fill your old empty laundry soap's plastic squirt bottle with your new creation.
Your might have to use a little bit more, but not much more.  And it might not suds up like you're used to, but it works!

Homemade All-Purpose Citrus Cleaner:

Can be used to clean kitchen and bathroom surfaces, the refrigerator, floors...you name it

Orange or lemon peels
1-2 Tbsp salt - any kind
vinegar
water
essential oil (optional)

Keep orange and/or lemon peels / scraps after you juice & Cut them into pieces small enough to fit into glass jars.  Sprinkle the peels with enough salt to lightly coat them and let that sit for at least 30 minutes to leach the oils from the citrus peels.  Fill the rest of the jars with a mixture of 1/2 vinegar & 1/2 water.  Close the jars and let them sit and be pretty for 2-3 weeks. The longer the better, since it'll get stronger.  Strain the mixture and place liquid into squirt bottles, which are now ready to use.
Smells great & works great too!
No toxins filling your bathroom and kitchen to strangle you as you clean, and safe for the kids to use and help you!

Homemade Mouthwash:

1/2 cup water
2 tsp baking soda
2 drops tea tree essential oil
2 drops peppermint essential oil

Place ingredients in a jar and shake before use.  Swish 2-3 tsp for a minute in your mouth & gargle. Spit out.  This mix is particularly good for garlic breath!

Homemade Hairspray:

1 orange or lemon
2 cups water
1/4 cup vodka
6-8 drops lavender essential oil

Cut the fruit into wedges.  Boil in the water until liquid is reduced by half.  Strain through cheesecloth into a measuring cup.  You need 1 cup.  Cool.  Add vodka and essential oils.  Pour into spray bottle (at least 10 ounces).  Shake before each use.  Lemons are better for blondes, and oranges are better for brunettes, because if a brunette uses lemon and goes into the sun, it can lighten your hair.  Remember doing that as a teenager?  No more toxic sprays in the bathroom!  Enjoy this natural alternative, and you can enjoy a little cocktail with the leftover vodka!  ;)

Homemade Powder Laundry Soap:

1 grated bar of Ivory, Dr. Bonners, Mrs. Meyers, or Fels Naptha Soap
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing soda (example: Arm & Hammer - washing soda, not baking soda!)

Stir thoroughly.  Use 1 Tbsp per load.  Add essential oils if you like, but I enjoy the soap scent personally.

Homemade Toothpaste:

2/3 cup baking soda
4 tsp fine sea salt
1-2 tsp peppermint extract or 10-15 drops peppermint essential oil
Add water to desired consistency and store in a small plastic container.  Dip your toothbrush in it and use as you would any toothpaste.  It's milder on your teeth than the abrasives in commercial toothpaste.

Homemade Deodorant Spray:

Fill a spray bottle with Everclear liquor.  Add 10 drops of essential oil per 1 oz of alcohol / liquor. Use once or twice daily.
This mixture will not keep you from perspiring, because you should perspire, but it kills the bacteria that cause odor, so you won't stink.  Spray a few times under each arm in the morning and optionally again at night.  It might sting a little, but not much and not for long. You won't want to spray immediately following a bath or shower or immediately after shaving!

Homemade Powder Dishwasher Soap:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda (example Arm & Hammer - washing soda, not baking soda!)
1 cup Citric Acid
1/2 cup Kosher salt or Epsom salts

(Can substitute Lemishine or Lemonade flavored Kool-Aid for the Citric Acid)

Mix ingredients together and keep in an air-tight jar or plastic container.
Use 3/4 to 1 Tbsp per load, in the open compartment of the dishwasher, or just thrown into the dishwasher.

Suggestions:  You may need to double the Citric acid for really hard water to avoid spotting, and you can also add a splash of white vinegar or lemon juice to each load, in the rinse agent compartment for a clean finish.
To keep your mixture from clumping, you can add a packet of desiccant (like the silica packets that come in a new purse or inside vitamin / medicine bottles.  Keep the desicant closed and just place it in the container to absorb moisture.  Another option would be to cut the toe off a clean pair of pantyhose, place some rice in the toe and tie it off. Put that little sachet inside the container to absorb moisture.

Great Idea...Don't Buy It - Borrow or Trade it!

Noted: Collaborative Consumption

Story by chaps676

Published on July 11, 2011 in Read

Photo by Gabriele Quaglia on Flickr

I was recently hit with the insatiable desire to revisit my childhood through the eyes of Nancy Drew. Knowing that the series sits dormant on bookshelves across the country, I refused to plunk down my hard-earned money for a new copy at a book store. I walked to the local library to quell my nostalgia, only to be met by locked doors. (Ah, Sunday!) I found myself wishing there was a tool or app that would show people in my area who have Nancy Drew books available for borrowing. After doing a little research, I discovered I wasn’t the only person yearning for a simple method for efficiently and sustainably locating the goods I want.

Collaborative consumption, a movement recently highlighted by Morgan Clendaniel for Co.Design, encourages communities to monetize their unused goods through a system of borrowing. Zip Car and bike sharing programs are excellent examples of rethinking consumption, enabling people to borrow a method of transportation for the few hours it’s needed. “You might own some tools that you never use, or perhaps you have a backyard that you just don’t have the time to do anything interesting with,” explains Clendaniel. “Today, they can look like revenue streams, not wastes of money.”

Yet more important than making some extra money, collaborative consumption might just free us from the burdens that come along with ownership. “What’s truly important about collaborative consumption is much more world-altering than just supplementing incomes,” says Clendaniel. “If you don’t need to buy a circular saw or a leaf blower just to use them once a year, but can use one when you need it, it could fundamentally impact how we consume.”

Sharing is one of the first lessons taught to children. Can it continue to remain a fundamental tenet in our adult lives?

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/noted-collaborative-consumption/?ref=fp_blog_title

Eco-Friendly Earth Ships - I want one!

Hitching a Ride on an Earthship

Story by mtraub

Published on Apr 28, 2011 in Read

Photo by theregeneration on Flickr

Before most people were even turning off the faucet while they brushed their teeth, one man had a vision for an independent and sustainable alternative to our on-the-grid residential system. Earthships sound like they might just beam us beyond our current laws of reality, and they delightfully look like it too. Architect Mike Reynolds has been developing his Earthships for decades, traveling from their base in Taos, New Mexico to Haiti, China, and even the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

An Earthship derives its electricity from the sun and wind, its water from rain and snow, and its temperature regulation from the earth. An internal sewage treatment system means each drop of water is used four times, feeding lush wetlands of flowers and vegetables. The walls are literally made of trash: tires filled with dirt, glorious stained glass windows of old beer bottles. It doesn't get much more radically self-sustainable than this, folks.

Photo by Milkman Amok on Flickr

Jonah Reynolds, Mike's son, who's been building Earthships since the age of 12, came to speak at the Etsy Labs last week, and I was fortunate enough to sit down with him beforehand and ask a few questions. Jonah kicked things off by lamenting the fact that humans are the only species who can't build their own homes. Earthships have a variety of clients, from disaster relief to luxury leisure, and consequently the personal involvement naturally varies. But sitting through Jonah's presentation, I took note of photo after photo  showing homeowners elbow-deep in sediment on Earthship construction sites. The Earthship approach is a climatic endeavor, yes, but ultimately a societal one as well. Jonah was excited to talk about the school they've been developing to pass these skills along to tradesmen everywhere, not to mention the number of postcards they receive from people who have read their books and built their own Earthships independently. Jonah points out that it's going to take a lot more than one architectural firm to change global construction and residential lifestyles.

Photo by Mrs Hilksom on Flickr

While I love the idea of knocking down my Brooklyn apartment building and erecting a bulbous adobe indoor jungle, Earthships can at times seem an unrealistic aspiration, particularly for those living in dense, urban environments, and Jonah recognizes this. I was thus happy to hear that they also do a fair amount of retrofitting, gutting traditional buildings and instituting new systems. I try to imagine my local zoning board approving a utility-bill-free entity, but Jonah says they have never been denied a permit. Despite my initial assumptions involving veganism and Birkenstocks, Jonah insists, "We're not environmentalists, it's just the right thing to do, it's logic." I can see how this sort of argument (and the statistics to support it) would appeal to pragmatic electricians and contractors of many ilk.

In a world where there exists more tires than trees, it might be time for the general public to jump on this bandwagon. Jonah is not telling you to sacrifice your comfort or your amenities. He is merely offering a responsible way to justify them. When there are children all over the world dying of dehydration, why are we still flushing our excrement away in potable water? When I ask how living in an Earthship is different than a traditional home, Jonah tells me that it "puts you in the rhythms of the planet," and I gaze up at the roaring air conditioner vent above us with weary eyes.

Photo by martnpro on Flickr

Are you convinced by Jonah's logic?

How To: Make your own Tees

How-Tuesday: Raw-Edged Appliqué

Story by julieincharge, raeburnink

Published on Mar 29, 2011 in How-To

Photo by Raeburn Ink

The arrival of spring provides a much needed breath of fresh air, as well as sunny bike rides, crocuses showing their colorful faces, a lighter wardrobe, and a cleaner closest (well, maybe). Kick off your spring cleaning by clearing out your stash of fabric scraps. Refashion an old garment into a perpetual work-in-progress with this week's How-Tuesday project, shared with us by Jennifer Cooke of Raeburn Ink and Design Your Own Tees. 

  

Score your own copy of Design Your Own Tees right here on Etsy!

Appliqué is a lovely technique for embellishment; usually you finish the edges of your stitched-on designs to keep them neat and protected from damage during washing and wearing. For this project, however, leave the edges raw and create a stylish T-shirt dress that is defined enough to wear out on the town.
This is a great project for leftover scraps that are too small to use for anything else. Fabrics will fray at different rates, and some might eventually disappear in the wash, leaving the stitching exposed. Embrace the unpredictable results of this project, and you will have a truly one-of-a-kind tee.

Supplies you’ll need:

• A T-shirt dress (or other garment)
• Scraps of fabric in a variety of colors
• Contrasting thread
• Scissors or a rotary cutter + cutting mat
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine
• Washing machine
• Hexagon template

Directions:

1. Make a pattern piece out of the hexagon template (download here), or create your own pattern piece in the shape of your choice using paper or lightweight cardboard. Adjust the scale of the hexagon template, if you'd like.

2. Cut out lots of hexagons from the fabric scraps. You can use scissos or a rotary cutter and a cutting mat. Note: Remember to always roll the rotary cutter away from yourself — it is very sharp and can give you a nasty cut. (I'm speaking from personal experience here!)

3. Arrange the hexagons on your T-shirt in a pattern that pleases you.

4. Pin them in place.

5. Stitch around the edges of the hexagons with a straight stitch. (I chose to stitch my whole project in one contrasting thread color to add some punch.) Remember to leave enough fabric around the edges to allow for some nice fraying.

6. Backstitch to secure each piece.

7. Now it's all up to chance. Wear your tee and delight in how much it changes each time you wash it.

Thank you to Jennifer Cooke and the good folks at St. Martin's Press for sharing this project. For more ways to revamp your wardrobe, check out Design Your Own Tees.