Real living in a processed world.
We love summer, but summer means bugs. Now, most of them I can deal with, but then there are the biting varieties. Gnats, mosquitoes, no-see-ums, and their ilk.
While prevention is the best option, sometimes we forget to apply our homemade bug spray, or we’re just out and about without it. I’m kind of a mosquito ninja, so I can usually fight them off pretty well, but occasionally one sneaks through my defenses.
We’ve been using homemade deodorant for several years now and still love it. The combination of baking soda, arrowroot, and coconut oil offers the best stink protection I’ve come across, and it provides the protection without the use of any potentially problematic fragrances or other chemicals.
The only downside to this deodorant is that you keep it in a jar, and because coconut oil melts at around 76 F, during the summer it can get a little goopy. Soft is good because it’s easier to put on, but goopy just gets a bit messy.
Fortunately, adding a bit of beeswax (which has a much higher melting point) completely solves this problem. We get to keep the original formula that works so well and add convenience. If you’ve been hesitant to try because of the jar, give this easy homemade deodorant stick a try!
Winter is a trying time for skin. When the cold weather hits, it hits hard, and I fight with dryness constantly. Fortunately, a simple body butter is easy to whip up and will nourish and moisturize your skin through the worst of times.
I posted a recipe for a basic body butter a couple years ago, and the process is much the same. This time around, I added a little arrowroot powder to help it feel less greasy, and also a good dose of peppermint essential oil. Peppermint is soothing and cooling, perfect for angry skin. It can also have a nice tingling effect. S has used a peppermint lotion on her feet and legs and likes that sensation, and I’ve tried to replicate it.
First, there were bowls of potpourri.
Then there were various plug-ins, smelly cones, and reed diffusers. I admit, I used to keep one of the gel plug-ins in my bedroom, with some sort of Tropical Breeze scent.
It seems that people have a thing for nice smells, and one of the latest that I’ve seen is the little wax melts that you put into some kind of warming device. The wax melts, a pleasant odor disperses, and we’re all happy.
But of course, something smelling of Sugar Cookie or Tropical Breeze is most likely not natural, and artificial fragrances are among the worst of offenders. Fortunately, it’s super easy to make your own homemade wax melts that still smell great and contain no toxic ingredients.
Although weeds are different things to different people, one thing is universal: if it’s a weed, you probably don’t want it around. I’m not super concerned about eliminating every weed, especially since many of them are actually beneficial. But I prefer that they stay out of the garden and out of the patio cracks.
Unfortunately, commercial herbicides are quite nasty. Glysophate (Roundup) is a particularly hot-button topic, as you’ve no doubt heard since all of these Roundup lawsuits started popping up. And while others aren’t getting the recent press, they’re no less worrisome. So if I can find a natural weed killer that works, and I can spray it while the kids are right next to me, I’m all in.
