Detox Your House and Cosmetics! What do you do?

[mobius]

i do use beeswax and hope that in a year or two I'll be using my own. I need to give the bees time to make enough for both of us.

Well this is fantastic...I am envious of your bees and cheese! I have made mozzarella and ricotta in the past...that was a lot of fun! What do you make? So cool you use the beeswax!

 

[mobius]

Does anyone make their own apple cider vinegar with the mother? It is easy to make your own...I save the glass bottles I collected before I discovered this and reuse the bottles...more cost savings also...I have discovered there to be many cost-savings included in the detoxing! It is a win-win!

 

[sannabelle]

I think wellnessmama is correct about hardness of water and temperature affecting usefulness of this recipe...not sure how to tweak it for that but I have learned to run the water til hot in the kitchen sink before starting dishwasher....hot water heater on other end of house lol!

@sannabelle
have you tried similar recipes? Just curious...

Washing soda, citric acid, and borax are now staples in my house and useful for many recipes....it is fun to make bath bombs too! Nice easy presents...

a lot of what I make turns into little presents whether healing balms, or little perfumes made from EO and grapeseed oil (my go-to carrier oil), people appreciate them so much!

I have used those ingredients but not in conjunction with each other!!

I'm planning on making a big batch of goats milk soap with organic lard and home grown lavender for everyone's Christmas gifts this year!! Very exciting!

Actually a woman I know through animal rescue has made a nice little business from making really cool toxic free products and cosmetics! Way cool. She grows her own calendula- something I need to start doing. So handy!

 

[biophiliac]

A little about me to get things going! I started detoxing my house and anything I put on my skin about five years ago, I think. I have a lovely herb garden that helps with ingredients for cleaning and healing balms, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, and so forth.

Finally getting chickens was part of this whole proscess, and I considered them "The Missing Link" to my little eco-system.

What do you do or what have you removed from your house to detox?

Three years ago or so I threw out gardening stuff as well...insecticides, herbicides, fertilizer. Ew. Now the chickens are my go-to, and there are concoctions I devise. But mostly there is a mini-eco system around my house for the garden, and I have a bat house and I see little to no bugs or problems on the garden plants.

I would love to have engaging conversation thread here...can include food also of course....happy to share recipes here! And ask me anything! And please share what you do! i will keep adding too!

Subscribing to learn! thanks for the invite.

 

[sannabelle]

Haven't tried diy ACV! How do you make it? I'm totally guilty of buying ours at Costco...in PLASTIC bottles

 

[mobius]

Ok so ACV, buy those plastic bottles ( I use mine to put laundry detergent in later, the bottles are useful, I have used them as chickens waterers with horizontal nipples) of ACV at costco. Then buy one of the Bragg's ACV with the mother.

Empty out a cup or so from the plastic bottle acv and add a cup of the Bragg's vinegar (after shaking the Braggs). Cap it, shake it up and put it in a cool dry unlighted place for two-four weeks. You should then see the "mother" in that gallon bottle.

This is the simplest way. There are lots of other ways. Make sure what you buy at costco or elsewhere is true ACV, they have begun marketing white vinegar with coloring added as ACV. Have to read the fine print.

And there are cost savings here too of course, now some folks just buy apples and chop them up and add water and let it ferment (?) naturally. Fall is a good time to do this and coming right up...

Generally the way I deal with plastic anything (very tough) is to reuse containers....

 

[mobius]

Oooh the soap! That is one area I have not entered. I did render beef tallow last fall for the first time to make winter suet for the chickens. They loved it! and it was a process! So is soap and sounds great! My lavender is blooming right now.

 

[mobius]

And yes calendula is great and colors chicken yolks too! I plan that for next years garden! Super healing herb...I use it in my balms...

 

[biophiliac]

DMSO is in my medicine cabinet, I will post a link for the fabulous liniment recipe. It is precious and I hoard it.

Curious about DMSO, I used it a few times many years ago but felt like I didn't know enough about if it could be toxic. It's effects are perceived so immediately [strong taste of garlic on the tongue] on application anywhere on the body! I would like to know more. .

 

[rjohns39]

Well this is fantastic...I am envious of your bees and cheese! I have made mozzarella and ricotta in the past...that was a lot of fun! What do you make? So cool you use the beeswax!

I generally make colby and also american, which is a derivative of colby. I've also made Butterkase--but that didn't quite turn out as desired (way too sharp) and I've made pepper jack and smoked Gouda. The recipe for pepper jack was way too pepper for most and though I like the Gouda, others weren't fans.... Again too sharp. I have to learn the various bacteria's involved and how they affect the end product. Yea I also make Mozzarella and ricotta... I also make my granddaughter vanilla bean yogurt. I still have a lot to learn and really need a cheese cave. I want to make cheddar and baby Swiss but lack the environmental controls needed.