Homemade Mosquito Repellent

I dislike the smell of most commercial bug sprays, so I decided to make my own. This is the recipe that I use. It's 100% natural, smells lovely, and works great!

1/2 cup grape seed oil (baby oil works, too, but it should be scentless)
5 drops pennyroyal oil
3 drops eucalyptus oil
3 drops cinnamon oil (a 3" stick of cinnamon put into the oil will work, too)

Combine all of the ingredients in a small bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Shake it well before putting on.

If you dislike oil-based concoctions, you can also use a scentless lotion for a base. Since I tend to suffer from dry skin and the pennyroyal and cinnamon oils can cause some drying, I prefer the grape seed oil.

It's also incredibly important that you test the various oils on the inside of your arm before you use them. Some can cause some very uncomfortable blisters if you're sensitive to them.

Homemade Laundry Soap

I've had a ton of requests for this, so I thought I should get it put up as quickly as possible. It's a variation on the recipe that my friend Terra Vail gave me. I added an extra bar of soap because it's just easier to remember 2/2/2 for the recipe, so you could get away with only using one bar.


Laundry detergent

1 quart Water (boiling)
2 cups Bar soap (your preference of brand, grated)
2 cups Borax
2 cups Washing Soda

• Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. Careful! It WILL boil over if the flame is too high. Best to keep it on low heat until soap is melted.
• Pour the soapy water into a clean 5-gallon pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved. (I use a wand mixer to make sure it's well and truly combined. It also helps the mixture gel up faster this way.)
• Add 4 gallons of warm water, and stir again until well mixed.
• Cover pail or recycle old laundry soap containers by filling them with your homemade soap. Use 1/2 cup for each load of laundry. Stir the soap each time you use it (it will gel).

The Natural World

I grew up in a place and time that combined modern conveniences with old-world hard work. We had an automatic washing machine, and a clothes line. Our bread came from the store, but the tortillas were homemade every Sunday. Things have changed a lot since then.

Now, I'm tied to my family every moment of every day through some form of electronic device, and if I'm not, I better have a good reason for it. Anything and everything can be bought - and discarded. The waste inherent in this kind of world saddens me immensely, and it inspires me to do what I can to relieve some of it.

There are so many ways that a person can make changes in their lives that help eliminate waste, rid themselves of unnecessary chemicals, and overall make their world more natural and safe. Because of this, I've taken to making more and more of my household cleaners, or using what I have on hand rather than running to the store for specialized cleaners.

Some of the things that I do take a little bit of extra time, others take less time than a trip to the store. All of them make me feel just a little bit better about my place in the world.

Just a few tips for those of you who wish to make small, simple changes in your life that could have big changes for the environment... and your coin purse:

• Vinegar is the best window cleaner you can find. It also polishes stainless steel beautifully, and when sprayed onto hard water and left to soak for about 10 minutes, will make scrubbing the tub much easier.
• A tablespoon of bleach in a gallon of water does exactly the same job of killing germs as the antibiotic soaps bought in the stores at a much lower price. Plus, it doesn't leave a residue. 
• Super Washing Soda, available in most hardware and grocery stores, makes a fantastic stain-remover for whites. Dampen the fabric, add a small amount of soap, and rub well. Add a little more water, rub well again, and then let sit for about 30 minutes before throwing into the wash.
• Salt is an amazing soft abrasive for regular household cleaning. I use it to scrub burnt-on food on my enamel stove top completely clean. 

We've been trained to believe that we need specialized cleaners for different areas in our houses, but the truth is that we need just four things to get the house clean: a soap, an abrasive (salt), an acid (vinegar) and a base (bleach). These four things will clean your house just as well and just as thoroughly as the huge variety of cleaners at the store, and sometimes better. All the while, saving you hundreds of dollars a year.

My challenge to you is to try these tips for one month, keeping a close eye on how much it costs. Let me know what you think, and whether or not you think the changes are worth it for you.