Home Made Cleaning & Hygiene Products

For many years I have been, little by little, trying to use products that are as natural as possible. It hasn't always worked, and, frankly, sometimes I just like a commercial product so much I refuse to change.

Most of the changes I have made are for health reasons. I try to avoid the paranoia the media produces by their daily reports of toxin-induced illnesses, however, I have first hand experience of how diet and the environment impact our health. I am choosing to eliminate what toxins I can in hope of decreasing the chemical burden on mine and my families overall health...and, this way, it can't hurt us or our pets.

I have two tested "recipes" for household cleaning, and one for personal hygiene that I'm going to share. They are all really easy and they work.

No Wax Floor Cleaner

Prep Time: 15 minutes

White Vinegar, 2 cups

Castille Soap (or any oil-based bar of soap), grated, about 2 Tbl.

Boiling water, 5-6 cups

Essential oil for fragrance, if desired

Boil up the water. Turn the fire off. Add the grated soap & stir. When it's dissolved, add the vinegar and fragrance. Pour into a container & use. I like Rubbermaid's Reveal mop. This solution works really well with the sprayer. Store the extra and you can use it for your tables & countertops, too.

Furniture & Floor Wax

Prep Time: 15 minutes

1 oz. Pure Beeswax (Hobby Lobby has it)

1 oz. Paraffin or Gulf Wax (Wal-Mart)

3-4 cups of Oil (Vegetable, Olive, etc... it doesn't matter)

essential oil for fragrance

Carefully melt the beeswax and paraffin on low heat. It can burn easily, so don't use a high heat! When it's melted, slowly drizzly in the oil. Mix it well. Turn off the fire. Add fragrance until it's strong enough for you (25-30 drops). Let it cool a bit.

Tip: If you want a more "set" wax, to rub into wood for example, use less oil. If you want to use it for your floor and need it more liquid, use more oil. If you're using it on no wax floors, obviously, the oil is not going to soak into the wood...use it very sparingly. If you use too much, it can cause any adhesive holding the floor together to dissolve. I think it helps keep the pet hair from flying all over the place! For the floor, I put the finished product into a Wilton frosting/candy bottle that has a small opening. You could put it into an old, washed out, floor wax bottle, too.

Completely Aluminum and Chemical Free Deodorant!!!

Prep Time: 15-30 minutes

Note: With a history of Alzheimer's in my family, I am extremely paranoid about aluminum going onto or into my body. Whether or not they have evidence of a causal agent of how aluminum gets into the body, the proof is that they have found large amounts of it in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. The thought that it could be an inherited disease scares the crap out of me! For years I have tried to find natural solutions, only to be disappointed over and over.

All Antiperspirants have some form of aluminum in them. I'd rather sweat. "Natural" deodorants claim to be aluminum free, but can have different forms of aluminum so it appears that they are safe. I'm not buying it. I've tried the salt mineral stuff, too. Not impressed, and some of the "minerals" in the salts are aluminum. Figures.

So, here is what I came up with. I use it and have not had a hint of B.O. (that I am aware of). The hardest part about this recipe is getting the correct amount of oil so that it's not too hard or too soft. It will take 15 minutes of experimenting on your part, but I've been happy with the end results.

Ingredients:

1/2 to 1 oz. of grated Pure Beeswax

3 Tbl. Olive Oil

3 Tbl. Coconut Oil

1 tsp. Sea Salt (Salt is a natural anti-bacterial product)

1/4 c. Baking Soda

1/4 c. Corn Starch

Essential Oil for fragrance (I used Lilac and Vanilla)

An old stick deodorant container.

Extra wax for the deodorant container

Unscrew the little tray out of the deodorant container. Melt some wax and coat the bottom of the tray. You need a solid surface so that when you pour the deodorant in, it doesn't just leak through the bottom. Dip it several times until there aren't any holes. Let that harden and then replace the tray & screw it down to the bottom of the container. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the oils, salt, soda, and corn starch. In an old saucepan, melt the beeswax over a very low flame. Add the mixed ingredients and stir until completely smooth. Add the fragrance. Immediately pour the liquid into the deodorant container. Let it set overnight.

Note: It might sting right after shaving. Just a warning.

Note: It took me two tries to get mine to a good consistency. If it's too hard, just screw it out of the container, remelt and add a bit more oil. If it's too soft, you need a bit more beeswax. Just remelt it to a liquid and redo. It doesn't take that much time to redo.