Hearthkeeper September, 2010

Hey guys and gals.. I am sending some recipes for homemade cleaning supplies and body care supplies…

Starting with window cleaner.

Recipe #1

2 cups water
3 TBS vinegar
1/2 tsp dish detergent (liquid)

Recipe #2

1 gallon water
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp dish detergent (liquid)

Recipe #3

1 gallon water
1/4 cup vinegar
2 TBS lemon juice
squirt dish detergent (liquid)

Recipe #4

1/2 cup white vinegar
1 gallon warm water

Spray windows with preferred cleaner solution then wipe clean with crumpled newspapers. The newspaper helps prevent streaks.

Avoid cleaning windows and glass when the sun is hot and shining on the window–glass will dry too fast and there will be streaks.

Also wash one side of the window in an up and down direction, on the other side scrub side to side. This will help determine which side of the glass has the streaks that need to be polished out.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Shake ½ Cup of Borax and 10 drops of tea tree essential oil into toilet,
give it a quick scrub with the toilet brush, close the lid and leave for
several hours or overnight. Scrub again, flush and delight in your sparkling
clean, fresh-smelling bowl.

Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent

Recipes

• Airmid’s Cauldron

Recipe #1

1 quart Water (boiling)
2 cups Bar soap (grated)
2 cups Borax
2 cups Washing Soda

• Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.
• Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.
• Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.
• Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. Stir the soap each time you use it (will gel).

Recipe #2

Hot water
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1 Soap bar

• Grate the bar soap and add to a large saucepan with hot water. Stir over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
• Fill a 10 gallon pail half full of hot water. Add the melted soap, Borax and Washing soda, stir well until all powder is dissolved. Top the pail up with more hot water.
• Use 1 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel).

Recipe #3
Powdered Laundry Detergent ( I use this and it is great. You can pre-wash with Dawn if you get grease or oil stains)

2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated – you could also try the other bar soaps listed at the top)
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax

• Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
• Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

Recipe # 4
Powdered Laundry Detergent ( you can make this in smaller batches. It works great too.)

12 cups Borax
8 cups Baking Soda
8 cups Washing Soda
8 cups Bar soap (grated)

• Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed tub.
• Use 1/8 cup of powder per full load.

Liquid Detergents Note

Soap will be lumpy, goopy and gel-like. This is normal. Just give it a good stir before using. Make sure soap is covered with a lid when not in use. You could also pour the homemade soap in old (and cleaned) laundry detergent bottles and shake well before each use.

*If you can’t find Fels-Naptha locally, you can buy it online (check Amazon).

Optional

You can add between 10 to 15 drops of essential oil (per 2 gallons) to your homemade laundry detergent. Add once the soap has cooled to room temperature. Stir well and cover.

Essential oil ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil

If you add an extra ½ cup borax and a ½ cup salt to 1 ½ cups liquid detergent you can make a great soft scrub.

All purpose cleaner

2 Tablespoons Borax
1 Teaspoon Castile Soap
15-20 drops total of Essential Oils such as Pine, Lemon, Lemongrass,
Eucalyptus or Tea Tree (remember that Tea Tree is has great disinfectant
qualities)

Add Borax to a 1-quart spray bottle.
Fill with warm water.
Add Castile soap and 15 to 20 drops of oil.

Shake and use.

Body care

Basic Shower Gel

1/2 cup unscented shampoo
1/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt
15 drops fragrance oil
Food coloring ( optional)

Directions:
Pour shampoo into a bowl and add the water. Stir until its well mixed add the salt and fragrance.

Add any fragrance oil that you like!

Liquid Hand Soap Recipe

1 bar of soap, small (not super size)
3 C. Water

Take your bar of soap (we use Dove or store brand like it, because it’s more moisturizing), and grate it with a cheese grater. Pour the water and grated soap into a microwaveable container and cook on high for 3 min. Remove and stir until all soap bits have melted (put in a bit longer, if needed). Let it cool, then pour into pumps (leftover from store bought liquid soap), and the remainder in any container with a lid. Makes about 24 oz.

Peach Shower Gel

3/4 cup distilled water
1/4 cup shampoo concentrate (or substitute with 1/2 cup unscented shampoo and increase salt to 1 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. table salt
1 tbs. apricot kernel oil
15 drops peach fragrance oil
5 drops vitamin E oil (2 capsules)
1 drop orange food coloring (optional)

Warm the water and pour into a ceramic bowl. Add the apricot kernal oil, salt, peach fragrance oil, vitamin E oil (just break open the capsules) and coloring. Stir until well blended and thick. Pour into a squeeze bottle and close.

Hair Growth herbal Shampoo

This shampoo not only helps encourage hair growth, but it also keeps the
Scalp very clean and healthy and helps prevent dandruff.

2 cups distilled water
1 cup fresh spearmint
1 cup fresh rosemary
1 cup all-natural, gentle baby shampoo
Essential oil or fragrance oil, your choice, optional (to make it a
Scented shampoo)

Boil the water with the fresh herbs for about ten minutes, in a glass
Saucepan (like Visions). Or, you can put in a microwave-safe glass or
Plastic bowl and heat in the microwave until boiling, and allow to boil
For about ten minutes. Then, remove the pot from the stove or bowl from
The microwave and cover with a lid and allow to sit and steep for an
Hour. Strain the liquid through cheesecloth. Mix this with the baby
Shampoo. Pour into bottles and let set overnight. The next morning you
Can add some fragrance or essential oil to the shampoo in whatever scent
You like the most.

Until next month
Merry Cooking and Blessed Eating
The Hearthkeeper

PS. If there is anything you would like to see here.. Please email me at  thehearthkeeper@gmail.com

Blessed be…

Tags: cleaning, cleansers, green, natural

• Recipes

Willow Winterborne August, 2009

*The Hedgewitch lives in the space between the Village and the Forest. Between the mundane and the magical. S/He lives with a foot in both worlds.
This column is dedicated to the Hedgewitches of the planet earth.

Sitting On A Dream

I wish I had more clues to the mystery of My House to share with you. But, then, that’s what this month’s column is all about…

To sit patiently with a yearning that has not yet been fulfilled, and to trust that, that fulfillment will come, is quite possibly one of the most powerful “magic skills” that human beings are capable of. It has been noted by almost every ancient wisdom tradition.
~Elizabeth Gilbert~
(thanks for such an apt quote, SatiMidnight!)

The theme of the past month, for me, has been sitting on a dream. Knowing, waiting, believing. All without the usual “hurry!” attitude.
It is human nature to identify and then attempt to possess things which we feel are meant for us. I am very human in my pursuit of possession of My House. I do yearn to climb her stairs with baskets of folded laundry and to make a fire on her hearth. To fill her rooms with thick, perfumed smoke as I consecrate and bless her, and sleep deeply inside her walls.

Yet, as great as the temptation is to ‘wish away’ the space of time between now and the day I hold those magical keys in my hands, I have been mindful of the urgency not to.

The place I live now (a mere 3 blocks down on the same street as my beloved House), is really quite lovely. It possesses every characteristic I painstakingly added to my list when I was conjuring a new house prior to our move. Not the least of which is a brand new central air/furnace which keeps the temperature roughly 50 degrees cooler inside than out, this summer.
It also has my garden out back, which met my every criteria when I asked for it. It overflows with vegetation and the promise of an unprecedented harvest.
I really have no reason at all to even want to move, except that I know my Dream House is just 3 blocks down. So close, and yet, so far away.

In my desire to be united with My House, it has been so tempting to feel “rushed”. Like meeting your soul mate and not being able to build a relationship with them…yet.

When our family came for the long Fourth of July weekend, we were crammed to the rafters in our current modest-sized home. I spent half my time wishing we were in the spacious new House, and the other half being grateful we didn’t.
I had such trouble imagining my whole family ‘camping out’ on the first floor because the upstairs isn’t quite inhabitable, yet. Well, not by Mother-in-Law standards, anyway.
I also was grateful that the house we were all in had the glorious amenity of air conditioning, so we all slept comfortably, unlike the sweltering temps in the completely un-air-conditioned House.
I was grateful for the appliances and plumbing which accommodated the whole lot of us with well-maintained ease, unlike the new House, in which the kitchen sink shoots straight up in the air when turned on.

As I yearn to spend the evenings on the grand wide screened-in porches of the new House, I am also thankful I have a beautiful yard and bug-proof gazebo right here, 3 blocks down, to enjoy.

I have forced myself not to allow the yearning for what will be to eclipse the wonderful blessings that are now.
And it has been a challenge, to say the least.
But I know in my heart that to rush is to miss the numerous blessings along the way. To hurry is to discount the journey.
I also keep well in mind how nice it is to flip a switch and have power come flowing into my light bulbs. To enjoy clean, modern conveniences not long forgotten or having had to be scrubbed, remodeled or repaired.
The challenge to restore the Old Girl is daunting, and I know it will consume my every waking hour, not spent at work, from the day I get those keys in my hot little hands, on.

So, as I wait, to watch the mystery unfold, I remind myself, often. Life is good right now. There is no rush to the future. There is no need for haste or anxiety.
Enjoy living in this present moment. This air-conditioned reality. This solid, clean, modern home.
There will be plenty of time later for scraping walls and sweeping endless piles of remodeling dust.

I am excited for what is to come. But I will not allow it to preclude my happiness right now, in this moment.

Perhaps this is not the next-installment of the mystery I was hoping to write about. But it is the next stage of the journey that carries me closer to my Dream manifesting.
I pray that all of you are in dogged pursuit of your Dreams, and that you are taking the time to be mindful of the blessings right under your nose, as you pursue them.

Brightest Blessings All!
Willow

Tags: green, hedgewitch, home, magic, magick, witch

• Articles

Adrianne Compton January, 2009

Recycle Yule Poppet!

GO GREEN!  That seems to be the no way to go, Recycle, reuse, reduce.  Well heck!  The holidays are no exception. I’m the notorious one to Recycle unwanted presents among my friends, but rarely do I ever get a gift I don’t keep.  I suppose it’s that dragon side of me that keeps things.   However..the one thing that seems to stock pile, year after year!  No matter how much of it I try and use is Tissue paper, Wrapping Ribbon, and wrapping paper.  And Tape, but lets face it, we can alluse a bit of tape year round.

So…Lately I’ve liked the idea of Poppet Dolls. Some might know them as Voodoo Dolls. Though I like Poppet doll better.  So…while this is the dawn of the new year, and as is a new years custom, we make that new year resolution. Yea the past 4 years running my resolution has been to NOT make a resolution.

Things you will need:

* New Years Resolution!!
* Scraps of Tissue, ribbon, and/or wrapping paper
* Scissors (Kids get help please)
* Tape (there should be plenty)

Step one:

Your going to need to have two pieces of tissue paper or wrapping paper.  One large one small.  Ball the smaller piece and stuff it in the middle of the larger piece. (Kinda like making tissue paper Ghost for Samhain.) use some ribbon, tape, or I found a twist tie from a goodie bag, and tie off the head.

Step Two:

Lay your tissue paper poppet out and from the bottom corners cut inward towards the head, Don’t cut all the way leave some room in the middle.

Step Three:

Start twisting the 4 sections individually to make the arms and legs.

Step Four:

Now the time consuming part   On a piece of paper, or on the poppet it self, writ our your New Year Resolution! Attach the paper and start WRAPPING!!  This is the time consuming part. When your done you can stash him away with the rest of the ornaments and bring him out next year to display or Burn when you make another one for the next year.

Aside from Yule this idea can be used for most occasions. Mommie exspecitng take some of the baby shower tissue paper and apply the same idea  except write down your hopes for it’s future and life.  The keep it as a keep sake and when your child gets older, give it to him/her and let them read the good will you wrote.

There are so many other occasions this will work for I won’t even try to list them all J

So Remember GO GREEN!!  And Recycle, reduce, and reuse

Tags: craft, doll, green, poppet, recycle, reduce, reuse

• Crafts

Administrator April, 2006

If you have trouble pronouncing any chemical found in any household product you are currently using, then it usually has an environmental impact. Think of all the stuff you are rinsing and flushing down the drain into your septic tank. Your septic tank has to have its own healthy ecology (bacteria and such) to breakdown waste products. Disinfectants kill bacteria. So will bleach, ammonia, and lots of other commonly used components of household products. If you are on a sewer line, water treatment plants have to deal with that stuff you have used.

The following ‘recipes’ are environmentally safe alternatives to modern household cleaning products. Using these recipes will help you and your families avoid the health hazards associated with many of today’s cleaners. You will also be helping to protect the quality of our air and water.

These ‘alternative’ recipes have been commonly used around the house for many years. They are often less expensive than commercial products. Better yet, they will help to keep your home a safer place.

White vinegar can be found for as little as $1.00 a gallon. I have yet to pay more than $2.00 a gallon for it.

Borax can be found in the laundry detergent section of the store. It may seem expensive at first glance, but a little goes a long way.

Where vegetable oil is called for, I like to use olive oil. It does not have to be virgin.

All-Purpose Cleaner

Dishwashing liquid or liquid soap
Vinegar
Borax
Water

Mix 1 teaspoon liquid soap, 1 teaspoon borax, and 2 tablespoons vinegar (bottled lemon juice can be used in place of vinegar) in 1 quart water. Wipe or spray onto area to be cleaned; wipe dry with a cloth.

Toxic chemicals avoided: phosphates, glycol esters, ammonia, disinfectants, and caustics.

Window Cleaner

Vinegar or lemon juice
Water

Mix 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice and 1 pint of water in a spray bottle. Spray on. Rub with a cloth diaper or other lint free rag (not paper towels). For outdoor windows, use a sponge and warm water with a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Rinse well and squeegee dry.

Toxic chemicals avoided: glycol esters, alcohol, ammonia, propellant, and aerosol cans.

Bathroom Cleaner

Borax
Vinegar
Water

Mix 1/2 cup borax and 1/4 cup vinegar in 2 gallons of hot water. Sponge on surface and wipe dry with a rag. After using the toilet, close the lid before flushing—it may help reduce the spread of germs. Always remember to wash your hands thoroughly.

Toxic chemicals avoided: Chlorine bleach, strong acids, glycol esters, and quaternary ammonium chloride.

Drain Cleaner

Baking soda
Vinegar
Boiling water

This will free minor clogs and help prevent future clogs. Pour 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain, then 1/2 cup vinegar. Let it fizz a few minutes. Then pour down a teakettle full of boiling water (about a quart). Repeat if needed. If the clog is stubborn, use a plunger or a mechanical snake. Cover drains with strainers or screens to keep out hair. Avoid letting grease go down the drain. As a clog preventative, do this once a week in the kitchen and bathroom drains.

Toxic chemicals avoided: lye, chlorine bleach.

Homemade Gentle Kitchen Cleaner

For a gentle but effective kitchen cleaner, blend 1 cup of salt with 1 cup of baking soda. Store in a covered container. This works wonderfully as a scouring powder and will keep indefinitely as long as you keep it dry.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Baking soda
Dishwashing Liquid

Sprinkle baking soda inside the bowl as you would any scouring powder. Squeeze a couple of drops of soap in also. Scrub with a toilet bowl brush and finish outer surfaces with a rag sprinkled with baking soda.

Toxic chemicals avoided: Hydrochloric acid, chlorine bleach, sulfuric acids, oxalic acid, and quaternary ammonium chloride.

Scouring Powder

Baking soda
Dishwashing liquid
Water

You can use baking soda as a scouring powder. Sprinkle it on porcelain fixtures and rub with a wet rag. Add a little soap to the rag for more cleaning power. Rinse well to avoid leaving a hazy film.

Toxic chemicals avoided: glycol esters, chlorine bleach, acids, and disinfectants.

Oven Cleaner

Baking soda
Water
Scouring pad (green or copper)

DO NOT USE IN A SELF CLEANING OVEN

Mix 1 cup of baking soda with enough water to make a paste. Apply to oven surfaces and let stand. Use scouring pad for scrubbing most surfaces, a spatula or bread knife to get under large deposits. Use an aluminum foil bottom-liner and spot-clean often. If something does spill, or catches fire in the bottom of your oven, sprinkle table salt generously on it. It will help in cleanup and immediately put out the fire.

Toxic chemicals avoided: lye

Pot and Pan Cleaner for Burned-On Food

Baking soda
Water

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon baking soda in burned pot. Fill pot halfway with water. Bring to a boil. Remove pot from heat and wash with dishwashing liquid and water.

Chrome Cleaner and Soap Scum Remover

Vinegar

Apply vinegar to a sponge and rub. Wipe dry with a cloth or you will have spotting.

Toxic chemicals avoided: strong acids and bases

Copper and Brass Cleaner

Salt
Vinegar
Vegetable oil

Mix equal pats of salt and vinegar. Rub onto surface with a sponge until clean. Rinse in hot soapy water and dry thoroughly. Polish surface with a little oil on a clean, dry cloth.

Toxic chemicals avoided: petroleum distillates, ammonia

Stainless Steel Cleaner

Baking soda or vinegar
Green scouring pad

Scour with baking soda or vinegar. Rinse with warm water and dry thoroughly to avoid spots.

Toxic chemicals avoided: chlorine bleach, oxalic acid, and silica

Stain Remover for Red Wine

Water
Club soda

If the wine is still wet, blot first to remove as much excess liquid as possible. Saturate the stain with water or club soda. Rub lightly and blot dry. Repeat if necessary. Launder according to label directions.

Toxic chemicals avoided: petroleum distillates, chlorinated hydrocarbons

Stain Remover for Ballpoint Ink

Milk

Saturate stain thoroughly with milk. Rub until stain disappears. Launder according to label directions.

Toxic chemicals avoided: petroleum distillates, chlorinated hydrocarbons

Furniture Polish

Vegetable oil

NOT FOR VARNISHED WOOD

Apply a little oil to a cloth and rub into wood. Wait an hour. Rub to remove excess oil.

Toxic chemicals avoided: petroleum distillates

Watermark Remover for Wood

Toothpaste
Olive oil

Rub toothpaste into area with watermark. Then apply oil to blend color. Polish entire area with oil.

Cleaning a Wood Cutting Board

Dishwashing liquid
Scouring pad

Scrub board with dishwashing liquid and scouring pad immediately after each use. Rinse with hot water. Only fruits and veggies should be cut on a wood cutting board. Always use an impermeable surface for meat, poultry, fish, cheese, and eggs—any potentially hazardous food. To disinfect a cutting board with an impermeable surface, scrub with a scouring pad and a solution of 1 teaspoon bleach to 1 quart of hot water. If necessary, have 2 cutting boards: one clearly marked for veggies and fruits only.

Linoleum Cleaner

Vinegar
Water

Mop with a mixture of 1/2 cup vinegar in 1 gallon of warm water. The vinegar odor will go away shortly after the floor dries.

Toxic chemicals avoided: phosphates, ammonia, glycol esters, and detergents.

Dentifrice

Baking soda

Good old-fashioned baking soda on your toothbrush will get your teeth and gums just as clean as commercial toothpaste. You can even rinse with 1 teaspoon hydrogen peroxide (the same stuff in your medicine cabinet you put on cuts and scrapes) in 1/4 cup of water. Just rinse, gargle and spit.

Toxic chemicals avoided: You read the label on your toothpaste. It tells you not to swallow the stuff.

Laundry Booster

Baking soda

Add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup baking soda with your regular laundry detergent. It will boost the cleaning power to where you may be able to cut back by 1/2 the amount of detergent you normally use.

Carpet Freshener

Baking soda

Sprinkle baking soda lightly or liberally(depending on odor level) on your dry carpets, rugs, and upholstery. Let it be over-night or at least 30 minutes. Vacuum as usual.

Grease or Oil on Clothing, Carpets, Upholstery, and Concrete

Corn Starch

Sprinkle corn starch liberally on stain. Let stand. Brush or vacuum off. Repeat as necessary until stain is gone. This really works if you give it a chance. I removed olive oil from a silk shirt. It took 3 or 4 tries, but I saved the shirt.

The Power of Baking Soda

What is Baking Soda?
Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, a naturally occurring substance present in all living things. It helps living things maintain the pH balance necessary for life. Baking soda is made from soda ash, which is sodium carbonate. For more useful hints, check out www.armhammer.com

Doing Dishes?
Don’t forget the baking soda. Add 2 heaping tablespoons of baking soda to your dishwater. It will help cut grease and loosen food on dishes, pots, and pans. For cooked-on, baked-on foods, soak in a baking soda and detergent mixture, and then use dry baking soda on a damp sponge or cloth as a scratchless scouring powder.

Cleaner Fruits and Vegetables
The experts agree—you should wash produce before consuming it. To clean more of the dirt, chemical residues, and waxes from all varieties of fruits and vegetables, use baking soda. Shake some onto wet produce, scrub, and then rinse. It works better than water alone.

Remove Hair Buildup
For extra clean hair, try adding a small amount of baking soda (about the size of a quarter) to your shampoo. Wash, rinse, and condition as you normally would. The baking soda removes built-up residues from styling products and mineral abundant waters.

Great for Dental Gear
Baking soda works well as a cleaner for dentures, retainers, or mouth guards. Add 2 teaspoons of baking soda to a bowl of water. Then soak dental gear for 5-10 minutes. Rinse with cold water after soaking.

Camping Necessity
Baking soda is a must for any camper. It can serve as a dish washer, pot scrubber, hand cleanser, deodorant, toothpaste, fire extinguisher, and first aid treatment for insect bites, sunburn and poison ivy, as well as much more. Plus, it saves space (one box compared to many products!)

Lawn Furniture Cleaner
To clean and deodorize lawn and pool furniture, mix a solution of ¼ cup baking soda to 1 quart of warm water. Wipe the furniture with this solution, then rinse clean. For tougher stains, sprinkle directly onto a damp sponge, scrub with it and rinse.

First Aid
Relieve the itching and pain of an insect bite with a baking soda paste. After you have removed any stinger, make a paste by combining 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water. Apply it to the affected area and let it dry. Wash it off and repeat, if needed.

No More Smelly Dogs
Instead of heading for the bathtub every time Fido smells, try giving him periodic dry baths. Rub dry baking soda into his fur, then comb or brush it through and out. Baking soda is nontoxic and safe for use on and around your pets.

***

author bio:

Wyverndreamer

Living quietly with my mate of 21 years in the Southern foothills of the Arkansas Ozarks.

I love to play dress up so we are members of the Early Arkansaw Reenactor’s Association bringing historic territorial Arkansas alive for schools, parks, and other special events.

I have been a pagan since the early ’70′s, and my better half claims to be a dyslexic agnostic. I am either psycic or psychotic depending on what day it is.

Tags: clean, environment, green, household, natural, Wyverndreamer

• Articles