I'm always looking for a new way to save a few pennies, what with all these gorgeous children that keep showing up around here. :) I have 2 different things for you to try, and i'm excited about both.
I do lots of laundry. Lots and lots and lots. I do clothing on Monday, sheets and towels on Tuesday, clothing again on Wednesday, Thursday i take the day off unless there are blankets that need washing, Friday i do clothing again and Saturday? You guessed it, clothing and towels. An average of 3-4 loads a day, which means going through a ton of laundry soap. So i started once again making my laundry soap which is simple and inexpensive and i think i like it. Once i took into account that i am doing some extremely dirty wash, i realized my homemade soap is working quite well. The recipe is simple. One bar of grated soap, ( i use Fels Naptha) 4 cups Borax and 2 cups washing soda. Sometimes i use part Biz to give an added boost, and i use about 1/4 cup per load of the soap, although the recipe says 2 T for large loads. I'm guessing they're talking about "normal" american families, not farmers, so i use more. But that's not the recipe i'm wanting to share. The recipe i'm excited to share with you is prespray. You see, i really hate soaking and scrubbing my dirty wash. I want to prespray and throw it into the wash. When you're doing literally hundreds of pieces of clothing a week, you don't have the time to hunker down over a washtub, laboriously hand scrubbing each shirt. However, prespray is expensive, and my wallet isn't exactly fat, so i started scouring the internet for options. First option didn't work, but today i hit on a gold mine. Equal parts of water, dish soap, and ammonia. That's it. Woo-hoo, join me while we do the laundry dance......i used Dawn, since that kind's really good for grease and i put it into an old spray bottle. I was simply amazed at how well it worked. Stuff like that makes me happy.... very, very happy.
Now for recipe #2. You know that really expensive elderberry syrup that you buy at the health food store that you take when you're fighting a cold or flu? Well guess what.......you can make it yourself. At home. So without further ado.........
ELDERBERRY SYRUP
1 cup fresh elderberries or 1/2 cup dried
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves
1 T fresh ginger, grated
2 cup water
1 cup honey, raw
Bring first 5 ingredients to boil in saucepan and simmer til reduced to half, about 20 minutes. Strain and make sure to squash the berries to get all the yumminess out. Add honey, pour into small glass jar and store in fridge. It will last up to several weeks. Take a teaspoon daily as an insurance against the flu or colds and if you're fighting something, take up to 4 teaspoons. And really, if you feel like drinking the whole jar, it ain't gonna' hurt ya. So slurp it down and enjoy the cold weather.
So there you have it. 2 recipes for my special blog friends, even if you almost never leave comments. ;)
Showing posts with label herbs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label herbs. Show all posts
20 September, 2010
22 February, 2010
Pink Eye
Pink eye. Blood red, sore and nasty looking, that's what my eye looks like. I had pink eye as a little girl so bad that it actually caused an abscess and scarring, making it sensitive. I thought i was getting over it but this morning it's much worse, so here's my arsenal.
Honey, dabbed at the corners. It stings but who cares, it's better than looking like a bloodhound.
Coconut oil, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral.
Black tea bags, steeped in water with a few tea tree oil drops in and placed on eyes. NEVER, NEVER put tea trea oil directly in eye.
Colloidal silver
Breastmilk on a cotton ball (haven't figured out how to apply it directly.....no suggestions please)
Neosporin dabbed at the corners ( a little man made drug to help things along, i'm desperate!)
I'm also eating raw garlic and taking oregano oil, both nature's antibiotic, since you also need to fight it from the inside out. I don't smell good but with all the colds going around, i don't think Marlin will notice.
Why not go to the doctor? First of all, they could do little when i was a kid and many times you are much better off fighting it with natural stuff. Having said that, if worse comes to worse, i will try that. Maybe.
I forgot the most important part. Prayer, so if you feel led, please offer a few. Thanks!
Also taking any and all suggestions!!!!!!
Honey, dabbed at the corners. It stings but who cares, it's better than looking like a bloodhound.
Coconut oil, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral.
Black tea bags, steeped in water with a few tea tree oil drops in and placed on eyes. NEVER, NEVER put tea trea oil directly in eye.
Colloidal silver
Breastmilk on a cotton ball (haven't figured out how to apply it directly.....no suggestions please)
Neosporin dabbed at the corners ( a little man made drug to help things along, i'm desperate!)
I'm also eating raw garlic and taking oregano oil, both nature's antibiotic, since you also need to fight it from the inside out. I don't smell good but with all the colds going around, i don't think Marlin will notice.
Why not go to the doctor? First of all, they could do little when i was a kid and many times you are much better off fighting it with natural stuff. Having said that, if worse comes to worse, i will try that. Maybe.
I forgot the most important part. Prayer, so if you feel led, please offer a few. Thanks!
Also taking any and all suggestions!!!!!!
27 October, 2009
Herbs and Chinese Lanterns
It's a typical fall day. Rainy and cool. The perfect kind of day for a cup of tea. And i am drinking the most delicious cup. Dr. Cinnamon from "BulkHerbStore." They gave me a sample when i ordered their immune booster tea, which i use to make an herbal tincture. Dr. Cinnamon has cinnamon (no, really), red raspberry, gingko (for the brain, which God knows i need), orange peel, and green tea. I sweetened it with some honey and stevia and it's warming my insides in the most delicious fragrant way. I highly recommend the products from "BulkHerbStore" as they have wonderful quality of herbs, lots of great advice, and you're once again supporting a small family run business.
We also really like their immune booster tea, as it's full of immune boosting properties and it's a whole lot cheaper to make your own tinctures than to buy them. It's also very simple. I take a pint jar, fill it 1/3-1/2 full of the dried herbs (i grind them first to make sure i get the most out of them), dampen the herbs with hot water, just til they're damp, and then fill with vegetable glycerin and follow with a lid. You can buy vegetable glycerin at health food stores or online. Place a towel in the bottom of your crockpot, set the jar on top and fill halfway with warm water. I turn the crockpot on warm, put the lid on and let sit for 3 days, checking every so often to make sure the water doesn't run out in the crockpot. After 3 days, strain the herbs through a clean cloth into a small bottle, label and store. Use whenever you see signs of a cold or flu, and with herbs, a little used often works best. You can't overdose, so i will give as often as every half hour, maybe a 1/2-1 tsp.
Well, my tea is finished, and the children are clamoring to make their chinese lanterns. We're having a chinese meal tonight, orange chicken over jasmine rice, and i discovered the most delightful, easy to make, chinese lanterns at Enchanted Learning. (can't get the link to work) Of course we'll take pictures, all to put in their portfolios to convince the state that these children are actually learning something. ;)
Enjoy the rain, snuggle with the kids, and drink some tea. All i need is my water to break, deliver a baby, and then my world would be complete. All in God's timing, right?
We also really like their immune booster tea, as it's full of immune boosting properties and it's a whole lot cheaper to make your own tinctures than to buy them. It's also very simple. I take a pint jar, fill it 1/3-1/2 full of the dried herbs (i grind them first to make sure i get the most out of them), dampen the herbs with hot water, just til they're damp, and then fill with vegetable glycerin and follow with a lid. You can buy vegetable glycerin at health food stores or online. Place a towel in the bottom of your crockpot, set the jar on top and fill halfway with warm water. I turn the crockpot on warm, put the lid on and let sit for 3 days, checking every so often to make sure the water doesn't run out in the crockpot. After 3 days, strain the herbs through a clean cloth into a small bottle, label and store. Use whenever you see signs of a cold or flu, and with herbs, a little used often works best. You can't overdose, so i will give as often as every half hour, maybe a 1/2-1 tsp.
Well, my tea is finished, and the children are clamoring to make their chinese lanterns. We're having a chinese meal tonight, orange chicken over jasmine rice, and i discovered the most delightful, easy to make, chinese lanterns at Enchanted Learning. (can't get the link to work) Of course we'll take pictures, all to put in their portfolios to convince the state that these children are actually learning something. ;)
Enjoy the rain, snuggle with the kids, and drink some tea. All i need is my water to break, deliver a baby, and then my world would be complete. All in God's timing, right?
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