Tales from the Crunchy Trials, Part 1

It started about 5 years ago, when I happened onto 100 Days of Real Food. I love this blog and her approach to simple, delicious food. There was no nonsense, just easy, common sense rules to assist in buying wholesome food with little to no sugar and minimal processing. I overhauled our diet and really made a change toward better health. Now, better than 80% of our breads are made fresh at home. I try to make our food from scratch and we lean toward fresh fruit, nuts, homemade granola, etc for snacks and we only drink herbal tea, coffee, milk or water at home. While our lives have grown busier and our food prep space smaller (see Day 1 of our tiny house adventure), we have had to make a few concessions. I can no longer buy 25lb of whole wheat flour or whole cases of apples. I literally have no where to store bulk foods unless they are frozen.
Anyway, I've felt a nagging in my spirit about the chemicals that are use in our home, from the beauty aids to the cleaners and detergents. I have known for years that the aluminum in our deodorant is bad and that the sodium lauryl sulfate in our shampoo and body wash is bad. I just haven't been able to find a store bought alternative that I could afford or that works. More on that later. I have been making our laundry soap for about 7 years (recipe here ) and more recently started using a 1:10 ratio of white vinegar and purified water with essential oils as fabric softener. So, I've dipped a toe into this endless pool before, but I just kept ignoring the other stuff, thinking I'd figure the rest out someday... or we'd strike oil in the front yard and I could afford to buy all organic, perfectly natural beauty and cleaning products at the health food market. Right?
We haven't struck oil and I'm not sure why, but the nagging became more persistent over the past several months. It started last winter, when we all seemed to be struggling with severe cold and flu symptoms. I was tired of fighting to keep us healthy and trying to keep one sick child from wiping out the whole house and quarantine in a tiny house is joke. It seemed like bug after bug kept spreading through our home and I got fed up! I went online and actually found an essential oil diffuser at our local supermarket. I was in luck that this came with two sample blends, one which was a breathe easy mix that immediately improved our symptoms. I then hit up my friends on social media and asked what the best go-to oil would be for my next experiment. The overwhelming response was for a blend of cinnamon, rosemary, lemon, clove and eucalyptus essential oils. It is best know by this brand name. It has been proven to stop the replication of the flu virus, is great for cleaning the house, diffusing into the air and even applying topically to fight germs. I know, hard to believe, but I was desperate and tired of  hitting the pharmacy for a different medicine for every symptom. I will admit that I did a lot of research and found the among the top 10 essential oil companies (of which the above link is #1) the #3 company listed was available at my favorite, local, natural food market and was about 1/2 the price.
***Disclaimer: This was a decision I made for our family and our budget. I am in no way endorsing either brand for anyone and will be happy to put you in touch with a beautiful soul and personal friend who is a licensed distributor of the #1 brand, should you ask.***
Anyway, this stuff works! I diffuse it anytime anyone gets a little puny. I made roll-on vials to keep in all our vehicles and at home. I use a couple drops in with the laundry anytime I have a challenging odor...I mean all of them! I made a spray bottle of cleaner with this and lemongrass. It smells amazing and really makes me feels like we're getting clean without breathing in harsh chemicals.
So, that was the beginning of what has been a lot of experimenting. I have seriously beefed up my essential oil inventory, my Pinterest board dedicated to a toxin-free life is growing every time I find a new recipe to try and my family and I are all guinea pigs in my crazy trials. I'm going to share all that works (and what doesn't) in the next couple of posts. I might even get brave enough to do a few videos!
In the mean time, I leave you with the multi-use household cleaner recipe that I've been using.

You'll need:

One spray bottle (except, obviously, empty, not half full of homemade cleaner like mine)

1 cup white vinegar (this was what I had on hand).

30-50 drops essential oil blend (as mentioned and linked above).

Optional : 15 drops lemongrass essential oil (because it smells yummy!)

Optional: 2 drops dish soap (because I feel it helps cut the grease in the kitchen.)

Add all ingredients to the bottle and fill the rest with filtered water. Shake well before each use. Occasionally, if I feel I need extra scrubbing power, I sprinkle a bit of baking soda on the surface and then spray. It gives a bit of abrasive texture that helps with stuck on stuff. WARNING: DO NOT throw the baking soda in with the other ingredients. I'm sure everyone has done the baking soda/vinegar volcano, but just in case, I thought I should mention that you don't put those 2 substances together in closed container.

OK, so there you have it! I have successfully replaced laundry detergent, fabric softener and pretty much all the other household cleaners with homemade, simple ingredients that I can pronounce and feel safe using around my family.
Tune in next time to hear about the deodorant trials, and coming soon, Poo Contra: the great shampoo controversy of 2017!
Also, feel free to follow and suggest DIY/ homemade, toxin free recipes on my Pinterest board. I'm such a novice that I lean on the experience of those who are pioneering ahead of me.

Quick and Easy Fire Starters or Boosters

We have lived with wood heat through 1½ winters, and I must say, I prefer it. As with anything, there are pros and cons. The pros for us definitely outweigh the cons though. There's nothing quite so comforting as the sound of the logs popping and the clicking of the cast iron as it heats up. And if you've never smelled walnut burning, you're missing out. It smells like Fruit Loops!
The first winter we lived here, in our cabin, we hadn't found a small enough stove, so we tried to get by with space heaters. The worst part was, we still had cold pockets all over the house. We lived in thermal undies and lots of blankets. Over $1000 combined heating bills later, we vowed that we'd have a stove by the next winter.
Last year was our first winter with wood heat and while my husband grew up with a wood stove, I'd never had one. He told me all summer how hot it would get and how we'd be cracking windows even in the dead of winter. He was right! I love how cozy the whole cabin is.
Our cabin is a rectangle and the stove is in the center on one wall. We played with a couple of box fans and learned that placing a fan at each end of the house, facing toward the center, seemed to pull the heat down from the lofts and kept both rooms (our bedroom and the bathroom) almost the same temperature as the living room. It's pretty awesome.
We are fortunate to live where we can find trees already fallen and seasoned, so with a family wood haul every other week, we are usually well stocked on firewood. It's a bit of work, but it beats buying firewood. All things considered, minus the cost of the gas for the chainsaw, we're heating for free.
So there's a bit of back story. As I mentioned, I'm a novice at this starting and feeding a wood stove. My husband is an excellent teacher, but we birth have our own unique ways of handling things. As I've tried (and erred), I've learned some tricks that help get and keep a hot fire going.
I tried using dryer lint in toilet paper tubes, but it seemed to me that they burned too fast and not hot enough. I have burned cardboard boxes, paper bags, all kinds of things to try to start a fire. Finally, I think I've got it!
One side effect of having firewood piled on the floor is the presence of wood chips, bark, etc. I am always sweeping up. Late one night, when I looked forlornly at the bits of wood in front of the stove, I decided to throw it into the fire. Woosh! It lit up like tiny little fireflies and breathed life into the dying coals. So naturally I wrapped it in newspaper and tied it with twine!
Now, rather than transporting the dusty wood bits to another surface, I just plop down on the floor with newspaper or phone book pages, scissors, twine and make a bunch at a time.
Just put 2 or 3 little bundles of potential under your sticks or kindling and light. Or, if you need to bring the fire back to life, put a bundle in with another log.

Granted, this may seem too simple to explain. However, I'm an experimental pioneer, so I thought I'd share in case anyone else could benefit from my limited experience.

I hope at least one reader has an "a-ha" moment. ☺

Pedialyte, Egg Drop Soup and Appliance Repairs

Thursday was shopping day. We started out like we do twice every month. I was half way through my first grocery store when my husband called with bad news. He had a stomach virus and was headed home from work. I offered to come drive him home, but he said he would try to make it. So, I added Immodium and Pedialyte (or a homemade version) to the grocery list. We finished our shopping and headed home for phase two: putting away the groceries from 3 different stores. Poor Mr. Jones was in rough shape. I did my best to keep the kids quiet and to get  things organized. We had a mere 1½ hours before we had to be on the soccer field for a week night game. That sounds like more time than it is. It takes a lot of food to feed a family of 6! 

Anyway, we made it to the game and didn't even get rained out, much to our surprise. We drove though rain on the way! We came home and had a quick sandwich for dinner, getting the kids to bed by 9pm.
I nursed Mr. Jones through the night, encouraging him to hydrate and checking for fever. Around 4:30am I felt the first wave of nausea. Oh no! This can't be happening. I can't be sick while he's sick. What about the kids?!
I took some anti-nausea medicine, drank some homemade pedialyte and nibbled on saltines. By 8:30 the next morning, my whole body was achy and I felt completely awful. I made breakfast for the kids, turned on a movie and crawled into bed. I set an alarm so I could get up and make lunch. Mr. Jones seemed to be past the nausea but was still achy, so we took turns checking on the kids but we were on survival mode. My mother, an angel of mercy, came to get the kids when she got off work. Mr. Jones and I were in bed by 8 that night, although I tossed and turned. It was impossible to get comfortable.
Thankfully, we both woke up better. I am still a bit queasy, but the aching seems to have subsided and Mr. Jones felt good enough to investigate a problem I've been having with our washing machine. It was not draining every cycle. I made my favorite comfort food, vegetable egg drop soup, while he drained it manually, put it back together and ran it again. Again, it beeped and flagged an error code. This time I took it apart, drained it and still found nothing. I got a flashlight and looked again, hoping to see anything that could be causing the grief. I stuck my finger into the drainage hose (by the way, EWE!) and felt something. Yes! Maybe this would be the key to our drainage issues. I couldn't quite get a grip on it so I gave Mr. Jones a try. When he pulled it out, I recognized it immediately.

The offender.

I explained, "That's a missile!"

He laughed and asked how I knew that the 2 inch red/coated in black sludge little problem was a missile. I explained, in my matter-of-fact mother-of-boys tone, that it was one of the missiles from Declyn's Ironman toy. I eagerly restarted the washing machine and guess what? It works!
So, if all we accomplish this weekend was getting over a tummy bug and fixing the washing machine, I'm counting it as a win.

Trial and, Sometimes, Awesome!!

This is my lavender scented olive oil. You can see a purple band
around the neck...this is a twist tie I put on to avoid any mix-ups
in the kitchen! A pretty ribbon would also work,
and be more aesthetically pleasing. 

I started really reading labels a few years ago and found that, even with an A in college chemistry, I don't recognize most of what I find in our every day foods or toiletries. So, I am slowly trying to integrate new habits and move toward a much more natural, and healthier lifestyle. Last year, I started using extra virgin olive oil for a moisturizer in place of lotion. What? You mean, the kind that you use for cooking?  Yes, that exact same one. I just bought an extra bottle to keep in the bathroom. It doesn't spread as easily as lotion, and takes longer to soak in, so you want to allow more time before you get dressed if you decide to try it. The benefits are that your skin stays soft without all the chemical conditioners that actually interrupt your skins natural absorption and regeneration. Your body should, ideally, have everything inside it necessary  to keep its balance. Ideally is the key word.
WARNING: SOAP BOX ALERT!  We don't eat well now days and, with all the beverage choices, we certainly don't drink enough water. So, instead of changing those habits, we come up with ways to treat the side effects of an generally unhealthy life style. Ok, now I'm done ranting. I am not pointing any fingers, because we are still a long way from where we need to be. It's a process.
Back to the olive oil. I decided that just smelling like an Italian restaurant wasn't enough. Also, it made me want fresh bread all the time, whatever that was about. So, I decided to experiment with adding fragrance. Still keeping to all natural and DIY theories, I headed off to the local natural food shop. After a few minutes of essential oil heaven (me standing in the isle and sniffing all of my favorites), I came back to reality and recognized that I was not ready to spend between $10 and $30 for a tiny bottle of smelly oil for an experiment. Then, I moved to the bulk dried goods and found that dried lavender and rose petals, among others, were rather inexpensive. The price per pound was negligible when you consider that even half a pound of dried flowers is a big bag full! I took my bag of lavender and went to Wal-Mart. There I bought a package of cheese cloth, which is sold in pre-cut lengths of 4 yards. I googled how to fragrance olive oil and found several options, but I'll share what I found to be the easiest. I came home, opened a new bottle of olive oil and spooned the lavender buds directly into the bottle. I was so excited, I didn't really think it through. I then closed the bottle tightly and put it in my dark pantry for ten days. Those ten days felt like an eternity! After opening the bottle, it smelled good, but I wanted more, so back in for another ten days. Bingo! It smelled fantastic! Now, when I realized I had to get all the lavender out of the bottle, I recognized my folly. Next time, I'll pour the oil into a wide mouth, air right container. However, I was not giving up. I poured the oil into a large glass bowl that I had double lined with cheese cloth inside of a strainer. Then came the messy prospect of pulling up the edges of the cloth, gathering it and wringing out the oil. Once I was satisfied that I had every precious drop I could get, I took an empty olive oil bottle that I had saved, made a funnel out of wax paper and slowly ladled the lavender oil into the bottle. It was so worth it! I just found that first bottle I made this morning, still half full. When everything  happened with my last pregnancy and I suddenly had to stay off my feet, my routine went out the window. I fell back to old, convenient habits. What I realized this morning is that, after a year of sitting (inside a dark green bottle) it smells as good as ever!
Now, for those less adventurous, go buy your favorite scent in an essential oil and just slowly add a few drops to the oil at a time until you reach the fragrance for which you are trying. You can also use sweet almond oil or jojoba oil, which are suppose to scent well and be nourishing to the skin. My mom has used coconut oil also, which has its own delicious scent. You wild-at-hearts like me, if you want to experiment like I did, here are a few tips:
1. Get an airtight, wide mouth container, glass, not metal. A large canning jar would work.
2. Choose your scenting agent, herbs or flowers, but dried. I've learned by using fresh rose petals that the added moisture can cause mold.
3. Cut about 3 layers of cheese cloth and make a sashay, or think tea bag, with the scenting agent in the middle, gather the edges and tie tight with string, so that you have a little pouch.
4. Buy a funnel!
5. Have a dark, glass bottle for the finished oil washed and sterilized with boiling water. You want to sterilize to ward of any bacteria that can lead to mold. If your bottle is clear, plan on storing it in a dark cabinet, because light and heat are the enemy with  fragrances.
6. Place your sashay into the wide mouth container, pour your oil over it, close the lid and put it away in a dark place for at least 20 days, longer if you have the patience. The longer it sits, the more fragrant the outcome.
7. When it is time, you can squeeze out the sashay and have scented oil, ready to funnel into the storage jar.
I hope you enjoy this as much as I have! Next, I'd like to try rosemary and mint, or maybe almond and vanilla. I would like to experiment more and then make some up for gifts. I will be sure to take pictures each step of the way and post them ASAP.