Did you know you can OPT OUT of getting the YELLOW PAGES??

I was totally excited when I came across another blog that told me that I could opt out of receiving the yellow pages, not only do most of these phones books go unused but they usually don't get recycled which is a total waste!

So here is the run down of this website opt out business:
  1. you have to create a quick account (name, address, e-mail)
  2. check your e-mail and log back into site as a registered user
  3. Choose which books you would like to continue receiving or opt out of all of them.

It took me about 5 minutes and was pretty harmless and makes me excited knowing I won't have these sitting on my porch anymore waiting to be shredded for RSL celebrations or thrown back into the recycling bin.

Here is the website:  https://www.yellowpagesoptout.com/     

What essential oil should I use??

Ever wonder which essential oils to use for what? Here is a small breakdown of a list I put together when I was in Massage Therapy school that I have found pretty helpful over the years. 

Which scents do you like best? I'm definitely a citrus lover :) 

 

Immune System

*Anti-viral- bergamot, black pepper, eucalyptus, grapefruit, lavender, rosemary, tea tree

*Anti-fungal- cedar wood, pine, tea tree

*Anti-Bacterial-bergamot, black pepper, eucalyptus, geranium, juniper, lavender, lemon, marjoram, rosemary and tea tree

*Detoxifying- lemon, grapefruit, juniper, marjoram, orange, rosemary

*Expectorant- black pepper, eucalyptus, ginger, juniper, pine, rosemary, tea tree

*Immuno-Stimulant- eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, tea tree, vetiver

*Respiratory- cedarwood, cypress, eucalyptus, pine, rosemary

Sports/Athletes

*Analgesic- black pepper, ginger, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, tea tree

*Anti-inflammatory- clary sage, lavender, tea tree

*Clear mind/Stimulate Mental Activity- ginger, grapefruit, rosemary

*Scar tissue- cypress, lemon, lavender

*Muscle Tone- black pepper, juniper, rosemary

*Muscle Relaxant-clary sage, lavender, marjoram, pine, vetiver

*Vasoconstrictor (POST event) constricts blood vessels- cypress

*Vasodilator (PRE or during event) dilates blood vessels- marjoram

*Stimulate body/increase energy- black pepper, ginger, pine, rosemary, eucalyptus, cedar wood

Well Being and Stress Relief

*Anti-depressant- bergamot, clary sage, geranium, grapefruit, lavender, lemon, orange

*Calmative-bergamot, cypress, grapefruit, lavender, lemon, orange

*Emotional Crisis Calmative-bergamot, clary sage, cypress, geranium, lavender

*Stress/Anxiety Reducer- black pepper, clary sage, marjoram, vetiver

*Stimulate adrenal glands-geranium, pine, rosemary

Head Aches

*Analgesic- black pepper, ginger, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, tea tree

*Calmative- bergamot, cypress, grapefruit, lavender, lemon, orange

*Clear mind/Stimulate Mental- ginger, grapefruit, rosemary

*Detox- lemon, grapefruit, juniper, marjoram, orange, rosemary

*Stress/Anxiety Reducer- black pepper

Homemade Orange Vinegar Cleaner

This post gets the extra big photo because it made me utterly and completely gitty with joy!

My dad was sent home with a box of oranges from my grandma, most of them were pretty soft. So I offered my dad to juice them for him (he was feeling sick at the time and needed a little boost of Vitamin C anyway). 

Upon arriving home it dawned on me how much use I could get out of these little orange jems, so I peel all the oranges, putting the peels in some empty mason jars I had to which I would later add vinegar to and make an all-purpose cleaner. Then the juice went to my dad and of course I had to steal some because it was so yummy. Then the compost from the juicing went out into the garden.

I was so excited that I could be so eco-friendly with just a box of soft oranges that most people would of just thrown away. ahhhhh, I love this!

How do you go about making the cleaner, it's SUPER simple. Peel oranges (lemons will work too), put peels in a container, cover completely with plain ordinary white vinegar (you can use apple-cider if you want) then put a lid on and let it sit for 4-6 weeks.

After that, pour it into a spray bottle (I got mine at the Dollar Store) then fill the rest with water. Simple, easy peasy, all-purpose, no harsh chemical cleaner :)   

Ezema and Psorosis Cream

 I came across this recipe through Facebook and actually have all of the iningredients to make it at home with week after my finals are all done. 
I got this recipe from "Lovely Greens", check out the website here:
http://www.lovelygreens.com/2012/05/handmade-healing-cream-for-eczema-and.html 

Here is the recipe---looks like you will want a scale for this! 

Neem Cream
Makes one 110g pot

10g* /0.35oz* Neem oil (raw and cold-pressed)
40g /1.41oz Shea Butter
30g /1.06oz Cocoa Butter
20g /0.70oz Castor oil
10g /0.35oz Sweet Almond oil
5 drops of Tea Tree essential oil (optional)
5 drops of Lavender essential oil (optional)

*Note - 10g of Neem oil will result in quite a strong smelling and acting lotion. If you'd prefer, you can reduce the amount by half to 5g to mask the smell and create a gentler cream. It's also possible to add more than 10g of Neem oil to this recipe but please test your cream on a small part of your infected skin before using it all over. Neem can be quite strong and if it's placed on the skin undiluted it's possible that it can cause contact dermatitis.1. Take all the ingredients except for the essential oils and place them into a double-boiler. You can also place them in a plastic bowl which can be floated in a pan of hot water. The point is that you want to heat the oils evenly and through an indirect heat source.2. Melt the oils over a medium heat until they are completely liquid. Stir well and place the bowl in the freezer for five minutes.

3. Take the bowl out and beat it with a whisk, adding the essential oils in at this time if you've opted to have them in. These fragrances will help mask the scent of the Neem and are both ingredients that will help inflamed skin. Lavender essential oil is extremely soothing and anti-inflammatory and Tea Tree essential oil is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-microbial as well as having a soothing medicinal scent.

4. Make sure to scrape any oil that's hardened along the edge of the bowl back down into the liquid oils then place the bowl back in the freezer for another five minutes - then take it out and beat it again. Repeat this process until the oils appear opaque and creamy then spoon it into a container which is fitted with a lid. You can use the cream after it's set for about a day.

Homemade Mozerella Cheese.....YUMMY!!!

***The Ultra-Pasturized milk in this photo did NOT turn out as good, it was very crumbly

I found this recipe at: http://heart-hands-home.blogspot.com/2011/01/homemade-mozzarella-cheese.html

It's pretty simple to make and doesn't require the most complicated ingredients.

But here it is slightly altered:

1 gallon whole milk (just be sure that it is not Ultra-pasteurized)
     *for those of you who don't know this is the Vitamin D milk
1  tsp. citric acid (food grade-Amazon or Homebrew store)
1/4 rennet tablet
     *there is a liquid rennet, but you only use 1/2 this amount!
     *so this would be 1/8 tsp :)
2 tsp. cheese salt 
    *Kosher salt is fine, that's what I use, but USE LESS--1 tsp.
A big pot
Thermometer
Slotted spoon 
*Cheese cloth works awesome for getting as much liquid out and keeping as much cheese as possible

**I couldn't find these, but I did find liquid vegetable rennet at Good Earth, cost around $4-$6 I think and will last you a REALLY long time because you only use 1/8 tsp. There are two different kinds of rennet: animal and vegetable.

Heart, Hands, Home has amazing directions so I suggest you check out her page for photos and better instructions than I am giving.

How-to: Pour milk in pot over med heat, sprinkle citric acid over and stir a little,  heat to 90 degrees, turn off heat and stir in rennet for 20-30 sec, let this sit for 8-10 minutes undisturbed, slice into small cubes with a knife and use your slotted spoon to take out all the white chunks leaving as much of the liquid behind as possible.

I put my cheese into cheese cloth the 2nd time around so I could squeeze out the liquid-- this seemed to work really good! Then put your cheese in a pyrex measuring up, heat in microwave for 1 minute. Pour off more liquid, then if you need to reheat for 30 sec doing the same thing.

This is what happened with ULTRA pasteurized milk, still tasted good and I used it to sprinkle over eggs for breakfast, when you don't use the ultra pasteurized milk it gets stringy and you can make a proper cheese log

Eventually your cheese will look stringy, once this happens you can knead in your cheese (if using Kosher start with 1 tsp and slowly add more). Once you have the salt all worked in, form it into whatever shape you want and drop it into a ice bath for 5 minutes.

So far my favorite thing to do with this cheese is make mini caprese toothpick appetizers (I stole the idea from my good friend Lisa :)
* small grape or cherry tomatoes
*Basil leaves
*small chunk of your newly made mozarella
*sprinkle on a little salt and pepper
*drizzle some good balsamic vinegar over and enjoy! :)       


**********Update*************
I found another recipe that is a lot closer to the one that I use here:
http://www.simplebites.net/the-best-party-trick-ever-how-to-make-thirty-minute-mozzarella/


 

So I ran across this recipe today and am SO excited to give it a try, I've been looking for something to put in my curls so I can stop using mousse.

DIY Hair Pomade

Ingredients:
2 Tbs packed beeswax (I grate my beeswax and pack it in measuring spoon)
2 Tbs + 2 tsp of olive or canola oil (coconut oil might work too)
2 Tbs vegetable glycerin
Essential oils (optional)

Directions: In a double boiler or microwave slowly heat wax and oil together until melted, mix well. Let cool completely (I stick it in the freezer or refrigerator just until solid). Scoop mixture into a blender and add vegetable glycerin and essential oils (optional).  Blend well. All done! Place in a container with a lid.
To use: use on short hair to sculpt and style!  

I stole the recipe from:
http://www.ablossominglife.com/2013/02/diy-hair-pomade-sculpting-wax.html

**I will be making this soon so I will post pictures and results soon! 

Homemade "Neosporin"

I have been super impressed by this recipe and how well it works, I was SUPER skeptical when I first came across it. It seemed a "far stretch" for how simple it was and a little more "hippish" than I was used to. But like most of the recipes I come across, I will give anything a shot :) 

Homemade "Neosporin"
Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dried comfrey
1/4 cup dried calendula 
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 oz beeswax
2 Tablespoons honey
optional- 10 drops of lavender essential oil  
cheesecloth

Ok so there are 2 ways of doing this:

Option 1 QUICK way: On the stove on low heat, melt olive oil and coconut oil. Then put in your dried flowers, let this steep for about 20-30 minutes. This will draw out the medical properties of the flowers. Do not let these get too hot or you will end up "deep frying" your flowers which is what we don't want.  

After time is up,  strain into a pyrex measuring cup using your cheese cloth to capture your flowers. You will probably have a few particles slip through, which is OK...it happens with homemade things!

Then mix in your beeswax, if it doesn't melt...pop it in the microwave for a min or two. Once beeswax is melted, you can add in your optional essential oil. Pour into your containers and let set for a couple of hours to cool. Again, if your impatient like I am sometimes...put in the fridge :)

Option 2 perferred method: Get a mason jar or glass container, put your dried flowers in and pour just the olive oil in, put a lid on and set them aside. Let them sit for 4-6 weeks. Then strain into pyrex measuring cup with cheese cloth. Try to squeeze out as much of the oil as possible cause that's where the good stuff is. Then in your measuring cup add your coconut oil and beeswax, microwave until beeswax melts (about 2 min), then take out and add in your optional essential oil. Put in containers and your done! :)
*This method is a lot easier and I feel like you get more medical properties out this way.

*Just a heads up....the greener the better :)  
 
 I got this recipe from http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/2012/11/healing-boo-boo-salve-a-k-a-homemade-natural-neosporin/

Here is her copy of the recipe and explains the properties of each:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil (proven to help heal burns - plus it’s anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, & a great moisturizer – read more here)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (full of vitamins & a great moisturizer – read more here)
• 1/4 cup dried comfrey (a herb for healing woulds – read more here)
• 1/4 cup dried calendula (a herb for healing woulds & skin irritations – read more here)
• 2oz beeswax (equals out to 2 of the 1oz bars or 4 tablespoons)
• 2 tablespoons of honey (natural moisturizer with anti-microbial properties – read more here)
• 10 drops lavender essential oil (anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, & analgesic – read more here) (optional)

Sore muscles? Put some Tiger Balm on

I have grown up using tiger balm, my mother was almost an addict to it, so it's pretty familiar. I know a lot of people have never heard about it before, but it's like an awesome more natural Bengay product.

**PLEASE USE CAUTION WITH THIS RECIPE, CAUSE IT CAN GET HOT AND BURN YOUR SKIN! 

Tiger Balm
Recipe 1 that is VERY strong and has A LOT of essential oils


5 oz. beeswax, divided 
½ cup mineral oil
    *or you can use coconut oil instead

1 tbsp. powdered ginger (optional and in your spice section) 

2 tbsp. camphor---This is what helps give it it's heat

2 tbsp. lavender essential oil 

2 tbsp. eucalyptus essential oil 

3 tbsp. wintergreen essential oil--I have used Spearmint before here

3 tbsp. peppermint essential oil 

2.4 oz. menthol crystals-Amazon-will clear out sinuses!

Small metal or glass containers to put in when it's done

Pyrex measuring cup

Spoon

Scale to measure out all of the oz

Recipe 2 that has less "burn your flesh" :)

10 drops eucalyptus essential oil 

10 drops peppermint essential oil 

5 drops clove essential oil 

¼ cup coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil 

1 tbsp. beeswax

1 oz menthol crystals-Amazon 

Put beeswax and oil in your pyrex measuring cup and microwave for 2-3 minutes, take it out then add in menthol crystals, stir and if the heat doesn't melt the crystals then pop it back in the microwave again for 1 min or so. ****It will be pretty hot so you might want to grab it with a hot pad****

When it cools just a little bit, so were it's not steaming, add in your essential oils. If it is still steaming and you add in your oils they will evaporate and not be as effective as well as make your eyes want to water and you nose to be super cleared out ;)

Once this is all mixed up, pour it into your containers  and let sit for a couple of hours to harden.

If your impatient like I am: put your containers on a flat surface (plate, cookie sheet, cutting board) and pop them in the fridge for a little while to harden up faster

I copied this recipe is from:  How to Make Tiger Balm | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2097398_make-tiger-balm.html#ixzz2QkgYlv7T