Like A Mustard Seed Blog

Living Green Tuesdays Link-Up #45

HappyMrsBass — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:01:20 +0000

Welcome to another Living Green Tuesday! Here are a few featured posts that were linked at our party last week:

A Time for Learning: Ups, Downs, and Second Chances on a New Homestead from Rural Living Today

Out of the Bottle: Ranch Dressing from My Lamp Is Full

Dehydrating Your Citrus Peels from The Tip Garden

If these were your posts, grab the featured button!

(Each week we will feature a few posts from the previous link up party. Each post will be featured here at Living Green Tuesdays and pinned on some of my favorite pin boards.)

Now it’s your turn to share…

We have a new hostess!

Join us (Victoria from Green Idea Reviews, Susan from Essential Traditions and myself) every Tuesday as like-minded bloggers come together with their “green” ideas! We love to see things like gardening tips, natural/money saving DIY projects, sustainable living ideas, herbal/natural healing, homemade anything, and more!

Each Tuesday we invite you to share how you are living GREEN! Here are the basic guidelines for the Living Green Link Up:

Share ANYTHING that relates to “green” living aka herbs, gardening, money saving, eco-friendly, etc. (please respect our biblical views). Use the Linky tool below to participate. Share your link new or old (make sure the link goes directly to your post), title, and image. It’s that easy! (No links to businesses please)

Please link your posts back to this Link-Up. Linking back here helps build our little community by sending your readers to all of the other posts shared. Grab the Living Green Link-up button above and paste into your post. Or simply create a text link somewhere in your post.

The idea of this link-up is to build up & encourage other readers as we learn and share our ideas. Be sure to visit other participants, as time allows. Tell them hello and that you found them here!

p.s. If you are viewing this post via email or mobile, please be sure to view this post on the blog to enjoy the linky party!

“How To” DIY for the Week: All Natural Deodorant

HappyMrsBass — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 04:00:00 +0000

{Note: This blog is a re-post – Originally published on December 9, 2011}

After several errands and helping my husband finish some outdoor chores, I am ready to show you how to make your own deodorant! Yes, deodorant.

Have you ever done any research on that flowery or baby powder smelling stuff on a stick that you apply daily to your underarms? Well…if you haven’t you REALLY should!!!

In my quest to apply as little harmful products to my body’s largest organ as possible (yes, your skin is your body’s largest organ!) I quickly found that the over-the-counter and prescription antiperspirant/deodorants have quite a few not-so-good-for-your-body ingredients, thus my attempt to create something safer to absorb the “stank” from my underarms. Again, I know I could mosey on over to the health food store and buy all kinds of “healthy” deodorants, but really…who wants to pay for that when you can MAKE IT! Lol!

Okay…after a few, not so wonderful attempts, I think I have found something that works!

(2013 UPDATE: I haven’t bought deodorant from the store in over 2 years! This deodorant recipe is the absolute only underarm B.O. control that has ever worked so well for so long. I love, love, love this recipe!)

You will need :

1/4 cup Baking Soda

1/4 cup corn starch (or arrowroot powder)

4-8 TBSP of Coconut oil in solid state

1/2 tsp Jojoba oil (optional)

Essential Oils (optional)

A container to put deodorant in

In a bowl blend your baking soda and cornstarch together. The baking soda does a great job of absorbing the “stank” while the starch aids in thickening the deodorant and reduces underarm irritation.

{UPDATE: I found I like arrowroot powder better than cornstarch. So if you are allergic to corn, arrowroot powder is an excellent alternative!}

Next, scoop out about 4 tablespoons of coconut oil and add to your powder blend. The coconut oil is great for your skin and has anti-bacterial properties which means less “stank” causin’ bacteria! Whoo-hoo! Also, the coconut oil absorbs pretty quickly into the skin, leaving it nice and smooth.

(note: from my experience, you should only use solidified oil…coconut oil will stay solid under 76 degrees…any hotter and you’ll have a melty mess! Your product will be icky and soupy!)

Now, start blending these three ingredients. I used my pastry blender, but you can simply use a spoon and the results will be the same. If the consistency is too crumbly, just add more coconut oil. I ended up using about 6 tablespoons because I over measured my dry ingredients a little. Ooops!

Okay, here ya go! I blended mine until it came off the sides of the bowl easily and all the powder was mixed in. You can see in the pictures below, the consistency is pretty thick. Almost the texture of the inside of a truffle, only a little fluffier!

Haha…I am having a hard time describing the texture! Oh, well!

So, you can leave it as it is…fragrance free OR you can add a few more things…its totally up to you! I added about a 1/4 teaspoon of jojoba oil for extra moisture during winter. If you find the baking soda irritates your sensitive skin, try adding this or melted cocoa butter. I haven’t had any issues though.

Add your choice of essential oils – I put 10 drops of Tea Tree oil (anti bacterial/fungal/viral), 10 drops of Peppermint (soothing), 5 drops of Myrrh (great for skin), 5 drops of Vanilla (soft smell) and 2 of drops Lavender oil (good natural preservative)

It smells sooo good! Almost done, mix your smell-goodies in with a spoon and whaa-lah! Ain’t that perdy?

Finally, spoon your home-made deodorant into a container of your choice. I used one of my pretty wide-mouth mason jars. Others have re-used old, cleaned deodorant containers, or simply a clean food storage container.

Done! Okay, okay…I know some of you are going “How on earth is this gonna work? Does she think I am going to stick my hand in that and slather it on my underarms!?” Well…yes, actually! Haha…I found the best way to apply the deodorant (for me) is to use my hands and gently rub into underarms, arm pits, whatever you call ‘em. I also found it is best to allow shaven arm pits to dry first…the baking soda can irritate cut skin just like any other products can. Oh, and if your bathroom gets really warm (like mine) it’s best not to keep your deodorant in there, it will melt! I leave mine in the room where I get dressed, it stays cooler in there and I can put it on before I get dressed.

Well, I hope you will do some research on the deodorant/antiperspirant you are using and consider switching to the lovely, works-just-as-well, homemade deodorant. May I also note…this is NOT an antiperspirant. God designed our bodies to perspire (sweat) for a reason. I just prefer not to “stank”!

What about you? What natural options have you tried to control B.O.?

p.s. If you don’t have time to make your own deodorant, I make/sell some on my Esty shop as a custom order

Living Green Tuesdays Link-up #44

HappyMrsBass — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 03:13:22 +0000

Join us (Victoria from Green Idea Reviews and myself) every Tuesday as like-minded bloggers come together with their “green” ideas! We love to see things like gardening tips, natural/money saving DIY projects, sustainable living ideas, herbal/natural healing, homemade anything, and more!

Each Tuesday we invite you to share how you are living GREEN! Here are the basic guidelines for the Living Green Link Up:

Share ANYTHING that relates to “green” living aka herbs, gardening, money saving, eco-friendly, ect. (please respect our biblical views). Use the Linky tool below to participate. Share your link new or old (make sure the link goes directly to your post), title, and image. It’s that easy! (No links to businesses please)

p.s. If you are viewing this post via email or mobile, please be sure to view this post on the blog to enjoy the linky party!