Handmade Home
I wanted to write a post about what I make for myself and household. I've recently discovered some easy handmade items that I love and I'm wondering if there is anything else out there I am missing?
I have always made homemade salad dressing, like the lime version here. It's just so easy to do, but the taste is so much better than anything in a bottle. My mom taught me that one. I also started making my own granola - here. I tried a few recipes and tweaked a bit.
One of the first places online that inspired me to make something, was Amanda's blog Soulemama. I started with her bread. I tried the laundry detergent, thinking I owed it a try, but pretty convinced I'd be back to Tide. Oh, no way - never again! This detergent, pictured above, is the most amazing thing ever. It gets my clothes so clean & bright, with no residue or static, I can never go back. Then I tried her yogurt and loved that too.
Pinterest is a whole new world of do it yourself! I found these dog treats and had a great time making them with the boys. An easy activity they loved, treats enough for a few weeks, and I know exactly what I am feeding the dog.
I also found this pin about washing your face with olive oil/castor oil and remembered an article I'd read about it recently in Whole Living. I gave it a try, and again, not going back to the commercial version any time soon.
So you see, with all this homemade goodness, I am wondering what else am I missing? What do you make homemade that you can't imagine buying in the store? What are you dying to try to make?
On the other hand, here's what I didn't make homemade, despite seeing tutorials aplenty. Sometimes ikea is just priced well enough that it seems silly to cut wood, paint and spend hours on something that took about 10 minutes.
So, let me know. Share a link to a pin that seems interesting or a recipe, or tell me yours!
this is great :) we make our own laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent, and use vinegar to clean most anything else. we've experimented with making our own toothpaste and mouthwash, but weren't big fans. also, i've found that using a baking powder/water blend as "shampoo" works well to detox your hair. i found a recipe for deodorant recently that i keep wanting to try, but that makes me a little nervous ;) let me know if you want recipes for anything... i keep thinking i should post them on my blog, if for no reason other than my own reference.
ReplyDeleteOh. Great post. We make bread, laundry detergent, oatmeal (love steel cut), granola. I want to try crackers soon. I made deodorant, I think it worked well but I didn't like the application process, so I switched to Tom's of Maine. I might have to try dishwasher detergent, how? I also want to learn salad dressings, I do a basic olive oil and balsamic but we've quit buying pre-made and we're getting sick of our one dressing recipe!
ReplyDeletewell, i got some posted :) laundry and dishwasher detergent for now.
ReplyDeletecrystal, i have a friend who makes some fab dressings. i'll see if i can get some recipes from her and maybe post those sometime too.
http://imaginegnats.blogspot.com/2011/10/homemade-cleaning-supplies.html
Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI do lots of slight changes to my basic - which is olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a minced garlic clove, squeeze of lemon juice, T honey & T dijon, plus S&P. For Asian salads I do Rice Vinegar, canola oil, a little bit of sesame oil, minced ginger, lime or orange juice. You basically just need an oil, a vinegar, and some seasoning. Olive oil has a strong taste, so I only use it in balsamic. In the fall I use apple cider vinegar with canola oil & various seasonings for salads with apples and fall-ish items. Rachel, thanks for posting the link to the dishwasher detergent recipe - will have to try!