Make Your Own Wax Wraps
WAX WRAPS LOSE THEIR COATING AFTER 6-12 MONTHS. USE THESE TIPS TO RE-WAX YOUR EXISTING PRODUCTS.
Instead of buying expensive food wraps online, you can make your own using a few simple ingredients. I modified this to include jojoba oil and pine resin, as I have learned that this makes the wax wrap more pliable and easy to work with.
Materials
- Cut sheets of cotton (old bedsheets work well, or you can get some at the local fabric store)
- Beeswax (you can buy it in a brick form, or in pellet form)
- Equal amount of pine resin to bees wax
- A few drops of Jojoba oil
- A large cookie baking sheet (you will not want to use it for food purposes afterwards)
- Twine
- Scissors
- Clothes pegs, or any other clips you have
- A paint brush
Instructions
- Use the twine to make a makeshift drying line outside, or somewhere that is easily accessible to the oven.
- Make sure your sheets are the small enough to fit on the cookie baking sheet. Place it on the cookie sheet. Preheat the oven to 180°F.
- If you got the beeswax brick, you will need a cheese grater to make small pieces of beeswax. Sprinkle a small amount of beeswax and pine resin on the cloth. You don’t need a lot. It will melt on the cloth and spread apart. Put a few drops of the jojoba oil over the cloth as well.
- Put the cookie sheet in the oven for about 5 minutes. You don’t need to leave it in long.
- When you take it out of the oven, use the brush to smooth out the melted beeswax. It will begin to harden quickly as it cools.
- Pick it up out of the cookie sheet and hang it on the dryer line that you made. It will dry quickly, so you will be able to take it off the line before the next cloth comes out of the oven. It will be very stiff, so be sure to crumble it up and play with it to make it more malleable for your first food item.
Photo Instructions
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Download Instructions to Sew Your own Drawstring Bag Below
Make Your Own Drawstring Bag
Instructions (pdf)
Homemade Deodorant
INSTRUCTIONS
We are all used to using a stick deodorant, so applying something under our arms might take a bit of time to get used it. Usage wise, though, I think this product works great.
I got this recipe from the Prairie Homestead.
https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2012/12/diy-coconut-oil-deodorant.html
Materials and Ingredients
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup baking soda
- ¼ cup arrowroot powder
- 4 tablespoons of cornstarch
- Essential oils (I used Whisper by DoTerra because it is known as a good perfume option)
Instructions
- Mix the baking soda, arrowroot powder and cornstarch together in a bowl.
- Add the coconut oil and blend it together using a fork, or your fingers.
- Add the essential oils of your choice and mix it together.
- If you want it to be thicker, add more arrowroot powder or cornstarch. If you want it to be more liquidy, add more coconut oil.
- Place in a small jar.
*I have read that some people have reactions to the baking soda. Be careful not to use extra baking powder in this recipe, and be sure to do a spot test on your skin.
Review of Homemade Deodorant
SIX MONTHS AFTER STARTING TO USE DIT DEODORANT
After 6 months of use, I wanted to share some experiences that I have had with making my own homemade deodorant.
After following the recipe above, I was amazed at how effective it was. It smelled great with essential oils and I never sweat. I started using it in the summer, so that would have been the best time to find out how effective it was.
Keep in mind that coconut oil turns to liquid in the warm heat, I learned quickly that less coconut oil should be used in the summer, and more in the winter. This will help you when you determine how loft or hard you want your product.
After extended exclusive use (four months), I noticed that I started developing dark skin under my arms where I was applying it. I looked it up online and sure enough, this is a common side effect. Having too much baking soda can cause your skin to darken and irritate. As a result, I stopped using it all together for about 3 weeks. Discontinued use brought my skin back to pre DIY deodorant state within a week.
I have since made a new batch with less baking soda, and I alternate between that and an all natural store bought product. It is a happy compromise because I am still lowering my waste output by half. When a local store offers a zero waste option, I’ll be excited to try that.
I think that it is wise to warn anyone who wants to make this product at home of the side effects. I recommend it for trips that need to be chemical free. Camping, cottaging and other nature inspired vacations would be best suited for this product’s use because if you shower there, any chemicals you put on your body will eventually wash into the ecosystem.
Stay tuned for an updated recipe that has given me no long term side effects. Keep in mind though, that we all react differently. Your tolerance might be higher or lower than mine.
-Ashley
Homemade Body Butter
INSTRUCTIONS
I found out about this recipe after learning that it is important to keep myself well moisturized when I was pregnant. It is important to moisturize the belly, thighs, breasts and butt throughout the pregnancy to reduce the chance of stretch marks.
This recipe was found on the Wellness Mama website. I have found this site to be exceedingly helpful in finding a starting point for my sustainable home projects.
The final product will feel like whipped frosting. The body butter has a smooth application and feels very nourishing. It smells like chocolate!
https://wellnessmama.com/6544/whipped-body-butter/
*If you have a double boiler, use that to melt the ingredients. I don’t so I used a glass bowl over a pot of hot water.
Materials and Ingredients
- ½ cup shea butter
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup cocoa butter or mango butter
- ½ cup light oil (like almond oil, jojoba oil, or grapeseed oil)
- 10-15 drops of essential oils (peppermint, lavender, or frankincense oil works well)
Instructions
- In the double boiler (or glass bowl), add all the ingredients, except the essential oils.
- Stir often under medium heat, until all the solids have been melted.
- Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add essential oils and mix it in.
- Put bowl into the fridge and let it cool for about an hour.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the contents of the bowl for about 5 minutes. I had to put it back into the fridge for another 30 minutes and then beat it again for another 5 minutes. It should be the consistency of whipped frosting. You will want to eat it, but you can’t. It’s not food 🙂
Baking Soda Based Mouthwash
I must admit, my husband uses this way more than I do. I made a small batch initially, and told him that he had to get through the entire bottle before making a decision on whether he would continue using it or not. I am very pleased to say that he finished it and is happy to make the switch.
It tastes a bit salty from the baking soda, but adding the peppermint essential oils make it quite tolerable. He says that it doesn’t leave your mouth burning, like most over the counter products do. If you like the burning feeling, this might not be the right place to make a sustainable switch.
Materials and Ingredients (First batch)
- 2 cups water
- 2-3 teaspoons of baking soda
- 5 drops of peppermint oil
- (xylitol will sweeten the flavour if you need one packet in it)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients into a glass bottle and shake it up. It can settle slightly, so make sure you give it a good shake before you use it each day.
- Depending on the size of your bottle, be sure to dilute the baking soda as much as you need. It can get overpowering if you have too much baking soda in with the water.
Foaming Hand Soap
FOAMING HAND SOAP
This is probably one of the easiest way to reduce your waste. Once you have the bottle, you can just refill it. Before I give you any more of my perspective on this, be aware that I googled recipes to make this. There are tons of sites that already have lots of information on how to make foaming hand soap. It’s so easy! However, I have created this particular post with the help of the site I’m listing below.
There are only a few main ingredients that I used to make this.
-distilled water (this is a water based product)
-Castile soap (Traditional Booking School’s recipe calls for 2 tablespoons. I eyeballed around that amount)
-Carrier Oil (I used almond oil)
-essential oils ( I used DoTerra’s OnGuard essential oils since it is a time of year when there is lots of sick people out there right now. I put upwards of 20 drops of that stuff because I like the scent)
-a glass foaming soap dispenser. (I got mine at Walmart, it wasn’t packaged in anything, and brought my own shopping bag to the store so it was a waste free purchase on my end)
Put the water in first and then the Castile soap so that the water doesn’t foam up in the bottle. Other than that, combine ingredients and that’s it!
Sustainable Milton
OUR GREEN COMMUNITY
In 2020, Green Goals began a new chapter with Sustainable Milton by joining together to emulate the true purpose of the Green Goals seals program. Together, we are able to develop the true essence of community by working together to share and celebrate local businesses that want sustainable business practices to be the norm. We are proud to be expanding our bubble.
- Socially Ethical
- Plant Based
- Reusable Friendly
- Promotting a Circular Economy
