The Sh!t I Don't Buy (or use)

For the last ten years I have not bought traditional (aka toxic) house cleaners, dish soaps, body soap, shampoo, conditioner, or deoderant. No, I don't shop lift them or get them for free... I stopped using that stuff and here is how it all started:::
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When I got diagnosed with Celiac Disease I was told that not only would my diet be changed but also anything I used as a personal care product, on any surface in my home or on my body needed to be gluten free also. Back in the day I already ate organic, and when I sent out nearly 100 letters and far more phone calls to companies trying to search for gluten free & healthy alternatives to clean up with not one company could say they were safe for me to use. Lawsuit worries, combined with the fact that gluten is in nearly every product Americans purchase in ways you would never guess.
What happened at the time was I was really sick, mostly bed ridden, mostly in a wheelchair and I thought 'what the hell, who needs that shit anyway!'
It wouldnt matter if I didn't use shampoo, it wasn't like I had a HAwT date while I was half dead and 80 pounds.
Much to my OCD mother's dismay, I began a life of chemical and gluten free discoveries about ways to naturally keep me and my home clean without creepy goops, sprays, lotions, potions that all came in wasteful packaging anyhow. My hair took a few weeks to adjust. My skin seemed to never care. My mom swore she suddenly could smell my armpitts (even though I had not put on deoderant for years prior to that time)... but I soldiered on.
And now ten years later...
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Here are the 'cleaners' I use instead of store bought products::::

1. Shampoo/Conditioner ---> Hot water plus Salt (or) Boiled lemon with lavender (or)Straight lemon squeeze (or) Vinegar (rarely unless i do something stupid like put olive oil in my hair to make it beautiful only to discover I can't get it to wash out for 3 weeks!)

2. Deoderant ---> I do like the europeans. Just wipe um' and go. Covering up your special hormonal scent is going to get ya in bed with the wrong kinda guy.

3. Mopping ---> I mop with water mixed with vinegar and baking soda. Alternately if you are not scent sensitive you can use an essential oil mixed in water to mop with, I use cypress.

4. Kitchen/Bathroom ---> A blender helps with this, cause if you blend ginger & lemon it makes an amazing surface cleaner. The ginger will eat through the nasty build up on your stove too! If you don't have a blender, using a lemon or vinegar straight up is good... i use apple cider vinegar cause it's gluten free.

5. Dishes ---> Hot water with fresh squeezed lemon. When something needs a scrub I use salt. If a pot has something caked/burned on the bottom boiling a lemon with water in that pot and letting it soak helps lift the skank.

6. Detergant ---> Baking soda ( and/or apple cider vinegar) works the best on clothes. Lemons are ok, but I don't think the PH is good for the clothes on a regular basis, especially natural fiber clothing.

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Much of the products people use these days are hype. We are led to believe by advertising that if we don't buy these things we will be covered in germs (I haven't caught a cold or flu or any contagious illness in many years), we are led to believe we will "stink" or be a "dirty hippy", or that babies shouldn't be allowed to crawl on our floor... but new studies have shown all our hand sanitizer use, anti bacterial shit, chemical for hair and body, and paranoia of the natural world (dirt & animals) is actually destroying our health. Doctors think that this faux cleanliness is the leading cause for allergies and autoimmune diseases, not to mention epidemic spreading of colds and flues.
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The saying is now "cleanliness is next to sickliness"...
and I believe it.
Read about it Here... here and at web MD here.
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Viva La NO SHAMPOO!

Xoxoxo

DIY: Non Toxic Wood Oil Part 2 (The Floor!)

BEFORE PHOTO:

This is my bathroom floor before putting on the natural wood oil recipe I made - the wood is kiln dried hickory planks that were locally milled and deeply on sale...If ya need the wood oil recipe, click HERE for Part 1 I posted earlier today---> cause this now is Part 2, and all it is about is my extreme excitement and OCD about how I could not stop putting this amazing wood oil mixture on everything in my house! I couldn't stop cause not only did it smell delicious but it also looked beautiful (I mean, don't oily wet lookin' floors always look so good?!)
Armed with a pot of the natural wood oil and a organic cotton rag I was ready to start rubbing it in. During this process I thought possibly one of those sponge mops would be alot quicker, and at least a good buffer for after the oil is put on....

But I did this by hand, totally Mr Miyagi style "wax on wax off danial son!"

In my bathroom I laid it on extra thick and waxy because I didn't want the water from the tub or sink to penetrate the floor - you can see in the pic below the difference between the finished wood and the unfinished dry wood. The oil brings out all the wood's character, grain and color, artistically speaking just that look is worth all the effort.
Once I got finished the bathroom, I was on a roll! I put on some more of the mixture to be heated up (walnut oil, salt, bees wax, apple cider vinegar) and then It WaS ON !!!
I went right out the bathroom 'door' (i haven't got around to putting up my door yet), and proceeded to oil the kitchen floor too.
Then the OCD my mother instilled in me (AKA- don't ever quit in the middle of a project or activity) kept me going right out into my living room...
And going......... (like, who could stop when it's looking that good and the fear of it drying totally uneven kinda haunts your inner wanna be perfectionist!)
Eventually I made it across the entire house and let myself off the hook, to do my bedroom tomorrow instead. The hardest part of this project was moving stuff on the floor outta the way and the thought of moving the sofa I sleep on made me rather go cook dinna' instead.

The oiling part, though = majorly fun to watch, a little like magic. ;)
XoxoxoX

DIY: Natural & Non Toxic Wood Oil

BEFORE :

Here is my kitchen counter (made of unfinished hickory wood planks) before applying my wood oil recipe...

In order to prevent alot of staining plus possible mold and mildew growth on the unfinished wood, especially during the summer months I decided to 'stain' or oil the wood with a natural recipe - one that was 100% non toxic, that would not out gas, and would be safe for those people who are sensitive to the chemicals in commonly toxic wood finishes.

SUPPLIES :

• Bees Wax
• Walnut Oil
• S alt
• Apple Cider Vinegar
  

• Knife
• Stirring Spoon
• Pot to cook it in
• Rag, sponge or some type of tool to rub the oil into the surface

The first thing I had to do was cut a portion of the bees wax off, which luckily my friend Gabi gave me the awesome tip to heat up the knife first then cut into it "like buttah"...
Mine was super thick so, I had to re-heat it a few times until about 1/4 of the pound of wax broke and I had the perfect piece to add to my recipe.

NOTE: I recommend using bees wax and not a white food grade wax because of the coloring when it dries, and general coloring added to the recipe. Bees wax is also easier to work with and has a good smell!
ADD TO THE POT:

2-3 cups Walnut Oil, 1/2 cup Salt, chunk of Bees Wax, teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar... And bring to a boil till the wax is fully melted into the mixture and stir occasionally.

This is totally experimental amounts - if you add alot of wax the mixture will become so wax-y that it will be too thick a coating on the wood... if anyone has 'buffing tips' for a more wax heavy mixture please share!

After the wax is melted, rub it into the wood while warm...
Rub the wax in a buffing fashion, and be sure to not drip too much or lay it on thicker in various places... when using a mixture with wax you do have to be conscience of layering it evenly.
Looks awesome and smells edible.... but it could use a little extra buffing ---> so i am looking for suggestions of what would be a good material or tool to use for buffing this kitchen counter?
In the meantime, I LOVE it!!! I love it so much I can't stop putting that stuff on everything wood around the house. :) The bathroom floor is next!!!

Kiss This HOuse BEAutiFUL!
Xoxoxo