DIY all natural body products - Tooth Paste

When I first stumbled over a recipe for homemade tooth paste I was very excited to try it, but I just wasn't ready to deny myself the bubbles of regular tooth paste, so I did not even finish the first batch. But, after having replaced body lotion, body scrub, facial cleanser and deodorant, it felt like the obvious next step to make my own.

So, with determination I concocted anoter batch and this time I did not think it tasted so bad after all. I am still using regular tooth paste in the morning, but in the evenings it's only been my homemade tooth paste for a few months. Half the waste is better than all the waste, right?

And now I present to you the foolishly easy recipe that I adapted from Trash is for Tossers:

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda
25-30 drops Organic food grade peppermint essential oil

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients. (Foolishly easy, right?)

Xoxo, have a great week!

PS: I am no physician or chemist, so I can not guarantee these recipes to work or be absolutely safe. As always, please be very careful with homemade products and test them in a small area first.

Update September 3rd, 2015: I have now switched to using this tooth paste mornings and evenings and after 2 or 3 days of adapting my mouth and teeth feel great!

DIY all natural body products - Body Butter

You all know how I am trying to live a greener, more sustainable life - and for most part still fail to do so. However, there are a few parts of my life where I already managed to either recycle, reuse or cut out substances that are harming the environment. --> See my other posts on 20 ways.

I have always been a little sensitive when it comes to my skin, for example I couldn't stand the feeling of 100% wool, or very often felt itchy after taking a shower. And once I started reading about all the harmful ingredients found in most body butters, body lotions, shower gels and hair products, I decided to try and make my own.

When starting out, I was a little worried if I would like the feeling on my skin, if it would work as good as the commercial stuff, if it would spoil real quick because of the missing preservatives.

I was thrilled after I first tried making my own body butter. I absolutely loved the fluffy, creamy feeling on my skin, it worked even better than the commercial products I had used before (it was absorbed by my skin just as normal body lotion and the skin was soooooo soft) and it doesn't spoil for about 2-3 months.
Since then I have made quite a few batches of body butter with alternating ingredients, but always with the following recipe in mind, which I have adapted from One Good Thing by Jillee:

Ingredients:
1 cup shea butter/cocoa butter
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup olive oil (or almond oil, jojoba oil or any healthy, organic oil)
30-40 drops of essential oil

Instructions:
1. Melt the shea butter and coconut oil and let cool for about 20 minutes.
2. Stir in olive oil and essential oil.
3. Let sit until the mixture starts to solidify.
4. Whip until you get a butter like consistency (duration will vary depending on how solid the mixture already was)

There will be more posts with recipes and instructions for a body scrub, body wash, deodorant and
tooth paste which all work great, so be sure to check back.

Xoxo, have a great week!

PS: PS: I am no physician or chemist, so I can not guarantee these recipes to work or be absolutely safe. As always, please be very careful with homemade products and test them in a small area first.

20 ways... to reuse every day plastic garbage

I've now been in the US for about a month and I am shocked over and over again about how much of plastic garbage one "has to produce" every day. I am using "has to" because there is no way one could avoid all the plastic that is used. You "have to" buy most of the food in plastic bags or packaging, you "have to" buy drinking water in plastic containers, you "have to" eat your food with plastic cutlery because there is no other available. Of course some of this could be sidestepped but only with a huge effort and most people (me included) would never think of for example bringing their own cutlery to a restaurant or bring their own containers for take-out food.

Anyhow, there are many, many ways to at least reuse the unavoidable plastic containers/bags/packaging a few times before throwing them out.

A few of my ideas I have already incorporated in our daily life, such as:

reusing plastic bags as waste bin liner, to keep bread fresh, as batting for packages, to store food in the fridge

reusing vegetable/fruit packaging as a piggy bank (you could even get a little crafty and decorate it)

reusing food containers to store other food/odds and ends in

reusing water bottles as planters for herbs and other small plants

reusing take-out containers as planters

Xoxo, have a great week!

UNICEF Tap Project

source

I have recently read an article on Treehugger about the UNICEF Tap Project. Personally, I am all for helping people - even more so if it is for free.

The Tap Project gives you a chance to donate water to people who do not have access to clean drinking water. To donate enough water for one day all you have to do is leave your phone alone for 15 minutes. You are not allowed to move or use your phone during that time. I know, it does sound like a long time, but how often are we all caught up in tasks we know will take more than 15 minutes.

It's really easy, you don't even have to sign up or download anything. All you have to do is visit this websitehttp://tap.unicefusa.org/ on your phone and tap continue. Thanks to everyone who is helping to make the world a better, more live- and loveable planet. And think about all the great karma you will be generating! :)

Xoxo, have a great week!