Deodorising agent

Ah yes, the challenge of finding a recipe which actually works, that gives you the nice fresh underarm feeling without staining or leaving bits behind.

Well, here it is.

And the results, nice feeling on the old armpits, prolonged smell of tea tree, even works on those hot sticky days where it feels like you are wrapped in glad wrap.

Give it a go,

Cheers.

Week one report

One week down... 

1. one visit to the supermarket, 5 items bought.
2. much good service from our new favourite places to shop: Bin Inn, Toad hall, Arcadia Organics.
3. garden full of much to eat, seeds planted for next crops.
4. made our own dishwashing liquid, flowing soap and toothpaste.

Much achieved in one week when looking back.

Next step is to make deodorant, find maple syrup locally and continue to load the garden for our benefit.

Box of fluffies (ducks and chicks)

Struan

Dishwashing liquid

So, the time has come to wash the dishes (ah, if only there was a time when we didn't need to!).

Again searching undertaken, and a recipe found here. The page also is a conglomerate of eco kitchen DIY recipes all mashed together, so good luck making sense of it all.

The outcome is a lovely gloopy mixture as pictured above. Stick your hand in and travel back to the days of mud pies for lunch.

Washing the dishes is a joy with this mixture! There is no bubbles or foam (no sls) but a magnificent smell and clean dishes to boot.

Righto,

Struan

Toothpaste

Toothpaste, a complicated mix of foaming ingredients and flavours. Well, as we discovered, maybe not.

After searching madly for a toothpaste recipe, we stumbled upon this one, which seemed simple enough, and that it might actually work.

After visiting locally owned shops (with customer service included; smiles, chocolates for the kids, etc...), we headed home to make a batch.

With the kids in tow, I set about mixing the ingredients, making sure the kids helped to measure and sniff the concoction. The peppermint was a tad strong for little miss M.

The real test came at the dreaded bedtime. Step 1: get it on the toothbrush... check. Step 2: in the mouth... check. Step 3: brush teeth... check. Step 4: smile and say "that was yummy Papa, can you keep making that forever!" Well not quite check, but close enough. 

Enjoy,

Cheers...

Struan 

Autobiography or me, myself and I

Yeah, so this is my first blog in bloggerville, and I have a self imposed mission to rid our family of the weekly trip to our local supermarket.

Now this particular supermarket is not so bad as far as supermarkets go (organics. nice lighting, local produce etc...), but I have been thinking about how we can take back the control over what we buy, who from, and whether we can do it ourselves. All in all, wanting to turn from consumer into producer, while encouraging local businesses, and hopefully learning new skills along the way.

First of all some rules (again, self imposed and self regulated):

-If possible, find a recipe to make the thing from the latest shopping receipt.

-If can't be made, then either sourced from a local producer, or bought from a locally owned shop, or sourced online.

So, there it is in black and white. I feel a slight tingle in the old finger tips to what lays ahead, but yeah/nah, will keep updates and recipes coming in.

Cheers!