There’s an easy way to avoid the toxic chemicals that lurk in commercial cleaning products—make your own! I’ve been doing it the DIY way for quite some time, making my own laundry and dishwasher soap, among other products for around the house. For much of your sanitizing and cleaning needs, the switch can be as effortless as pouring vinegar and hydrogen peroxide into spray bottles.
But now that I have the household cleaning stuff under my belt, I want to start incorporating more homemade self-care items such as soap and candles as well. Up until now, my solution has been to use the products recommended in Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is! Guide to Healthy Food Shopping by Stephanie Selene Anderson. She points to companies like Aubrey Organics, whose product line is made with pure, organic ingredients like aloe vera and witch hazel, as a good choice for your family. While there’s nothing like the convenience of grabbing a bottle of herbal body soap at the health food store, I think I’d also enjoy the satisfaction of making my own. The thing is, the methods and recipes I’ve come across can be kind of a hassle, and require too many odd ingredients. Lye for homemade soap? Beeswax for candles? I want to know what ingredients are truly the safest for my family—and also keep things as simple as possible.
What are your favorite self-care items that can be easily made from scratch?
Photo from iStock/Sarsmis
Paula Widish, author of Trophia: Simple Steps to Everyday Self-Health, is a freelance writer and self-healther. She loves nothing more than sharing tidbits of information she discovers with others. (Actually, she loves her family more than that—and probably bacon too.) Paula has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Public Relations and is a Certified Professional Life Coach through International Coach Academy.
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