Green Living
Liquid Goat Milk Soap
When you make goat milk soap, the bars have to go through a process of saponification. They have to cure for 5-6 weeks before use. I have been making soap at home and trying a few different combinations of essential oils. Therefore I have several curing batches of soap at home. I read... »
Honeybees
Just the other day, I watched a documentary called, "The Last Beekeeper." I had heard about the declining population of honeybees, but did not know the reason. It seems that neither do scientists. They are calling the sudden and unexplained death of hives "Colony Collapse Disorder"... »
Harmful Ingredients in our Soaps
The other day a good friend of mine and I were talking. She revealed to me that she had made laundry detergent from the recipe on my site. She also was concerned by the minimal amount of suds in the washing machine and thought that perhaps she was not using enough soap. We discussed several different possibilities to the lack... »
Our Camping Trip
One of the great things about living in the country is that you can throw together camping trips easily. You do not have to make reservations. There is always availability, and it is free. My father owns a ranch nearby and we can use the property as if we owned it ourselves. As... »
The Cleaning Power of Vinegar
I am still amazed at the cleaning power of vinegar and water. Since one of my sons is allergic to chemicals in cleaning products and another son received a third degree burn from a household cleaner, I have been even more diligent than ever at using all-natural cleaning products. We are in the process of... »
Making Laundry Detergent
I have already posted most of my cleaning recipes in an article creatively named, "Cleaning Product Recipes." As I was preparing to make another batch of laundry detergent, I thought I would photograph the process for those who were still unsure if it was easy enough to do by themselves. It took us less than thirty minutes to have a... »
No Shampoo? No Worries
In my search to find household products without formaldehyde in them, I ran across several websites that discouraged the use of shampoo. One only wanted people to use water to clean their hair. I have to say that I was not quite comfortable trying this water-only method. Several used baking soda and vinegar in many different ways. Regardless of the... »
Anything Bugging You?
As much as I love the springtime with the revival of nature, pests are also awakening and coming to life. Three main pests really bother me: mosquitos, june bugs, and ants. When Hurricane Ike blazed through our area late last summer, we were inundated with mosquitos. Electric service was out in most areas for days if not much longer. Residents in... »
Making Goat Milk Soap
My mom came for a visit from Hawaii so I talked her into helping me in my first attempt to make soap. I had many different recipes. Unfortunately, I could not find one that I really liked so I had to be a little creative. My recipe is a combination of several different recipes. The scariest part was the chemical... »
Retraction on “More Cleaning Recipes”
I have removed the article, "More Cleaning Recipes." It was an article talking about cleaning with hydrogen peroxide and vinegar based on the cleaning advice in another article by Dr. Judy Stouffer, "Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide as Disinfectants." Since yesterday's post, it has come to my attention that combining these two ingredients causes a chemical reaction called peracetic acid, which can... »
Worm Composting Interview, Part Two
The following interview is the second and final part of an interview I conducted with Gary Turner, an experienced worm composter. If you missed part one, I highly recommend beginning with it. This is the continuation of our conversation. We were just getting into the environmental aspects of vermicomposting. In addition to being more environmentally-responsible,... »
Worm Composting Interview, Part One
Interview with Gary Turner Gary Turner and his wife, Kathy, live in Anderson, Texas. They manage their many responsibilities including taking care of their place. The Turners raise rabbits, ducks, and big, beautiful vegetables in an organic garden. I cannot say enough good things about this family. They work tirelessly to spread God’s word in Vacation... »
Don’t Knock It Before You Try It
Many years ago my dear friend called me on the telephone. She was so excited because her husband had installed a clothesline in her backyard. My initial reaction was, “Wow, she is easy to please!” When she encouraged me to also use a clothesline, I could not possibly fathom taking the time to hang out my... »
Waiting for the Earth to Move
A good friend dropped off a cooler of red wiggler worms in almost completely composted dirt. Our friend, Gary Turner, is who I consider an expert in the field of vermicomposting. I had called him to ask for some more worms. We are going to start a compost bin outdoors. Unfortunately the one we... »
Cleaning Product Recipes
As promised, today I am going to post some of my cleaning recipes. For the most part, they are very simple and involve basic ingredients. I’m sure you can find many variations on the internet, but these are what I use. Dishwasher detergent: Combine equal parts of Arm&Hammer Washing Soda and Borax. I keep... »
