Adventures in Soap Making

It took me well over a year to finally take the plunge and start making soaps. I knew I wanted to, I watched countless tutorials, mesmerized by the swirling techniques of expert soapers, and gradually bit by bit I began to amass supplies.  That took a while since living homestead style means I don't generate much in the way of cash income, and what I do make typically goes right back into the farm as animal feed.  But I do make profits here and there, and eventually I had enough to get started. 
My first few soaps were basically just following published recipes, but that seemed like a solid place to start.

Homesteading Bathroom Makeover

Part of homesteading to me is learning to be more self sufficient and environmentally conscious. Many times these things go hand in hand with saving both money and health.  Toiletries are a huge expense when you are paying for each commercial item- $4 for toothpaste, $7 for body wash, $12 for shampoo and conditioner, for detangler, for face soap, for deodorant, for lotion, for lip balm, for shaving cream, the list goes on... 
It seems like paying for the convenience of a pre-packaged item is costly in multiple ways.  Not only do all those items add up, most of the commercial products contain ingredients that are actually not good for you or the water table.  When I started to learn about how to make my own personal care products, I quickly began to realize that buying a special product for each aspect of grooming is completely unnecessary.
As I started learning recipes for all natural toothpaste and deodorant, I was struck by how easy they are to make *and* by the fact that so many of these items have the same common ingredients.  Now instead of paying for each product, I'm paying for a core of materials that have many uses each.  It feels much better to buy a big tub of coconut oil knowing that basic ingredient can be used for a dozen applications for the same price as a single use commercial pre-packaged product.
Versatility!  That is part of homesteading too.

Things on my list for the Homesteader's Bathroom Makeover:

• toothpaste
• deodorant
• body soap
• face soap
• hair care
• shaving
• body lotion
• perfumes
• spray cleaner

and very likely more.  Some of these you can accomplish easily with as few as 2 ingredients.  Some are more complicated and take time like making soap.  I've already been making about half the things on this list- sorry I've been absent from the blog!  But all my busy experimenting is going to benefit you, dear reader.  I will be going down the bathroom makeover list with individual posts to share what I tried, what worked or didn't, and recipes.  Please leave me a comment if there are any specific items you'd like a natural homestead makeover version of, and stay tuned for more.

The Beauty of Diverse Farming: Making Weeds Work for You

It's a beautiful, overcast day perfect for spending quiet time in the garden.  And that's exactly where I've been.  As I worked, I realized how much easier I have it than conventional farmers.  I get the best of both worlds, and then some.  As I go through the garden beds and pull up weeds, I don't see them as a nuisance.  You see most "weeds" are edible.  Dandelions are a powerhouse of nutrition for example, but lesser known weeds are edible too.  I pull grasses, lady's thumb is coming up all over the place right now, and there's clovers, violet leaves, broadleaf plantain, yellow dock, the list goes on.  Of course what grows wild in your yard will vary, but once you start learning to identify what's around you- you may be surprised how much is edible.
So as I tend my garden beds, removing the plants I'd rather not have crowding out my strawberries and vegetables, I gather them into big bouquets and present them to my rabbits. It's an everybody wins situation.
I save money by not buying herbicides.
I save money on rabbit food as well since their diet is supplemented with fresh goodness and I can skip hay.
My garden benefits from getting to stay all natural, and some weeds are great decoys to insect pests.
My rabbits benefit from extra nutrition that's seasonal and fresh.
But isn't that a lot of extra work? You might wonder.  Nope. It's not at all.  Any garden will need tending. The time it takes to gently pull up some weeds can't be any more work than it takes to go through the same amount of space spraying something.  Plus even if you do spray, you will likely have some things to pull anyway.  Weeds are tenacious.  The time and effort it takes to bring what I have in my hands already to the rabbits isn't any more than carrying hay to all of them.  Plus I get a kick seeing how happy my rabbits are with the fresh variety.
So the view from here is that I'm saving money and coming out ahead just by letting nature do what it does and reaping the rewards.  Sometimes some of the weeds make it onto my plate too ;) but that's another post.

 Some things that grow along the borders of the driveway or yard, I just let grow!  Then I have beautiful wild greens like this burdock to pick leaves from and continue having free food.