Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day, everyone. This holiday doesn't stand out a ton for me, as i try to live sustainably and sensitive to the planet's finite resources every day - but it's a good opportunity to educate those who aren't as active in conservation or aware of the simple steps everyone can take to make this planet we all share a better place.

My childhood front yard.

I grew up in rural southern Oregon, where "environmentalist" was a dirty word and i was treated with some disdain by students and teachers alike. My passion for the environment and its inhabitants was seen as a threat to their livelihoods. The bumper sticker "save a logger, eat an owl" (in reference to the endangered Spotted Owl) was not uncommon and many an argument was ended with me sniffling in frustration at the hard hardheadedness of my fellow Merrillites. Since then, i have become very hesitant to debate about my passions. I have a hard time verbalizing my thoughts quickly and concisely and thus avoid heated conversations. I try to teach by example, though and i hope that this blog can touch a few lives and encourage more people to take the little steps, as well as some big ones to live in a manner that is sustainable.

Our little planet has finite resources and is habitat to many, not just us human animals. Please respect all life. Please allow all life to have the same access to essential resources. Please use only what you need. Please leave the spaces you pass through cleaner and more full of life than when you first entered them. Please observe Earth Day every day, because despite my love of Star Trek: this is the only planet we have and when we use it up it's not just 'the other guys' who will be out of a home. We're all in this together, across country lines, religious boundaries, continents, and across all species from algea to elephant seals. We need each other, we all fill roles in our niches, and it's important to fill those rolls positively and allow others to do the same.

Fungi in Davy Crockett National Forest

Will you be taking any extra steps towards environmental nurturing on this Earth Day?

TUTORIAL: How to Make Natural Lotion at Home

**Despite the popularity of this post, i have decided to remove it. You can find my basic recipe below, but please visit my new blog, Pocket Pause for an updated tutorial or refer to Rosemary Gladstar's recipes, which can also be found adapted at BrightHub.com. **

Don't feel like making it yourself? Support your friendly blogger and benefit from my years of experience in lotion and soap making: Shop GoNudeSoap.com to buy our Everywhere Cream!

How to make all natural body and hand cream at home:

Equipment and ingredients needed:

• Blender
• Spatula
• Thermometer (meat)
• Double boiler or pot with a measuring pyrex or bowl suspended in the water
• Clean jars
• Coconut oil (can also use jojoba or sweet almond)
• Olive oil
• Beeswax (100% pure)
• Distilled or purified water
• Borax
• Essential oils
• Optional aloe vera gel and vitamin E

I make my lotion with half olive and half coconut oil. This results in a thick and intensely moisturizing lotion. Coconut oil is only solid until 76 degrees, so it will become a softer lotion in warmer temps, and melts into skin really nicely. The beeswax acts as an emulsifier and also protects skin from the elements. The borax helps the water to emulsify with the oils. Oil and water do not like to become one, so the trick in making lotion is to get the oils and the water to similar temps, between 90 and 115 seems ideal, and to pour the water directly in the center of the blending oil in a thin and constant stream, similar to making mayonnaise.  Do some research and choose oils that you like.  Olive oil is heavy and smells olive oily, but i like that. Almond oil is an excellent choice and very good for massage because it doesn't absorb into the skin as rapidly. You can also mix in some hemp seed or shea butter to your mix. In my next batch i plan on steeping some Calendula petals and other soothing herbs into the water for an even more healing lotion. My recipe is as follows:

• 1 ounce beeswax, shredded or pastilles
• 4 ounces olive oil (or sunflower oil)- (sub some almond, hemp, shea, or jojoba into this portion)
• 4 ounces coconut oil
• 3/4 to 1 cup water with 1/4 tsp borax mixed in

Homemade Toothpaste - Tooth Powder

Another staple around the house that i really want to switch to homemade and natural is toothpaste. I'm tired of tossing out toothpaste tubes to the trash. I don't like laureth sulfate on my scalp, so why would i want it foaming in my mouth? And in my quest for self sustainability, it's just best to start with the little things, isn't it? I think it is.

I read a recipe that Susy at Chiot's Run posted a while back on making her own toothpaste. I'd planned on trying it out myself until i recently read some comments to her post about the glycerine used in the paste being not so great for teeth. She replied and mentioned she had actually switched to using tooth powder. Well, gosh: that's even easier! The recipe is as simple as 3 parts baking soda, 1 part sea salt (preferably a type with lots of minerals in tact) and some optional cinnamon.

I decided to give it a shot and added some clove oil - excellent for gum health, and a bit of peppermint, cuz it tastes good. I omitted the cinnamon and added tea tree for disinfecting. You could add other essential oils: myrrh is healing and disinfecting and can be added in powder or essential oil form, you can even add peroxide to your brush for a whitening paste.

To use, simply sprinkle some powder on your toothbrush or in your hand, moisten the bristles and blend to make a paste: scrub away! My first batch is with some generic sea salt i use for cooking. My next trip to the store will include a purchase of some himalayan or other mineral rich salt in small quantities to use specifically for tooth brushing.

Wow! My teeth feel awesome after using this! Clean and fresh like i just came home from the dentist, and with out any flouride down my belly. To be honest, i expected gag-inducing salt taste, but it was actually nicely balanced with the essential oils. You can also add Stevia to the mix to sweeten it up, but i like this okay. And i'm sure it'll be better when i have some salt other than course grind! I even noticed my mouth feeling much less funky upon waking in the morning. I'm also betting my bathroom sink is going to stay much cleaner: instead of globs of toothpaste building up and not being cleaned by my lazy self turning the porcelain into funk-factory, we're spitting out baking soda, a natural cleaner!
I'm really loving how pretty my bathroom is getting to be, full of homemade and classy looking products and receptacles instead of coiled up toothpaste tubes and advertising labels all over the place.

Note: The above process isn't what we ended up taking on as our routine: instead of adding water to the dish of powder, we just put the powder in the dish, wet our brushes, and tap them into the powder. Works great! Since it's just the two of us, i scoop out enough for us both and whomever brushes last rinses out the dish. Easy.

Is your bathroom a place of privacy and mess, or do you keep it organized, tidy, and attractive?
This post can also be found at Simple Lives Thursday.