The Homemade Revolution

I was chatting to my mum yesterday, about how many things we're now making from scratch, at home. And I'm not just talking about meals, but they are definitely very homemade from scratch. There's so many other things we've branched out to this year. It's something we've been thinking about, talking about, planning on doing, for ages. Wanting a different way of life, a simpler way, a way that doesn't involve constantly buying 'stuff' and using harsh chemicals. Being more self reliant. I really feel that this year marks a turning point for us, in actually making the changes we need to make for this way of life that we seek. I'm so enjoying this journey too, and I'm excited about making even more things from home. This is what we've been up to so far.

Homemade dog food. A big one! We have two little dogs, who are fussy little eaters. We used to buy them tins of food at the supermarket, which they would sometimes eat and sometimes turn their noses up at. I've always had my doubts about what actually goes into those dog food tins. Plus they add up in dollar terms. Earlier this year I stumbled across a recipe for home-made dog food on Rhonda's blog Down to Earth [see here]. So we tried it, and what do you know - success. We make up a large batch of food, freeze it in portions [we have dedicated dog-food containers now] and use it as we need. Our little dogs have a nice layer of plumpness [is that a word?] on them which I'm happy about over winter. And Mr Ralph has stopped his incessant nibbling at his back [itchy skin] - it just stopped happening. It saves us a huge amount of money, plus the unnecessary use of aluminium tins in preprepared food. We're very happy with how it's working out. 

Homemade soap. I blogged about it here. The only thing I can say about this one is, the end result is well worth the hour or so in the kitchen playing mad scientist to make it. I love using it on my skin. It feels luxurious, it isn't drying, it's creamy and soft and one batch makes a heap of soap. Plus I can flex my creativity in future batches with different scents and added ingredients, like herbs, essential oils, natural colourings and adding exfoliating ingredients. Skincare is a huge area where we are exposed to so many chemicals without really thinking about it [well I never really thought about it anyway] but once you start to pay attention, well, it's scary. Cue the next thing.

 Soap in a box [we actually have rubber duckies in the house these days].

Homemade face wash. This is a new one for me that I'm just playing around with, but I'm currently trying a blend of olive oil and castor oil, which I found here. Basically, you combine the oils [the ratio depends on the type of skin you have], apply it to try skin, then place a hot wash cloth over your face for a minute and let it steam clean, before wiping off the oils. This is pure bliss. It feels lovely, leaves my skin soft and hydrated [so no need for added moisturiser, win] and gives me an extra little bit of 'me' time. Because being a new mum, I have learned that true 'me' time only happens in the bathroom, behind a closed door when daddy-baby time is also happening. So an extra minute to wash my face is pretty awesome. I take that minute to do some meditative breathing. Clean skin and a calm mama is all good.

Homemade lip balm. Using the recipe straight out of the book Down to Earth, which for me ends up being a bit too sesame flavoured from the oil. But it feels lovely on my lips, and does the job perfectly. One batch made up a heap of lip balms [and by a heap I mean 9 little jars] so I'm set for a while. But again I'm thinking about different options to try with future batches - scents and colours and oils. How nice is it to be able to decide, hmm, I think I want vanilla, or perhaps rose scented. And then just go and make it. Self reliance is awesome.

A lot of lip balm to keep me going.

Homemade nappy balm. I will blog this one soon. I've made a few batches now and I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out. I hated using chemical-laden products on my little baby's bum. We were given different nappy rash creams when he was born, from various places, and bought a few panic creams when the first sign of nappy rash appeared. We tried them all. One was ok, most were icky and one was downright horrible. I couldn't deal with the smell. And now, our baby's bottom is beautifully cared for with soft oils and beeswax and smells like tea tree and lavender. And funnily enough, not much nappy rash to be seen [not that we have had much anyway, obsessive-compulsive nappy changers that we are].

That's a little summary of the changes we've made that are really starting to 'bed in' and feel normal for us. There's plenty more to come over the next few months. Next up on the agenda is homemade laundry soap/powder. I was holding off doing this until I had my own homemade soap to add to the mix, which is now ready to go. I'm excited to try making it. I still haven't made my own facial scrub, but there are some great recipes out there [I'm planning to try this one first]. I'd like to make my own skin moisturiser, which I'm sure won't be too hard. And for the husband, I'm keen to have a try at homemade shaving cream. Oh and then there's the homemade dishcloths [I've made one so far], homemade face washers [looking forward to making some and using them with the homemade facial cleanser] and making some more homemade baby wipes [I've made a bunch so far, but with the introduction of solids, we need backups, believe me]. Honestly the list is endless, my head is almost exploding with how many things I want to make rather than buy, and I haven't even touched on the food side of things, or home cleaning products, or what I could whip up on that poor old sewing machine that doesn't get much use.

More to blog about on other days. How about you, are you feeling the need to make things at home rather than buy them? What are you making? Do you have any good recipes to share? I'd love to hear them!