Category: Natural Homemaking (Page 5 of 15)

Our Clothespin Holder

August 27, 2012 / Lindsey / 3 Comments

Just wanted to share with you our clothespin holder that I’m really liking. We thought about buying or making a clothespin bag that would ride along the clothesline, but I didn’t want a metal hanger (metal dragging along metal is irritating), and I also didn’t want something deep that I’d have to repeatedly dig my hand into.

This shallow basket attached to the line with a simple length of yarn tied into a bow is just right. It rides quietly and smoothly along the line, and is easy to remove in the event of rain.

*****

Make a Fruit Fly Trap!

August 11, 2012 / Lindsey / 2 Comments

Is your kitchen full of fruit flies?

Try this handy little trap:

1. ) Roll a piece of paper into a cone shape, and secure with tape. The opening should only be large enough for a fruit fly to fit through.

2.) Place a piece of fruit into a tall jar.

3.) Set the paper cone into the jar. Tape the paper to the jar so the flies can’t escape around the edges.

4.) The flies will fly in, but can’t get back out. Release them outside, or dream up your own creative way of getting rid of them.

*****

The Magical Bee Sting Cure

July 16, 2012 / Lindsey / 4 Comments

***

Lavender essential oil!

It’s a shame this isn’t more common knowledge. Maybe you already know about it but if not, I want to tell you that lavender essential oil is the most magical treatment for a bee sting (or wasp, etc.). I’ve been treating stings this way for many years and it’s truly incredible. The pain disappears! As do the redness and swelling. Very soon your sting is a distant memory. Every single time I use this remedy I am completely blown away by its efficacy.

Just apply some lavender essential oil, neat (undiluted), to the bee sting. Lavender oil is gentle enough to be used neat for most folks, unlike some other essential oils.

Lavender oil is a great thing to keep in your first aid kit, if only for this reason alone.

***

Do you know of other magical uses for lavender oil? Do share!

***

*****

Low-tech, No-cost, DIY Herb & Food Dehydrator

May 4, 2012 / Lindsey / 3 Comments

DIY herb dehydrator, (c) The Herbangardener

Dehydrated chives

I’m all about low-tech, and this dehydrator is as low-tech as it gets.

The idea for it has been knocking ’round the back of my mind for quite a while now, and finally I just did it. It’s simple and slick. I dehydrated some garden chives yesterday, and they came out great. This would also be great for mushrooms and any other food, really.

Materials:

Cardboard box (shallow with a wide base is nice)

Clean tea towel

Lightweight tablecloth or large scrap of lightweight fabric

A warm day, or an open window with a breeze

Procedure:

1. Lay your tea towel in the bottom of the box.

2. Spread your herbs or food out on the tea towel.

3. Wrap your tablecloth around the top of the box, tucking the ends underneath so it stays secure.

4. Place the box in the sun, or in an open window. The cloth provides shade for the drying items and protection from flies, while also allowing air to flow.

***

*****

Thrift Store Things

April 5, 2012 / Lindsey / 4 Comments

I do love thrift stores. I love donating old stuff to them, and finding new clothing and treasures to bring home. Here are some recent things that have found a new home at our place:

***

– A funny little majolica cream pitcher, and a porcelain Easter egg jar which happens to be ‘born’ the same year I was. Not sure why I bought the pitcher, really, cause I don’t need it, but then again I didn’t need the egg either. I liked them though, and I guess that’s reason enough!

***

– A cast iron muffin pan for $3! I can’t wait to use this… to lift out a steaming muffin, with crispy crust all around!

***

– And this one’s really cool. It’s probably an equestrian reflector thingy, but I’ve been wearing it while riding my bike in an ongoing and slightly obsessive quest to maximize my visibility to drivers. I say ‘probably’ because the tag is in Norwegian. And how a Norwegian equestrian reflector would have made its way to the racks of a junky Colorado thrift store is a story I’d dearly love to hear.