A few years ago Laura and I made bunches of handmade soap and cleaning supplies. As I used them up, I neglected to replace them and now I am faced with the choice of expensive, green and yummy soaps and cleaning supplies or budget-friendly, stinky and not-green products. I decided to refresh my cleaning supplies the other day and whipped up a batch of some all-purpose spray. I altered the quantities so it would fill up my 24 oz bottle and I can't believe I waited so long to make this again! It smells great, works well and is delightful to use. I know probably everyone has a favorite cleaning spray recipe, but in case you don't I've shared the one I use below. 

Cleaning Spray

3 cups just-boiled water

1/3 cup borax (in the laundry aisle at the grocery store)

1/4 cup white vinegar

20 drops lavender essential oil

Stir borax into water and mix well to dissolve borax. Add vinegar and cool 1 hour. Add essential oil. Pour into spray bottle and get cleaning. 

I have a similar problem with lotions and such. I want to use lovely eco-conscious and nourishing lotions but I rarely go shopping and they are so expensive. I usually end up buying some compromise product that I am not thrilled with and wrinkle my nose every morning when I apply it. I bought some shea butter a few months ago and this weekend I had done some working in the soil (planting some optimistic pea seeds) and my hands were so, so dry. I was out of hand lotion but I remembered the shea butter and just rubbed that into my hands. It really smoothed them. I googled a simple body butter recipe and tried it. I just used the essential oils I had on hand. It's not 100% perfect, but I really like it as a hand lotion. I even had enough to share with a couple friends.  

Body butter

1 1/3 cup shea butter

1/2 cup olive oil

8 drops lavender essential oil

2 drops ylang ylang oil

Melt shea butter over low heat. Stir in olive oil. Cool 1 hour. Add essential oils. As mixture cools (this will take several hours), beat with a whisk occasionally. It will take on a whipped butter consistency. Spoon into containers. 

Here's to doing it yourself! What do you make for your family- any good tips or recipes?