Homemade Almond Milk

Step 1:  Measure out 1 cup of almonds

Step 2:  Cover almonds with filtered water and soak for 48 hours in the fridge

Step 3:  After soaking for 48, drain & discard the water, rinse the almonds

After rinsing

Step 4:  Add almonds & 4 cups of filtered water to the blender

Step 5:  Blend on high for 2 minutes

Step 6:  Strain - I put a towel inside the mesh sieve for a fine strain

Step 7:  Squishing all the milk out of the meal

After its drained, I put all of the almond meal into the towel, bring the edges up to create a pouch,

twist the towel to create a tight pouch and squeeze, twisting the towel.  This will get the rest of

the almond milk out of the almond meal.

Step 8:  Pour into a glass jar (I used a 1 qt mason jar), store in the fridge for 4-7 days.  If it starts to smell

funny, discard.

Almond meal - I have plans for this ... stay tuned!

Making Laundry Soap

The ingredients: Borax, Soda Ash (Washing Soda), ZOTE soap
Borax is boron, oxygen & salt and is mined in California.
Soda Ash or Washing Soda (Sodium carbonate) balances water pH and total alkalinity as to much acid can cause things like corrosion of pipes and eye, nose, and skin irritation. Its basically a water softener. Called washing soda, soda crystals, or sal soda in the detergent section of stores, it effectively removes oil, grease, and alcohol stains. NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE SAME THING AS BAKING SODA!
I use ZOTE soap because it isn't a petroleum product. Its made from Coconut oil, tallow, Citronella essential oil (AWESOME for repelling bugs aka ticks & chiggers!)

Equipment: Bucket w/ lid (I used an empty Aloe Butter bucket that I had on hand from making body butters), cheese grater, wooden spoon, 1 cup measuring cup.
Optional equipment: Magic Bullet, medium size mixing bowl.

Grate the ZOTE bar into the bucket.

The whole bar grated.

Measure out 1 dry cup of Soda Ash & 1 dry cup of Borax
I run it through the Magic Bullet to break up any chunks.

Added the Soda Ash to the grated ZOTE.

Added the Borax to the grated ZOTE.
Borax is a really fine powder, try not to breathe in the dust as you mix it in.

Mixing the ingredients.

I then run the mix through the Magic Bullet (about 20-30 seconds), 3 cups at a time.

All ingredients thoroughly mixed into a powder.

The finished laundry soap! Dump back into the bucket and snap on the lid.
I keep a 1 Tablespoon scoop in the bucket. I use 2 Tablespoons for each load. On jeans, I use up to 4, depending on the level of dirty.
I use about 3/4 cup of white vinegar as fabric softener. I dump it directly into the fabric softener opening. When I wash our bed sheets, I add a couple of drops of Lavender essential oil into the vinegar.

Calendula Balm

I've been making this balm for about 6 years and its become our go-to for cuts, scrapes, rashes, etc.

As the weather is getting colder and the heater kicking on more frequently, I've noticed that my knuckles are starting to get chapped, so I pulled out my last container of this balm (my next-to-last container is up in the barn, we'd used it on our jersey cows teats). I thought I'd share the recipe with you and hope you'll find many uses for it like we have!

I use dry herbs/flowers and have a small crock-pot that is specifically for infusing.

1/8 oz (3.55 grams) St. Johns Wort flower (dried & ground)
1/8 oz (3.55 grams) Comfrey leaf (dried & ground)
1 cup Calendula petals (dried)
1/2 cup Lavender buds (dried)

1 cup Castor Oil
2 cups Aloe Butter
1/3 cup Hemp Seed Oil
2 cups (1.5 bars) organic beeswax

Lavender essential oil (optional)

Place the herbs and oils (excluding the essential oil) in the crock-pot and turn to the lowest heat. Place the lid on and let the mixture steep, usually 3-4 hours. (For larger batches I let it steep up to 6 hours). Check frequently, stirring, to prevent overheating. Turn off heat and let steep for up to 1 week, creating a beautiful dark green oil.

Strain herbs from oil. (I use double layered cheese cloth & strain into a large glass measuring cup).

(If you're not going to finish the balm immediately, store the oil in a glass jar with a tight lid, in a cool dark place. Also, you'll need to warm the oil back up prior to mixing with the beeswax)

Melt the beeswax slowly (I chop the bars up and melt in 20-30 second intervals in the microwave).

Mix the warm oils & beeswax together. (You want the oils to be warm so that the beeswax doesn't start to cool off and harden before you mix and pour).

Add 4-6 drops Lavender essential oil. Mix thoroughly.

Pour into small containers. Let cool. Put lids on.

These make great gifts and excellent additions to the diaper bag or first aid kit.

Making your own salt

I came across this blog post on Facebook by Handjobs For The Home. How awesome is that name!! You've got to check this out!