Homemade, not storebought

[Raineyrocks]

I like Calben's soap too.  I think it is mostly made of coconut oil.  They sell Bronner's soap at Hannafords too.

I like to put apricot oil on my face before going to bed, coconut oil works good too and it's much cheaper than most moisturizers.  I read the ingredients in some of the face moisturizers and the biggest ingredient is usually petroleum or mineral oil.

[Kat Kanning]

doesn't make you slide out of your clothes?

Uh-oh...Lloyd's makin mental pictures.

[eques]

I've not washed it in 4 weeks and it's finally normalizing. And it seems that nobody notices either (nor did they ever). Just make sure to keep it rinsed well until it does calm down.

I hve not used shampoo on my (what is left of it) hair in nearly 8 yrs.  Like fourthgeek said...it took about a month for the oils in my hair to settle down. and the rate of "going bald" was slowed down.....

if you are a young man I would advise not to shampoo your hair.   I think the over shampooing of ones hair speeds up the baldness.

back to topic.....

Past couple of yrs I have been trying my hand at canning and I find the jams and jellies I make are better than store bought....at least I know what is in them.

I just got a haircut, so I'm trying this "rinsing only" thing... I figured that this was probably the best way to transition.

[Transition Force]

I'm starting to flirt with self-sufficiency, if i'm lucky by the time I move to NH next year i'll be able to do it on a semi-practical basis. I'm changing over to a simpler, semi-vegetarian diet. If it's practical (and economical) to do so, I'm going to start growing my own spinach. I already grow any mushrooms I eat.

Anyone have a list of edible plants that are fairly easy to grow inside?

[cathleeninnh]

I don't have room or light in our apartment but I have now successfully sprouted. Mung beans, garbanzas and wheat. Great on spinach salads.

Cathleen

[Russell Kanning]

we have an advertiser that sells grow lamps and such

[Raineyrocks]

I went to Shaws and found soap made out of 100% coconut for $1.09 a bar.  I've seen soap like this go for $4 a bar in health food stores.
I've also been putting coconut oil on my feet and the dry skin is going away.

[Insurgent]

A couple of basic chemicals (vinegar, baking soda, borax) either substitute or serve as a better/cheaper product than other store-bought alternatives.  Google them... there are bezillions of uses.

Best alternative to toxic insecticides for ants:  mix borax and confectioner's sugar and put it where ants go.  They eat the sugar and the borax messes up their breathing.  I think they take it back to their nests, too.  It  won't hurt pets or kids, not that I ever had any pets or kids mess with it.

Another great natural alternative for ant control is cinnamon. It smells nice and is non-toxic for people and pets. Ants will not cross a line of cinnamon, so a barrier sprinkled around the edges of the room keeps them out!

[Lloyd Danforth]

I don't have room or light in our apartment but I have now successfully sprouted. Mung beans, garbanzas and wheat. Great on spinach salads.

Cathleen

I have sprouted anything in a while.  You don't want light do you?

[cathleeninnh]

The sprouts do great in the pantry. The lack of daylight is why I can't try anything else.

Cathleen

[Bald Eagle]

Best alternative to toxic insecticides for ants:  mix borax and confectioner's sugar and put it where ants go.  They eat the sugar and the borax messes up their breathing.  I think they take it back to their nests, too.  It  won't hurt pets or kids, not that I ever had any pets or kids mess with it.

Borax (sodium borate) is toxic to most organisms if ingested. 

"Boric acid, sodium borate, and sodium perborate are estimated to have a fatal dose from 0.1 to 0.5g/kg. These substances are toxic to all cells, and have a slow excretion rate through the kidneys. Kidney toxicity is the greatest, with liver fatty degeneration, cerebral edema, and gastroenteritis. Boric acid solutions used as an eye wash or on abraded skin are known to be especially toxic to infants, especially after repeated use due to its slow elimination rate."

It's not liquid or volatile, so it pretty much stays put where you want it, and as long as pets and children don't eat it, it's a relatively safe alternative to permetherin (chrysanthemum extract), chlorinated, or organophosphate insecticides.  Fumed silica or silica gel (not borax) gets caught in the spiracles and dries out the membranes, killing the insect.

[Lloyd Danforth]

I think they mix this with Diatomatious Earth for Roaches. You put it in their pathways. If the Borax doesn't kill them, the DE scratches their exoskeleton and they dry out.

[Russell Kanning]

Kat has been successful sprouting lots of stuff.
She also made me relish. We just put it in this special jar for 4 days at room temp and it turned out decent.

[Bald Eagle]

Pickles are definitely worth making at home.

So is bread.  But when I start making bread at home, I make about 4 loaves a week, and wind up eating it all with about 12 pounds of butter.   

Beer is really easy to make, and well worth it if you do it in 10-gallon batches.

Has anyone checked out the Foxfire series of books?  Lots of cool recipes and projects from modern-day Appalachian folks.  Those people every damn thing they needed.

[Raineyrocks]

Pickles are definitely worth making at home.

So is bread.  But when I start making bread at home, I make about 4 loaves a week, and wind up eating it all with about 12 pounds of butter.  

Beer is really easy to make, and well worth it if you do it in 10-gallon batches.

Has anyone checked out the Foxfire series of books?  Lots of cool recipes and projects from modern-day Appalachian folks.  Those people every damn thing they needed.

Wow, I'll have to check out that book series, thanks!  My dad used to make his own pickles, they were delicious.