Stickin’ It to the (Cleaning) Man

It may possibly be a short hop from environmental thriftiness to a mental condition, but in addition to making my own deodorant, I also make my own countertop cleaner.

This was very contentious–I started out believing all the many sources that say you can just use vinegar and water (which maybe you can if you are a) less of a slob, and b) not conjoined with Mr. Dame), but it didn’t clean baked-on gunk well enough for Mr. Dame’s liking. He’d bust out the CLR at the drop of a hat, which ran counter to the initial intent.

So, I hunted high and low for a good recipe for counter cleaner. There are millions of them, but this is one I like, and it works. Quantities are to fit the spray bottle I have; your mileage may vary.

1) Gather your stuff. You’ll need Borax (in the laundry aisle), castille soap (I use Dr. Bronner’s Lavender, because it smells clean), essential oils (lavender is nice; also this time I added orange oil, which goes nicely with lavender; tea tree is anti-bacterial; superhippies like oil of oregano, but it seems too expensive to clean a countertop with to me.)

2) measure 3 cups of warm water, add 1.5 tbsp of borax, 1.5 tsp of castille soap, and 1-1.5 tsp of essential oils.

3) Whoosh it around until the borax dissolves. I use a whisk. It will look cloudyish.

4) Pour it into a spray bottle. Clean your counters, stove top, fridge, etc. with it.

And I am so freakin’ excited about this tutorial for making your own laundry detergent. SO excited. Weirdly enough, Mr. Dame has jumped on the home made cleanser bandwagon, and asked me all this weekend if we were going to make laundry detergent. Can’t wait!)

What This Month Has Taught Me

1) Some days you’ve got it, some days you don’t.

2) I really need to take a photography course.

3) Or buy a better camera.

4) Or move somewhere that isn’t DARK 16 out of 24 hours at this time of year.

5) When there are no knitting pictures, write about the dog.

or, 5a) Write about knitting anyway.

Happy NaBloPoMo, y’all.

Ruh-roh.

Uh, yeah. Finished the NaKniSweMo sweater, but bound off the neck too tightly. It would barely go over MY head, let alone Mr. Dame’s gigantic melon.

So, I had to nut up and clip a little stitch, pull out the cast on, and bind off again, this time with EZ’s sewn bind off. Why do I ever question the wisdom of EZ? Why?

It’s a seamless hybrid from Knitting Without Tears, 50 inch chest (cripes), from Cascade Eco Wool. Ends are woven in, just needs a block, which the intertubes assure me will take care of the slightly pouchy back.

So, done! Take that, National Knit a Sweater in November Month. Hah! Kicked yer ass.

Princess Puppet Theatre

Holy mackerel what a cute project. The little nieces are getting it for Christmas, but I suspect the littlest niece is still too little to like it. So, Frannie can totally bogart the puppet theatre. It’s from Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol, and it wasn’t hard to make. (Obviously. I made it.)

It’s quite a genius pattern–the top is held up with an adjustable curtain rod, and the window is held open with two bits of dowel.

The flowery curtains tie back for exciting show action. The only hard bit (for me) was putting the bias tape around the  window part, but it went much better after I watched this tutorial on Amy’s blog.

There is a case it rolls up and fits inside, but I still need to sew the button on. All in all, I’m VERY pleased. Huzzah for the handmade holiday!

Things I Like

Way back at the dawn of November, I threatened to pull this post out when I had nothing. And I got nothin’. So, here are things I like.

The Smart Car

Hopcott Meats

Pets

Knitting

Jim

Online banking *

Bacon

The sound of dog toenails

Booze

Islands

Water in general

*holy, how did we ever live without it?

(Pit) Stickin’ It to the Man

I fully appreciate that this post may cause a good number of you to recoil in horror, but I can keep quiet no longer. I make my own deodorant.

For reasons I won’t go into today, I have been trying to eliminate creepy plastics, hormones, and chemicals from my life. And although the jury is out on aluminum and such in commercial antiperspirants, I figured why take a chance?

Plus, when I make my own,  can pick my own scent, which is fabulous; save big dollars; and enjoy the smug feeling of stickin’ to the man every time I pass the deodorant aisle. TAKE THAT, SUCKA!

If you’re interested, here’s how I do it:

1) Gather up your supplies. You’ll need baking soda, corn starch, coconut oil, essential oils (for smelly), and vitamin E (optional, for soft). Also nice: An old deodorant container, but you can also use a jar and apply the finished product with your fingers.

Coconut oil is available just about everywhere, but I got this jar at Famous Foods for about $4.

2) Put 3 tbsp of baking soda, 3 tbsp of cornstarch, the juice of a couple of vitamin E capsules (optional), a few drops of essential oils (lavender and tea tree are anti bacterial; this batch I used 15 drops of rose and 5 of rosewood); and 2 tbsp of coconut oil* in a bowl and moosh it with your hand until it forms a silky mass.

3) Cram it into your old deodorant container, or a jar, and let it set overnight.

You can apply this like regular deodorant. It won’t stop you from sweating, but I found that neither did anti-perspirant. I promise it WILL keep you from stinking, though. (Please, if you know me, and you think I’m delusional on this matter, I beg you to tell me.)

I keep this in my averagely cold bathroom, and it holds together perfectly. I started doing this in August, and so far I’ve made three batches, which I estimate have cost me about $1 each. It’s also pretty forgiving as a recipe. I’ve been adding additional coconut oil vs. my first batch, which still worked but got a little crumbly.

* A note on the coconut oil. I started in on this in August, when it was bitchin’ hot. When I brought the oil home, it was totally liquified, so that’s how I use it. Once I opened it, I put the jar in the fridge, so when I need to make a new batch I measure out my 2 tbsp of solid coconut oil, then melt it in the microwave, then pour it in.

Sick vs. Well

Mr. Dame appears to have a bit of a lurgy.

Symptoms:

More moaning than usual.

TV changed from its steady diet of the Space channel to biographies of Woody Guthrie and Christopher Plummer.

Inability to eat a bowl of delicious chipotle sweet potato soup. (This one, since you asked. But with no nuts.)

Not fatal, I’m thinkin’.

 

Monkeys Are Splendid

All I have for you today is a ridiculously cute monkey. Carry on.

Angst

A weird, weird day.

1) An acquaintance told me a whole pile of things about his personal life that I never, ever, ever wanted to know.  This is someone I’ve worked with on a couple of projects, but have never socialized with.

When someone is talking, and revealing things that, once out of the bag are impossible to “unknow”, is it rude to stick your fingers in your ears and sing “na na na nah, na na na nah, hey hey hey, SHUT UP”?

2) Went to the AGM of a place I used to work at. I am constantly being asked to remark on how awesome their marketing stuff is looking. And yes, it’s looking awesome. Hooray. Rock on.

But it’s going to take everything I have not to scream THEY’RE SPENDING 400% MORE than I ever had as a budget. That is 4x more. Four-zero-zero.  Plus, they’re spending AT LEAST 200% more on salaries. So if it was looking like crap, I’d be concerned. Nay, horrified.

3) Got a friggin’ parking ticket. BASTARDS. Can you not give me SIX MINUTES? Six lousy minutes. Gaaaah.

How Cool is THIS?

Went to Make It today, and it was pretty good. The usual run of  “designer” craft stuff. I was looking for puppets for the nieces, to go with the puppet theatre, but no luck. Lots of jewelry and screenprinting, but no puppets.

HOWEVER. I bought the coolest thing ever. May I present to you Abeego. Reusable, non-plastic wrap.  It’s cotton/hemp treated with beeswax and secret sauce to be liquid resistant. I’m hoping to add plastic wrap to the list of stuff I no longer buy, along with spray cleaner, deodorant, lip balm, and hand cream. (More on those to come.)

I bought one of these wraps, which hold sandwiches, burritos, etc. and one of these packs of sheets, that can be wrapped around food or stuck over the top of bowls.

I’ll let you know how it goes, but so far I’m very excited about this. If you’re interested, they will be at Got Craft on December 6. I’m thinking that this will make my dad’s head explode with Christmas joy.