MissKitty's Hippie Green Living Thread

[P7PSP]

Here to exchange tips, new ideas, and knowledge.

I'm hoping to make the orange candles with the kids sometime soon:



Make Your Own Homemade Orange or Lemon Beeswax Candles

You can easily make your own naturally scented votive candles from hollowed-out lemon skins or orange skins and beeswax. When pouring the wax, make sure it's at just the right temperature (180 degrees): If it's too hot, it will draw all the moisture from the lemon; if it's too cold, it won't cool and set well. These candles are best used within a day or two after making them.

Tools and Materials:
lemon or orange
knife
melon baller or tool to scoop out the flesh
candy thermometer
lemon oil or other natural oils
wicks
wick holder
beeswax
small paintbrush

1. Cut the lemon lengthwise or just the top of the orange. Squeeze out as much of the juice as possible without tearing the skin. Hollow out the halves with a melon baller or other tool.

2. In a double boiler, heat beeswax until melted, about 180 degrees. Check temperature with a candy thermometer. Turn off the heat and add lemon oil or other oils if you wish.

3. Cut 3 inches of wick; tie a knot at one end. Thread the loose end through a wick holder, and pull so the knot is secure under the holder.

4. Dip the wick and holder with wax until coated; this will stiffen and straighten the wick. Press the wick holder into the bottom of the lemon or orange half to affix. Let the wick dry.

5. Pour the wax into the lemon or orange half, and fill to the edge. Use a small paintbrush to coat the rim of the lemon or orange with wax. Let the candle dry for about 4 hours.

6. Enjoy your natural candles!

I like this idea. 

[lutra]

I'm all pro do-it-yourself, going green(-er) and ja, not anti-hippie too. Well, I'm not growing my own marijuana but I do grow my own herbs on the balcony. Parsley, chives and basil.

In garden, one floor down, there's more herbs and eatable stuff though. 3 diff. varieties of thyme, St Johns' wort, more chives, Japanese wineberries, blackberries, 3 tomato plants (pic later, I reckon), a fig and plum tree and some not really going well strawberry plants as well.

Wish I could be a small farmer (when I'm grown up).. (with a greenhouse).

["couldbecousin"]

I'd like to live in one of these:

http://www.woohome.com/architecture/domespaces-rotating-house

I want one! 

  It's lovely, but wouldn't the rotation feel like bed spins?  I think I'd be dizzy! 

[Icequeen]

I don't want anything that moves.
I want one of these:
 
http://earthship.com/

...or an abandoned missle silo.

[MissKitty]

I'm all pro do-it-yourself, going green(-er) and ja, not anti-hippie too. Well, I'm not growing my own marijuana but I do grow my own herbs on the balcony. Parsley, chives and basil.

In garden, one floor down, there's more herbs and eatable stuff though. 3 diff. varieties of thyme, St Johns' wort, more chives, Japanese wineberries, blackberries, 3 tomato plants (pic later, I reckon), a fig and plum tree and some not really going well strawberry plants as well.

Wish I could be a small farmer (when I'm grown up).. (with a greenhouse).

I would have a hobby farm if I could. But I couldn't have animals I eat. Just alpacas and donkeys. But a good sized vegetable and herb garden and a few fruit trees. I've got a lot of work to do on my house inside, but next year I'll add a small garden food garden.

[MissKitty]

I don't want anything that moves.
I want one of these:
 
http://earthship.com/

...or an abandoned missle silo.

Green living and cool as hell!! 

[MissKitty]

Fun with food:

['andersom']

 

[Queen Victoria]

From the Thrift Fun newsletter I get.

Reduce Soap Waste Using Cord Ties (Zip Ties)
In this economy, I am reworking all the closets in my home and trying to organize and be more frugal. Using my cord ties to bind up long computer cords etc., I came across an idea that actually works in my bathroom.
 In the past, I've watered down my soaps to save money. My son likes to use a lot more than he needs, don't we all? I decided to use a cord tie on my liquid soap dispenser to eliminate waste of the hand soap.
 
I just attatched one to the pump where the dispenser pumps the soap out. You can use a smaller one if you think you want more soap. Works great and saves money!
 

[MissKitty]

That's smart!

[MissKitty]

I'm going to make my own laundry detergent next month:



Homemade Lavender Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:
4- 4oz. bars of grated Castile soap
1- 78 oz. box of Borax
8- 16 oz. boxes of baking soda
3 tblsp. lavender essential oil

Directions:
1. Grate the soap using a cheese grater or food processor.
2. Once the soap is all grated, throw it into a large plastic pail with the remaining ingredients and mix it all together. Each load only takes 2 tablespoons of detergent, so this one batch will cover 288 loads of laundry.

[Queen Victoria]

Double check other sites.  Most recipes call for washing soda, not baking soda.  Also, if it's not grated finely enough it might take longer to dissolve, particularly in cold water.

[Queen Victoria]

Insulate your windows.  Clean the window insides.  While still damp, cover with bubble wrap, flat side to the window.  Makes a significant difference in the temp.  I roughly cut the wrap to fit inside the metal frames, then made final cuts to fit.  It's been up for over 9 months now.  I wouldn't put it where it could be dislodged, but other than that it lets is light, keeps privacy and is fairly cheap.

[Icequeen]

I've been making my own laundry det for over 2 years now. I make the liquid type, but have been meaning to try the dry. I'll second the advice on washing soda. My recipe uses fels naptha, washing soda, & borax. Zote works good too.

Took the recipe off the dugger's site. I think the woman is a fruitcake, but with that many kids she should know how to wash clothes.

Can't copy and paste with this damn cell though.

[Parts]

You can get washing soda, which is sodium carbonate, as a very fine powder that will dissolve almost immediately in the pool isle where it's sold as ph booster. It's very cheep at the end of the season when it's all on clearance. I use it for electrolytic rust removal