Lavender, the beautiful flower loved by gardeners, herbalists, and bees is a powerhouse botanical. This flowering beauty is another one of those multi-purpose herbs. Lavender herb is prized for it’s perfume and should be as that perfume and the rest of the plant can serve us, our homes, and our kitchens incredibly well. Get started using lavender for body, home, and food with our ultimate guide for …
Start-Up Guide For The Home Herbalist
If you enjoy cultivating a from-scratch lifestyle and have an interest in natural health, learning to work with herbs to support your family’s well being can be a rewarding skill. You might even have most of the tools you need to get started – just check your kitchen cupboards! Many of the basic tools an herbalist needs can be borrowed …
Is YOUR Water Safe? (and learn what you can do if it isn’t!)
On the heels of the water crisis that is happening across the United States, it’s timely that today I’m sharing a bit more about our recently installed Pelican Water System. In our first post here, we explained how truly easy it was to install…all on your own. Yes, we did a DIY whole house water filtration system…and it was ridiculously easy! We …
Grow A Skin Healing Flower Garden
Spring is here and many of us are turning our thoughts to gardens full of beautiful flowers, delicious fruits, and tasty vegetables. In all that planning, designing, and planting don’t forget to include flowers that are not only beautiful, but also healing and useful to the skin. Take time to create and grow a skin healing flower garden so that later …
DIY Dryer Sheets (only 2 ingredients!)
I despise laundry. As you may already know (from this gingerbread pancake recipe and this slow cooker buffalo chicken sandwich recipe) I love to cook. But I really do not enjoying doing the laundry. I know we need clean clothes and I sure don’t want my kids to be the stinky kids at school, so of course I do wash …
Herbal Glycerites For Skincare (How and why to make non-alcoholic herbal tinctures)
Every now and then an herbal skin care product will call for the use of vegetable glycerin. This clear, sweet liquid helps smooth, soften, and protect skin. It’s perfectly wonderful all on its own, but we can increase the healing properties of that glycerin by infusing it with herbs before using it in all those DIY recipes. Let’s talk herbal …
DIY Toilet Bowl Cleaner (non-toxic & it WORKS!)
Creating your own natural cleaners can be fun, and they’re certainly healthier than their toxic counterparts. You can make your own simple and effective non-toxic cleaner for one of the dirtiest places in the house with this DIY toilet bowl cleaner. I worked in the cleaning business for about 12 years, cleaning everything from high end homes, to college dorm …
Learn How (and why) To Prune Herbs
How often do you get a haircut? Every six weeks or so? How does it make your hair feel? Pretty good, huh? Like your hair cut, plants benefit from a trim every now and then, too—especially herbs. But, how do you prune herbs? Keep reading… Pruning herbs will help promote growing and, for the most part, make the plant …
5 Must Haves For Your Essential Oil Starter Kit
My first introduction with essential oils happened late at night on a university campus. A friend sat next to me on a park bench in the dark where I complained to him of constant headaches. He was quick to respond with a tiny bottle of a strong smelling oil. It was peppermint essential oil. …and I thought he was crazy. But, then again, nothing …
5 Ways to Have a From Scratch Laundry Room
This post might seem intimidating or even not worth while for some of you, but let me assure you, having a from scratch laundry room is not that hard and definitely has it’s benefits! Fact: The very first steps I took in the natural-from-scratch world were in the laundry room. It all started with my second born. He had eczema since birth …