Freebies!

Bath & Beauty DIY Recipe Cards

Make-it-Yourself: Fabric Refresher

If you like fabric refreshers but don't like the idea of all the chemicals, make your own. Add a couple teaspoons of which hazel, a teaspoon of cornstarch, and a few drops of lemon or lavender essential oil to a cup of water.

Green Beauty: Berry-Yogurt Mask

Berries can be as good for your skin as they are for your face. Blend 1/4 c mixed berries, 2 Tbsp plain yogurt, 2 Tbsp honey, and 1 Tbsp lemon juice until smooth. Wash your face, then apply the ask and let sit 10-15 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. The antioxidants will help fight free radicals, and the honey will exfoliate, seal in moisture, and promote new tissue growth.

Make-It-Yourself: Apricot Facial

Puree 1/2 an apricot (the vitamin A and C can help stimulate new skin cells) with 1 T warm whole milk and 2 tsp raw honey. Apply to face and neck, then rinse after 20 minutes.

Self-Made Spa: Easy Beauty Recipes

Here are several really easy recipes that use things you may very well have at home already.

Exfoliate your body with a paste of brown sugar and milk.
Relieve sensitive or red sin with plain yogurt and honey.
A dash of salt in water, sprayed on your hair, will give you surf-tossed waves.

Self-made Spa: Sugaring

Here's one really easy recipe for sugaring (like waxing). Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar with the juice from 2 lemons (about 6 tablespoons). Heat until the mixture is bubbly and amber-colored. It should stay somewhat solid when dripped in water. Apply to skin as soon as it is cool enough to not burn you. Spread on your legs, cover with strips of cloth, and pull.

Self-made Spa: Brown Sugar Scrub

This is a super-easy exfoliating/moisturizing scrub. Mix 1 cup honey with 1 cup brown sugar. Smooth on damp skin, leave on for a few minutes, and then rinse.

Self-made Spa: Honey scrub

Mix 1/2 c each sugar and honey with 1 tbsp water and four drops orange essential oil. It has a great scent and will lightly exfoliate your skin. Massage into skin, then rinse.

Green Thinking: Pest Control

Here's a collection of tips for pest control that are a little more friendly for the planet and your family.

- sprinkle 4 parts sugar mixed with 1 part borax (this will make kids and pets sick) to keep ants away
- 1 tsp each peppermint and rosemary oils in 2 cups of water can be sprayed on and around beds to keep bedbugs away
- mix cloves, eucalyptus, and clover blossoms to help repel flies
- 1/2 tsp cayenne with 1 tbsp peppermint castile soap in 8 cups of water will keep mice away when sprayed along baseboards
- 2 tsp tea tree oil in 2 cups water can repel roaches when sprayed in problem areas, like kitchens and bathrooms

Self-made Spa: Lemon Scrub

Mix lemon zest (the grated outside part of a lemon) with sugar and olive oil. It will create a scrub that can moisturize and exfoliate your skin. Start with roughly equal parts of each and adjust ingredients for consistency.