Your garden is more than just a pretty space, it’s a treasure trove of organic solutions for you and your home. Concocting your own natural herbal remedies doesn’t require an advanced degree in Chemistry, anyone can do it. I found recipes with herbal ingredients straight from the yard for everything from an all-purpose home cleaner, surface soft scrubber, disinfectant, hand lotion, even cologne. You don’t even need to be an expert gardener to do this. Actually, all you really need are some small pots, seeds, soil—even your sunny window-sill can do the trick. With common herbs Lavender, Rosemary, Thyme, you will have the three main ingredients for multiple ideas. Get planting now, and before you know it, you’ll be growing your own beauty-filled garden.
Thyme Household Cleaner
Use for: Washing your hands, countertops, and other germ-friendly places in your home.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups water
1 handful thyme (fresh or dried)
Vinegar
Liquid Castile soap (squirt)
Method:
1. Boil water, add thyme.
2. Simmer for several hours over medium-low heat, covered.
3. Cool, then strain.
4. Pour the water into a spray bottle, top with white vinegar and squirt of soap. Use as needed.
Lavender Hand Cream
Ingredients:
4 teaspoons sweet almond oil
4 teaspoons coconut oil
3 teaspoons white wax
6 teaspoons glycerin
6 drops lavender essential oil
Method:
1. Put the almond oil, coconut oil and white wax in a double boiler or a bowl over a pan of hot water and gently dissolve.
2. Stir the mixture to blend it together and when everything has melted add the glycerin drop by drop.
3. Take it off the heat and stir until creamy.
4. Add drops of lavender oil and mix well. Put into pots.
Spicy Cologne
Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 oz. rose petals (fresh)
2 T. lavender (dried or fresh)
2 thin strips orange peel
1 (1-inch) stick cinnamon crushed
1 T. coriander seeds bruised (just barely smashed)
10 oz. Vodka
Method:
1. Boil water, add all ingredients.
2. Steep 3 weeks.
3. Strain, and place in a bottle.
SOURCE: The Herb Companion, September 1999
For more green living ideas, check out my blog at emilyanderson.com.
