Homemade cleaners

Here are some of the cleaners that I use. I buy my Baking soda ( Sodium Bicarbonate ) in bulk at the feed store ( IFA ) they sell it to feed to cows but I figure that sodium bicarbonate is sodium bicarbonate no matter where you buy it. Just a lot cheaper this way.

Hope all of you have a great week-end
　
　
   　Multipurpose Cleaner




    1/4 cup baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
   1 cup household ammonia
   1/2 cup white vinegar
  1 gallon warm waterMix ingredients and pour in a spray bottle, store the remining cleaner in tightly capped container. Works like 409
Dilute Bleach
1/4 cup liquid bleach
1 quart cold waterI pour in to a spray bottle and us like clorex clean-up


Magic Mirror Cleaner         1/4 cup dawn        1 cup alcohol
    1 cup ammonia

Mix the ingredients and pour into spray bottle and spray on. Note: I washed my mirrors with a wet rag before I used this the first time to get the residue from the old cleaners off the mirror or it will streak.


Soft Scrub   
    3/4 cup baking soda
    2 TBL dawn   1 cup water
   2 Tbl bleach ( optional)

I mix this in an old dish soap bottle. You do need to shake before you use. You can add a little more baking soda if you want it a little thicker. I add the bleach but it is not necessary.

Be sure to label each bottle.

Homemade Gatorade and Pedialyte

   I love these two recipes I don’t have to use the pedialyte
now that the girls are older. We do use the Gatorade
all the time my husband likes it better then the store bought.
     At the beginning of summer I will buy about a dozen gatoaids on sale then I reuse the bottles all summer. I hold on to all store bought bottles (gatoraid, Soda,good water bottles I don’t keep the flimsey water bottle they get holes in them to quick ) that I can get. I have saved all the ones from this summer so hopefully I wont have to buy any more for a long time .

Home Made Pedialyte

2 Quarts Water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt substitute
1 packet sugar-free Kool-Aid*
*optional but gives flavor    Mix all together well and store in refrigerator for no more than 3 days. You can also freeze this into ice cubes to put into child's cup or bottle. You can also make Popsicles from it.
     Tape this inside a kitchen cabinet door for easy reference. There's nothing worse than a sick kid in the middle of the night and you know that you have this recipe but can't find it and/or the stores are closed! I showed my pediatrician this and she actually hands it out to her patients. I have used regular Kool-Aid since it is optional anyways for even more savings (they go on sale 10 for $1). I never substitute the salt substitute, regular salt dehydrates. If you don't have it on hand don't add it. This recipe has saved a bundle verses the named brand Pedialyte and even the store versions. I figure that 2 quarts costs about .25 using the regular Kool-aid.

 Homemade Gatorade

　

　

1 pkg unsweetened kool-aid (any flavor)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon salt substitute (potassium chloride) 2 quarts water
Just stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Chill.

Preserved Lemons

If you are not sure what those are, I do not blame you. I wasn’t so knowledgeable about them a while back, either. Preserving citrus gives you an easy way to add tons of lemon/orange flavor to a dish without using very much. They’re preserved in a salt-brine and after hanging out in a jar for a month, the skins are soft and ready to be minced into your favorite dish. The uses for preserved citrus are endless, you can add them to couscous with roasted vegetables, mince into fresh salsa, chop up with green olives and garlic to garnish fish or chicken, garnish ice cream or … I’m sure you can use your imagination here. Why preserve the citrus, you ask? Preserved citrus is to fresh what smoked meats are to raw meats. Still delicious, but with more depth, more flavor.


I kept mine pretty simple and didn’t add any extra aromatics, but if you choose to, they would add another dimension of yummynessHalf Gallon-sized jar
6 to 8 lemons (Meyer would be great, but I wasn’t able to find any)
2 extra lemons for juice or however many is needed.
Your favorite coarse salt
small chili pepper (optional)
bay leaf (optional)Wash and scrub Lemons very good I added a little peroxide to my rinse water ( with listera being found in so many places better safe then sorry )
Slice the pointy tips off the lemons. Slice in half from the bottom to top, and then slice each half again, from bottom to top. I don’t cut all the way through.

Pack each lemon full of salt and put some on the outside Press into jar and give another good sprinkle of salt. Repeat until your jar is packed firmly with lemons. Use the remaining lemon’s juice to squeeze into the jar. Press them in there really good. squeeze into the jar. Press them in there really good.
Cover the jar with a tight lid and let the Lemons and the salt sit for several days. .
The Lemons will be ready to open and use in a few weeks. The Lemons should keep for up to a year. They do not require refrigeration, but most people opt to keep them in a refrigerator
When ready to use, they should be rinsed off well and the meat of the lemon should be removed. You only need a little rind, minced well, to pack a whole lotta citrus flavor into dishes.
You can do the same thing with oranges

HOMEMADE COUGH SYRUP



Homemade cough syrup

5 LEMONS SLICED

2 LARGE ONIONS PEELED AND SLICED

3 ½ CUPS HONEY

1 PT BLACKBERY BRANDY

1 PT PEPPERMINT SCHNAPPS

    Layer the onions and lemons alternating between each in a gallon jar pour the honey over the lemons and onions then pour in the brandy and schnapps I store mine in a cool dark place for a couple weeks before I use it will keep up to a year if stored in a cool dark place.
    Give adults 1 TBL children under 12 give a ¼ tea. Do not give to children under 1


Here is a couple of other recipes I found but have not tried I plan to try them next time one of us gets sick
　
Ingredients:1 cup freshly chopped onion
About 1/2 cup raw honey
Plus any of the following (optional):1 tsp. Cloves (whole or powdered)- specifically good for pain relief
1-2 Tbsp. Comfrey or Slippery Elm (dried or powdered)- Comfrey is particularly good for healing, and Slippery Elm has more of a reputation for soothing and coating the throat
1-2 Tbsp. fresh chopped Ginger root OR 1 tsp. Ginger powder- Ginger increases warmth, circulation (important for healing) and the overall effectiveness of the syrup
**You can include all of these optional herbs, but at a maximum of 2 Tbsp. extra herbs total

Directions Put chopped onions and any herbs of choice into a small stainless steel or glass pot (not alumnimum). Add enough honey to cover the onions ( for me, this seemed to be about 1/2 a cup, though I didn't measure exactly).
Turn the pot on low heat and slowly simmer. The honey will soften and become liquidy, and you want to keep the temperature very low while allowing the herbs to steep in the honey. It's best to keep a lid on to help keep all of the medicinal properties of the herbs in the syrup, and just take the lid off to give it a quick stir every few minutes to ensure it doesn't burn at all (though the temp. should be low enough to prevent this).
Give it 20 minutes of simmering, then remove it from the heat. Strain the onions and herbs out and store the remaining honey (which might have flecks of herb in it and this is fine) in a small glass jar with a lid and keep it in the fridge.
The syrup can be used as often as needed, up to every half hour. Here are the dosages:1 tsp. for a younger child
1 Tbsp. for anyone 10 years and older


Home Remedy for CoughThe ingredients are a combination of spices and nutrients with no unpleasant medicinal side effects -- no drowsiness, no dry mucous membranes, no cautions about using machinery or driving.
The recipe is from Herbally Yours by Penny C. Royal, 3rd Edition, June 1982. It seems to work for all kinds of coughs but especially for that dry hacky cough that keeps you awake and hangs on long after the cold is over.

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons water
Mix and take by the teaspoon. The recipe doesn't indicate how much to take. Consider the beneficial effects of the individual ingredients:


Ginger (zingiber officinale)has long been used and recommended for arthritis and bursitis, because it is a natural anti-inflammatory. According to Home Herbal, by Penelope Ody, D.K. Publishing, June 1995, ginger is a natural antihistamine. It has also been used for for motion sickness and nausea, and in addition, it's known for relieving chest congestion, according to Dr. Andrew Weil, Herbal Medicine Chest http://cgi.pathfinder.com/drweil/herbal/medchest

 Cayenne (capsaicin)reduces pain, according to Herbs for Health and Healing, by Kathi Keville, Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA, 1996. The same substance that makes cayenne peppers hot relieves the pain by suppressing a chemical that carries the pain message from nerves in the affected area to the brain. According to Home Herbal, by P. Ody, cayenne is warming and stimulating, it is a good cold remedy and eases chills and will even ease the lingering pain from shingles.

 Vinegar has so many healthful uses. See this article, Vinegar: Ancient Medicine and Popular Home Remedy in Connections Quarterly, Summer 1998 Issue.

       Hope everyone had a great weekend ours was very busy we had a pig to cut up I like cutting it our selves as nothing goes to waste I render the fat in to lard that I use in my soaps and we make our own sausage we also cure our own hams and bacon then smoke them. So good
     We went and cut our Christmas tree the roads were snowy and we got stuck. We were in my truck which has nothing in it but a shovel. So grateful for the family that stopped to help us. I have been going to get an emergency kit in the truck for some time now this was my wake up call I kept thinking what if no one had come by so I am putting a list together of what needs to be put in there and am going to get it put in as soon as I get the list put together I will post it. Everyone should have an emergency kit you never know when you made need it