How I save hundreds of dollars by making my own lotion, soap, fabric softener, kitchen spray, sunscreen, and more!
A little over a year ago, I became very interested in making my own homemade versions of beauty supplies and other household products. At first my reasons were mainly to save money but as I did my research and learned about these homemade versions, I learned how much better they are for me, my house, and the environment too. So now my house is full of upcycled bottles, jars, and spritzers and in this post I will share what I have learned and how you can make a few easy changes in your home too!
Starting your own collection of homemade items may require new products you don’t currently have. So I started with just a few things at a time and when I had the funds I would add to my cupboard. Here is a photo of many of the products I use to make my homemade recipes. Most of these, I purchased on Amazon since they had the lowest prices but you can often find these at Sprouts or Whole Foods and other local retailers.
From left to right here is a short description of each item:
· Coconut Cooking Oil – also known as fractionated coconut oil. The only difference is the fats are removed so it is a liquid non-odorous version of coconut oil.
· Sweet Almond Oil – Super moisturizing oil, great to use in lotions, body wash, and other skin recipes.
· Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap – This soap can replace nearly all other soaps and cleaning agents you use, it’s incredibly multi-purpose and totally non-toxic. Plus it comes in different scents, or unscented.
· Vitamin E Oil – Just like the capsules you take to make your skin glow… this is the same thing but now you can easily add it to your face lotion and other skin recipes.
· Vegetable Glycerin – This is what you add to your homemade soap to make it bubbly.
· Beeswax – I have used this to make my own scented candle warmer but it has many uses.
· Zinc Oxide Powder - #1 ingredient for homemade sunscreen that is totally safe and chemical free!
· Raw Unrefined Shea Butter – the base to my lotions.
Here is my collection of essential oils:
There are many places to buy essential oils, I used to use Amazon, but now I love the ones we get from Essential 3 and sell at my work Jade Star Acupuncture.
How to Contain It
I highly recommend upcycling old bottles and jars instead of buying new ones… even though it is tempting to get cutesy shiny new bottles. Depending on what you are making, you probably already have the perfect container for it. Here are some of my examples:
Homemade Item Container
· Window, glass, and surface cleaner = Windex bottle
· Face lotion = Dove face cream jar
· Hand soap = Dial foaming hand soap pump
· Face toner = reused toner bottle
· Body wash = reused large body wash with pump bottle
When all else fails – Mason Jars! With all the different sizes and low prices they make the perfect containers.
Here are a few photos of my upcycled containers:
The Recipes
All of the recipes I use were found on Pinterest but a few I have tweaked to my preference and you’ll find you do the same.
Foaming Hand Soap
· 2 tablespoons of Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap & 10 drops of lavender, tea tree, OR lemon essential oil added to a reused Dial Foaming Hand Soap pump. Then add water and you are done! Easy peasy. Also if you are using scented castile soap then you do not have to add the essential oils. I usually buy lemon scented so I rarely have to add any EO.
Face Toner
· ½ apple cider vinegar ½ water in the bottle of your choice and add 5-10 drops of lavender essential oil. Make sure you are using a good raw ACV like Bragg’s so you get the ph balancing skin harmonizing effects of the vinegar.
All Purpose Spray(kitchen disinfecting, windows, floors, etc.)
· In an old Windex or similar bottle, fill about 1/3 of the bottle with vinegar, add ½ cup of hydrogen peroxide, 10 drops of tea tree essential oil, 10 drops of lemon essential oil and fill the rest with water.
o I use this to clean my windows, spray the floor for mopping, disinfect the kitchen counters, spray in water bottles you can’t quite clean all the way(you know what I’m talking about!) and then the bottle let drip dry. Great to spray the counters when you’re done with the dishes and then leave to air dry, smells clean and fresh and you know it’s sanitized for the next use.
Refreshing Mouthwash
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| Pic credit: InspireBeautyTips.com |
· Fill a bottle with ½ water and ½ hydrogen peroxide, add up to 20 drops of peppermint essential oil. Shake before each use. Leaves my mouth feeling cool, refreshed, and clean. Plus the hydrogen peroxide is helping to whiten as well. Just make sure to rinse with water after using.
Fabric Softener (Liquid for washing machine)
· Fill glass jar(mason works great!), add 20 drops of essential oil scent of choice. Lavender is most popular, lemon is also nice and refreshing, plus it will help kill germs in the laundry, or if you have the flu going around your house add tea tree essential oil. Add 1-2 tablespoons to washing machine fabric softer dispenser.
Fabric Softener & Static Reducer (for use in dryer)
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| Pic Credit: ViewFromTheFridge.com |
· You will need a larger jar for this with a wide mouth is best. Fill the jar with folder small cloths. These can be wash cloths, old rags, I used an old tee-shirt cut into squares. I try to put them in the jar so they are all standing on ends, instead of in a stack.
· Then in a separate jar add about a cup of vinegar and 20 drops of essential oil of your choice. Pour the vinegar into the jar over the cloths, this is why I try to stand them up, so each one gets soaked. You want them pretty well soaked.
· Put the lid on the jar and when you have a load of laundry in the dryer simply toss your vinegar and EO soaked cloth into the load and you’ll get static free soft laundry! I usually have to refill my jar every other week or do, depends on how much laundry you do.
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