Natural Home Products

Unfortunately, the household cleaning products market is saturated with synthetic chemicals that can be hazardous to humans. Some are even derived from petroleum, which means that they are not only dangerous but also unsustainable. It’s a wonder that these products are even available on store shelves when all-natural alternatives are just as effective for most cleaning purposes.

Eco friendly cleaners have the power to restore surfaces to their natural lustrous sheen. By utilizing potent, plant-based ingredients, these cleaners are not only safer, but they also have absolutely no harmful effects on the environment. In order to ensure that your household cleaning products are safe, consult the side of the bottle for an ingredients list.

There is no better relaxation than a day at the spa.  The quiet calm, the relaxation…the pampering.   While we crave the experience, we may not always have the time, not to mention the money to hit the local day spa.  But it is important to remember that the luxurious calm feeling provided by the spa is all about taking the time to pamper yourself.  With a little planning and a few ingredients from your local drug store or beauty shop, you can create your own luxurious spa at home and pamper yourself with an amazing relaxing experience.

So go ahead…set aside some time in your day, or week, to give yourself the great gift of relaxation.  You will need to plan out a few details in advance, like finding a quiet setting and perhaps picking up a few spa ingredients ahead of time. There are some great home facial products available at the drug store as well as full manicure and pedicure sets.   So go ahead and indulge yourself.  Start by setting the spa mood with a few aromatherapy candles and some amazing mood music.  A great facial or a manicure or pedicure will have you looking great and feeling fine.  Top off your spa treatment with a long soak in a warm bath laced with sweet smelling mineral salts, then finish off by wrapping yourself in a plush spa style bamboo bathrobe.  Lounging in a warm, comfortable, and inviting bamboo bathrobe is a perfect way to enjoy your new found sense of calm and relaxation; a gift given to yourself.

Few people know the benefits of bamboo fabric, when in truth, it has several advantages over standard cotton. One of the main benefits of bamboo bath towels is their absorbent nature. Bamboo fibers are quite absorbent, and are also just as soft as cotton. With a bamboo towel, toweling off is much easier because the fibers allow the towels to soak up water and air out faster. Bamboo is also a natural and sustainable resource, and most bamboo towels are 100% organic, containing no harmful chemicals or dyes that are often in cotton towels.

There are no special steps needed to wash or care for bamboo bath towels. For the most part, bamboo towels look and feel much the same as cotton towels, but provide superior absorption and are easier on the environment. With the world turning to more sustainable and lasting resources, bamboo towels are poised to become much more popular in the near future. It’s quite possible that bamboo fabric might even one day replace cotton as the material of choice for garments, towels, and bed linens!

Making your own potpourri using fresh flowers from your garden can be a fun and inexpensive way to preserve your garden’s unique scent.  Making your own potpourri can be as simple as a bowl of lavender buds, or you can make a more complex potpourri using a variety of dried botanicals and fragrance oils. A bowl of potpourri is a great way to scent any room in your home or you can use your potpourri to make wonderful gifts for your family and friends.

With summer in full bloom, now is the time to gather your fresh flowers.  There are many common leaves and flowers that dry well for potpourri such the leaves or flowers from lavender, lemon balm, marjoram, mint, rosemary, jasmine, or roses.  You may also want to try taking small wood shavings from any cedar, cypress, or juniper trees you may have.  Once you have collected your ingredients, pull the petals off the stem of the flowers, separate all leaves and spread your ingredients out on a baking sheet. Let them air dry for several days.  Once your ingredients have dried, toss them together in a large bowl.  You may also want to add a few ingredients from your local craft store such as dried eucalyptus leaves, or sage leaves. You may also want to add a few drops of essential oils to add a stronger or more complex scent to your potpourri or to refresh old potpourri, just make sure to add the oil to a fixative before adding to your potpourri.  Common fixatives such as orris root, oak moss or cellulose fibre absorb the oil and allow a slower release of the fragrance.  These fixatives should be available at any good local craft store.

Now that your potpourri is complete you can enjoy summer’s scents year round. To retain the beauty and scent of your potpourri, keep it in a covered container until you are ready to use. Your potpourri will look beautiful in small bowls or vases and will add a nice scent to any room in your home.  For beautiful gifts or to add a little scent to your closets or dresser drawers, place a small scoop of your potpourri into small organza gift bags with ribbon ties and you have made a lovely scented satchel.  These make great gifts for friends and family to enjoy year round.