how to make your own toothpaste

Toothpaste is the easy-peasiest thing to make, and you can customize it to your taste! Here's the recipe I used.

3 tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp salt
1.5 tbsp glycerin (available at drugstores)
a few drops peppermint oil
water

Mix the first four ingredients together and add enough water (not much) to make a toothpaste-y consistency. I'm going to store mine in a little glass jar - you could use any type of container. Happy brushing!

Note about the oil: I found these tiny little bottles of peppermint oil at Bulk Barn. They have some natural and some synthetic flavour oils, including everything from watermelon (you guessed it, fake) and cinnamon (which I will try next time) for $1.99.

baking soda

I'm guessing that I'm preaching to the choir, but baking soda is amazing. So much so that I bought a 10kg bag of it last time I ran out. (It should last for awhile.) My favourite uses are as a scrub for the kitchen sink, and for the bathtub - a combination of baking soda and 5% hydrogen peroxide is the only thing that I have found works to get our old enamel cast iron tub really clean. I spray it with the peroxide first, sprinkle of the baking soda, let it sit for awhile, until I remember about it, and rinse it off. There are thousands of other uses for it, from toothpaste to deodorant to homemade 'clay' (I really want to try that one!); a quick search will give you all kinds of ways to use it to freshen up.

Incidentally, that lovely label is one of Martha's new Avery labels from Staples. Love them.

And this is where I happily spent much of my morning with the boys:

And it's back to work tomorrow. Good night!

Edited to add: What do you use baking soda for? Really, I'm curious!

all you need is less

Sorry if this post appeared twice in your blog feed - my mistake!

I'm popping in with another little book review (the last one for now!) that I think you might enjoy if you're new to this whole natural living business and are perhaps overwhelmed and want one book as a go-to resource. It's called All You Need Is Less: The Eco-friendly Guide to Guilt-Free Green Living and Stress-Free Simplicity by Madeleine Somerville, a fellow Canadian from the other coast.
It's intended for "novice hippies", a term which I love, and which fits perfectly with the book. It's very hands-on and instructional, and includes sections on gardening, lifestyle, body, and home, with recipes for things like toothpaste, deodorant, cleaners, and general information about living more simply. 

If you're already fermenting kefir and making your own soap and shopping second-hand, this might have a lot of information that you already know (library!). But if you're just starting on this whole journey of living a more intentional life with less of an impact on the planet, it's got plenty of good information, recipes, and how-tos. 

My favourite part of the book is Madeleine's description of natural.
 "Natural is a bit worn and lived-in. It is welcoming and comfortable like the crinkles around a person's eyes that hint at a lifetime of happiness. Natural is forgiving and warm, and shouldn't be just another thing to feel bad about. If I had the power, I'd steer this whole eco-friendly boat away from the guilt and the one-upping and back to that warm space, back to that sense of feeling good by doing good." (p 165)

Madeleine blogs at Sweet Madeleine (I love this post from earlier in the week; it captures parenting little ones beautifully,) and you can read more about the book here.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary copy of the book to review; all opinions are my own.

summer miscellany

The pea blossoms are out and beautiful, and some peas are well on their way. It is so satisfying to grow your own food!

I borrowed these two books from Ingrid the other day, and am especially enjoying The Food You Crave. Really, the only thing I don't like about it is the title. The recipes are amazing - simple and delicious and quick, as well as creative and healthy. The pictures are gorgeous, too. I think I just might order a copy for myself.

Speaking of Ingrid, Phillip and I went to Th'Yarc yesterday at lunch time for a bite to eat and two short plays (one of which Ingrid was in). All for $8. P was extremely well behaved, and we had a good time.

After making toothpaste yesterday, I was looking at this funny little assortment of recipes for lotions, scrubs, salves, steams, and other homemade potions for various purposes. Mother-in-law gave this box of recipe cards to me awhile ago, and it's really quite good. There are 50 different cards, with lovely pictures of each recipe on the back of the cards. I think I might try whipping some more up this week. Happy Thursday!