Making Elderberry Tincture

This was my first time attempting to make elderberry tincture. It was really easy and I wanted to share it with you.

Elderberry tincture is said to be effective in treating colds and flu. There are even commercial drugs, like Sambucol, made with elderberry. However, since we try to avoid commercially-sold drugs, I made my own medicine using God's provision..the elderberry.

First, I purchased a big bottle of vodka and 1 pound of dried elderberries. The instructions I had said to split the pound of elderberries between three quart jars. Then fill the jars with vodka. (Of course, I ended up not buying enough vodka, so I could only fill two jars until we went back to the store to buy more.)



Then you place the jars in a cool, dark area and let it sit for 7-10 days, shaking the jars every day or so. Now, I found lots of different sources that say lots of different things on the amount of time the mixture should sit. I've read everywhere from 7 days to 6 weeks. I chose to let mine soak for a little over 2 weeks. Really the only reason I let it go that long was because my third jar was started at a later time and I wanted to finish all three jars at the same time. (Remember, I had to go buy more vodka...) So, my first two jars actually soaked for 16 days and that third jar only soaked for 10 days.

I kept my jars in my cabinet with our drinking glasses. It was dark and cool in that cabinet, and I opened it often enough that I would remember to shake the jars whenever I went to get glasses out of the cabinet. So, yesterday I finished the elderberry tincture. (I guess my camera date is wrong because I know that I took these next pictures yesterday, Thursday the 8th.)

Anyhow, first I put my colander over a bowl and poured out the contents of the three jars. Then I placed the strained liquid into clean jars. The strained liquid only filled up two jars since the berries were no longer taking up space.


Finally, I added labels to my jars and put them in our medicine cabinet.


If I need to use this for the children I intend to place the recommended dosage in a glass of water and maybe even add a little honey to it if the children don't want to take it.

We're very rarely ever sick so these two jars of elderberry tincture should last us a while. The vodka will keep it useful for years.

I encourage you to do some research on elderberry tincture and see if it's something you'd be interested in providing for your family.

Homemade Cleaners

Since I'm feeling crummy today and have no motivation to clean, I thought that I would at least post about cleaning. That makes my lack of productivity less bad, right? Right?

Anyhow..we avoid commercial cleaning products for two reasons. First of all, because we want to avoid the toxic chemicals that are in those commercial cleansers. Secondly, it's cheaper to simply make your own. So, here are my homemade cleanser recipes:

Wood Cleanser
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar

Place in spray bottle and label, "Furniture Polish." I use this on all of our wood furniture, including the nice antique stuff. Sometimes I spray it directly on the wood and other times I spray on a rag and then apply to the wood. I also use this on my kitchen's wood floor after I've mopped. It gives a nice shine to the wood.

Glass Cleaner
1 cup rubbing alcohol
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. white vinegar

Place in spray bottle and label, "Glass Cleaner." I use this on all mirrors, windows, computer and tv screens.

Toilet cleaning
For the toilet, I simply sprinkle some baking soda in the bowl and scrub with a toilet brush. Then flush. Then I clean the exterior of the toilet using undiluted white vinegar in a spray bottle.

Tub/Sink Cleaning
I sprinkle some baking soda in the sink/tub and scrub with a scrub brush. The countertops around the sinks can be cleaned with the undiluted vinegar.

Mopping
I simply fill my kitchen sink with super-hot water and then pour some white vinegar in. I'm not even sure of the measurement...about three "glugs" from the gallon jug of vinegar. It doesn't have to be exact.

I like keeping things simple and this type of cleaning doesn't require any special purchases on my part. I can simply use what's on hand in my home. Also, I don't have to worry about the kids helping me clean and being exposed to toxins. I know that many may worry about germs and such in our home since we don't use commercial disinfectants or bleach, but our family has been blessed with good health. We are very rarely ever sick, so this type of cleaning can't be doing too bad of a job!

If you try any of these recipes, let me know what you think. Also, if you have a good homemade, non-toxic cleaning technique that you love, please share it with me.

Homemade Toothpaste

I know I said that I meant to have this up yesterday, but yesterday ended up being busier than anticipated. We went to the Ag Expo in the morning. The kids enjoyed petting the rabbits and calves and goats. Then we ran some errands around town before heading home. Once we got home we found a message from the meat processor that our 1/2 beef was ready to be picked up, so we turned around and headed out again. The drive to the meat processors took more than an hour on curvy, hilly roads. Andrew spent the drive throwing up. Apparently he's one to get car sick. Sam went through this same kind of phase. Not fun at all. So, after getting home at 7:30, cleaning up a vomit-covered child, bathtime, and bedtime...Shawn and I were ready to relax. We put in a movie that we got from the library, "Super Size Me," and we just sat and relaxed and enjoyed the movie.

So...here's the post I promised, Homemade Toothpaste.

Before our big food conversion, we used the toothpaste that I got for free using coupons at Walgreens. We had a huge supply of toothpaste. I did purchase the fluoride-free flavored toothpastes for the kids. When we started the Feingold diet, I had to find toothpastes without artificial colors or flavors. Before that time, I had never even thought about the ingredients in toothpastes. The fact that they were neon blue or tasted like a piece of bubble gum never even crossed my mind. So, I started searching for non-artificial alternatives. I ended up purchasing some Tom's of Maine toothpaste. After all this time of getting toothpaste for free with coupons, it was really difficult to pay full price for the expensive toothpaste. I bought two tubes of the Tom's paste before I started researching homemade alternatives. I tried a couple different recipes, but chose this one as my favorite.

Here are the ingredients you'll need:



2 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil
3 Tbsp. baking soda
1/2 to 1 small packet of stevia powder
20-25 drops peppermint or spearmint oil** (Personally, I prefer 25 drops of spearmint oil)

Mix together in small bowl using fork.

**Start by using 1/2 the amount, then add more as desired.

Before mixing:



After mixing:



The first time I made this, I made the mistake of using expeller-pressed (not virgin) coconut oil. It was not very good at all. The virgin coconut oil has a little bit of a coconut taste that helps to make the taste of the toothpaste more pleasing. Virgin coconut oil also has anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties which aids in maintaining the overall health of your mouth.

I haven't done it, but you can experiment with this by using cinnamon oil instead of spearmint or peppermint.

If you do decide to try homemade toothpaste, I'd be interested in hearing your experience. I've been thoroughly pleased and do not intend on switching back to the store-bought stuff.

Making Homemade Laundry Soap

I made laundry soap yesterday and took pictures of the process. I know that I used to have the desire to make my own detergent, but was intimidated of the process of making it. Hopefully, if anyone reading this is apprehensive about making it, the pictures will help show you just how easy it is to do.

My sister (Hi Angie!)got me started making this detergent. She did it first and gave me a free sample to try. I love it and always use it even though I have two full bottles of the store-bought stuff still sitting in my laundry room. It is especially nice since we try to avoid artificial fragrances. Ivory soap does have some fragrance in it, but the Feingold Association has found that those with sensitivities usually tolerate it well.

First thing...make sure that you don't have any laundry that needs to be done for 24 hours. Your detergent will need to sit for an entire day, so get all necessary laundry done before you start making your detergent.

Here are the ingredients you'll need:



1/2 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)
1/2 cup Borax powder
1 bar Ivory soap

You will also need water and a small bucket.

First, you grate the entire bar of Ivory soap.



Add the grated soap to a saucepan and add 6 cups of water. Heat it until the soap melts. Here's a photo of the soap/water mixture right after I've put it in the pan.



And here's what it looks like after the soap has melted.



At this point, add the washing soda and Borax. Stir until everything dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket.

(Honestly, the most difficult part in making my own detergent was finding an appropriate bucket to use. I ended up using an old cat litter bucket that we had around the house. I don't know what size it is because all it says is that it holds 30 pounds of cat litter! However, the detergent recipe that I use says to use a small bucket that is around 2 gallons.)

Here's my bucket. I put it next to my KitchenAid mixer so you can kind of get a visual size comparison.



After adding 4 cups hot water to your bucket, add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir some more. Your soap mixture will look like this...basically cloudy water.



Let this sit for 24 hours. During this time, the detergent will gel. It will become semi-solid. The best term I can think of to describe its consistency is "gloopy." You can see in the picture that it's solid enough to support a measuring cup on top.



After the 24 hour period, give your detergent a little stir to distribute the water better. Use a 1/2 cup per load. I tend to give my detergent a stir each time I get ready to use it.

I haven't had any trouble using this detergent. However, don't expect to see the pretty white bubbles that you get from the store-bought stuff. This is a low-sudsing soap, so you won't see suds.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Happy cleaning!