UPCYCLED HERB GARDEN and HOME MADE DISHWASHING DETERGENT!
Happy (belated) Earth Day! I had the best intentions of publishing my blog yesterday as the contents seemed most fitting for Earth Day, but after a day of outdoor activities and "lights out" inside to save energy (an act very much demanded by my inspired six year old), I promptly fell asleep at HIS bed time last night! Haha! Hmm, I guess modern day technology is contributing to my pseudo-insomniac behaviors...
But back to the planting at hand!
I love herb gardening. For one thing, I've found that, beyond simple container gardens such as cherry tomatoes, I'm somewhat incapable (or rather, my soil is) of harvesting a full fledge vegetable garden at this point. Therefore, I've found a scaled down garden--and herbs in particular--to be very satifsying! Both flowers and herbs are something I can grow indoors all year long, and I love having the freshness on hand to add to meals and drinks.
Currently, I am growing Rosemary, Sage, Basil, Mint, Cilantro, and Thyme, along with wheat grass.
However, until a week or so ago, all of my herbs were in ugly brown plastic containers on my front porch. I decided to remedy that with (surprise!) thrifted and vintage bowls and tins! I love the mix of color, pattern and diversity they added to my planting table and wanted to share how pretty they are. :) I hope you enjoy the pictures below and, in honor of Earth Day, make sure you scroll to the bottom of the page to see my recipe for home made dishwashing detergent! It is very natural and I have been washing dishes successfully (with no notable harm to my machine or dishes) with it for a while now! Not only is it inexpensive, but it contains no harmful chemicals or dyes, and it is biodegradable.
PS--stay with me this week for a little visual tour of my apartment! I wanted to share some of my (thrifted) decorating with you in this post but then I realized that I have too many photos to share--it's definitely worthy of its own blog posting!
Dye Free, Biodegradable Non-Toxic, Inexpensive, Petroleum Free, Animal Testing Free and Septic Safe Dishwashing Detergent!
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 drops (literally, drops--as in eyedropper drops the size of a lentil) of dishwashing soap. You must use an all natural dish soap or the recipe won't be all that it's claiming to be above! :) I use Meijer Naturals Ultra Concentrated in Lemon Eucalyptus. It's powerful, safe, and smells wonderful, and it's affordable too!
DIRECTIONS: Mix ingredients with about 4-5 tbs of water (or a little more) to create a liquid. This makes ONE LOAD.
I like to mix mine as I go, but I am certain that you could mix a little more ahead of time for ease of use. Salt and sodium bicarbonate, being natural though, do tend to break down...so I thought it might not be a great idea to mix up huge batches ahead of time. I shall report back on any developments that are made in this department!
ENJOY--my dishes in my machine came out sparkling clean! Each machine may vary. If you experience spots, you may want to experiment with a solution of vinegar water--a natural "streak free" agent. I tend to skip this step, because I don't often see spots--and when I do, they don't bother me much. ;)
