3 Best Natural Home Remedies To Kill Cockroaches Fast & Permanently

 

Cockroaches are one of the common household pests found all over the world, they feed on food remains and can cause a bad odor. It is not only the bad smell that is bad about cockroaches, they transport microbes and can cause severe allergies. Especially people with asthma should be careful of cockroaches as they trigger allergic reactions in most asthma patients. Cockroaches can become a huge problem because of two reasons, one they multiply so fast and second they can last so many days without food. Also many of you may not be aware that if cockroaches multiply too much there is a risk of cockroach bite too. When I was in hostel my friend was bitten by a cockroach and she developed serious allergies. Kitchen is the most common place that cockroaches are usually found. Traditionally in India, we had open shelves in the kitchen which is fast being replaced with closed shelves now. Closed shelves are not a problem if you wipe the vessels and place them inside. But if you keep wet vessels inside the shelves, there are great chances for cockroach infestation as cockroaches love damp and dark places. Once cockroaches are inside closed shelves, it starts smelling real bad. Also cockroaches are very very good at hiding so it is hard to find them to kill. I would suggest not using cockroach sprays available in the markets as no matter how careful you are, some will be sprayed on the vessels too. Instead try the cockroach repellent spray given below, it is a safe way to get rid of cockroaches. If you don't  have kids around the house, you can try the cockroach repellent balls, cockroaches get attracted to the sugar in it and when they eat them they die. But I would suggest not using it if you have young kids around as it has borax which is not safe for internal consumption. The next remedy is diatomaceous earth, when sprinkled on the surface where cockroaches are commonly found, it sticks to their feet, enters their body and kills them. Once there is cockroach infestation, try any of these remedies to get rid of them and then you can wash or wipe down the whole place with neem water (neem leaves boiled in water) and let it dry completely before using again....

 

How To Dry Rose Petals Fast & Use For Potpourri, Tea & Wedding Confetti

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am partial to the smell of roses as I keep making almost all my preparations with them. The reason I am this addicted to the smell of roses is because of the smell of paneer variety roses. They don't look pretty like regular roses but their amazingly sweet, fresh fragrance is so very divine. Since paneer variety roses are easy to grow almost all the homes in our village side used to have paneer roses but now it is not as commonly seen as before. I always use only paneer variety roses and prefer to collect my rose petals from my own garden as I am very particular about using pesticide free roses. I collect the fresh petals and shade dry them and store for future use. One of the blog readers asked me how I dry and store my roses for a long time so I thought I will do a brief post about it. The main thing to note when drying rose petals is to collect them fresh early in the morning and always collect only the fresh roses not the ones that are wilted as the fresh roses have the best fragrance and beautiful pink color. How we dry our rose petals are also important, we can do them in 3 ways. The first method is to dry them out in the oven, to do that just spread the rose petals in a single layer in a baking sheet and bake in a low temperature, fan assisted ovens will dry them faster and evenly. The second method is by using the dehydrator and the third is shade drying. I prefer to shade dry the roses as it retains it's fragrance and color very well. Dried rose petals have wonderful uses and if you have them at home, you can make wonderful things with them. They can be used in potpourri, in cake decorations, as a wedding confetti, for making tea and of course the amount of skin and hair preparations you can do with them are endless. I have many recipes using dried rose petals in the blog, check them out. You can also freeze the dried rose petals and store for months together. To freeze, spread the dried rose petals on a sheet, freeze and store. Next time you have lot of rose petals hand, try drying and storing them for future use, you will be very happy you did so.....

 

DIY Best Homemade Laundry Detergent For Sensitive Skin Without Borax

 

I was making my own homemade soaps for many years, I really enjoyed designing my own soaps and had great fun making different shapes and sizes with herbs and other ingredients. The only problem with making your own soaps is dealing with lye. Especially if you are making large batches the smell can be too much and it is quite dangerous, if you have small children running around. But since a regular reader of this blog insisted that I post on how to make laundry detergent at home, I was very excited to do it because I had to make Castile soap for the recipe. I still miss making soaps on a regular basis and had great fun making this detergent. Making our own homemade laundry detergent can save us of lot of money and the best, best thing about this detergent is it can be used for people with very sensitive skin too. It is easy to make the regular laundry detergent but the challenge is to make it for people with very sensitive skin. I know many children are allergic to harsh detergents and for them this kind of homemade detergents without any harsh chemicals will be very good. I did not want to make borax based detergent, as it might not agree with everyone. The main ingredients for making this homemade laundry detergent are washing soda, baking soda and Castile soap. All these three ingredients are amazing cleaners that are very gentle on the skin. Each one has their preference when it comes to mixing these ingredients and I prefer the ratio given, as it effectively cleans the clothes. Castile soap is a cold pressed soap made with only olive oil as a base and is very very gentle on the skin. You can easily order it online and it is not very expensive. I made a small batch of Castile soap for making the detergent, nowadays good quality cold pressed soaps are marketed in small fares in India mostly by small business owners and homemakers which are very good, you can try those soaps too. All you have to do is mix all the ingredients along with some good quality citrus essential oils for fragrance and your homemade laundry detergent is ready to be used!

 

How to Make Agarbatti at Home | How to Make Incense Sticks and Cones at Home

 

I have always wanted to make incense sticks commonly called agarbatti in India, from natural ingredients at home. After researching so much about incense making at home, I settled with two methods. The first method is very easy and all you need is unscented agarbattis and your favorite essential oils. Place the unscented agarbatti in a long ceramic box. Now mix your fragrance oils and then sprinkle it over the agarbatti. The drippings in the box can be reused again. Once the whole stick is soaked in the fragrance oil, tap to remove the excess fragrance and then place it in a glass jar to dry out for at least 24 hours. Once dry, your personalized incense sticks are ready. This process is easy, very simple and the unscented incense sticks can be bought very cheaply everywhere. The other method is making cones from natural ingredients. I thought of grinding my favorite herbs for making the cones, but I got a pack of fresh sandalwood shavings and they smelt so divine that I decided to use it instead. Making incense cones is a matter of personal choice, you can grind up any of your favorite herbs. Usually makko powder is used as a binding agent, as it helps the incense cones burn smoothly and evenly. Makko powder is a natural powder obtained form an evergreen tree and it' s smoke does no harm to the body. You can also use charcoal, but the fumes from charcoal are very bad for us. To make your own incense, powder your favorite herbs and mix it with makko powder in the ratio of 3: 1. Add distilled water and bind everything together into small cones, let it dry and your homemade incense cones are ready to be lit. I know many of you will be wondering, why make our own incense when there are so many varieties of incense in the market. The herbal incense that you make at home are very pure and can do multiple things like ward of mosquitoes, relieve headache, relax depending on the herb that you are using and also the intense satisfaction of making our own things that are pure. Since I had the sandalwood shavings, I didn't use the makko powder. It is very hard to get sandalwood shavings, so try using makko powder. I mixed the sandalwood shavings with pure sandalwood powder and made it into cones, I also added a few drops of sandalwood essential oil to it. Frankincense powder, sandalwood powder, dried holy basil leaves are all good choices to use for the making the incense cones. Get creative and have fun making incense sticks and cones at home!

 

DIY Best Natural Homemade Dish Detergent Powder Recipe Without Borax & Citric Acid

 

Most of us use some form of a chemical detergent for washing our dishes. Even in my home, I use the liquid detergent to hand-wash the dishes. I was talking to my grandma about the dish detergent products, they were using before all these chemical based dish washing soaps and liquids. In my grandma's time, they were using natural products like soap nut or natural powders. This recipe for dish detergent powder is natural and cleans really well. Most of the chemical detergents leave a thin film on the vessels, but this homemade dish washing powder does not leave a thin film like chemical based cleaning powders and it cleans well even with hard water. It has got just two ingredients - shikakai and orange peels. I know most of you must be wondering about using shikakai for dish washing. But shikakai is a wonderful natural cleaner and cleans the vessels really well. I like to buy whole shikakai pods, sun dry and make my own powder. If you want to buy it from the shops, make sure to buy a powder that has only got shikakai powder as the only ingredient. Orange peel is also a very good cleaner and naturally deodorizes the vessels. Because of the orange peels in the recipe, it smells really great too. The only thing that we have to be concerned when making this powder is you need bright sunlight for drying out the ingredients properly. If the ingredients are not sun dried before powdering, they will not powder very well. If the powder is not fine, it might leave small scratches on expensive kitchen wears. To make this powder take the shikakai and orange peels and sun dry them well separately in bright sunlight till really crisp. Powder them separately, immediately after sun drying, as it helps to grind the powder finely. Once it is ground finely, mix it together well, you can also sieve the powder if it is not ground finely. Let it cool and then store in airtight bottles. To use, take a scouring pad and touch a little bit of the powder and use it to wash the dishes. This powder does not produce foam but cleans the vessels really well.

 

DIY: How to Make Homemade Scented Sachets for Wardrobes & Drawers

 

 

Making scented sachets is a delightful, easy project to be done with children. If left in the cupboard, these  give out a beautiful fragrance that will scent all the things in the cupboard. This is one project that will make children notice nature and appreciate the natural beauty and fragrance. There is no fixed ingredients for scented sachets which is even more delightful because children can get creative and choose the ingredients that they like. Take the child out into the garden and show them the different herbs that you have and ask them to choose their favorite scented herb. Let them choose the herbs according to their requirements like if they want it for their clothes cupboard, drawers, wardrobes, as a decorative arrangement, as a gift or as a sleep sachet. I always had a scented sachet in my cupboard from my childhood. Some of them store bought, some made by me and the contents varied according to my mood and requirements. This time I wanted to make a scented sachet that will smell good and at the same time act as a natural moth repellent. When I saw beautiful flowers in my tulsi plant, I wanted to use that for my sachets, as I know they are great moth repellents and have a beautiful fragrance. The choices are endless, dried lavender, dried rose petals, nutmeg, cinnamon, citrus peels, dried thyme, dried rosemary are all good choices. Ask the child to smell and choose the ones they like. Once the child chooses his/ her favorite herbs clean them well and dry them in the shade till there is no moisture left. The drying part is very important, else they will spoil very quickly. Once the drying part is over, add a few drops of essential oil that matches the ingredients you have chosen, I added a few drops of holy basil essential oil to the dried tulsi/ holy basil flowers. I strongly recommend trying tulsi flowers for scented sachet for it's wonderful fragrance, the fragrance is so uplifting. For the sachets, I had few beautiful silk sachets at home and I used that, but try pure cotton muslin cloth, as they let out the fragrance more easily. 

 

DIY Homemade Reed Diffuser Oil | Refill Recipe

 

I am a firm believer of aromatherapy and I find it a great stress buster. This homemade reed diffuser is a great and fun way to relax at home and the best thing is once you make it, it lasts a long time. Reed diffusers can be made with oils or water as a base. Almond oil, grape seed oil, safflower oil are good choices for using it as a base. But I prefer water based diffusers and as usual went for my favorite homemade rose water as a base. I feel water based reed diffusers let out the scent better. The next ingredient is vodka or rubbing alcohol, as they help the essential oils mix with the water. I prefer vodka as a binding agent because I detest the smell of rubbing alcohol. I don't mind using rubbing alcohol in some of my homemade products but when it comes to fragrance, I prefer the unflavored vodka. You can also use complimentary flavors, like lemon flavored vodka with lemon essential oil and water, etc. The next thing is essential oils, get creative here and try mixing your own blends. I went with rose essential oil and lavender, but it is really your choice, you can even use a single essential oil too. The reeds that are used to diffuse the scent is sold every everywhere cheaply now. The final and the best part is choosing the bottle for the diffuser. Try to get a beautiful, narrow necked bottle for making the diffuser. Don't place the diffuser in a place, where it gets direct sunlight, the diffusers will loose their scent very quickly. Remember to turn the sticks around every few days and if they completely loose their scent, add a splash of vodka and few drops of essential oil to the mixture. Swirling the bottle around once every few days also helps. To relax, choose essential oils like lavender, rose, etc. To freshen up, choose citrus essential oils and try to get good quality essential oils for the best fragrance. If you enjoy making this reed diffuser at home, I think you will enjoy making homemade aromatic candles too. Watch the video on making aromatherapy candles below. 

 

 

How to Make Pancha Deepam Pooja Diya Oil at Home

 

Oil lamps are a part of many traditions and religions all over the world. I have always loved to light diyas/oil lamps in my house both for prayer and for decoration. Diya's are clay lamps that are sold in different sizes. Lighting diya's always gives me a sense of peace and fills me with positive energy. I have always followed the tradition of mixing the oils like how my grandmother taught me. It is made with five oils, that is why it is called "Pancha deepam oil" meaning a mixture of five oils. Each oil in this mixture has it's own individual benefits. They represent the five elements that we are made off and helps to balance the energy field in our body. Though pancha deepam oil is sold in the market, I prefer to make my own with purest oils at home. This mixture has got pure ghee (Clarified butter), sesame oil, neem oil, illupai oil (mahua oil) and castor oil. This mixture of oils is believed to bring happiness, wealth, fame and peace into the home. Lighting the diya's with the mixture of these oils also act as a natural insect and mosquito repellent. When I was younger, my grandma told me about an incident that happened during the Bhopal gas tragedy that killed many people. When the gas leaked, a family who was performing a ritual that involves burning ghee was saved because of the fumes let out by ghee and other things used in the ritual. This incident is etched in my memory and I still remember thinking how all the others also would have been saved, if everyone knew about it. This incident also taught me to take our traditions very seriously. Out of these five ingredients, ghee, sesame oil and castor oil can be easily found in every home. Neem oil and mahua oil can be easily got from any departmental store easily. Try to make a big batch of this oil and regularly use it to light oil lamps in your home. 

 

DIY: Best Natural Homemade Toilet Cleaner Recipe

 

I love making my own cleaners and I have collected so many recipes over the years. Some recipes work, but some are complicated and expensive, this homemade toilet cleaner bomb recipe belongs to the former variety. It is easy and fun to make, stores well and can be made in a matter of minutes. This homemade toilet cleaner recipe is also very inexpensive to make and is very eco friendly. Using harsh chemicals in our homes can be easily prevented by making homemade cleaners that are equally very effective like store bought, chemical filled toilet cleaners. This recipe has got baking soda, citric acid and rose essential oil. As we all know, baking soda is an amazing cleaner, citric acid removes the stains and the essential oil deodorizes the toilets. I love the smell of rose essential oil, but you can use any essential oil that you prefer. If you feel essential oils are expensive to use in a toilet cleaner, you can use any one of your favorite perfumes to make it. To make the homemade toilet cleaner, first mix the measured out baking soda and citric acid in a bowl and mix well. Add the color, essential oils or the perfume that you like and mix well till it is thoroughly moistened. You have to add it drop by drop, if you add too much they will start fizzing. Please don't add water to mix the baking soda mixture, they will start fizzing right away. Press them in silicone molds, remove and let them dry out. Once dry, remove and store them in air tight jars. To use, take one of the toilet cleaner bombs and drop them in the toilet. They will start fizzing and effectively cleaning and deodorizing the toilets naturally!

DIY: Natural Homemade Insect Repellent Recipe

 

 

This recipe for homemade insect repellent has been used for generations in our village. It is the same recipe that we use in arathi thattu for weddings. When my son was a baby, everyday I used to put him to sleep in thooli / Indian baby hammock. I followed all the traditions that was practiced for generations in raising a baby. Though at first I didn't understand the reason for certain traditions, I just followed them, trusting my elders. Now that I am researching into our home remedies and traditions, I am so glad I followed the instructions of my elders. Now all these customs and traditions are backed by science and I am able to understand the reason for these traditions much better now. One such custom is placing a bowl filled with navadhanya grains, slaked lime and turmeric paste under the Indian baby hammock/ thooli. I never under stood the meaning for this ritual, but since I am a firm believer of our traditions, I used to religiously keep the bowl under his bed. Now it has been proven that this mixture is one of the best homemade insect repellent recipes and it helps to protect the child from insect bites. Navadhanya grains is used mainly for navagraha pooja and it contains nine cereals combined together. The navagraha pooja is a prayer offered to the nine planets and the navadhanya grains are said to be effective in purifying the energy field of the place. We get navadhanya grains already mixed together in markets. To make this homemade insect repellant, first get fresh turmeric paste by rubbing a turmeric over a coarse stone. Mix together navadhanya grains, turmeric paste and water in a bowl. Now to the turmeric and navadhanya mixture, add slaked lime till the mixture turns red. Place this homemade insect repellent mixture under the thooli/ Indian baby hammock. You can also use this recipe for making arthi during ceremonies.  

 

3 Easy Steps To Make Fruit & Vegetable Wash Recipe at Home

 

Nowadays I think twice before eating any fruit with the skin. Most of the time it is hard to get organic fruits. Since I am living in a village, the small towns near by my village does not have organic shops. I have constantly suffered eating fruits than not eating them, due to pesticides. Each time I eat a water melon, I get throat infection due to the pesticide spraying. You will be surprised, if I say how I wash my grapes! I bring water to the boil and add the grapes and let it sit till the water cools and then eat it. The problem is that since the fruit is almost cooked in the boiling water, it does not have the fresh taste and tastes bland. I was looking for a good, natural fruit and vegetable wash recipe that can be done easily at home and one that really works. I also wanted it to be chemical free, as chemical laden washes will add few more layers of chemicals on the fruits. I really liked this recipe, as I found it be quite effective. This recipe for homemade fruit and vegetable wash has vinegar and lemon juice. Vinegar is excellent in removing pesticide coat on top of the fruits. I personally like 1: 2 vinegar to water ratio. You can also use 1: 3 vinegar to water ratio, but anything  below this ratio will not be very effective. Try using non synthetic vinegar for making this recipe. You can make this fruit wash and store it in a spray bottle. To use, spray it on the fruits and veggies till it is coated with the spray. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then the fruits can be washed well and used. Any time you buy non organic fruits that has to be eaten with the skin on, always try washing it with this homemade wash. It only takes 10 minutes for the whole process but saves us from lot of toxicity. Though this process does not guarantee a 100% reduction in pesticide, it greatly reduces it. Enjoy pesticide free fruits and vegetables! 

DIY: Natural Homemade Air Freshener Gel Recipe

 

Nothing relaxes a person more than a home, that smells great. Even before writing this post, I just lit my favorite incense stick, which has become like a ritual for me. Nowadays we lead very stressful lives, which I feel is the main reason for all our illness. Simple rituals like these keep us relaxed and peaceful. I always try any recipe that make my home smell good. When I came across a recipe for homemade air freshener gel, I was really tempted to try it and I tried it this week end. With the first batch, when I added the essential oil, the temperature of the liquid was too high (the recipe instructed me to add the essential oil immediately after I melted the gelatin) and the smell was not strong. For the second batch, I let the liquid cool down a bit and then added the perfume and the second batch turned out perfect. Making our own home made things is not very difficult, all we need is a little bit of patience and interest. This homemade air freshener gel can be placed anywhere in the home and I left it in my bed side table and they smell great. They also make great gifts. If you pour it into beautiful glass jars, they really will rival any store bought expensive air fresheners that are made of chemicals and artificial perfume. To make the homemade freshener gel, first let the gelatin sponge by sprinkling it over distilled water. Wait for 10 minutes, then melt it over double boiler or directly over low heat till the gelatin is completely melted. Remove from fire and add the salt and liquid food color and mix well. Let it cool down a bit and then add your favorite perfume or essential oils. Try to match the color of the gel with the perfume, like yellow for citrus, pink for rose etc and then pour into your favorite glass jars and let it set overnight and your delightful homemade air freshener gel is ready!

 

DIY: How to Make Orange Candle

 

I have always felt amazingly calm whenever I light an aromatic candle or burn a soothing incense at home. I always have a stock of incense sticks at home. But lately I am into aromatic candles, as they really help us to relax after a long stressful day. But the aromatic candles we get from the shops are quite expensive. Though I indulge once in a while and buy them, I was thinking of making aromatic candles myself. When I was deciding on the fragrance for my homemade candle, I settled on citrus because citrus essential oils really uplifts our mood. I got this idea of making candles with oranges, when I saw a picture of candle made with fresh lemons in one of the magazines I was reading. I had paraffin wax with me already and the only thing that took some searching was the wick for the candles and I had to buy them in bulk from a local supplier. Once you get the ingredients, you can make this homemade candle very quickly. First cut the fresh oranges in half, I squeezed the juice out carefully, but make sure not to scar or cut the orange when you are squeezing the juice else the hot wax will leak out. Take a cello tape and paste it over the middle of the orange. Now insert the wick through the tape, correctly in the middle. Once you have prepared the orange, melt the paraffin wax over a double boiler. Using a double boiler is very important, it prevents the wax from getting burnt. Once the wax is melted, add your favorite citrus essential oil, I also added the zest from the other half of the lemon. Pour it into prepared orange immediately. If you wait for too long the wax will set and you will have to melt it again. Wait for the wax to completely set before carefully cutting off the cello tape from the orange using sharp scissors. I was very happy when I lit the candle because the amazing smell of fresh oranges filled the whole house, making me feel proud of my little creation.

 

DIY: Natural Homemade Hand Sanitizer Recipe

Sanitizers are great because when you are traveling or in emergency, you don't have to search for water to wash your hands. Just rub a small portion of sanitizer, the alcohol and antibacterial properties of the other ingredients in the sanitizer helps to kill the germs in your hands. When I saw the recipe for making home made hand sanitizer in one of my books, I wanted to try it. The first time I made it, the proportion of alcohol was too high in the mixture and I had a feeling that it was drying out my skin. The second time, I tweaked the proportion to suit my skin and I really liked the result, when I used it to sanitize my skin. In a commercially bought product, when you read the ingredient list, it is quite long with all sorts of chemicals. But all the ingredients in this home made sanitizer are pure and will not irritate the skin. The ingredients used for this sanitizer are rubbing alcohol, Aloe Vera gel and glycerine. The alcohol in this mixture sanitizes the hands, you can also substitute unflavored vodka for rubbing alcohol, if you don't like the smell of rubbing alcohol. Aloe Vera gel and glycerine in the sanitizer moisturizes the hands well. I have used tea tree oil too, as it is has powerful antimicrobial properties and helps to kill the bacteria in the hands along with alcohol. Try to buy the best quality, pure Aloe Vera gel to make this sanitizer. I made it with fresh Aloe Vera gel, but the shelf life of the product made with fresh Aloe Vera gel will be very less than the one made with Aloe Vera gel that we get in the markets. To make the sanitizer, take the Aloe Vera gel and rubbing alcohol and mix well together. Add the glycerine and tea tree essential oil and mix well till everything is combined well together. If you feel the Aloe Vera gel is not blended well, you can even use the blender to mix everything together. You can adjust the amount of alcohol, but anything less than 50 % will not be effective as a hand sanitizer. Now all you need is a cute bottle to pour and use.

DIY: Homemade Orange Clove Pomander

Orange and clove pomanders have been made from the 15'th century. These pomanders make wonderful room fresheners. They also act as a natural moth repellent. I wanted to try this orange and clove pomander for a long time and finally I tried it last week. The citrus smell from the oranges, when it's punctured with cloves is incredible. These pomanders are fun to make with children and the citrus smell from these oranges also uplift the mood. The more the amount of cloves you use for the pomander, the longer they keep well. To make this pomander, take the required amount of cloves and sprinkle them with essential oil of your choice. Orange, clove and pure vanilla will go well with this orange pomander. If you don't have any essential oil at home, you can skip this step. Pierce the orange with a tooth pick. Get creative and make your own patterns. Stud the cloves into the pierced holes. Make sure to insert the cloves well into the hole. Take a knitting needle and insert it in the center of the pomander till it comes out on the other end. Remove the needle and insert a thick cord through the hole and tie a knot on the other end. Hang this pomander in an airy place and enjoy refreshing, natural scent year round!