The little things.

I have written about my homamade deodorant and toothpaste, as well as the fact that pimento jars are absolutely perfect for storing them. A few reasons: some lot of cities I’ve lived in haven’t offered glass recycling, so reusing it is always the more desired option over tossing it; my mom makes the best pimento and cheese, so my family creates what I would say is more than average pimento jar waste; with all the concern over BPAs (compounds found in some types of plastics that some studies have shown to disrupt the way that hormones function in our bodies, causing a whole slew of problems), I just feel safer using glass over plastic. So, as it turns out, I usually have a couple of concoctions hanging out in pimento jars in my medicine cabinet. I like that they are stackable and compact, but I do not like that several things in my medicine cabinet are labeled “Dromedary Diced Pimentos.”  All that’s required is matte Mod Podge and craft paper scraps to fix that little problem!

Jar sidez.

The white stuff is the toothpaste and the green stuff is the deodorant.

Jar lidz.

I love mixing patterns--plaid AND polka dots? Oh my!

Now I’m of course finding all kinds of uses for this little trick.  Expect more Mod Podged goodness in the near future.  A journal and pencil set, perhaps?

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A Tried and True Homemade Deodorant Recipe

Tonight was supposed to be dedicated to toothpaste-making, but I still need spearmint and peppermint essential oils.  I have plenty of lavender and dried mint on hand, though, so I decided to make a little deodorant since I used my next-to-last crumbs up this morning anyway.  Most people who know that I make my deodorant exclaim one of two things: a mildly disgusted, “Why?” or “Cool! Can you make me some?”  This whole thing started my sophomore year when Lush abruptly stopped making their Aromacreme,which I’d been using and loving for a year or two.  I was devastated, and tried several all-natural brands that left me spelling a lot like a Frito Chili Pie.  Needless to say I was tired of stinking. I was also tired of paying up to $15 on products that likely wouldn’t work for me, so I decided to google something like “homemade deodorant recipes,” and the following concoction is the first one I stumbled upon. I’ve continued to make it because it’s worked so well for me, and although I recently heard that Lush’s Aromacreme is back in production,there’s no way I’m going back to paying for that stuff when I can make this myself for a lot cheaper.

As for the recipe itself, here’s how it goes: I smashed up a little dried mint, lavender essential oil, and baking soda in the mortar and pestle and then mixed it all with cornstarch, baking soda, and coconut oil.  Any essential oil can be used, and the mint seems to be more for appearance than anything—I’ve been trying to perfect this combination for some time now, but half the time I can’t even smell the mint part.  Expect further experimentation on this combination in the future.

Easy Homemade Deodorant

1/2 C cornstarch
1/2 C baking soda (I used some of this portion to smash up the mint with)
1-3 T. coconut oil
A few drops of the essential oil of your choice

Combine and store in an airtight container. I find a clean pimento jar works nicely, and this amount lasts me a month or two.

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