Jars Full of Goodness

I like canning jars......and all other glass jars. I'm kinda a jar pack rat. But as I've leaned towards "green", moving away from plastic wrap and baggies, I appreciate my jar stash. 


Whether the jars are found in the cellar, filled with fall's harvest........

.....a jar of lemon and honey to sooth the throat or an old kombucha bottle turned vase for a handful of fresh cut pussy willow branches, in their usefulness they become beautiful.
















I have jars in my refrigerator, jars on top of the refrigerator, jars in my bathroom and under the kitchen sink, even a few jars on my counter. Some people collect knick-knacks. I collect jars full of goodness. 


Here's just a few in my collections ~

From left to right: Ant Killer, Dishwasher Detergent, Shaved Soap, Bone Broth, Viili Yogurt, Flax, Cold Remedy.

ANTS

I was amazed to see ants under my cupboard the other day. It's March. I live in Minnesota. Really? I have a bucket under the sink that I keep for collecting scraps for the chickens. This, and the mild Minnesota weather, brought the army. I don't like bugs in my house. I quickly googled "homemade ant poison" and found that borax, sugar and water make a fine poison. I mixed one part borax with three parts sugar, covered with water, stirred and poured a little onto a plastic lid. I did that yesterday. Today there are no ants!

SOAP

In my attempt to make all my own cleaning products, dish soap and dishwasher detergent have alluded me for quite some time. I've tried MANY recipes. Recently I found recipes for both that work better than most. Not perfect but better.

Dishwasher Detergent

1 c. borax
1 c. washing soda
1/4 c. citric acid 
1/4 c. salt
I also added about 20 drops of grapefruit essential oil. Use 1 T. per load.

Dish Soap

1 T. grated homemade soap
1 T. vinegar
1 T. washing soda
Add 1 1/2 c. boiling water to the above ingredients and vigourously stir until soap is dissolved. Add tea tree essential oil. 

Instructions for bone broth can be found here.

Viili is my newest favorite homemade yogurt. SO EASY! When I see my yogurt stash is depleting, I top my jar with milk, give it a good shake and place it on top of the frig to inoculate for 10 hours or more. The longer it's left at room temperature, the thicker the yogurt becomes. I bought my starter here. But if you are in the area I share! 

Cold Remedy

The other day I shared my "Day of Garlic" which incredibly relieved me of most of my symptoms. On Monday, although I was feeling tons better, my throat was still a little so I made some Lemon-Honey Sore Throat Relief. 


I cut 1 lemon into chunks, added 2 cloves of garlic, 3-6 pieces of candied ginger and topped with honey (1/2 cup or more? I don't know....I forgot to measure). I stirred and squished this all together. I added about 1/2 T. ...or a little more to a cup of hot water. Yum. Store in the frig.