Smells like....whatever you choose.

It has been a while since I have taken the time to write on this blog. You would think that being retired would mean you have all the time in the world, it just doesn't seem to work out that way. I think part of the reason is that we take on more projects to do ourselves that we might have hired out when we were working. I also like to think that we are taking the time to learn new skills to help us in our retirement.   
  We love learning to do new things that help to save a few dollars or to make a healthier product for us to use. In the past we have talked about the cooking that we have tried, and that is a great way to have a good healthy meal at a lower cost and I like to think that cooking together has brought us closer at a time in our lives where too many people seem to find that they have nothing in common anymore.
  We like to make some of our own household products. One of the first that we tried was making our own deodorant. We looked at the cost and then after all the reading about the nasty chemicals that are absorbed by our bodies, this project seemed like a no brainer. And to top it off it was so easy. We were a bit skeptical about it at first, but we bit the bullet and gave it a try. With a little trial and error we have come up with a product that we both like and that works for us. We are able to get most of the ingredients at our local bulk store. The initial set-up costs a bit, but most of the ingredients have multiple uses.

  Homemade deodorant

2 Tbsp Coconut oil
5 Tbsp Arrowroot Powder
5 Tbsp Baking Soda
a few drops of essential oil( we like Lavender or a Lemon/Rosemary mix





Once all the ingredients are in the bowl, mix with your hands until you get a pretty solid ball. The heat from your hands will melt the coconut oil and allow everything to come together.







We saved some old stick deodorant tubes and just pack the mixture into them after winding the mechanism down to the bottom. 








When using this deodorant, you only dab it on your underarms, it takes very little to do the job. If you notice some redness it might be the chemicals from your old deodorant coming our of your pores or it could be a reaction to an essential oil. This recipe will make enough for both of us to last about a month. I wouldn't recommend increasing the recipe as there are no preservatives in it and if it last longer it could cause problems since you are using organic products that will break down over time.

The original recipe called for 1/4 cup each of baking powder and corn starch. We found that the extra baking powder made the recipe a bit abrasive and could cause chafing. We switched to arrowroot powder as it is less likely to cause a yeast infection, it is more naturally resistant to fungus and bacteria.

One of the things that most retirees agree on is that you have to live on a fixed budget, it is not easy to make up any shortfall if your budget doesn't balance. This is just one of the ways that we have found to cut costs and have a bit of fun doing it. We also make our own laundry soap, which sounds like a topic for another blog. We do most of own repairs and building projects. We recently laid our own hardwood floor in the kitchen at less than 1/3 the cost of having it done by someone else. These are all skills that we develop that save us a few dollars and also give us a great deal of satisfaction as we use utilize the items we have built. 
If you have anything that you do to save a few pennies or you want information about any of our other ideas, please feel free to leave a comment.