Great Gift Ideas For The Minimalist Family In Your Life

With the new minimalist movement and the holidays coming I thought it would be a good idea to suggest some gifts for families that are trying to be minimal. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to buy minimalistic families. Most minimalist families have been working hard to get rid of unwanted things. We are trying to keep our homes clear of unuseful items and normally already have everything we need. Every minimal family is different but we all have the same mind set of keeping the clutter low and items useful in their home. Most items in our homes are multipurpose. We also don’t want to get caught up in the consumerism of the holidays OR have you fall for it either.

Try to keep your gifts useful and catered to the families needs, wants and likes. If you are unsure, just ask them, they will tell you exactly what they have been missing in their lives. A lot of times our budgets are so tight we don’t have room for needed things like nights out or family field trips. We might also be saving for something the family needs.

Here are some great ideas for the minimal family.

• Homemade gifts: remember we don’t like the idea of consumerism, but homemade or handmade gifts are ALWAYS
• Think year round:
  • Memberships to wholesale warehouses, amusement parks, YMCA, community pool, Food Co-Op’s, etc.
• Coupon Books (like the cute ones your kids have likely made for you):
  • Make them dinner once a month for a year- they would love the break and time spent with you.
  • Baby sit for them once a month for a year.
  • Lunch or coffee dates
  • Spend time with nieces and nephews’
• Gift Cards:
  • Specialty stores, hobby stores, websites, grocery stores, restaurants
• Family Day/Night out:
  • Dinner, movies, zoo trips, amusement park trips, plays etc.

Remember they are trying to keep things simple and you should too. Ask them what they might need, they probably have a list.

These are just some quick things that I had thought of. Of course you could always just refrain from gift giving all together and focus on what is always most important; the love of family and friends.

Happy Holidays 🙂

JEM

Bucket Liquid Laundry Soap

Bucket Liquid laundry Soap
Janelle McCoy
2018

1 cup washing soda
1 cup baked soda
1 cup Bora
10 oz shaved bar soap
8 liters of hot water
60 drops Essential oils

Add dry ingredients to 5 gallon bucket, pour 4 liters of boiling water and stir. Once soap and soda’s are dissolved add other 4 liters of water, once cooled to 180° or less add essential oils. Store in bucket.

Use ½ to 3/4 cup of gel for a load.

Rock Star Mama Tea

Rock Star Mama tea
pre and post partum tea

Janelle McCoy

2017

Rock Star Mama tea blend was created for Mom’s new and old that needed a little help during high stress times. Whether you’re a working mom or one with only household duties, sometimes the children young and old continue to keep us moving. This blend calms the nerves, and keeps the blues away during that irritating times of the month.

3pts chamomile
1pt raspberry leaf
1pt lemon balm
1.25 pts hibiscus flower
1 pt echinacea herb
½ pt blessed thistle
½ pt oatstraw
1pt nettle
½ pt lavender

How to prepare 1-2 tbsp of dry herb blend to 8-10 oz of hot water. Let sit for 5-15 minutes, the longer it brews the more medicinal it becomes. Sweetener is optional.

Drink 1-3 cups a day, for 4 weeks after delivery, throughout PMS times, or just because your feeling a little too Mrs Frizzle.

This blend may increase uterine recovery after birth and during menstrual cycle.

This blend may strengthen uterine strength before birth.

This blend may increase energy levels while reducing nervous tension.

Also try Mother’s Milk Tea Blend to keep your milk flowing strong as the baby grows.

JEM’s Spicy Roasted Nuts

Spicey nuts

Olive oil
festa party dip
cummin
white pepper
oild bay
chilli powder
black pepper
5 cups nuts

See how to roast nuts, do that but usey herbal mixture instead.

JEM’s Pancake Mix

Pancake Mix

2 cups all purpouse flower
1 ½ cup whole wheat flower
½ cup flax seed(ground)
3 tbs baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt

1 cup mix, 1 cup water, 1 egg mix well and cook like pancakes.
I like to use 2 cups mix to 2 cups water to 1 egg.

Berry Pancakes
1 cup pancake mix
¾ c water
Mix until lumpy
Gently add ½ cup fresh or frozen berries to the batter.
Cook like pancakes

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
Fold in to pancake mix ½ cu peeled, diced fresh apples and ½ tsp cinnamon

Country breakfast pancakes
add to pancake batter ½ cup crumbled bacon or sausage.

Banana pancakes
Add ½ cup sliced banana to your mix.

Chocolate Chip
Add ½ cup chocolate chips to your batter.

Sore Muscles Bath Salts

Sore Muscles Bath Salts #1
3 DR frankincense oil
2 dr Eucalyptus oil
7 dr Rosewood
4 dr patchouli oil
3 Dr vanilla oil
5 ml Hemp seed oil
1 ½ c sea salts
1 ½ c Epson salt
1 c baking soda
1/3 magnesium flakes
__ Castile soap

I found my handwriten recipes for this line.

Mother’s Milk Tea

Mother’s Milk Tea

Janelle McCoy

2017

This tea can be used in the last trimester to prepare for birth and help milk come in fuller. The herbs used will create a vitamin filled milk production and help the mother keep energy, especially during infancy.

2 pt raspberry leaf
½ pt fennel seeds
2 pts nettle leaf
1 pt dandelion leaf
½ pt blessed thistle
1pt alfalfa
3 pt chamomile

To prepare use 1 tbsp of herb mixer to 8-10 oz of water.
sweet to taste with prefered sweetener or drink it plain.

It is suggested to consume, 1-3 cups a day before birth. Increasing amount drank from 1 cup per day to 3 cups per day each week of the last trimester.

Once birth has happened continue with your 3 cups a day after birth but can increase up to 6 cups per day.

Also try Rock Star Mama tea blend for a smoother recovery from pregnancy and laber& delivery.

Light Brown Leave in Hair Conditioner Spray

Leave in hair conditioner spray

Decoction/infusion
3c water
2 tbs marshmallow root
pinch of ceder wood
1 green tea bag
1 tbs hibiscus
1 tbs chamomile
1 tbs nettle

simmer marshmallow root and ceder wood for 20 mins turn off heat and infuse all other herbs strain once water is cooled.

Once cool add:
2 c Decoction
½ c aloe Vera gel
10 drops VG
4 drops argon essential oil
40 drops lavender essential oil
4 drops Vitamin E oil

I Hacked Vicks Vapor Rub…

Please read this disclaimer.

I have been surprised with all the feedback I have been getting about my vapor rub lately. I never thought it would be so popular. I had whipped up a quick batch last year and immediately gave it away to friends and family members. I never received feed back until now and boy is it nice to hear how well it has helped other families. I decided while filling yet another order I would share how I made it with the world!

The best part of JEM’s Vapor Rub is that it doubles as a Neosporin or Mel-a-gel. Not only will it sooth your congestion you can also use it on cuts, scraps and other booboo’s as well. We have even used it to help bug bites stop itching. Okay I lied the BESTEST part about this vapor rub is that it is petroleum and other harmful chemical FREE!

Now normally I would say the Essential oils are optional but for this recipe they are NOT optional. The essential oils are what makes the vapor rub, vapor rub. I have researched what goes into Vick’s and which oils have healing properties that helps with congestion. Of course you could always add to this list, but I would seriously recommend not taking any of these out.

What you need to make an all natural vapor rub:

• 2 ½ TBSP Coconut oil
• 2 TBSP Bee’s Wax
• ½ TBSP Caster Oil
• 1 ½ TBSP Aloe Jelly
• 20-30 Drops of Camphor Oil
• 40-50 Drops of eucalyptus Oil
• 30-40 Drops of Tea Tree Oil
• 20-30 Drops of Peppermint Oil

Steps:

1. In a double boiler melt coconut oil, bee’s wax and castor oil together.
2. As soon as the bee’s wax and coconut oil is melted turn off heat.
3. Let cool for a few minutes and then add the Aloe Jelly. Mix well. REALLY WELL to get the jelly to mix with the wax and oils.
4. Once Aloe is incorporated into the wax and oil mixture; add your essential oils. You want to let it cool some before adding the essential oils because they could lose their potency in high heats.
5. Pour mixture into clean dry air-tight containers. Leave open until the vapor rub cools and hardens.

** When doubled, the recipe will make three small 4 oz mason jars worth of vapor rub. **

Once hardened you can use it just like vapor rub. Apply to chest, back, neck, feet and even under your nose (no, not IN your nose silly). This vapor rub is safe for the whole family. When using it on babies I would suggest keeping it off of their face. (Just in case, you wouldn’t want anything getting into babies eye, nose or mouth) When my kids were babies I applied it to their feet and put socks on them. I still do this for Things 3 and 4 and even Mr. JEM when he’s feeling yucky.

If you don’t have time or the ingredients to make your own, check out JEM’s Eclectic Home Etsy store for a chance to have your very own container of JEM’s Vapor Rub land right in your mail box right in time for cold and flu season.

I hope you enjoy this chemical free version of Vapor Rub. I know that my family does.

Check out my post…I Hacked Burt’s Bees Hand Salve for another DIY recipe.

Please read this disclaimer.

Namaste ❤

JEM

Homemade All Purpose Cleaner

Even as a child, I have always had this strong pull to save the earth. As I grew up and learned more and more about the lifestyle I wanted to live and teach my children; the green movement came out like a bang. Now it’s all about lessening your footprint, global warming is no joke. The Poles are melting faster than ever, as our ocean levels grow; our freshwater supply is shrinking.
I decided the only way to help was to go green; all natural, chemical free. Call it what you will, I wanted to do my part to keep my family healthy and help mother earth as much as possible.
We started by using store bought green cleaning supplies, the cheap ones are still full of junk and the actual chemical-free, all-natural kind are super costly. I needed to cut my budget and still stay true to cleaning as “green” as possible. I started to researched how to make my own cleaning supplies, first was all purpose cleaner, than laundry soap, body products and so on. I will not lie; I do not use only 100% homemade cleaning supplies, YET! I cannot seem to prefect dishwasher tablets/detergent, and with a family of 6 the dishwasher is a lifesaver. (Maybe I should start making the kids hand wash dishes, ha!) I figured I would share my first and most important recipe to me with you.
All purpose cleaner. We call it Green Cleaner because the first batch I added food color to make it green. But food coloring is also not good for you, so I decided to stop coloring it. I based my recipe off of this article Homemade Cleaning Products: All-Purpose Cleaner, this recipe was to make a small amount at a time, I don’t know about you but I don’t have time to make cleaner every few days. I wanted to make at least a month’s worth at a time, so I had to reconfigure the amounts, I played around with them a few times, using my knowledge of essential oils and the other ingredients. I finally started to notice we were getting sick less and less. My body felt better overall, I didn’t have to scrub as hard to clean stains off the counters, stove or tub or worry that my son sprayed his sisters in the face. I got it, I thought!Not only did it do what I wanted it to, the gallon juice jug I reused to make it in, was lasting us 4-6 months to get through. Not only was it lasting longer than store bought cleaners, it also cost me less than $2.00 to make. I call that a win-win! Wouldn’t you?All Purpose Cleaner Concentrate

• ¼ cup washing soda
• ¼ cup baking soda
• ½ cup borax
• Appox. 64 oz hot water
• 1 cup liquid castile soap (I use Dr. Bronner’s magic soap)
• 24-36 oz white vinegar
• 50-60 drops of lavender Essential oil
• 30-40 drops of tea tree Essential oil
• 50- 60 drops of Eucalyptus essential oil
• 50-60 drops of lemon Essential oil

Make sure you add the vinegar to dry products before you add anything else. Shake well, once the reaction stops foaming add half the water, then add the castile soap. Shake well. Fill the bottle the rest of the way with hot water. Now add the oils. Shake well.
Makes a gallon.
SHAKE WELL BEFORE EACH USE.
To fill a spray bottle with all purpose cleaner add half water half cleaner. Shake well.
The all purpose cleaner can be use in mop bucket for floors, just add a few ounces of cleaner then fill the bucket up.
Hints:

• When using in a spray bottle add water before cleaner. The cleaner foams up less.
• Essential oils are optional, but are not used only for their scent they have lots of properties to keep bacteria and other “germs” away. I wouldn’t use the cleaner without them.
• Sometimes adding half the water before vinegar helps with foaming but can cause dry ingredients to clump.
• Try to find reused or recycled bottles to help keep your cost down.

Do you have any homemade cleaner success stories?