Homemade incense.....yeah, it's a thing!

I have some amazing incense, purchased from a website where things are hand made and fresh.  I also have some incense from the store....some from Walmart, some from Planet K, some from a metaphysical store in Sedona, some from Amazon.  

There is a HUUUUGE difference between the incense I purchased from the website where the woman hand makes things and all the other sources.  Huge.  Did I mention how vast the difference is?  The scent is true, not headache inducing overpowering like I've run into from other sources.  Well worth the cost and yes, I know it's "handmade" but never stopped to ponder that handmade meant that me, with my aromatherapy background and love, could make it myself.

Until today, that is.  I take classes through Aromahead Institute and am working on my Aromatherapy Specialist designation.  I read the Aromahead Blog as well as the Aromatics International Blog (one of my absolute favorite oil suppliers as they have extremely complete info on their site).  Guess what?  I found a great post from Aromahead that explains how to make your own incense sticks.  It details out why many of the mass produced blank incense sticks are NOT good due to ingredients in them.  The resource for Thai Punk Sticks she recommends is from Scents of the Earth. 

I know this hand made incense won't be as inexpensive as what I'd been purchasing in stores, but that's not my end goal.  I look to have more natural ingredients about me, things that do me and my psyche good, are good for my world.  In pursuing this, I have less and better quality and truly enjoy it more.

It's not for everyone, making your own incense, but I wanted to share.  I haven't tried it yet as I've just ordered my punk, but I'm moving my little used olive dish into my "laboratory" or studio as I prefer to call it, and am anxiously awaiting to make my own!

If you try it out, please let me know what you think.....dobré zdraví.

...let the cleaning begin!

I'm all about natural, thus my push to get chemicals out of my life.  Fabrics?  COTTON!!!   Well, I'll take linen as well but 100 percent cotton is my hands down favorite.  I know it wrinkles, but the most important thing to me is that it breathes!

I have a tendency to be warm so clothing and bedding must be 100 percent cotton.  Sometimes, like in pillows, I do have to give in a bit.  I found pillows that are cotton shells and interior are hypoallergenic and washable.  Guess what was washed today?

If you haven't washed your pillows lately, please do.  They get filled with dust mites, oils and moisture from our faces and goddess only knows what else.  So today.....pillow cases off, as well as pillow protectors (you do have pillow protectors between your pillows and pillow cases, don't you?  Or am I simply a bit more germophobe/clean freak than most?  Me and Sheldon....).

Unfortunately, I saw some yellowish stains on my pillows.  Sweat, saliva, I don't really want to know but it creeped me out.  And I wash my pillows every three months or so.  Pillow cases every week, protectors not as often as the cases.  Ugh.  HOT water into the machine, two pillows to keep the load balanced and Seventh Generation detergent.  Then a cap of Thieves Concentrate from Young Living.  Moved my pillows into the dryer and tossed in my wool dryer balls (see older post) that I had put lavender on and push that dryer button.  About 30 minutes later, I HAVE THE FLUFFIEST, CLEANEST, MOST WONDERFUL SMELLING PILLOWS!!!  Those dryer balls do wonders - smashing around inside the dryer, putting pockets of air between items allowing them to dry faster and fluffing up those pillows!  

Did you catch all that natural stuff?  Yes I used laundry "detergent" but it was Seventh Generation at least.  Haven't gotten to making my own yet.  No more dryer sheets in my house, simply oversized wool dryer balls with essential oils on them (added about 15 minutes before being tossed into the dryer, the oil that is....so oil spots don't get on your items).  

Well, spring has already sprung and the spring cleaning has started.  Are you joining me?  If you have any specific questions on cleaning without chemicals, email or message me and I'll be happy to guide you!

...removing chemicals from my laundry life

I'm on a major quest to remove as many chemicals from my life as possible.  Yes, it's a current trend.  Yes it's better for your health and environment.  However, I have another motivator.  My husband has "beat" cancer that was brought on by early and prolonged exposure to chemicals.

At a young age (10ish) he was exposed to strong pesticides as he sprayed crops, as well as when the crop dusters would spray the fields directly behind his home, lifting up only as they started passing his home.  He had these awful chemicals eating away in him and at a young age (42) was forced to retire when his body could no longer function as it should and he battled Hairy Cell Leukemia.  He's beaten the demon and continues to work on his health despite roughly 16 surgeries, many related to cancer and chemicals destroying his body.  

I truly believe that chemicals, plastics, convenience foods.....all play a part in our health and possibly had more detrimental effects than we had expected.  As a result, I'm on a mission to de-chemical our home asap.

One of the first and easiest steps is the dryer.  Dryer sheets are a new phenomenon that we honestly can easily eliminate.  Wool is a natural material, not man-made like dryer sheets, created of "fake" materials.  Ever seen a wool dryer ball?  Similar in looks to an oversized tennis ball with some good heft to them.  Dryer balls help your laundry dry faster by bumping around between your items inside the dryer and creating space that the hot air can get in.  Static isn't entirely eliminated but that's a compromise I can tolerate. Oh!  Almost forgot the other great thing about dryer balls...softness!  As they bounce around among your clothing, they soften that sometimes stiff feeling left in towels and jeans.  And yes, they will get "pills" but that doesn't deter from their effectiveness or long life (years potentially).

One thing I love to do is add essential oils to the dryer balls....I'm all about scent.  You don't want to put the oils on as you toss the balls into the dryer with your clothing - you could get oil spots on your items and that is a drag.  Instead, as you start your laundry and are loading items into the washer, put 3-4 drops of essential  oil onto each dryer ball.  By the time you toss your wash into the dryer, the oils have soaked in and you will not be chancing oil stains.  Instead, the scent will be released slowly throughout the laundry tumbling.  

My absolute favorite scent to add is lavender.  My kids associate the smell of lavender with laundry and have been known to swear they will always use lavender laundry scented  products.  Orange and lemon are nice as well.  Mix scents up.  Look at the shelves at the store and check out the scents.  Your imagination is the limit.

If I'm going to use my dryer, dryer balls are my choice, no more dryer sheets in this house.  Of course, outdoors with the scent of fresh air and sunshine is my favorite method of drying!

Get your dryer balls here.

Have you cleaned your diffuser lately?

We all talk about wonderful diffuser recipes, but I really don’t see discussions on diffuser care.   You do realize you need to take regular care of your diffuser, right?

Each week, take time to wipe your diffuser down, inside and out.  If you’re a fanatical cleaner, after each use is best, but who has time for that?  Wish I did….

First unplug your diffuse — leave cord in the wall and unplug at the diffuser point.  By wipe down, I mean take a cloth and put a bit of alcohol on it and wipe the inside and out of the diffuser.  Get those fingerprints off and the oil drops, as well as the dust that has collected.  Use a cotton swap dipped in alcohol to get inside really good – the nooks and crannies as well as the ultrasonic plate or chip in the bottom.  That’s the minimum you should do.

Once a month it’s a great idea to clean it a bit deeper, like you would your coffee pot.  Fill the diffuser about halfway with water and add about 10 drops of white vinegar.  Turn on the diffuser and run for about 10 minutes.  Unplug and wipe it all down.  Voila!

Ever hear your diffuser start to make grinding noises or sound like a little choo choo train starting up?  Yup….deep cleaning time, you’ve waited a bit too long.  Regular care and five minutes a week can extend the life of your diffuser.  You are doing so much good for yourself using it, give it a bit of TLC as well.

.....petunia peppercorn, what the heck?

I actually bought my own domain and signed up for webhosting and created a website, PETUNIA PEPPERCORN.  For years, I had wanted to purchase that domain as that was my nickname growing up (see below).  I thought that basically transferring everything from Musings would be my goal and add in "so much more" that you can do with a website.  Well.  PIA in my opinion.  Just another thing to do, monitor spam, add programs that filter and block spam, and I got a headache trying to get Pinterest to verify my site or whatever they do.  Never achieved that one.  Anyway.....I realized that however off and on this blog is, it has recorded periods of my life and I don't want to lose that.  I let go of my hosted website and simply pointed PETUNIAPEPPERCORN.COM here since I own it.  Not sure I'll keep it, but it does exist.  And back to blogging I go.

What is below was my "ABOUT" portion and explains why the name.  I'm back.  Again.

I’m Sandy Underwood from San Antonio, Texas. I’ve only been in Texas 13 years, don’t think I’m anything close to a native. My husband (John Stacy, he goes by Stacy) is a native though. We met in 2012 online and eloped in 2014, two years to the date after we first met F2F. I’m a librarian, mom of two grown daughters, and a constant knowledge seeker.

Growing up, my mom nicknamed me Petunia Peppercorn.  Where in the world it came from, I have no clue.  I just know that you say that name to one of my siblings and they know just who you are talking about.  My older brother often refers to me as simply “Petunia” and I’m sure that on Facebook, people wonder what that’s all about.  As a teen in the 70’s I had a leather bracelet with Petunia tooled on it.  The name has always just been “me” and special.

Years ago I found that the domain PetuniaPeppercorn.com was available for purchase and I was tempted.  It’s been in the back of my mind for years to purchase it, but…..”it’s too long”  rang in my brain repeatedly.  Too bad, it’s me.  Bitly and other great URL shortness exist just for me!  So, low and behold, this odd, icy, snowy San Antonio day, I purchased the website and jumped on the website bandwagon for myself.  I’ve created two websites for government entities in the past and now it’s time for my own.

I’m interested in so many things, but what is so important in my life comes down to saving memories via pictures and words (blogging), Essential Oils (EOs), Mindfulness, and simply stuff that rattles around in my mind … like recipes and why I can’t find the perfect recipe “box” online.  Yes, my mind rambles.  A LOT.  I’m a librarian. Knowledge and constantly learning is important to me, so I’ll be recording my ramblings here and I’m sure we will all watch the tabs expand in topics.

Comment, react, share.  I’d love some interaction and to hear hear your thoughts.  I simply ask you be open to ideas.  I’m always open to changing my mind if you can convince me.  Deep conversation welcome, shallow small talk….not so much.

Welcome…..to Petunia Peppercorn.