Toothfairy Powder

we've been making our own tooth powder for a while now (for to brush our teethies with, we don't grind our teeth up for some sort of strange veganic ritual...). we started out with dina falconi's recipe for sage horsetail tooth powder, from her book earthly bodies and heavenly hair. the recipe slowly morphed to become something more like this:

2 t. baking soda
1/4-1/2 stick cinnamon (or around 1/4 t cinnamon powder)
2 whole cloves
2 t. dried horsetail
1 t. dried lemongrass
1/2 t. dried orange peel
1/4 t. myrrh powder
6 drops peppermint essential oil

combine all the ingredients except for the baking soda and peppermint oil. place the herb mix in a coffee/spice grinder (i know everyone says this....but i don't want to be left out, so i'm going to say it too- have a separate grinder for coffee and herbs. unless you don't mind herbal preparations tasting like coffee), grind till all the ingredients are a fine powder. i've found the lemongrass is the most resistant to pulverization. pour the powder through a fine mesh strainer, mix with the baking soda and peppermint oil.
to use, simply sprinkle some of the powder over a slightly wet toothbrush and brush as you normally would.

an explanation of why the above herbs are used:
cinnamon- flavor, mild antiseptic action
clove- flavor, mild antiseptic and germicide action
horsetail- because dina uses it- i'm guessing because it's rich in silica, which is supposed to be good for the teeth....but i don't know how much silica gums would absorb during a tooth brushing
lemongrass- flavor
orange peel- flavor
myrrh- antiseptic properties
peppermint oil- flavor, refreshing, cleansing

you can see here why it's better to put the powder through a fine mesh strainer....mine broke, so i used a larger strainer- hooray for little twiggies in my teethies.


please note: do not swallow this powder. use at your own risk, this information is not here to take the place of any medical advice for conditions or products you may be following or using. as always, you should check with your medical practitioner to learn of any side effects or drug-herb interactions.

yes, i pee in a bucket

The next couple of posts will be about some things we can all do to reduce our consumptive lifestyle and help out our environment a bit. They could also save our economy. Maybe.
I will start off in:
The Bathroom
Act 1: The Toilet

There are many ways to cut down on toilet excess. Some of these are only for the hardcore eco-warrior who is not afraid of their bodily functions.

Something basic: fill an empty water bottle/condiment bottle/something similar with water and screw the lid on tight. place this in the toilet tank to displace water. you could also use a brick. this is an easy way to make your toilet 'low flow'.

Something easy: follow the golden rule- if it's yellow, be mellow; if it's brown, flush it down. it's up to your own discretion how many times you use the toilet before you flush it. it is NOT necessary to flush every time you urinate, but it is wasteful. you'll also cut down on your water bill.

Something challenging: cut up an old towel into smallish squares- maybe 4x4 inches. use these instead of toilet paper. keep a bag by the toilet to throw the used squares in. come laundry day, simply throw the towel squares into the wash. again, it's up to your own discretion how far you're willing to go with this. it may only be good for "#1". this will cut back on your toilet paper consumption- meaning it saves trees, fossil fuels, and your money.

Something hardcore: the pee bucket. instead of using the toilet to urinate in, have a designated bucket/tupperware container/jar/etc that you use to collect your urine. you may be asking -"um, WHY!?!". well, for your garden. either pour it in the compost and cover with leaves or dilute the urine (about 10:1 water to urine) with water and use it to water your garden with. Your plants will love the extra nitrogen, however- DO NOT get this nitro fix mix directly on your plants. it can burn the leaves, and it is not advisable to pee on your food for health reasons. but carefully watering the ROOTS of your plants can provide them with the nitrogen they need, and the plant is able to filter out harmful stuff, if any. if you live in an apartment, this may not be an option for you. i understand.

Something alternative: a hand-held bidet. these nifty little sprayers attach to your toilet and eliminate the need for toilet paper altogether. now whether it's better to use water or paper depends on the extent of your local watershed. (WHAT?!? basically, the water features/water availability in your area- like annual rainfall, springs, aquifers, etc.) so this option might not be ideal for areas suseptible to drought.
here are some links to sites that specialize in all kinds hand-held sprayers: www.sanicare-hand-bidets.com
www.bidet.com
www.bidetspray.com