Keeping yourself and your home clean is essential! Many diseases are spread through improper sanitation. Maintaining a proper level of cleanliness is easier than you may think.

 

There are many recipes for making soap but on a day to day basis water and a washcloth are all you need. Using these two simple items you can stay clean and get the dead skin off of yourself. Body odor is caused by bacteria that feeds on protein on your skin. The biggest source of this protein is your dead skin. Use a bowl half a gallon of water in it and wash with a washcloth. When you wash, start with the cleanest areas and move onto the dirtier ones. After you are done allow your body to air dry. You can use a little olive oil to keep your skin soft. Occasionally a bar of soap will come in handy. There tons of recipes available both on the net and in Jane's book, Emergency Survival Hygiene.

 

There is no excuse for being dirty! Get creative. Jane uses a tool she calls a "hiney hydrant" when there is no toilet paper available. It's basically an altered garden sprayer that she attached to a bottle that she and her husband use as a survival bidet. Great ideas like this can be a game changer when supplies run low.

 

When it comes to keeping clothing clean, Jane suggests using The Wonderwash. It resembles a 2ft egg. You fill it with water, put the lid on with your clothes inside and spin it. The pressure cleans your clothes. It requires about a Tablespoon of detergent. You pour out the water and repeat the process. It works great. Then when your clothes are all wet you can purchase a commercial mop ringer to squish out the water prior to hanging them on a line to dry. For laundry soap you can find an online recipe or use Borax, washing soda, or graded soap. Alternately you can stock up on laundry chips at the grocery store. They will store for a very long time.

 

When it comes to the cleanliness of your home, microfiber wash clothes are wonderful dusters. You can put them over your dust mop to increase the dust mop's performance. The microfiber washcloths are reusable and are ready for action after a good washing. When you need to disinfect an area vinegar should be your go to item. It is possible to make your own vinegar but you need to research what will grow good in your area to produce vinegar and start growing it now. You do not want to use your precious first aid supplies for cleaning. Stock up on distilled vinegar. It is useful for multiple application including: cleaning, canning, etc.

 

You should also stock up on a healthy supply of chlorine and olive oil. Make sure you check out the shelf life information. Chlorine can be bought in tablet form and lasts much longer than liquid.

 

Hygiene should not be overlooked. Infectious disease is the number one cause of death world wide.

 

Products that you can easily produce:

• Shampoo: Use 1 Tbs baking soda in 1 cup warm water

• Conditioner: Use 1 Tbs vinegar in 1 cup water

• Makeup bronzer: use coco powder and mix with corn starch.

• Makeup rouge: use raspberry mixed with cornstarch

• Makeup mascara: Use Vaseline and charcoal (burn and almond)

• Lip gloss: Use coconut oil mixed with raspberry

• Pimple treatment: use olive oil

• Night time eye lash and brow restorer: Use olive oil in an old mascara bottle and treat lashes and brows with it before bed.

• Hair restorer: castor oil on scalp before bed. 

• Tooth paste: use washed, dried and finely crushed duck egg with baking soda and coconut oil