Happiness Homemade - Welcome to MOO Month!

It's March, the month where Cheapskaters focus on MOOing as much as they can.  The challenge for the month is to MOO at least one thing a day - and it's much, much easier than you'd think.

MOOing is simply Making Our Own. Anything. It could be washing powder (easy with Cheapskates Washing Powder) or vanilla extract (so much easier than you'd ever imagine). Or it could be newspaper seed pots or PJs for the kids, new curtains - absolutely anything you can think of.

The goal of MOO month is to help you realise that you don't need to buy everything you need or want, most of those things you can make yourself, and in doing so save yourself money, time and energy, and show a kindness to our planet that modern living pushes aside.

And right now, it's more important than I can ever remember, to be able to be a little self-sufficient and a bit more prepared. I say be prepared, not scared, not panicked, because it's much easier to prepare for whatever lies ahead.

We have been brainwashed into believing that we can't make the things we need, that we must buy them because bought is so much better.

That is simply not true!

Yes, it's a great marketing ploy and it's worked really well - until now  (and OK, I'll admit that being able to buy toilet paper is better than not, but if you're prepared, you'll have MOO cloth wipes and a bucket handy in case you can't get it).

Now it's time to take control of your money, so that you decide what it gets spent on.

You don't need to be a great cook or an amazing dressmaker or have the greenest of thumbs to MOO. Anyone can, you just need to try.

Making peanut butter couldn't be easier. Ditto making vanilla extract. There is absolutely no excuse for not being able to make your own vanilla extract - all you do is drop some vanilla beans into a bottle of vodka and put the lid back on and that applies to most MOOing.

You can even MOO a waterless hand sanitiser that will kill bateria AND viruses - here's my easy recipe, so you don't need to stand in a queue to get it, or hunt all over town.

It is very easy to MOO, and if you have an aloe vera plant with cost around 40 cents to make approximately 275ml. Aloe Vera is a very easy plant to grow, it seems to almost thrive on neglect and is one that should be in every backyard so if you don't have one, get a cutting from a friend and grow your own, you won't regret it.

You will need:
1 cup aloe vera gel
1 tsp rubbing alcohol
2 tsp glycerin
8-10 drops tea tree essential oil* or lavender essential oil*

Simply blend all of the ingredients together and store.  To use put a blob about the size of a 10 cent coin in the palm of your hand and rub together. This sanitizer won't melt as the commercial products do, so don't be tempted to squirt a large amount into your hands, you'll be rubbing for hours!

You can use pump bottles or squirt bottles, small pots or even pretty glass jars to store your hand sanitizer as long as they have good lids.

*Please use pure essential oils. They are worth the expense and a little goes a very long way, they will last you a long, long time.

You'll be surprised at just what you can MOO, and at how much lighter and cheaper your grocery trolley will be when you MOO regularly.

Extra reading

WELCOME TO MOO MONTH!

LET'S ALL MOO

MOO MONTH - DELI TREATS FOR THE MOOING