HEARTH​AND​CARAVAN​​​​

Recently, I shared how we have built our holistic first aid kit over time. To go along with that post I created a checklist that can help you as you build your own, and as you're taking inventory of your first aid before summertime hits. Those splinters, scrapes, and bruises really increase when the kids are rough and tumble outside, so I hope this will help you!

You may notice there are items on this list from my favorite wellness company. If you want more info on ordering from them, feel free to contact me, or take a look for yourself!

When I got married, I didn't know what an introvert was. I had probably heard the word, but that was about it... I married one, so I got to understand the differences between introverts and extroverts pretty quickly. It was surprising to me that our brains don't work in the same ways, and that we process things very differently from one another. Once I learned that, I was able to better understand and enjoy our differences. I'm a fan of understanding people. It helps me to like them better!!! These days, I think anything that can help us understand and like people a little more is worth trying out. 

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has been my favorite tool for understanding the different ways that people think. Once you take a free test and find out what your type is, you can then start researching about yourself. Your type will be 4 letters: E or I (extraverted or introverted), N or S (Intuitive or Sensing), F or T (Feeling or Thinking), and J or P (Judging or Perceiving). For example, my type is ENFP and that 4 letter "recipe" of my personality is just one of 16 possibilities. Look your type up on Pinterest and you'll get all sorts of information you relate with! Things you thought only you did... It's amazing to find out there are other people who think like you out there in the world. Understanding yourself comes first, so read up on your type and see if it fits! The next step is to find out more about your family and friends. Ask them to take the test and send you their results! Most people are interested to find out their personality type and will take the test, so it is easy to do. I keep a running list in the notes on my phone for my friends' and family's personality types... Is that weird? LOL

Even before the idea of introverts and extroverts, the book The 5 Love Languages, was introduced to me at church. It highlights the 5 basic ways people give and receive love. This was a major breakthrough in my mind! I was loving others the way I want to receive love, not necessarily the way they feel most loved. Those 5 ways of giving and receiving love are: Quality Time, Acts of Service, Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, and Gifts. I believe we actually need to receive love in all those ways, but there is usually one that is most important, or one area that needs more focus. I really had to learn how to love with acts of service. Not only has it benefitted my marriage, but it has made me a better person to learn how to love others in different ways. This also applies to children as well, so it has been helpful information to have. I'm truly glad to have learned this early on in my marriage. Since reading this book years ago, they have come out with a whole website with quizzes! Hurray! Another quiz, and you can find it here.

The Four Colors is a book that was recommended to me when I started with my essential oils business. It claims to be for network marketing, but I think it's a fantastic way of understanding myself and others better. It's especially useful for relating to others in a sales or work environment. This book divides personality types up into 4 separate colors: red, green, blue, and yellow, each with distinctive ways of relaying and receiving information. TLDR: Red likes business, Green likes research, Blue wants to have fun, and Yellow wants to help others. Most will have one primary color that they relate to, with a secondary color that also plays an important role. 

I am a little late to the enneagram game.. but it's all the rage! I will also admit that I don't relate to this test as much as I do to others so I'm not the expert of enneagram, but I can appreciate that this test has been a helpful window into better understanding for some of my friends, so I wanted to make sure I included it. Take the free test here and discover which number you are, then use that information to help you understand more about your strengths and fears. These tests can help pinpoint both positive and negative attributes. It's so helpful to consider the results and see what needs to be addressed to become a better person. 

Which house would you be in? If you've read Harry Potter, then you have probably wondered which house you would be a part of. Well wonder no more! You do have to create an account, but this and many others quizzes and tests are free over on the wizarding world website. The sorting hat quiz is short, sweet, and fun to take, and is another great personality quiz to add to the list. I would have guessed that I was a Hufflepuff, but the hat sorted me to Gryffindor! 

I first found out about brand archetypes in an online class I was a part of where I was encouraged to take this free test.  For those of us with our own businesses, those of us who work within a small business, or those who are in marketing, this test can be eye-opening! It's such a fascinating way to see how to market your business or brand to others, and it's encouraging to find your brand has one of 12 archetypes just like every other brand that exists. 

Do you have an internal monologue? When I read this article, I was -as they say- shook. I spent a week or more analyzing my thoughts to see how I processed things, if it was more abstract, or if there was an internal monologue.. It turns out that I actually am a good mix of the two, using both abstract thought and internal monologue. It was a major distraction to analyze my thought processes so closely! But once I figured out I was a mix, I was able to relax and stop analyzing so closely. While this isn't exactly a personality test, it is a different way of categorizing different ways the brain processes information, and it was completely new to me!

The Big Five is the newest personality test I have heard of and I am HERE. FOR. IT. I love this way of breaking down points of your personality in graph form. It really helped me to see where I am completely unbalanced, and where I have more evenly distributed tendencies. You can see my results here. Take the free test for yourself here.

I haven't yet taken these tests, but I wanted to include them here for you. These tests take a little more time to complete, but seem like they will be informative.

​Values Test --helps uncover your core values

Work Values Test--helps uncover your talents and and help you choose a career path based on your assessed work values. 

As always, please share any suggestions for additions to this post! 

This month our focus is getting your garden in gear! If you already have a huge garden planned, or it's your first time trying cherry tomatoes in a pot on your porch, it's time to start thinking about what your plans are for feeding yourself this year! With everything going on in the world, more and more people I know are considering gardening either for the first time, or making their gardens bigger and better. (I know we are!) Here I'm sharing some thoughts on how to get started planning your garden this year. I won't be sharing exact step by step because we're still learning ourselves, but I will try to pass along helpful ideas that will help you get started.

We've been gardening for years, semi-successfully. Our goals each year determine how much we plant, and plan to harvest. So the first question you should ask yourself when planting a garden is why are you doing it?

Here are some reasons we have gardened in the past:

1. To see if we could
2. To make our own salsa
3. To try growing potatoes because of the amount of pesticides in traditionally grown potatoes
4.  To save tomatoes for the year
5.  To actually supplement our groceries
6. To have stuffed peppers without having to buy so many peppers
7.  Impending apocalypse makes it seem prudent
8.  Growing our own food is a skill we want to acquire.

If you are growing for a specific purpose, you will plant accordingly. If you're growing a garden to make your own salsa, you will plant lots of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cilantro. Allll the cilantro!!! If you're purpose is more general, to supplement your groceries, you will obviously plant a broader range of vegetables. 

I want to remind you that the best way to learn is to DO. So if you're gathering information because you want your garden to be bountiful and perfect, just know it probably won't be.. Rabbits will eat something, Hornworms will try to destroy your tomatoes, and your cilantro will flower and not be ready for you when it's time to make salsa. Adopt this motto: Done is better than perfect. Go ahead and read articles (like this one!) and books, but also go put some seed or plants in the dirt.

There are several "styles" of gardening that you have probably heard of. The most talked about are: Container Gardening, Raised Bed Gardening (which is our favorite method!), Straw Bale Gardening, Victory Gardening, Hydroponic Gardening... There are tons of choices. But for us, Raised Bed AKA Square Foot Gardening changed the way we approached growing things, providing a bigger yield in a smaller space, with much less weeding and hands on work. 

After you know why you're gardening, and you choose your gardening style, it's time to choose your plants and seeds. THIS IS THE BEST PART!! We go seed shopping when it's still cold outside and we need a bit of sunshine. Usually in January or February, but sometimes later. Your eyes will be bigger than your garden. I don't know what it is about seed shopping that makes you feel like you can grow anything and everything, but just roll with it! Make sure you get foods that you love and will eat, but don't be afraid to try a few new fun things as well. We usually have several varieties of tomatoes and peppers at the minimum. We have branched out into growing more greens, onions, potatoes, broccoli and carrots. Some are more finnicky than others and we're still learning, but go ahead and try it all out! Take notes in your garden journal, and compare notes next year. Learn each year and it will get better and better.

Good seeds are important! While we do pick up seeds and plants from local garden centers from time to time, we usually place a big seed order once a year from one or two of these excellent companies. 
​
​BAKER CREEK HEIRLOOM SEEDS

SEED SAVERS

FEDCO SEEDS

ANNIE'S HEIRLOOM SEEDS

Our favorite books for gardening are more like all around homesteading books. Check them out at your local library, or click through to find them on Amazon:
SQUARE FOOT GARDENING
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COUNTRY LIVING
BACKYARD HOMESTEAD
PETERSON FIELD GUIDE
BALL BLUE BOOK OF PRESERVING
NATURE ANATOMY

Our favorite homesteading magazines are full of relevant and helpful information and inspiration. Linked below are their websites, some of which are amazing even without the magazine subscription!
MOTHER EARTH NEWS
COUNTRYSIDE AND SMALL STOCK JOURNAL
TAPROOT
GRIT
BACKWOODS HOME MAGAZINE​

I've created this garden journal to provide the perfect spot to keep up with all your fruits and veggies, so that you can keep a record of your garden for following years. Use the garden tracker to help you know which varieties of your plants do well for you in your area, which had a poor germination rate, which ones you definitely want to replant next year, and which ones gave you the most yield.

Twelve Months on a Page is one of my most favorite tools for planning out different areas of my life, and the garden is no different. Use this tool to help you remember big tasks that need to happen each month to make your gardening go well, including when to plant, when to prune, when to order seeds, and anything else you can think of!

Use the weekly garden notes to help you track your daily and weekly actions, and help you remember to do the tasks that are most important to the success of your garden. Keeping up with what you have harvested on the weekly sheet will help you gather yield totals at the end of the season.

The Raised Bed Garden Cheat Sheet is a quick reference guide for how many plants to plant per square foot, along with an example garden. The Raised bed garden planner gives you a space to plan out or record your own garden space. Cut out and create a garden that matches your own.

Of course, as many of these pages as you need, you can print! My favorite part of printables is the ability to print more :)

Along with the journal and tracking pages, we've included printable seed packets in 3 sizes and varied patterns to help you save your seeds for next year, or to share your seeds with your friends. Nothing says I love you like a packet of seeds.

A bonus page of Hearth and Caravan's favorite resources is included in this printable bundle as well.

Share your favorite garden resource or tip with us! I love learning from you <3

'Radical Living' sounds extreme, but for our family it started in a very gradual way. I became very knowledgable of the the health industry when I was pregnant with my babies. I had my four children in 5 years, so I spent a concentrated amount of time in doctors offices and hospitals. These years opened my eyes to truths about the healthcare industry that I may not have learned any other way. 

Following the birth of my 3rd child, we began doing major research about the foods we were consuming, sustainable agriculture, and we learned about the truly unbelievable ways "big agra" was/is contaminating and poisoning our food. 

I won't go into politics here, but suffice it to say, we're blown away by the brokenness of the system, and the way people choose to lash out before they've ever researched a topic. IT'S. A. MESS.

So what does this have to do with you? If you're reading this I'm assuming that you're at least a little interested in natural living. Probably a little wary of certain industry/government things... But you're also a real person who has real life going on. You're going to buy the Doritos and disposable diapers if that's what needs to happen for this season to make your life run smoothly. But you're always trying to do better. And guess what? Me too. I'm a completely regular person, who is trying a little bit every day to reconcile the life that I live with the crazy truth about this world we're living in. So here's how I'm tackling 2020, and how I can help you:

1. A Monthly Focus. There are a billion BIG problems that we are faced with every day. We can't change everything at once, so sometimes we change nothing at all. We get paralyzed by the amount of work it takes to change our lives! If we narrow our focus down to one simple thing at a time we can make real, lasting changes for our family and our future.
2.  Leave Surface Level Behind. One monthly focus means we can go deep. We can learn all about that one topic and make simple changes as we go. At the end of the year there will be some major changes that we have made together, building on what we have learned each month.
3.  Community! We can learn together. Have questions? Join my Facebook group and ask away. In the past I have typically only shared about essential oils in that group, but I think it's time to include everything. We're branching out and expanding into including the whole sustainable lifestyle. ​

Check out the focus features from 2020 so far:
Water Filtration for Beginners
Building a Holistic First Aid Kit

Welcome to the place where regular people can begin to explore the ideas of radical living. There may be (i.e. definitely are) affiliate links in this post. Should you purchase something through them, you will be personally helping our family of 6.  Thank you for your support, shares, comments, and pins. <3 Full disclosure here.

If you find yourself in a situation where you may want hand purifier, but can't find any at the store, here are a few substitutes.

DIY Hand Purifier Gel

• 1 1/2 ounces pure aloe vera
• 3 teaspoons rubbing alcohol or witch hazel
• 2-3 vitamin e capsules (cut open and squeezed in), or several drops vitamin e oil 
•  5-7 Drops Essential Oil (I used Thieves and Peppermint.) Purchase oils through my link HERE.

 
 
DIY Hand Purifier Spray
I love this liquid spray option! So easy to put together, and the witch hazel is gentler than alcohol (even though it may contain some alcohol)
Ingredients

• 1.5oz witch hazel
• 2-3 vitamin e capsules (cut open and squeezed in), or several drops vitamin e oil 
• 5 drops thieves essential oil
• 2 drops peppermint essential oil

      (Get Oils Here)
 
DIY Foaming Purifier
This is actually just foaming hand soap, but in a pinch will work for sanitizing. 

1. Grab a foaming soap container here. These are a great size to tuck in your purse.
2. Put 1/2 teaspoon of Castile soap.
3. Add 5 drops Essential Oils. I used Thieves and Peppermint, but you could also use Tea Tree, Lemon, Lavender, Oregano, or any other oils you feel would work for you. (Get Oils Here)
4. Fill the container slowly with water (don’t let it suds too much & don’t fill too full). Leave room for foaming dispenser top.

Want more DIY's? There are several HERE.
Want to know more about how we stock our mostly holistic first aid kit? Read that HERE.
Interested in how to have clean water in an end-of-the-world situation? Try HERE.
Subscribe to my email newsletter to get the latest from Hearth and Caravan. 

Welcome to the place where regular people can begin to explore the ideas of radical living. There may be (i.e. definitely are) affiliate links in this post. Should you purchase something through them, you will be helping a family of 6 pay for things like groceries, or maybe a night out bowling...  Thank you for your support, shares, comments, and pins. <3 Full disclosure here.

I like using holistic first aid as much as possible. If we can fix something naturally, we always try that first. So that's how we build our first aid kit--we start with natural and holistic options, and build up to high emergency last resort options. I choose to use homemade/DIY options often, certain purchased items from companies I love that work for us, and a few store bought /prescribed options. Having kids has taught me a TON about administering first aid, and what I haven't learned by trial and error, has usually been found at youtube university..

At home we have a huge amount of first aid remedies.. In the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the bedroom.. there are oils and salves, teas and tinctures, and anything we could dream up, really. There are a couple of reasons we've decided to collect our first aid into a "kit" that we can take with us.

1. The main reason being ease of finding things in an emergency situation--it's all gathered up. We have already used our kit for splinter removal in the few days since it was gathered together.
2. Secondly, the salves, oil blends, and mixtures are already created.. Previously DIYed--as in, I don't just have the ingredients--they're already assembled.
3.  This kit is very inclusive, but still small enough to take with us in a car or camping trip. So it's great for home and travel (lol for hearth and caravan..)

Top Row:

• Caboodle! Or a Tackle box. We found ours on sale (because it's ugly, lol). 
• Yogi Tea. (Breathe Deep is my FAVE but Throat Coat is what's in our kit)
• Mini Castile Soap--you never know when you need to get clean.
•  Weekly Pill Organizer Filled with:
  • Ibuprofen
  • Benadryl
  • Imodium
  • Empty Capsules*
  • Inner Defense*
  • Life 9 (Probiotic)*
  • Digest & Cleanse*
• Raw Honey--Honey has antibacterial properties and has been used for thousands of years for both energy and medicine (source)
• Coconut Oil--the uses are practically endless. Might as well have a packet in the first aid kit! 
• LLP*--this is short for Lemon, Lavender, and Peppermint. These 3 oils blended together help us so much with seasonal allergies that we don't use allergy meds anymore. 
• Helichrysum*--One of the most important essential oils for a first aid kit. Literally for almost any issue.  It's expensive to purchase but I believe it's worth it. It took us 4 years to go through our first bottle, so it has longevity. Read some amazing facts about helichrysum here, then order some here.  
• Breathe Again*--This essential oil blend helps me get open airways for deep breathing--especially as it relates to my seasonal allergies. I usually don't leave the house without one of these in my purse.
• Emergen-C--I have recently learned of the amazing and important capabilities of vitamin c. I encourage you to read more about it vitamin c here.
• Tummygize*--This is an essential oil blend of spearmint, peppermint, Tangerine, Fennel, Anise, Ginger, and Cardamom oils, all blended up with coconut oil to create a kid friendly tummy oil. I like to use it with a roller top, and we can roll it right on when needed.
• Cotton Swabs--for applying salves without using fingers mostly.
• Safety Pins--you just never know when you'll need one to hold an ace bandage together, or whatever.
• Needles--for splinters
• Essentialzymes-4* (enzymes)--beneficial enzymes help aid in digestion. 
• Alkalime*--adds alkalinity to your body-- use when your tummy is upset or you have heartburn or indigestion.
• Mightypro*-- young living's brand of probiotics for kids. Tastes like pixy stix and makes you feel better (both kids and adults)

Middle Row:

• Elderberry Tincture--such an interesting way to preserve elderberries without having to create elderberry syrup that isn't shelf stable. Great for immune boosting! Find the recipe here.
• Fingernail Clippers--ever useful, must have!
• Tweezers--ditto.
• Lighter--for sterilizing needles, starting fires, and killing ticks.
• DIY Ear Oil--this oil has saved us from many ear troubles before! (Swimmer's Ear!) It provided nearly immediate relief for us... 5 drops lavender EO, 5 drops Melrose EO, and top with olive oil. (2 ml dropper bottle)
• Lavender Lip Balm*-- You can DIY this using this recipe, or just use the one from young living. It's fantastic after a day in the sun. 
• Hydrocortisone cream--dollar tree special. We don't often use it, so we went cheap on it. 
• Band-aids--must be fabric bandaids (or have cute cartoons on them)
• Liquid Bandage--you could probably just use super glue, but we had it from a previous gash that didn't quite require stitches.
• Floss--many purposes including its intended use. 
• Lavaderm*--IMO completely MUST HAVE. We use on minor burns, minor cuts, sunburns, scrapes, insect bites, and minor skin irritations (like when the cat clawed me the other day..) Basically you can spray it on anything and it helps, haha!
• Hand Sanitizer*--Absolutely love young living's sanitizer. It smells like peppermint and cinnamon. Soap and water is always best, but when it's unavailable this is a great option. 
• Animal Scents Ointment*--Excellent all-purpose salve. Created for animals, used by my whole family, lol. We use for dry, chapped, or rubbed skin especially. Plus we have it for the dog too! 

Bottom Row:

• cotton balls
• toothpicks
• ace bandage (2 sizes)
• Reef Friendly sunscreen*
• All Natural Insect Repellant* (it works and no DEET)
• Antisceptic Towelettes
• Alcohol Swab
• Sting Relief Swab
• Peppermint Altoids
• Owie Balm*
• Sharpie
•  athletic tape
• gauze
• tape scissors
• scissors
• artificial tears
• emergency blanket

Essential Oils:

• Raindrop Collection
• Purification
• Tea Tree
• Lemon
• Digize
• Frankincense
• Thieves

(Plus the others on the top row--LLP, Breathe Again, Helichrysum, ang tummygize.)

You should know that I have a lot of oils, but for my first aid kit, these are the absolute MUSTS. I will always have other certain oils in my purse with me, and they are tucked all over my house, but like I said, these are definite must-haves.

This kit will change and grow over time. I'd still really like to add:

• spare glasses--we need to make an eye doctor appointment and get spares!
• ​cayenne powder (I forgot to pick some up--it's supposed to be a blood coagulant and has other very interesting first aid applications--worth the dollar spent at the dollar tree)
• a suture kit--I don't know how to suture, but it's one of those situations that may come up, and I'd like to have a small amount of knowledge and the proper tools should it arise.
• a small bottle of alcohol--whiskey probably, to make toddies, apply to wounds if necessary (lol just like in the movies).--

Those are easy additions that I will likely add over the next year. Do you have any suggestions for additions to our mostly holistic first aid kit?

When creating your own holistic first aid kit, there are some good things to remember! 

• Keep a small first aid kit in your large one. You can pull it out for taking on a hike or during your daytime activities. 
• Don't feel like you have to create it all at once. You can build it over time! While I did purchase several things over the month (because it's the focus for the month!), there were many, many items that we already had on hand, and had collected over time. 
• If you do decide to build your kit all at once, remember the dollar tree is your friend, lol! We got several items at the dollar tree. 
• Build it into your year. Each year you will want to go through your kit to replace used and expired items. You may want to replace used items as you go so you never have to start from scratch again, but at least once a year take a look through your kit. 

While I am not an expert at gardening, this is the year to do better in this department with the foods that we eat, and with the herbs that we use. I've heard that gardening is a common hobby among the people that live the longest in the world, so I'm going to try to do better with it! There are so many plants, flowers, shrubs, and herbs to grow to use in creating balms, salves, tinctures, and teas that are perfect for our holistic first aid kit! 

My favorite medicinal plant that I believe everyone should start with is Aloe Vera! It's such a versatile, and relatively easy plant to grow. And, BONUS! it's not hard to find. I use aloe in my after sun spray which is a DIY version and close kin of the lavaderm from Young Living that's already in my first aid kit. 
 
Most herbs you cook with also have a medicinal purpose and use. Oregano, basil, and thyme are all great to have for both culinary and medicinal applications. Ditto for onion, ginger, and garlic! 

Some perennial options for zone 7 include, oregano, thyme, mint, chives, and lavender (among many more, I'm sure!) We have had some issues growing herbs from seed, so this year we will try to start with plants. I'd like to try some Golden Oregano, as I've read it it's hard to kill--that's the kind of plant life I need!

We grow cilantro (which is the champion of our garden) and basil in with our vegetables,  and they both do well from seed. 

This year we are trying some new plants and I am so excited! This year we will add calendula, lavender, lemon bee balm, and echinacea. Preserving these flowers should be simple in the dehydrator (cross your fingers!), and then we can make all sorts of holistic wellness products with them. I'll be sure to share those with you as the garden grows.

I am so relieved to have our first aid kit in fantastic working order. It will be wonderful to grab it to take with us as we go camping and on vacation, and even as we go on day trips! Being prepared is becoming more and more important to us as we get a little older and wiser, and see the world around us. Every little bit of preparation takes a bit of the weight off. Will you do yourself the favor of preparing for the first aid needs of your family? You'll be glad you did.​

I created a free checklist to help you build your own first aid kit! Go grab it here.