6 Eco-Friendly Camping Essentials You Can Make At Home
If you’re the type who wants to save money, recycle, and use all-natural products even during your travels, then you got to try these DIY camping essentials! Not only you can easily do these at home, you’ll surely do a great help in saving resources.
1. Beer Can Camping Stove
You’ll only need a beer or soda can, a pocket knife or scissors, a bottle of medical alcohol or a high proof low cost spirit like vodka, and this 7-minute video tutorial on how you can create a DIY mini-stove.
2. Solarized Backpack
Camping can be for those who’d want to “unplug” themselves from the usual city life, but let’s admit that some of us can’t be comfortable in a day without checking our electronic devices. For photos or for GPS, it’s understandable that these gadgets can come handy. And if you think recharging your electronic devices is impossible to do while you’re outdoors, check out this tutorial on how to turn your backpack into your portable solar power source.
3. The River-Friendly Body Wash
A body wash that won’t hurt nature’s rivers and lakes, hurray! It’s pretty easy to make, just mix these into a bottle: ⅔ cup liquid castile soap, ¼ cup raw, unfiltered honey,
2 teaspoons oil – grapeseed, jojoba, sweet almond, sesame, or olive, 1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil, and 50 – 60 drops of your favorite essential oils.
4. Skin-Friendly Bug Spray
Mosquitoes and other mean biting insects are annoying, but it’s more annoying to know that most of the available repellents you can buy in the market contain the not-so-friendly chemical called DEET. So with a 32-ounce bottle of apple cider vinegar; 2 tablespoons of dried sage, rosemary, lavender, thyme, and mint; and a quart-sized jar with an airtight lid, you can already have your all-natural bug spray. It smells good too!
5. Egg Carton Fire Starter
It only takes one portion of this egg carton DIY to create an average fire. All you need is an egg carton, fill each compartment with sawdust or lint, and pour melted wax in each compartment. When the wax cools, you can tear each section to have your individual fire starters all ready.
6. Baking Soda Toothpaste
Just like the body wash, this toothpaste is easy to make and river-friendly. Just use a 2/3 cup baking soda, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1-2 teaspoons extract or 10-15 drops essential oil of any flavor you want (peppermint, spearmint, or orange), water, and a jar to store the mixture. Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is a natural mineral you can find in high concentrations in some rivers and streams.
