Many items in your household can easily be made instead of bought at the store. For many reasons, it can be more beneficial to make these items from home instead of buying them premade.
Many items in your home can be made with a few staple ingredients you most likely already have. Creating items for your household from scratch can be rewarding, and cost-effective and help your family be more self-sustainable by not always having to rely on stores for necessities.
Store-bought food and household essentials come loaded with harmful additives and chemicals. By creating these items yourself you can greatly reduce the amount of toxins in your life.
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benefits of making household items from home
Control Over Ingredients.
Having complete control over all the ingredients put in both your food and household items can have a big impact on your overall health. It gives you the ability to choose high-quality and fresh ingredients while avoiding harmful additives and chemicals commonly found in many items in stores today. Eliminate harmful preservatives, artificial flavors, and colors while opting for quality organic items by making your items from home.
Customization
Those with certain diet restrictions may decide to make items at home to tailor them to their needs better. Adjusting flavors, textures, and allergens can be much easier when making these items yourself instead of buying from big stores. Avoiding hormone-disrupting chemicals in common household items is also much easier when you can make these products yourself with safe ingredients.
Healthier Options
Aside from the harmful additives in our products, many foods come loaded with salt, sugar, and oils that can easily be avoided. Many of these ingredients can be good in moderation, but there is no doubt that we are overconsuming much of what we need. By making your own, you can limit the ingredients and opt for healthier options in doing so.
Cost Savings
Buying ingredients in bulk and being able to only make what you need is a great way to cut costs as well. When purchasing pre-made items, we are paying for the product and the labor and packaging associated with it. Buying raw ingredients that can be used in many recipes, both for food and household items, can greatly cut costs at the store.
Skill Development
Many valuable skills come from creating these items from scratch. Whether you are learning to bake bread or knit a sweater. Many of these skills are not as often taught anymore. It can be fulfilling to learn a new skill and beneficial to be able to make these items yourself!
Quality and Freshness Control
Being able to pick out the individual ingredients of all the items you are making gives complete control over the quality and freshness control. You can feel better knowing the ingredients in your food and household products come from a sustainable source and are high quality.
Sustainability
Living a more sustainable lifestyle can be easily obtained through making products instead of purchasing mass-produced factory-processed foods. Instead, we can support our local farmers or homesteaders and enjoy a more self-sufficient and sustainable lifestyle. Making items at home can be empowering. Take control of what you and your family consume and surround yourself with. Promote a healthier and more sustainable life. Starting this type of lifestyle can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience.
food items to make at home instead of buying
1. Bread
Sourdough, sandwich bread, dinner rolls, or more. There are so many different recipes to begin making your own bread from home. It can seem daunting, but it can be a fun skill to learn! Nothing tastes better than warm, fresh homemade bread. Next time you find yourself at the end of your loaf, try your hand at making your own,
2. Yogurt
Yogurt is surprisingly very easy to make at home! Customize it with your favorite flavors using high-quality and fresh ingredients.
3. Salad Dressings and Dips
Homemade dressings and dips can be healthier and much tastier than options in store.
4. Salsa
Make your own salsa with homegrown or sustainably sourced ingredients. Plus, adjust the spice and taste to your liking.
5. Jams and Jellies
My great-grandmother used to make the best homemade grape jelly from the grapevine in her backyard. This can be a fulfilling item to grow and make yourself.
6. Vegetable and Chicken Broth
Vegetable and chicken broth or stock can easily be made using your kitchen scraps. This can be a healthier alternative to store-bought as well as help limit your household waste.
7. Pizza Dough
Making your own pizza can be very cost-effective. The ingredients alone can be very affordable and allow you to customize any way you want for specific diets and preferences.
8. Pasta Sauces
Pasta sauces can be another staple to make from scratch. I love making traditional red pasta sauce from homegrown tomatoes, herbs, and garlic.
9. Butter
Making butter is another easy skill to learn. Add in different flavors to your liking.
10. Peanut and Other Nut Butters
Another item that can be surprisingly easy to make and a much healthier and sustainable option.
11. Hummus
Homemade hummus can be much more flavorful and packed with more nutrients than other options.
12. Trail Mix
I love making my own trail mix to allow for my own personal favorite varieties, at a fraction of the cost.
13. Soup and Seasoning Mixes
Reduce packaging waste and control flavors by creating your own dried soup blends and seasoning mixes.
14. Tortillas
Flour tortillas can be easy to make at home for beginners. They taste so much more fresh and flavorful when made from scratch at home.
15. Granola Bars
Adding high-quality ingredients and customizing different flavors makes homemade granola bars another fun favorite to make from home.
16. Nut Milk
A great option to find a sustainable and self-sufficient way of making milk without raising animals. Control over ingredients and fresh taste are a few benefits I love about making my own nut milk.
Household Items to Start Making at Home Instead of Buying from the Store
17. Candles
Candles can be a fun item to start making from home. Store-bought candles are also full of harmful chemicals many people don’t like to have in their homes.
18. Household Cleaners
I have been making my own household cleaners for a while, it was one of the very first things I started making from home. There are a ton of recipes depending on the type of cleaner you want to make.
19. Personal Care products
Shampoos, body washes and toothpaste are some examples of items you can start making at home with your ingredients.
20. Soap
Homemade soaps are another great item that one can make at home instead of buying from the store, Learning this skill can be both fun and rewarding, and even an income stream if you decide to make extra and sell at local markets.
21. Laundry Detergent
Laundry detergent is another item that is commonly full of harmful chemicals. Creating it from home with better quality safe ingredients can be beneficial for you are your family.
Start living a more sustainable and toxin-free lifestyle by slowly beginning to make your own products instead of running to the store.
Next time you run out of something, try to make it yourself! Making gradual changes can help you stick to new habits. Pick one skill to work on at a time.
Don’t feel overwhelmed! There’s a lot of information out there, and plenty of helpful resources to help you along the way.
