Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills (DIY) Paperback – March 1, 2009

For anybody who is wondering, this book was published by Microcosm Publishing, a DIY and punk rock publishing house. Keep this in mind when coming across "offensive" terms and phrases. Quite frankly though, I found none. I did however find this book to be extensively useful and reader friendly.The articles are all hand written in very neat penmanship, all the illustrations are hand drawn, and everything in the book has been tried out first by the author. There are three sections in the book Health and First Aid, Nontoxic Cleaning and Body Care, and Gardening. The first section includes directions on how to make tinctures and salves, a list of herbs that are antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antiviral, and also a list of which herbs and essential oils to avoid if pregnant. More useful than you know. The second section is a combination of replacements for bleach, Clorox and the like, and then recipes for herbal shampoos and whatever else you might call body care. The last section is pretty self explanatory. Gardening without choking up the ground with a jug of Wal-Mart bought chemicals. Chapters include composting, space managing and fertilizing.I personally found the First Aid section most useful, and most tailored to my needs. This book is very informative and well worth the money. It doesn't take up a load of space (roughly 7 x 5 inches and half an inch thick, 125 pages), it goes over personal safety at the beginning of the book and includes a further reading section (more DIY punk rock goodness) at the back.It isn't lofty or pompous, or some 100% organic and natural twerpy, skinny assed vegan kid preaching some rhetoric they heard in their college dorm. I think it is well written and friendly, there isn't any political commentary slipped in between instructions on how to turn crunchy dried things into medicinal liquid (which is more rare than you would believe). It's a good book if you are interested in an alternative way to keep yourself and your home healthy and clean.

This book is wonderful, it's packed with useful information as well as recipes. It's a great introduction to using herbs medicinally and could be understood by even the most basic of beginners. The recipes are all easy and well written, even if the ingredients aren't always readily available. A lot of the recipes are based on Castile Soap and Essential Oils or Oils and Essential Oils. Basically, if you don't have, or aren't willing to invest in what can be a lengthy list of Essential Oils, you won't be able to complete a lot of the recipes as stated. The layout is handwritten, and not always the easiest to skim. The only way to look things up is the table of contents (which I have found is not all inclusive), really this book needs to be read cover to cover.You're probably wondering why I gave the book 5 stars after all that. The medicinal section of the book is wonderful and packed with information in a non-overwhelming way. She covers many common concerns and gives practical advice that most people could follow easily follow. I have found myself referring to this more than a large book of home remedies I have. There are wonderful tables that lay out which Essential Oils have what properties and what skin types they are recommended for. Overall, I love this book dearly, even if it's a little messy to look through sometimes. It's like talking to a friend when you read it, she really does a wonderful job of keeping it from feeling like 'research'.

I love books, and have collected quite a library of volumes relating to my varied interests. Some of those interests are natural/herbal health care, natural body care, "green" household cleaning, and urban homesteading. All of those books in my library have one or more of the same ideas contained in this little volume. Yet for some reason, I absolutely love this book. It may be the awkward but adorable handwriting complete with heart-dotted i's, reminding me of my middle school diary. It could be the cute illustrations, with flowers that talk and bubble letter titles, or the little flowers and stars that emphasize the text. I have rarely read a book of this type that uses words like "nast" and "barf", or describes how to deal with crabs or yeast infections with such aplomb. And really, while it may contain recipes and ideas I have found in many other places, it also has some very new ideas that I enjoyed with surprise. All in all, I have the strangest feeling that this book will see more use in my house than several other more comprehensive volumes in my library, and I know that I will have fun in the process.

This book is a very easy to understand summary/collection of DIY information on how to grow and use herbs alongside simple products like castile soap and vinegar in mild/gentle yet effective first aid salves, tinctures, infusions, and household cleaners. The three chapters are 1) First Aid 2) Cleaners 3) Gardening. Aside from this information, it's an adorable handwritten/drawn book with a very practical voice (not kitchy, preachy, or otherwise annoying).One thing I would have liked to know is how long the first aid tinctures/salves/infusions are good for, especially since they tend to need to set a few days before they can be used. If I have an earache and I need to make the solution outlined in this book, it will be three days or so before I can use it and maybe I won't need it by then, so I'd like to prepare it in advance, especially if I need to grow or have access to seasonal ingredients. This goes for cleaners as well.