Katie Haegele - Kitchen Witch: Natural Remedies and Crafts for Home, Health, and Beauty (Good Life)

kitchen witch: NATURAL REMEDIES and CRAFTS for HOME, HEALTH, and BEAUTY

2021 Katie Haegele and Nadine Schneider

This edition Microcosm Publishing 2021

eBook ISBN 9781648410420

This is Microcosm #560

Cover by Lindsey Cleworth

Edited by Lydia Rogue

Design by Joe Biel

For a catalog, write or visit:

Microcosm Publishing

2752 N Williams Ave.

Portland, OR 97227

https://microcosm.pub/KitchenWitch

Did you know that you can buy our books directly from us at sliding scale rates? Support a small, independent publisher and pay less than Amazons price at www.Microcosm.Pub

Microcosm Publishing is Portlands most diversified publishing house and distributor with a focus on the colorful, authentic, and empowering. Our books and zines have put your power in your hands since 1996, equipping readers to make positive changes in their lives and in the world around them. Microcosm emphasizes skill-building, showing hidden histories, and fostering creativity through challenging conventional publishing wisdom with books and bookettes about DIY skills, food, bicycling, gender, self-care, and social justice. What was once a distro and record label was started by Joe Biel in his bedroom and has become among the oldest independent publishing houses in Portland, OR. We are a politically moderate, centrist publisher in a world that has inched to the right for the past 80 years.

Global labor conditions are bad, and our roots in industrial Cleveland in the 70s and 80s made us appreciate the need to treat workers right. Therefore, our books are MADE IN THE USA.

Contents

SECTION 1: WELCOME TO OUR KITCHEN

Introduction

Healing the World: Natural Living, Magic, and Community

A Word About Magic

A Brief History of Natural Healing

What Makes This Relevant Today?

Creating Community

The Well-Stocked Cupboard

Equipment and Ingredients

Essential Oils

Hydrosols

Aromatherapy

Preparation, Clean-Up, and Storage

Techniques and Conversions

Double Boiler

Solubilization

Infusions, Tinctures, and Decoctions

Distilled Water

Keeping a Grimoire

SECTION 2: CLEANING HOUSE

Introduction

One-Ingredient Wizardry

Lovely Liquid Laundry Soap

Its About Thyme Countertop Cleaner

Peppermint Pest Control

Bathroom Brightening Scrub

Winter Woods Room Spray

SECTION 3: WITCHY CRAFTS

Knit a Dishcloth

Wool Dryer Balls and Pet Toys

Keep Out the Cold Draft Stopper

Herbal Furniture Freshener

Dye Fabric the Natural Way

Make a Seasonal Wreath

Mind Your Beeswax

SECTION 4: IN THE GARDEN

Growing, Harvesting, and Preserving Herbs

Easy Household Composting

Citronella Mosquito Repellent

Air Purifying Houseplants

Into the Wild: A Note on Foraging

Creating a Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary

SECTION 5: HOLISTIC SELF-CARE

Introduction

Remedies for Skin and Hair

Everyday Rituals

CONCLUSION

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

RESOURCES

CREDITS

ABOUT US

Introduction

H ello, and welcome to the Kitchen Witch: Natural Remedies and Crafts for Home, Health, and Beauty ! Were so glad youre here. Our names are Nadine and Katie, and weve known each other for several years now, ever since we started meeting for coffee in the break room at the university research center where we worked together. We soon became close friends, bonding over conversations about books, feminism, the 90s, and magic.

In 2016 we made a zine called The Kytchyn Witche Guide to Natural Living about one of our shared passions: natural remedies. Nadine, who has long been interested in natural skin and hair care, provided the recipes in the personal care section. Katie, an herb lover and enthusiastic house cleaner, gave instructions on how to make nontoxic cleaning supplies. After we finished writing we sat down at Katies kitchen table to design and lay out the zine. We decorated the cover with medieval woodcuts of herbs and the moon, then started brainstorming titles. What should we call this collection of tips on natural living? Nadine got a faraway look, remembering something from her German childhood. A few Google searches turned it up: the kitchen witch! Created to look like a fairy tale witch, these little dolls are kept in the kitchen as good luck charms. No one knows exactly where this folk tradition originated, but it was most likely Northern Europe. We found the words kytchyn witche in an article that quoted an Englishmans will, dated 1599. The Elizabethan spelling had a certain charm, evoking the world of Shakespeare with all its witches, apothecaries, and herbal lore. The name of our zine was born. It ended up being more popular than we ever expected, and two years later, the folks at Microcosm Publishing asked us to expand our ideas in order to make this beautiful book.

In thinking about what we wanted the Kitchen Witch book to be, we spent months tinkering and experimenting, testing our recipes and perfecting them. We collected tips from our mothers, other family members, and friends. We gathered together piles of books on herbal healing and plant magic and gleefully rolled around on the floor with them. (And yes, we read them, too.) In short, weve gained some knowledge, and were happy and honored to be able to share it with you in these pages.

Note About Safety

Remember: The word natural doesnt automatically mean safe. Take care with every ingredient you use, especially essential oils. Everyones body is different and so what works for one person will not necessarily work for someone else. If you have a known or suspected plant allergy, avoid using that plant and any other plant in its family. For example, those with a ragweed allergy may also be irritated by chamomile. Herbs and other plants can be powerful allies, but its important to understand their properties (and your sensitivities) before using them in your home and on your body.

What Makes This Relevant Today?

We are living in a moment of renewed interest in the mystical. Call it New Age or Woo, call it Witchcraft or the Intuitive Arts or Mind-Body-Spirit; name yourself Bruja or Conjure or Pagan or Priest/ess. It makes sense to me. Our future-focused, technology-obsessed world seems to be hurtling down a bad path. People are turning to ancestral practices for a sense of enduring longevity, and comfort. To source a different kind of power in hopes of making changes both personal and political.

Michelle Tea, Modern Tarot

Were sure youve seen it: Witchy imagery is everywhere. Spooky fashion has gone mainstream, the internet is exploding with natural DIYs, and its never been easier to buy a deck of tarot cards. It seems that lots of people are being drawn to nature-based practices for the first time, while other more experienced folks are finding the cultural climate safe enough for them to come out of the broom closet. We think there are some very valid reasons for this recent trend. Life on this planet is endangered, and many of us feel called to do something about it. We wantneedto nurture a connection to the Earth.

And as it happens, the products we use every day can have an impact on our health, as well as on the health of our planet. While we as individuals cant solve the environmental crisis, we can take control over the products we bring into our homes. Using cleaning and personal care products exposes usand our children and petsto a range of chemicals, both synthetic and of natural origin. Some of these chemicals can cause allergic reactions, and some contaminate our waterways after they get washed down the drain. In the United States, most products do not have to be proven safe before they are put on the market, which leaves consumers potentially vulnerable. Even less consideration is taken for a products environmental impact.