Witchcraft on a Budget

(With a picture to make it Pinterest-friendly. I've decided recently to make my witchcraft Pinterest public, mainly so I can share the few things I have on this blog.)

I've decided that this knowledge is rather important, so I'm going to share it with you. I don't mean to get all proffessional-bloggy on you, I just want to share. So here. Some tips on witchcraft on a budget. And actual serious tips, made by someone actually on a budget, not tips by someone who thinks they know what a budget is like but actually has plenty of extra money on their hands.

1. Recycle Jars

It seems to go without saying, but witches need a lot of jars. And people tend to buy a lot of things that come in jars. So rinse these jars out and store them! I honestly have way too many jars due to doing this, but at least I'll always have one when I need one. You can also save Altoids tins and 

such--they make nice salve tins, but be careful of the holes in the back. (I learned the hard way.) Save empty spice containers too!

2. Use Unlikely Things

For example, I use 4-oz Ziploc containers for salves. It's not pretty, but they come cheap in packs of eight and they do stand up to hot wax and oil quite nicely. Plus they seal easily and are easy to label. Speaking of labels, try using sheets of cheap blank address labels and a pencil instead of printing off fancy ones. Again, we're talking function over form here. Function over form is important when you're on a budget.

3. Make Your Own Essential Oils

Essential oils are damned expensive, but you know what's less expensive? Olive oil and herbs. Okay, olive oil is kind of expensive this year but there are plenty of other carrier oils you can use. I'm not going to go over how to make them here, as there are plenty of other resources to tell you how. Check the witchcraft Pinterest. Personally I go with either the slowcooker method or the pan-and-hot-water method. Infusing in the sun takes too long for my liking.

4. Grow Your Own Herbs

Herbs can still be fairly expensive, so if you want to save even more, grow your own! Either start them from seed or buy a small plant from a nursery (I know, I know, I'm lapsing into rich-people talk, but it pays off, really) and soon you'll be rolling in leaves. And flowers. And whatnot. At least grow your own mint. You can get a tiny plant for cheap that'll explode into a huge one and you'll have more mint that you know what to do with.

5. Work Inside Your Limits

Here's what I mean by this. I'm gonna tell you a story.

Almost two years ago now, when I started getting serious about witchcraft, I got this nice little notebook for writing down remedies in. Which is a great thing to do. But I was young and inexperienced and wrote down every single recipe I came across, no matter how exotic the ingredients. Now that I'm two years older and slightly less inexperienced, I do it differently. I look at the ingredients and ask myself--are these things I'll be able to get? If not, how many things could be hard to find? Is the remedy important enough that I should write it down anyway? I always measure importance against practicality if there are ingredients like eucalyptus or jojoba oil or shea butter. Usually, I end up not writing them down. Instead, I find remedies made with kitchen herbs, cheaper ingredients, and oils that I can make or have made. There are certainly plenty around. So take the time to develop a sense of practicality with your remedies.

Welp, that's all I've got for you now. I'll probably make another post like this some day. In fact, I know I will. I just ran out of tips I could come up with. And five is a nice number, don't you think? Anyway.