Update on my dish detergent recipe!!

Okay, y'all. The batch I made Monday and had two glorious loads of dishes washed by?

That stuff is BONE DRY in one of my favorite glass jars.

*head + desk*

I've been looking around the internet and have found that happens to a lot of people! The solution?

Instead of mixing your vinegar into your powdered mix, add your powder to your wash in the little cups on the door like usual, but squirt a bit of vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher instead of mixing it into the powder.

AND

You could even just put the vinegar into the little hole where you put the rinse aid, instead of squirting it directly into the bottom of the dishwasher. (This is the method I'm going to start using, by the way!)

OR

You could mix your vinegar into your powdered mix before putting it in, but that sounds like a hassle to me!

Hope no one lost a nice jar because of this like I did. I guess it just didn't occur to me that it would dry up like that in a jar that sealed around the top as tightly as mine. Still strange, but nonetheless, there are usually solutions to snags if you look in the right place!

Thank goodness for the internet and there being lots of crunchy/frugal people in this world that have been there, done that!! :)

Make it Yourself Monday!!!

Since I came out of the No-Pooing closet, quite a few people have messaged me interested in getting recipes for some of my homemade products, mostly beauty related or bath related. I decided that every so often (i.e. when I run out and need to make more), I would do a post with recipes that I use to make every day products!
Introducing my favorite product of all time: Castile Soap!! This can be used for everything from scrubbing floors to washing babies. It's super concentrated, so keep that in mind when you see how little of it is used in recipes!
Yes, my kitchen is a mess...
I like Dr. Bronner's and Dr. Wood's castile soap, but I've found that the Dr. Wood's is a lot less price-wise than Dr. Bronner's, although Dr. Bronner's is more widely available. You can find it at Target now!
This is castile soap with peppermint essential oils and organic shea butter, so this is what I use to make bath products. Keep in mind, this has no numbing agent like most shampoos, so watch out for eyes.
Since this has the peppermint essential oils, keep that in mind when using it on kids. There are mild versions, especially good if you have a little one with sensitive skin or a diaper rash. Some kids are more sensitive than others. But for us, personally, the little ones really enjoy the minty smell (and Keelin likes the cool tingle, Jackson has yet to comment- LOL)!


This is a jar that once held my favorite oil cured kalamata olives! I'm craving them just looking at the glass jar!

For the kids, I fill the jar halfway with hot water and dissolve about a 1/4 of a cup of castile soap. I called a mommy friend of mine who uses the same thing on her kids and she says that she uses 1 part soap to 5 parts water- gives loads of suds and isn't tough to wash off.
There is no magic measurement, just make sure that you use a lot more water than soap- it's really concentrated!

My no poo recipe is still being adjusted. I make a thick paste out of baking soda and water, scrub it really well into my scalp, and then work it down to the ends of my hair, rinse with cool water, and then rinse with some diluted apple cider vinegar (organic and unrefined ACV is best, but you can use white vinegar in a pinch). Definitely works for me!
I've been reading online and a lot of people seem to use a thinner mixture instead of a paste. The common ratio seems to be 1 TBSP of baking soda to 1c of water. I'm going to try it later!

And here is something I am really excited to share!!!
Homemade dishwashing detergent!
Isn't it pretty?
Recipe:
2 cups of Borax (I bought "20 Mule Team" brand borax at Harris Teeter for $2.50)
2 cups of Baking Soda (or washing soda) (I bought Arm & Hammer, huge box, for $2.50)
4 small packets of sugar free lemonade Kool-Aid (you can also use 4 tablespoons of citric acid--if you can find it) (I accidently grabbed Orange- LOL, hence the color! - $1 for 12 packets)
White Vinegar until it's really wet and soft ($1 for a HUGE bottle)

You use about 2 tablespoons per load and I have had really good results with it so far today!
For $7, I got enough to make enough dishwashing detergent to last for a YEAR!!! That is half of what I used to pay for one small bag of my all-natural dishwashing tabs that lasted not even a month and a half... We cook at home a LOT, hence a ridiculous amount of dishes.

EDIT: My mixture dried solid within a couple of days, which I am sure is caused by my jar not being air tight. Since then, I have mixed my powder together in the jar, using the vinegar in the rinse aid compartment in the dishwasher instead of mixing it with the dry ingredients! Hope that helps!



Next time:
homemade deodorant,
facial cleanser,
moisturizers,
styling spray for no-poo'ed hair,
and homemade laundry detergent!!

Where do you put the batteries?!

I was playing with my munchkins this afternoon and decided to snap some photos of them playing. I can count on two hands the toys these kids have that are battery-powered. Most of our toys are kid-powered :)

We used to have all of the light up, noise making, Disney character covered plastic junk. The more I researched, got headaches from the noise, and realized that the mess was NOT something I wanted in my home, we started slowly but surely minimizing the number and type of toys in our house. At last count, we have 7 toys that require some sort of power, including the tv that I have in the back of the house for the kids to watch the occasional movie on. The rest is mostly wooden, imagination requiring, and I love it! And so do they!

Keelin trying to use a wooden pizza cutter on a wooden apple stuck together in the middle with velcro. She's wearing a bioME 5 "K for Kangaroo" shirt.

Click here to see bioME 5's organic clothing options for kids!

Here is Jackson playing with the apple and Keelin playing with the darn pizza cutter ;) She's cutting a wooden loaf of sliced "bread" held together with velcro.

They were pretty hung up on play food this afternoon, but you can also see the Plan Toys lace up shoe, and the Melissa and Doug toys- the word matching game, the tool set, etc. We love Melissa and Doug, even though their items are mostly made in China and we wish they would make them here in the U.S.A.

Jackson, making a pizza for his big sissy!

Little mess maker! Keelin would run away before I could take many pictures with her in them. Don't know why she was being camera shy today :-/

So there ya go, y'all! Just a little peek into the toybox. So many people act like our kids are deprived because they don't have TONS of toys or the "latest and greatest," but shoot, they are happy kids and I feel good about what they have to play with. Kid-powered is the way we like to do it at our house :)

It's Friday! I'm in love!

With Craigslist :)

We have had so many phone calls and visits about our car! I just wish that more people knew how to drive a 5 speed. The green machine would have been sold to the first visitor/caller if that had been the case! We have a very interested guy coming by in the morning, so hopefully he will buy it. That would be delightful!

I was productive today! Finished detailing the car with Daniel, did some yard work, ran a ton of errands, cleaned out the chick's area, washed a load of diapers, and now I am going to enjoy a yummy batch of sweet potato fries with spicy salt and no-HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) ketchup. Delicious!!

http://www.mamaeve.com/index.php/general-parenting/204-might-be-a-counterculture-mama-if/

This is a really interesting post. I found it through a parenting board I enjoy reading and I identify with most of the list. I guess I am a bit crunchier than I think I am! Which is definitely not a bad thing. I strive to be crunchier- getting back to the basics is never wrong, people. Anything you can do that is "mainstream" can be done in a healthier way. I promise- and you don't have to turn into a homebirthing, toddler nursing "Counterculture Mom." For example:

If you're addicted to tupperware, I can show you my amazing glass food storage that can go from baking in the oven to the microwave, to the dishwasher, to the freezer, etc. And no, it isn't more expensive than the plastic stuff! I paid $30 for a huge mixed-size of containers to start with and then added some Mason jars to the mix. They rock!

If you think little plastic tables and chairs are cute for kids, you should see the wooden ones! They are no more expensive and aren't going to off-gas or leach chemicals like a plastic set. They don't have to be handmade, either. We got our set from Ikea for $20.

Farmer's market produce that isn't organic might be better than organic, he or she may just not be able to afford what is required to be labeled organic. I pay less for farmer's market delights than people pay for Mexican produce at Walmart. Support your local little guy, stimulate your own little economy, love your earth, love your body... We bought some maple breakfast sausage from a farmer at our market that lives 20 minutes away from us. He handed me a dozen (free to us) eggs from his happy, free-range chickens and told me that he wanted to ensure that we would have delicious eggs to go with our delicious sausage. The egg whites were not pale yellow like store bought eggs, they were bright yellow/ almost orange, and the most flavorful eggs I've ever tasted. Cannot wait to visit him again and let him know how much we enjoyed his hard work and admired his commitment to his animals and to his customers. His free dozen eggs have earned him a customer- at least until our teeny chicks start laying themselves :)

Okay, my poor brain has had it. It is official, I need to treat myself to some sweet potato fries and then get some sleep before I drive 2.5hrs to do Elizabeth's baby shower tomorrow!