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!! :)
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Let there be light! And water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink!
I ran to the craft store this morning to pick up a new pack of fabric pens. Still no electricity. *sigh* I had already taken care of our animals, straightened up the house, and cleaned my vehicle (some of the few things I could do with no water or power), so we decided to grab a couple of sandwiches from a deli and have lunch!
When we got onto our street, I noticed two trucks from the power company coming down our road. What a good sign! We pulled into our drive way and I looked up at the house just in time to see the light come on in Keelin's room! Let there be light!!
From Monday night to Thursday afternoon, nooooooo electricity.
The things I have learned from this madness:
1. Fill up your bath tub when you know it's going to storm. Just do it. Having two kids 4yrs old and under plus a pregnant bladder and one of those kids in full time cloth diapers... Okay, let's just say, we could have used some water, especially to flush!
2. Having rain barrels absolutely saved my sanity! What would I have done for this long with no water, two dogs, and 29 chickens? I'd have been forced to buy bottled water for the poultry!! I love them and all, but how about a NO?!
3. I don't sleep well with two kids in my bed and one in my belly. I got kicked from ALL sides in the night- quite literally. But there is nothing that can make you feel quite as warm and fuzzy inside.
4.
And #4 is a doozy.
When was the last time you took a good long look at your water usage habits? How much water do you waste? Do you take it for granted? As environmentally minded as I am, I do take my water for granted- yes, even utilizing rain water and trying to be gentle on my well- I take water for granted. The very fact that it comes out of my taps (most of the time) when I turn the knobs is an incredible luxury. But how often do we think of it that way?
We're not entitled, people. Water is a resource and just like the rest of them, we're crapping on it. Or in it, as the case may be. :-/ I will just say, this experience has made me so grateful for the everyday, monotonous running water at my house.
When we got onto our street, I noticed two trucks from the power company coming down our road. What a good sign! We pulled into our drive way and I looked up at the house just in time to see the light come on in Keelin's room! Let there be light!!
From Monday night to Thursday afternoon, nooooooo electricity.
The things I have learned from this madness:
1. Fill up your bath tub when you know it's going to storm. Just do it. Having two kids 4yrs old and under plus a pregnant bladder and one of those kids in full time cloth diapers... Okay, let's just say, we could have used some water, especially to flush!
2. Having rain barrels absolutely saved my sanity! What would I have done for this long with no water, two dogs, and 29 chickens? I'd have been forced to buy bottled water for the poultry!! I love them and all, but how about a NO?!
3. I don't sleep well with two kids in my bed and one in my belly. I got kicked from ALL sides in the night- quite literally. But there is nothing that can make you feel quite as warm and fuzzy inside.
4.
And #4 is a doozy.
When was the last time you took a good long look at your water usage habits? How much water do you waste? Do you take it for granted? As environmentally minded as I am, I do take my water for granted- yes, even utilizing rain water and trying to be gentle on my well- I take water for granted. The very fact that it comes out of my taps (most of the time) when I turn the knobs is an incredible luxury. But how often do we think of it that way?
We're not entitled, people. Water is a resource and just like the rest of them, we're crapping on it. Or in it, as the case may be. :-/ I will just say, this experience has made me so grateful for the everyday, monotonous running water at my house.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Oh, the things we take for granted!
Well, we had a nasty April storm a couple of days ago!
Now a couple of days in to not having power (which for us well having people means no water, as well, since our well pump doesn't function without electricity), I am realizing just how much I take things for granted!
I wasn't expecting to lose power- it was just a thunderstorm, for crying out loud! Yeah, until my county got hit with a tornado! :-p and a tree bigger around than my mini-van came down on a power line 1/4 of a mile from my house! So long, electricity!
I didn't think to fill the bathtub with clean water for flushing and such, didn't fill jugs with water, didn't charge important things like my laptop, my cell phone, two extra cell batteries (yeah, I had THREE dead cell phone batteries. I suck), flash lights.
Thankfully, we have our two rain barrels, so my dogs and chickens were happy to have water. I had about a gallon of purified water in the fridge- so we could have drinking water, brush our teeth, and yes, bless Jackson's heart, wet some cloth wipes to clean his little tushy. (Yeah, it was still cold, too. Poor Jackson! lol)
I had just taken all of our clean laundry and diapers off of the clothesline when it started to rain, so he has diapers, we have clothes- all positives. I was walking up the stairs when Jackson decided to stumble walking up the stairs and give himself a shiner and a poor little bruised nose.
I decided that if we didn't get power back on by this morning, I was going to take the kids to a hotel or to my mom's house an hour away for baths, heat, etc. Well, mom had no power, so Tim called and booked us a hotel with an indoor pool- so the kids could at least have something to look forward to. No less than 5 minutes after Tim made the reservation, Mom called and said that her power was back on. Thank goodness!!! Saved us $91! Which is AWESOME since we just had to have Tim's windshield replaced this morning. (When it rains, it pours at the Power homestead... literally and figuratively.)
So for now, we're at my mother's house. The kids are bathed, we watched a movie, and a little bit later, I think we're going to go out and stretch our legs for a bit. I'll head home first thing in the morning to go feed the dogs. For now, they're out in the dog run with Dogloos full of cedar shavings and overfull bowls of food, so they'll be good until tomorrow morning. *sigh* Either way, the kids and I aren't spending another cold night in our house.
Oh, did I mention the energy company is saying that it will be late tomorrow night before we have power. Blech.
Now a couple of days in to not having power (which for us well having people means no water, as well, since our well pump doesn't function without electricity), I am realizing just how much I take things for granted!
I wasn't expecting to lose power- it was just a thunderstorm, for crying out loud! Yeah, until my county got hit with a tornado! :-p and a tree bigger around than my mini-van came down on a power line 1/4 of a mile from my house! So long, electricity!
I didn't think to fill the bathtub with clean water for flushing and such, didn't fill jugs with water, didn't charge important things like my laptop, my cell phone, two extra cell batteries (yeah, I had THREE dead cell phone batteries. I suck), flash lights.
Thankfully, we have our two rain barrels, so my dogs and chickens were happy to have water. I had about a gallon of purified water in the fridge- so we could have drinking water, brush our teeth, and yes, bless Jackson's heart, wet some cloth wipes to clean his little tushy. (Yeah, it was still cold, too. Poor Jackson! lol)
I had just taken all of our clean laundry and diapers off of the clothesline when it started to rain, so he has diapers, we have clothes- all positives. I was walking up the stairs when Jackson decided to stumble walking up the stairs and give himself a shiner and a poor little bruised nose.
I decided that if we didn't get power back on by this morning, I was going to take the kids to a hotel or to my mom's house an hour away for baths, heat, etc. Well, mom had no power, so Tim called and booked us a hotel with an indoor pool- so the kids could at least have something to look forward to. No less than 5 minutes after Tim made the reservation, Mom called and said that her power was back on. Thank goodness!!! Saved us $91! Which is AWESOME since we just had to have Tim's windshield replaced this morning. (When it rains, it pours at the Power homestead... literally and figuratively.)
So for now, we're at my mother's house. The kids are bathed, we watched a movie, and a little bit later, I think we're going to go out and stretch our legs for a bit. I'll head home first thing in the morning to go feed the dogs. For now, they're out in the dog run with Dogloos full of cedar shavings and overfull bowls of food, so they'll be good until tomorrow morning. *sigh* Either way, the kids and I aren't spending another cold night in our house.
Oh, did I mention the energy company is saying that it will be late tomorrow night before we have power. Blech.
Monday, April 4, 2011
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!!
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!!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
18 weeks and 1 day
So, I popped my due date into this little thing-a-ma-jigger and it told me that I am more than 18 weeks pregnant. Uh. No. Could I possibly be almost halfway through this pregnancy?! No way!!
*sigh*
Denial won't change it. This pregnancy is getting away from me. I swore I'd enjoy every minute of it- and I am, so why is it going by so quickly?!
I have his newborn cloth diapers ready, I have some little newborn wool sleep cocoons (will post pictures next week when the custom I ordered gets here), some little teeny clothes that I'm planning to dye when I dye his prefolds all sorts of beautiful colors.
Basically? This baby boy could make his grand entrance tomorrow and have everything he needs, except for a carseat! But of course, he needs to stay in for another 22 weeks- which gives me that much longer to obsess about it. And the nesting hasn't even kicked in yet. I am in such trouble... even though I'm totally going the handmade, minimalistic route with this little boy's items!
18 weeks and 1 day with baby #3
I think I popped a bit since my last picture! :)
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Friday, Beautiful Friday!!
People that know me know that I adore furniture that has been taken from a virtual heap and turned into something beautiful! And I have always been in love with Hoosier Cabinets. If you love antiques, then you might know that when they are in good shape, they are expensive!! I finally found one about half an hour away within my budget and picked it up yesterday. 
I'm so in love! Can't wait to bring it back to life- the picture makes it look like it is in a lot better shape than it actually is. This furniture is going to require a lot of TLC to return it to it's former luster. :) It has an original flour storage unit and I'm hoping to find a glass sugar storage to mount on the inside. The countertop slides out towards you. It seems that this piece of furniture was a favorite of women when baking bread. They used the slide out panel to knead dough and cut out biscuits! 
I'm so in love! Can't wait to bring it back to life- the picture makes it look like it is in a lot better shape than it actually is. This furniture is going to require a lot of TLC to return it to it's former luster. :) It has an original flour storage unit and I'm hoping to find a glass sugar storage to mount on the inside. The countertop slides out towards you. It seems that this piece of furniture was a favorite of women when baking bread. They used the slide out panel to knead dough and cut out biscuits! 
A picture of my precious Keelin! She goes to a 3 morning a week preschool and loves it. She chose, on Friday morning, to wear her tie-dyed t-shirt, turquoise flats, and her breast cancer awareness hair bow. She's just so bright and shiny. I can't get over how delightful my daughter is. Love her!!!
Oh, and before I forget, Tim and I were able to go out for dinner and a movie last night, courtesy of my awesome dad for watching the kids- especially when Jackson stripped naked and peed all over the floor AFTER he was supposed to be asleep in his bed ;)
We went to Basil's & Co., a local bistro that locally sources some of their food- including a lot of their meats and cheeses (Goat Lady Dairy, anyone?!). We shared the fried pickles with horseradish aioli to start with- SO good. Tim got the shrimp and grits, I had a small plate portion of the sirloin with a green salad, truffle dusted shoestring fries, and ordered an extra side, because the asparagus risotto sounded too good to pass up! For dessert, we had a chocolate ganache cake that was so rich, we brought most of it home!! The baby bump enjoyed it, though!
It was really nice to get out for a while together and focus on what we wanted to talk about, no booster seats, enjoy hot food (parents, you know what I'm talking about!), and the movie (Limitless) was pretty good, too. Although by that time, I was ready to go home and go to sleep. I'm too much of an old lady (at 24) to go to a ten o'clock movie! :)
No Poo Week 2!!!!
I don't really like taking pictures of myself, but I promised!
Here is a picture of my hair after 2 weeks of No Poo-ing!
When I still used shampoo, my hair was super "poofy" without product,
my curls undefined and frizzy.
Now, my curls are DAILY becoming more defined, my naturally wavy hair is more under control than it has been in years.
I'm working on mixing up a good defining "product" in my bathroom.
Not sure if it will work or not, but if it does, I will definitely post a recipe!
I particularly love how my hair looks after a day on the beach.
Maybe I will end up with a sea-salt based spray of some sort?
That is my goal! We'll see how it goes :)
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