I while ago i posted about having heart issues. Well after many doctors appointments, heart monitors and the like we've finally narrowed it down. Basically we've discovered that my heart issues are all related to my hormones. To make a very long story short, my doctor recommended that i go on anti anxiety medication or anti depressants. I thought she was nuts. Yes i do have a lot of stress raising three boys, two of which have special needs, but i do not feel that modern drugs that cover up symptoms is the answer. So i turned to the boys naturalpathic doctor and she had a much better conclusion. My adrenal glad isn't functioning properly, which can lead to fatigue, moodiness, low blood pressure, Achiness, Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar with irritability when hungry), and you guessed it... racing heart and chest pain. There are a ton of different symptoms and it can effect people different ways. That combined with low progesterone and a build up of yeast in my intestines, my body is/was very worn out. It's been two weeks since I've been to see the naturalpathic doctor and I'm feeling so much better!
Anyway, just thought i would update on that because it's been a while since I've said anything about it! I'm almost feeling normal again! yay!
Oh and i forgot to add.. the house is being put on the MLS and should be up by the end of the week! Praying for someone to buy it so we can move to minnesota and be with family.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Homemade
For the past couple of months we've been using more "homemade" things. So here you are, the instructions on how to make your own laundry soap, dishwasher detergent and surface cleaner. They all work great and i highly recommend them. My hippy,money saving self LOVES doing things like this! If you have any money saving hippy ways to share with me please feel free!
HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT-
Here's a recipe for homemade powdered laundry detergent. Unlike the homemade liquid laundry detergent recipe, this one requires the use of Fels Naptha laundry soap. Fels Naptha laundry soap, which is manufactured by Dial Corporation, is not always available in local grocery stores and you may have to order it online from the likes of Amazon or online retailers. .
If you have to order Fels Naptha laundry soap, the shipping charges will increase the bottom line cost per load of wash. However, if you are going to continually make homemade laundry detergent, ordering more than one bar at a time will help to defray some of the shipping charges.
No matter what the shipping charges are it is still more cost effective to make your own homemade laundry detergent than to purchase it from the store. Additionally, if living green is high on your list of priorities, you will feel a sense of satisfaction knowing that you are using environmentally friendly ingredients. As with its liquid counterpart, this homemade powdered laundry detergent is very low sudsing and works well in high efficiency washing machines.
Ingredients:
•2/3 bar Fels Naptha Laundry Soap (equivalent of 1 cup grated)
•½ Cup 20 Mule Team Borax
•½ Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda.
•Container large enough to hold 2 cups of laundry detergent
Directions:
1.Grate the Fels Naptha laundry soap with a grater or use a food processor. Approximately 2/3 of a bar of soap will make 1 cup of grated soap.
2.Add the ½ cup of Borax and ½ cup of washing soda to the grated soap.
3.Shake and/or mix well
Use:
One tablespoon of detergent is sufficient per load of wash. If you have a high-efficiency machine, you might want to experiment with using a little less detergent for normal loads. If your clothes come out feeling stiff, lower the amount of detergent. For clothes that are heavily soiled, add a teaspoon more of the detergent..
Yield:
The recipe yields 2 cups of laundry detergent. If you use 1 tablespoon per load, you will be able to wash 32 loads of clothes
Read more at Suite101: Homemade Laundry Detergent: Powdered or Liquid Which Do You Prefer? http://natural-products.suite101.com/article.cfm/homemade_laundry_detergent#ixzz0ifV2liUN
HOMEMADE DISHWASHER DETERGENT-
5 SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
1 – 55 ounce box of Arm & Hammer® Super Washing Soda = $3.99 Many people seem to be finding this cheaper than me, I suppose I’ll have to shop around.
1 – 76 ounce box of 20 Mule Team® Borax = $4.99 People seem to be finding this much cheaper than me too.
1 – 48 ounce box of coarse Kosher Salt = $1.99 I cook with kosher salt as well.
1 – 2 ounce container of food-grade Citric Acid = $1.15 You can find this online or at your local brewery or specialty beer store. If you cannot find this you can substitute 10-15 lemon Kool-aid envelopes per batch **the small unsweetened ones**, if you use any other flavor you could easily color the inside of your dishwasher (you need 10-15 envelopes to equal the 1-2oz of straight citric acid.) If you do not use some form of citric acid… you will most likely have the cloudy residue left that most “green” cleaners leave.
1 – gallon of White Vinegar = $1.79 Yet another excellent use for a nearly universal cleaning agent.
COST BREAKDOWN & SAVINGS
Prior to making our own, we were using Palmolive eco+ liquid detergent. Here is the breakdown in cost analysis:
borax | 76oz = 4.99 | 8oz=.53/batch
washing soda | 55oz = 3.99 | 8oz=.57/batch
citric acid | 2oz = 1.15/batch
kosher salt | 48oz = 1.99 | 2oz= .08/batch
total for 32 oz = $2.33/batch
white vinegar (as rinse agent) | 1gal = 1.79 | 4oz=.06/fill
(**note** you only need to use 1 rounded tablespoon of this homemade detergent per load. If you feel it necessary… you may use a heaping tablespoon, but I do not.)
Palmolive® eco+ gel 75 ounce detergent – $3.79 – 28 loads = $0.14 per load
Jabs Homemade powder 32 ounce detergent – $2.33 – 50 loads = $0.05 per load
Here are the cost savings for my homemade rinse agent that goes along with this recipe:
FINISH® JET-DRY® Rinse Agent 4.22 ounce solution – $3.99 – 1 fill = $3.99 per fill
White Vinegar as a Rinse Agent 1 gallon solution – $1.79 – 1 fill = $0.06 per fill
That is a savings of 6650% on an effective rinse agent! Sounds too good to be true… but it is indeed true!
Not only am I getting my rinse agent for just pennies & cutting my costs by more than half, (I do not count time spent as cost because it is fun, educational, & useful for both you & me) there are also many other benefits of homemade products which I chronicle in an article on FiveCentNickel.com.
A SIMPLE RECIPE & MAKING OF A BATCH
Each batch yields 32 ounces of resulting product which you should store in some type of container you were going to dispose of. I suggest something 1 gallon size or smaller so you can fit it under your kitchen sink; old coffee cans work great.
1. Start with these 5 ingredients:
2. Into a 32 ounce container – add 1/2 cup of borax:
3. Add 1/2 cup of washing soda:
4. Add 1/4 cup of citric acid:
5. Add 1/4 cup of kosher salt:
6. Put the lid on & shake it up good:
7. As you know… my wife loves her some label maker:
8. Fill “Rinse Aid” compartment with white vinegar:
When you do a load use 1 tablespoon of detergent per load (you can use a heaping tablespoon if you feel the need, but I do not).
This detergent will clump together but it doesn’t matter… just scoop out your tablespoon & forget about the clumps! It clumps because of the citric acid.
There you have it folks!
Simple, easy, fast, & efficient homemade laundry detergent.
Homemade surface cleaner-
10-15 drops tea tree oil
2 teaspoons borax
2 cups water
2 tablespoons vinegar
add into spray bottle, shake it up and walla... you have all purpose surface cleaner...
Next on the list... no longer using shampoo and conditioner
HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT-
Here's a recipe for homemade powdered laundry detergent. Unlike the homemade liquid laundry detergent recipe, this one requires the use of Fels Naptha laundry soap. Fels Naptha laundry soap, which is manufactured by Dial Corporation, is not always available in local grocery stores and you may have to order it online from the likes of Amazon or online retailers. .
If you have to order Fels Naptha laundry soap, the shipping charges will increase the bottom line cost per load of wash. However, if you are going to continually make homemade laundry detergent, ordering more than one bar at a time will help to defray some of the shipping charges.
No matter what the shipping charges are it is still more cost effective to make your own homemade laundry detergent than to purchase it from the store. Additionally, if living green is high on your list of priorities, you will feel a sense of satisfaction knowing that you are using environmentally friendly ingredients. As with its liquid counterpart, this homemade powdered laundry detergent is very low sudsing and works well in high efficiency washing machines.
Ingredients:
•2/3 bar Fels Naptha Laundry Soap (equivalent of 1 cup grated)
•½ Cup 20 Mule Team Borax
•½ Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda.
•Container large enough to hold 2 cups of laundry detergent
Directions:
1.Grate the Fels Naptha laundry soap with a grater or use a food processor. Approximately 2/3 of a bar of soap will make 1 cup of grated soap.
2.Add the ½ cup of Borax and ½ cup of washing soda to the grated soap.
3.Shake and/or mix well
Use:
One tablespoon of detergent is sufficient per load of wash. If you have a high-efficiency machine, you might want to experiment with using a little less detergent for normal loads. If your clothes come out feeling stiff, lower the amount of detergent. For clothes that are heavily soiled, add a teaspoon more of the detergent..
Yield:
The recipe yields 2 cups of laundry detergent. If you use 1 tablespoon per load, you will be able to wash 32 loads of clothes
Read more at Suite101: Homemade Laundry Detergent: Powdered or Liquid Which Do You Prefer? http://natural-products.suite101.com/article.cfm/homemade_laundry_detergent#ixzz0ifV2liUN
HOMEMADE DISHWASHER DETERGENT-
5 SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
1 – 55 ounce box of Arm & Hammer® Super Washing Soda = $3.99 Many people seem to be finding this cheaper than me, I suppose I’ll have to shop around.
1 – 76 ounce box of 20 Mule Team® Borax = $4.99 People seem to be finding this much cheaper than me too.
1 – 48 ounce box of coarse Kosher Salt = $1.99 I cook with kosher salt as well.
1 – 2 ounce container of food-grade Citric Acid = $1.15 You can find this online or at your local brewery or specialty beer store. If you cannot find this you can substitute 10-15 lemon Kool-aid envelopes per batch **the small unsweetened ones**, if you use any other flavor you could easily color the inside of your dishwasher (you need 10-15 envelopes to equal the 1-2oz of straight citric acid.) If you do not use some form of citric acid… you will most likely have the cloudy residue left that most “green” cleaners leave.
1 – gallon of White Vinegar = $1.79 Yet another excellent use for a nearly universal cleaning agent.
COST BREAKDOWN & SAVINGS
Prior to making our own, we were using Palmolive eco+ liquid detergent. Here is the breakdown in cost analysis:
borax | 76oz = 4.99 | 8oz=.53/batch
washing soda | 55oz = 3.99 | 8oz=.57/batch
citric acid | 2oz = 1.15/batch
kosher salt | 48oz = 1.99 | 2oz= .08/batch
total for 32 oz = $2.33/batch
white vinegar (as rinse agent) | 1gal = 1.79 | 4oz=.06/fill
(**note** you only need to use 1 rounded tablespoon of this homemade detergent per load. If you feel it necessary… you may use a heaping tablespoon, but I do not.)
Palmolive® eco+ gel 75 ounce detergent – $3.79 – 28 loads = $0.14 per load
Jabs Homemade powder 32 ounce detergent – $2.33 – 50 loads = $0.05 per load
Here are the cost savings for my homemade rinse agent that goes along with this recipe:
FINISH® JET-DRY® Rinse Agent 4.22 ounce solution – $3.99 – 1 fill = $3.99 per fill
White Vinegar as a Rinse Agent 1 gallon solution – $1.79 – 1 fill = $0.06 per fill
That is a savings of 6650% on an effective rinse agent! Sounds too good to be true… but it is indeed true!
Not only am I getting my rinse agent for just pennies & cutting my costs by more than half, (I do not count time spent as cost because it is fun, educational, & useful for both you & me) there are also many other benefits of homemade products which I chronicle in an article on FiveCentNickel.com.
A SIMPLE RECIPE & MAKING OF A BATCH
Each batch yields 32 ounces of resulting product which you should store in some type of container you were going to dispose of. I suggest something 1 gallon size or smaller so you can fit it under your kitchen sink; old coffee cans work great.
1. Start with these 5 ingredients:
2. Into a 32 ounce container – add 1/2 cup of borax:
3. Add 1/2 cup of washing soda:
4. Add 1/4 cup of citric acid:
5. Add 1/4 cup of kosher salt:
6. Put the lid on & shake it up good:
7. As you know… my wife loves her some label maker:
8. Fill “Rinse Aid” compartment with white vinegar:
When you do a load use 1 tablespoon of detergent per load (you can use a heaping tablespoon if you feel the need, but I do not).
This detergent will clump together but it doesn’t matter… just scoop out your tablespoon & forget about the clumps! It clumps because of the citric acid.
There you have it folks!
Simple, easy, fast, & efficient homemade laundry detergent.
Homemade surface cleaner-
10-15 drops tea tree oil
2 teaspoons borax
2 cups water
2 tablespoons vinegar
add into spray bottle, shake it up and walla... you have all purpose surface cleaner...
Next on the list... no longer using shampoo and conditioner
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
This poem always speaks to my heart and hepls me to focus on what's really important...
My dishes went unwashed today,
I didn't make the bed,
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.
Oh yes, we went adventuring,
My little son and I...
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky
We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood...
My kitchen wasn't swept today
But life was gay and good.
We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows
How Mother Bunny hides her nest,
Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.
We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill...
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.
That my house was neglected,
That I didn't brush the stairs,
In twenty years, no one on earth
Will know, or even care.
But that I've helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years, the whole wide world
May look and see and know.
Mrs. Roy L. Peifer
My dishes went unwashed today,
I didn't make the bed,
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.
Oh yes, we went adventuring,
My little son and I...
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky
We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood...
My kitchen wasn't swept today
But life was gay and good.
We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows
How Mother Bunny hides her nest,
Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.
We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill...
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.
That my house was neglected,
That I didn't brush the stairs,
In twenty years, no one on earth
Will know, or even care.
But that I've helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years, the whole wide world
May look and see and know.
Mrs. Roy L. Peifer
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Family photos!
Here are a couple of photos from the family photo shoot we did a couple of weeks back while we were in Minnesota...
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Dare you to move
The house is offically up for sale. We're leaning on faith and hope. It's really up in the air at this point. Someone could fall in love with it, have all of the money ready to go and we could be moving across the country by the end of the month. Or it can be for sale for months and months without any offers or interest. At this point in time I am feeling peace. I know that the Lord has a plan either way and whatever His plan is, it's the best. Of course that is easier said then felt... but my heart feels peace, and i'm thankful for that. We know that there are good things in store for us with this move, but the uncertian is just that... uncertian. Right now we have a stable job and a lovely home, but sometimes that just isn't enough for the soul to thrive on. I feel like it would be better to be surrounded by family and friends in uncerianty then by matirial stabilty... which really can only take but a moment and it's gone. So we move on to this next chapter and journey of life. Wherever we move, may we move closer to the Lord.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Home
OKay my thoughts may be a bit scattered through this post so stick with me.
It was so great to be back in Minnesota. We really needed the break! The pictures from the last post are of Joshua and Daniel relaxing and enjoying grandma and grandpas house, My sister's new pup, Bella, My niece Ashley, and my nephew Franklin. I was able to get more snaps of Ashley because i saw her more. :)
So here we are, very close to having the house up for sale and getting ready for a change. The future is still very full of endless possibilities. We could sell the house for more than we expected, or not be able to sell it at all. I'm excited, yet at peace. I know that the Lord has a plan and he is a loving God who sees my needs and takes care of me.
When we came back to Washington from Minnesota i felt sad that we were going to leave the beauty of this place. I love the mountains and the climate and the tall trees. We have a beautiful home and a beautiful view. But over the course of coming home and the day I just kept thinking about how it really doesn't mean anything if i don't have people i love to share it with. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my boys and Matt... I'm saying family. The view isn't worth the sacrifice of not being able to be around my family and to be a part of a support system. I want to be able to be there for my family when they need me. I want to be able to help out with my nieces and nephew. and so much more. All of the scenery and the house in the world does not compare to family. And not to mention friends... though they are much more like family then anything.So i guess I'm saying I'm willing to give up the beauty that i have now for another kind of beauty. Over time I am sure that I will grow to love the area in which we live and find a new pace of life.
Yawn.. it's late and I'm sleepy!
It was so great to be back in Minnesota. We really needed the break! The pictures from the last post are of Joshua and Daniel relaxing and enjoying grandma and grandpas house, My sister's new pup, Bella, My niece Ashley, and my nephew Franklin. I was able to get more snaps of Ashley because i saw her more. :)
So here we are, very close to having the house up for sale and getting ready for a change. The future is still very full of endless possibilities. We could sell the house for more than we expected, or not be able to sell it at all. I'm excited, yet at peace. I know that the Lord has a plan and he is a loving God who sees my needs and takes care of me.
When we came back to Washington from Minnesota i felt sad that we were going to leave the beauty of this place. I love the mountains and the climate and the tall trees. We have a beautiful home and a beautiful view. But over the course of coming home and the day I just kept thinking about how it really doesn't mean anything if i don't have people i love to share it with. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my boys and Matt... I'm saying family. The view isn't worth the sacrifice of not being able to be around my family and to be a part of a support system. I want to be able to be there for my family when they need me. I want to be able to help out with my nieces and nephew. and so much more. All of the scenery and the house in the world does not compare to family. And not to mention friends... though they are much more like family then anything.So i guess I'm saying I'm willing to give up the beauty that i have now for another kind of beauty. Over time I am sure that I will grow to love the area in which we live and find a new pace of life.
Yawn.. it's late and I'm sleepy!
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