Happy Mother's Day

For all the Mother's out there, I'd like to say Happy Mother's Day! May it be bright and beautiful!

 

Bar Soap in the Bathroom

Bar Soap in the Bathroom

Going green isn't always easy.
In changing our household to a greener and less toxic environment, I'm using small baby steps. It has been a wonderful challenge for me.

I know the reasons I want to make a change- I've been doing the initial research and I have read the amount of chemicals used in commercial body products. So for me alone, the change is simple. To change the whole family can be a different issue.

Some steps have been met with resistance from my family members who adore certain favorite products. In particular, convincing my hubby to try new items is not always easy. He has used certain items, like say Lever bar soap, for so long he was convinced that's the only one he'd like. Coming home from work, that's what he wanted waiting in the shower. Period. Done.

Until one day, I just missed the fact he was out. Actually, I didn't do it on purpose. I'd already made a switch to Castile soaps for myself, but I missed restocking his. He had to try mine.

Now, changing bar soaps is NOT one of the problems. Yay! Kirk's Original Castile Soap won him over. It rinsed off easily, he felt squeaky clean, and it worked on it's own accord to convince him. I did nothing, except forget an item on the list. Yay!!

One fantastic change to improve everyone’s health and move to greener household is as simple as switching from Name brand bar soaps to Castile soaps. There are a huge variety of fabulous smelling natural soap bars out there that do the same work on your skin as the Name Brands, without exposing your skin to synthetic toxic chemicals and unnecessary animal fats. A few examples are: Kirks Castile Soaps, or Dr. Bronner's, or Dr. Wood's Castile Soaps. Plus there are many others not containing the extra chemicals, dyes, and fake fragrances.

Castile soaps obey the golden rule for your skin: If you do not recognize an ingredient, your body cannot recognize it either. They are made of 100% vegetable oils, and are vegan approved. You can even find Baby soaps in fragrance free varieties, perfect for the little ones in your life! Mild, gentle, and no toxins!

Castile soaps… Try this simple switch. Your skin will thank you; your body will thank you; and your family will be happier and healthier!





Our favorites are Kirk's Original Castile, and Dr. Bronner's Citrus Bar!

Monday's "Find the House" Routine

"Find the House" 

... it's Monday. Even for me, this is a MONDAY!

After a weekend of everyone home, friends over, BBQ's, game time- what ever has occured... Monday is the time for me to "find the house". I try to take the weekends off too!  Doesn't work 100% of the time, but my normal cleaning routines are definitely disrupted! There's just something about getting the week started that can be a chore even for a SAHM like me. I am not certain about everyone, but the weekends are break time. Enjoying the family or friends and movies, outdoors, games, BBQ's, gardening,etc. Anything but cleaning the house!
And no matter what the reason- Mondays always seem to come back around. Haha!

Mondays, for my schedule, are usually filled with just trying to find my house after Hubby and the teens have relaxed all weekend too!

I used to be overwhelmed by it, until I discovered small baby steps go a long way.  Some of the simplist steps can make Monday a joy rather than a chore! My goal, as I say to my husband, is to "find the house" on Monday- not make it perfect pristine! Some may argue with me- but I consider it a step in the week- not a mountain to climb in one stretch! With Homeschooling my two boys, blogging, and writing; Baby steps are manageable and feel good at the end of each day.  They actually allow me to smile, rather than have a grudge against the day. So much nicer!  And the best part is having the smile when everyone else is a grump. They think I'm weird, but what's new. I can relax feeling accomplished tonight, and sleep well.
So, my baby steps are the a SD system I discovered by accident- I am a list maker, and when I'd write my liwt of things I wanted done in the day- I noticed quick I titled everything by S's or D's. LOL Just me- but here's how it kind of breaks down:

SD-DS,  break, SD- DS, break SD-DS!   Yay! 
What in the world does that mean? Okay:
__________
1. SD=Sheets/Dirty: This is laundry. In a nutshell. I start my day, everyday, by making the beds. On Monday mornings that means the full bed, I pull the sheets and pillowcases etc and get them to the laundry pile. Dirty: I have a dirty laundry basket in each bathroom that my boys and DH know to use- so I am never searching for dirty laundry. My simple house rule is: If it's not in the basket, it doesn't get washed. (They know full and well- there are no exceptions. It really Didn't take them long to figure that one out instead of arguing. If they didn't make it in time, they had to wash it themselves.) The major exception to this is the simple fact I have teens now, not little ones. When they were small I'd make a point of showing them, "Look dirty clothes go in the laundry basket". As they grew older and I'd slowly find less and less on the floor- they showed me when they were ready for it to be a golden rule by their actions of maturity. It worked, and it's been our rule for many years.
Sorry! Got sidetracked - so our beds are made, sheets and dirty laundry collected now-the key of "D" - dirty is start the laundry- I always have a load going before I sit down for coffee.

I hate nothing more than loads and loads of laundry piling up becoming a monster chore- this knocks the feet right out from under the potential monster chore and just get's it started. The hardest part of any chore is the start!

DS= Dump/Swipe: This is Trash and Bathrooms. DUMP: that's easy - all Trash- I gather all bags lining my trash cans in the entire house and take them all the way out to the trash. Easy, done, and gone! no questions- gone- outta here!  Hint: I keep an extra bag in the bottom of each can to replace the taken one- it's easy and right where I need it.   Swipe:  I walk in the bathroom, pour small amount of baking soda into sink and toilet and grab the toilet brush and swipe it clean. Then I take my scrub sponge (always have one under the sink) and swipe the sink clean. (Hint! A Mr. Clean magic eraser works wonders here!)  After rinsing, I swipe down the counter and check for any major disasters to swipe. Usually it's not too bad.  (Remember- Monday is "Find the House Day - my goal is to get it to a manageable spot- heavy cleaning happens in spurts during the rest of the week.)

NOW I take a break! House already is starting to come together! Coffee or glass of lemon water!
Before I start back in I run to the laundry, start next load, and get the dryer going.

2. SD=Soak/ Dishes: Whether you have a dishwasher, or do them by hand- this means Dishes. Stack and swish (rinse them) and get them in the dishwasher and turn it on; or stack, soak and wash those dishes to drying. Nothing feels better to a Mom who needs to be in control of her house than a clean and shining sink! If you really think about it- it does not take that long to do, it is usually more of a grudge chore if they have sat too long and piled up. Get it done. Drain the sink. I always pour a dab of baking soda in the bottom, and as an added bonus, I drop a few drops of lemon juice on it to paste up and I swipe the sink shiny- smells fantastic as I'm doing it and benefits the drain as well- no lingering smells.

DS=Dust/ Sweep (or Swiffer). Let's get up the sneezes! Grab your swiffer, or your cloth and polish, and Dust the important areas! Living room, tables , desks, entertainment center, whatever- just dust! get it gone! That's all you are doing right this minute- just dust!
 Sweep= All floors in whole house that are hard - linoleum, tile, wood- usually entry, kitchen and bathrooms.  Whether I sweep or swiffer -I judge this by the day- if it's been an outdoor weekend and a lot of yard got trudged into my house- like dirt, mud, lawn, grass- I sweep AND swiffer.  I have a lot of hard wood floors in my house and I can see a film easily if the dust dirt has accumulated- I do both. Either way- the floor looks better after this! :) Yay!


NOW I take a break! The House REALLY is starting to come together! And starting to Shine! Hmmmm smell... YAY! Almost there! And it's still morning!
Before I start back in I run to the laundry, start next load and get the dryer going.

3. SD= Square up! This, simply, is Finshing the laundry. S=Square up means folding - pulling from the dryer and folding. square corners, and with this I never ever put clean laundry back into dirty hamper- I take it straight to the room it belongs to- the boys clothes gets stacked at the foot of their beds for them to put away. I put away my own in my room of course- but everyone's clean squared up laundry is in the right room and looks good. Squared away- under control. And D= Dinner- What's for dinner tonight? If you menu plan, take time to look at what you have and design the list for the week. If you don't , decide at least what's for tonight and either pull it to thaw if frozen, or start what needs to happen if it's a slow cook meal. Like, for example: Stick a roast in the slow cooker- and get it going. (I love slow cooker meals on a Monday! Awesome set and forget it for a while slow cooker meals are wonderful on the one day of the week that might feel more hectic or crazy- they usually end up being a comfort food meal everyone enjoys!)

 DS=Dents/ Smell:   Dents or  i.e. Vacuum marks. My son noticed them when he was little, and I had to agree. Early on when my boys were little I cleaned the church we went to. My son pointed out one day, "When you see the dents you know it's clean!" and I had to agree. I vacuum purposely backwards in each room, always ending at the door, just because of this now. I want to see the "dents". I want my family, or visitors, to walk in to the fresh room and realize no one has walked in since it was cleaned. It's a nice thing ...subtle, but true.   
Smell- This is a joy, smell. Your house will already smell better by now- no trash, no old dishes, no teenage dirty socks, etc. But if there is anything remaining- for example- the cat box, do it now. Smells be gone! LOL Whatever they are! Finish off with lighting a candle, or getting your aromatherapy diffuser going, or set some cinnamon and orange peels in a pot on the stove to simmer- create the smell, and enjoy-


4. YAY! You "found your house!" Smile! :)
       Smile :D     -Done :)  Yay!

This may not seem like a "frugal" routine, but once you get the hang of it it is a wonderful time saver for the week- getting a grip on the house, and finding what is manageable for you, allows you to schedule more and not have monster grudge pileups of laundry or dishes that make it harder for you later. 
Hope this helps!

Homemade yogurt Yummmmm!

I was a bit apprehensive- then I asked myself, why are you doing this? Isn't spending a couple of dollars at the store for the pre-made yogurt more convenient? The answer is yes, Simply, YES!...except, lately I haven't been happy with the store bought. Too much sugar. Too runny, and tooo little effect on my gut.  More and more, I am becoming aware of labels, and quality, and basic ingredients and WHY having the live bacteria in a yogurt culture viable is so important for gut health.
I'm not old, but I'm not in the best shape- I notice if things are not working! The more I learn about eating real food, and eliminating the preservatives, and the fake of fast convenience foods- the more I know this is better for me- better for my family, and fun! So I had my answer, and motivation to stop being lazy and give something new a try! Amazing! results! I am so happy with my first batch! I just know...This is going to be a hit!
I got a Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker, and a Cultures for Health Traditional FlavorYogurt Starter to use. My initial cost is going to pay off in just 1 or 2 batches!
This first batch I used 2% milk, and I am impressed! I am going to bump it up next batch to whole milk. (I wish I had a goat- I have read goats milk is fantastic!) Any way from this one batch I can make up to 7 more! And I still have 7 more culture packets beyond that- we are looking at 49 batches before I need to re-buy cultures...

 I tilted one of the 7 jars to show you how thick it was- tilted, and  still didn't pour after I grabbed camera! 2 jars are a tiny bit thinner- so I poured them in a coffee filter to strain and the result comes out super thick! I am impressed! by the time I finish using just this first 7 batches I will almost have my money back in savings, no artificial ingredients, additives or preservatives- and viable probiotic cultures growing for everyone's gut health.... Took me a half hour yesterday morning to sterilize the jars and heat the milk, after that the yogurt maker does the rest- set it aside and wait 8-10 hours, cap the jars and put them in the fridge! Soooooo simple!
Add honey, add fruit. Add granola, oats, nuts, seeds- whatever! Be happy! Yay!!!!
I am having success. Hope this helps! :) Come summer I think this will be great for frozen yogurt bars! And the more I learn! The better it will be! There is a whole host of things plain yogurt is good for! Yayyyyy!!!  LOL :)