A Homemade Christmas

This year, I wanted to share my new-found love of homemade, natural products with my friends and family, so my husband and I decided that that was all we would give. I jarred up my laundry soap, tied rope around bars of my goat milk soap, and made vanilla extract and peppermint syrup. I also made sugar scrubs, bath fizzies, lotion bars and body butter. I spent a few evenings sewing reversible drawstring bags to put it all in, and my husband designed and printed labels for each with instructions and ingredients printed on the back. I also made some extra of my diaper rash cream and sewed some little bean bag style owie packs for the babies. Here is a taste of what I gave.

Pure and Natural Laundry Soap

Reversible Drawstring Bag
(The drawstring wasn't in yet in this photo)

Lime Mint Sugar Scrub

Oats n Honey Goat Milk Soap

Cocoa Body Scrub and Cocoa Body Butter

Lavender Bath Fizzy

Vanilla Mint Lotion Bar

Vanilla Extract

Peppermint Syrup
with a recipe for Peppermint Mochas on the back

Cold or Hot Owie Pack

Cloth Diaper Safe Diaper Rash Cream

 This was one of my favorite years of giving because I had so much fun making all of these things. I also knew that everything was natural and pure, and almost edible :) Now that I've given it all away, I want to make more so I have extras on hand for birthday and showers throughout the year. Maybe I'll even consider selling some at the farmers market someday, we'll see.

Make Your Own Laundry Soap

There are so many blogs out there telling you how to make laundry soap, and they are pretty much all the same. I've never seen anybody do it my way though, so I'm going to give you a step by step guide.
First, I recommend you go out and buy the three ingredients you need the next time you're at Walmart or the hardware store. Have them on hand because, if you're like me, you may find yourself on a Sunday night realizing its laundry day the next morning and you forgot to buy more laundry detergent. Its the perfect time to make your own and it will be ready for you in the morning.

Here's what you need: Borax, Washing Soda, and a 5-6 oz. bar of soap.

I've used Fels Naptha and I've used Ivory. You can use whatever you have on hand. Some people think the Fels Naptha is a little strong and irritates sensitive skin. We don't seem to have a problem with it in our family and I like the clean smell it has, so I use that sometimes, but I didn't have any problems or see any difference in the cleaning power when I used Ivory. The scent was much more muted (non-existant) with the Ivory as well. If you use Ivory, you may want to use 2 bars, because they are smaller. I'm not sure of the ounces, but when I made mine with Ivory, I used 2 bars and it came out really well.

I've recently started making my own bar soap as well, and when I make my next batch of laundry soap, I'll use my own bar soap, then I know my laundry will be chemical, dye and perfume free!

First thing you need to do is grate your soap. I use my box grater. It works great and its easy to clean. I just rinse it under warm water and pop it in the dishwasher.

Next, you fill a large saucepan with about 2-3 quarts of water and dump in your soap shavings. Cook the soap over medium heat until all the soap shavings are dissolved.

Now its time to add your borax and your washing soda. I use 1 cup of each. Pour them in and stir with the heat still on. You will need to cook it for a few more minutes to make sure everything is dissolved.

Once its all nicely combined, take your pan off the stove and move it to your counter or work space. This recipe makes about 3 gallons of laundry soap, so I use 3 empty 1 gallon vinegar bottles. Pour your soap evenly into your gallon jugs. I use my 1 cup measuring cup and dip out 1 cup at a time and pour it into each bottle. It turns out to be about 4 cups per bottle and it looks like this.

Now, take your jug to the sink and fill each one about halfway with hot water. Shake them well and leave them on your counter overnight, with the lids open.

In the morning, I close 2 jugs and put them away for later. The third one, I fill the rest of the way with boiling water, then I pour the water out into a big bucket. I cut the top off the bottle and dump the hardened soap mixture into the bucket and get out my stick blender. Blend until all the soap is broken up. I also added about 1/4 or 1/3 ounce of lavender essential oil for fragrance.

I like to store my soap in an old 1.5 gallon laundry jug with a spigot. My mom gave me her old Costco brand one that I reuse. It makes dispensing much easier. I pour my blended soap carefully into my recycled spigot-ed jug and I've got plenty of soap to last me a couple of months. When I run out, I've got 2 more concentrated ready to just add boiling water to, and mix. 

A note about fabric softener: About the time I started making my own laundry soap, I also switched over to using white vinegar instead of fabric softener. I like that there are no chemicals in my laundry at all now and the vinegar does a fantastic job of softening my clothes, plus there is no vinegar smell left over. I just fill my fabric softener cup to the line in my machine. 

Not only is this a very frugal way to do laundry, its also free of all chemicals and dyes. The Fels Naptha soap does have some perfume, so use Ivory or your own handmade soap to keep your laundry soap perfume free.

Beginning my journey in "homesteading"

About a year ago, after seeing several friends post about making their own laundry detergent, I decided to try it myself. I was running out of my regular Purex I usually bought and I was also intrigued by the idea of ridding our clothes of the fake chemicals and such in store bought detergent.

My first batch turned out pretty good. It was easy enough and it made so much detergent, that I was happy to have saved so much money.

After my small success, I began searching the web for more homemade recipes. I made my own dishwasher detergent (after finally finding citric acid) and saved a ton on that as well. I learned that I could use white vinegar instead of fabric softener. That's a huge money saver and it doesn't leave any vinegar smell on your clothes. I realized that it was also totally natural. No long chemical words I couldn't pronounce, let alone knew what they were or what they might do to our bodies.  I began researching the chemical effects of different items and found lots of information. Many of the chemical and even non-chemical ingredients in detergents and soaps and shampoos and cleaners and things we use everyday have ingredients that have been proven to cause alzheimers, breast cancer, lowered sperm count, and so much more. It turns out that our skin and scalp absorb all these chemicals and if they are not "digested" or filtered out by the liver, which many aren't,  (like sodium laureth sulfate, the ingredient that makes your soaps, shampoos, toothpaste, and lots of other things, suds up or lather) they stay in your system forever, working their magic...

That thought scared me. 

I began thinking about my babies, just starting out in the world being washed with these things in the bath, or eating off of dishes that had been washed in these things. I suddenly had a great burden to rid my home of toxic chemicals. We were also in the process of building vegetable beds out in the backyard and since I was "going green" in the house, I was even more excited to plant organic seeds and "go green" in the backyard too. I want so much for my kids to have the best start in life and its my responsibility to do all these things for them. 

During this time, my husband had been trying to convince me that we shouldn't use body wash on our skin. He was trying to tell me that he thought that was the culprit in my skin breakouts I was still having at 32 years old. I was resistant to his idea for so long because I liked that my body wash left my skin silky smooth. I didn't particularly like the "sticky" feeling bar soap left on my skin. But since I was reading about the chemicals in other cleaners, I began to be convinced about the body wash thing too. I then began to look into the healthy benefits to using goat's milk soap. I found some at Sprouts at a really good price and I brought it home and tried it. It still left my skin a bit sticky in the shower, but then I thought, probably the ingredients in body wash that left me smooth were not all-natural and were probably synthetic. I was glad to be "squeeky clean" and chemical free. Plus, after I was dried off, my skin was actually very moisturized and soft, so it was just in the shower that I had to get used to the stickiness, and it was worth it to me.

My most recent endeavor has been making my own goat's milk soap. I just unmolded and cut it last night. I made Oatmeal and Honey Goat's Milk Soap. I'm actually very excited about it, so much so, that I may have started a new hobby. We'll see :)

Since I'm on this all-natural "kick", I'm extending my passion into my Christmas gifts this year. Watch out, family, all you're getting is handmade stuff! ;) But seriously, I'm really excited to share these things with people. 

I've made many other handmade, homemade, all-natural things in my own kitchen and I plan on sharing them, along with my recipes, on this blog. So stay tuned! Follow me in this new adventure. Maybe you'll catch a little of my passion!

Mini Me

Watching my 21 month old learn and discover right before my eyes is an indescribable joy. I love every day with her because every day I get a glimpse into her little personality. Tonight, in the bathtub, she was  using her little tea cup to scoop up water and fill up the bigger cup. She wasn't very graceful or efficient, as each tea cup full was not very full, but she knew what she was doing and she was having fun with the fascination of filling up the big cup. A couple of days ago, while she was playing in the bathtub, I had demonstrated the pouring from one cup to another to her, and her little sponge brain picked it up and today she was doing it by herself.
She watches everything I do and tries to mimic everything. She always wants me to pick her up when I'm cooking so she can see. She always wants to take out the silverware from the dishwasher, whether it's clean or dirty. She watches what I do with her little brother too. I often lay out a blanket in the middle of the living room and lay him down. Today, I found this in her room. A blanket in the middle of the floor with all her dollies laying on it.

 Then, later I caught her here, helping with her baby brother.

I love how she has her own binky in her mouth while she tries to give Judah his.

Lately, I've gotten to see another side of her personality begin to emerge. One that definitely reminds me of me. She likes to collect toys and other small things around the house and line them up in a very orderly manner. Yesterday, after bedtime, I found two "scenes" set up. One in my bedroom, I nearly tripped over putting Judah to bed. She had found this white bandana and laid it down, then lined up the lotion bottles she took off my nightstand, a puzzle piece, her little pink plate and plastic dessert cake, along with the blue measuring bowl and basket, which obviously didn't fit on the bandana, so she lined those up below the bandana.

Then when I came into the living room, I found this "scene" on the stairs. She had lined up all the dog things on the step. The dog treats, the breath treats, the leash and the bones.

Tonight, as I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, I saw her running back and forth from her room into the living room with a different toy in tow each trip. When I came into the living room, this is what I found.

I just love being a mommy so much, and not just a mommy, but Bobbie and Judah's mommy. I can't describe or put into words the depth of my joy. This calling to be a mommy is the most joyous and wonderful gift I have been given. It's days like today that make me not care that we struggle financially so that I can stay home with our kids. I could go back to work and financially we would be able to breathe much more easily, but then I might miss out on moments like these. It's not worth it to me, and I'm so glad my husband lets me stay home. I am so very blessed.

Trash Truck and Mailman

Four weeks ago, my life as a mommy became twice as blessed. I gave birth to my second baby, and firstborn son, Judah only 18 months after I had my daughter, Bobbie. Being a mommy of two babies is so much more than I expected and although my life is sometimes chaotic with a screaming newborn and a tantrum throwing toddler, (yes, at the same time) I find myself more often with a heart full of love and awe for the family God has given me.

Last week, my husband and I celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. I could never have imagined I would have two kids within three years, when I walked down the aisle and said my vows to the love of my life. It has been a very full three years with many ups and downs, losses and sorrow, blessings and joy, and I wouldn't trade any of it because I know that every high and every low has brought me to this place today. 

I'm starting this blog to document moments with my kids. Bobbie's vocabulary is expanding daily and I know Judah will grow up before I know it. I don't want to forget the way Bobbie mimics things I say, or the way she hugs and kisses her brother, or all the "firsts" Judah will start to have all too soon. 

Today I want to document two new things Bobbie says. "Trash Truck" and "Mailman." Last Monday morning, I showed Bobbie the trash truck as it drove up to our house. We were sitting on the couch looking out the window and I told her that was the trash truck. She watched so intently and after it passed by, she said "tra tru" which sounds more like "gah guh." All day that day, and at least once a day the rest of the week, Bobbie would randomly ask, "gah guh"  and I told her, "the trash truck went bye bye. You'll have to wait until next Monday to see it again." Well, after about the second day of being asked about the "gah guh," I decided to show her the mailman because he comes everyday. So when the mailman came by one day I pulled Bobbie up onto the couch and showed her the mailman. Again, she watched so intently and when the mailman drove away, she said "mailma" which sounds more like "mayomam." Several times the rest of the week, she would ask about the "gah guh" and "mayomam". Whenever she was in the living room, she would come up to the couch and point toward the window and ask about them. This morning, being trash day, I anticipated her wanting to see the trash truck again, so when we heard it coming down the street, the whole family gathered on the couch to see the "gah guh" go by.