Loads of Fun-Doing it differently!

What is new in life? We had an AMAZING time with Derek while he was home on R&R…the boys loved having Daddy home and spent a lot of guy time in the garage wrenching on the dirt bike and quad.  Derek and I took a weekend to go riding in at the OK sand dunes and we spent a lot of time just chilling as a family.  It was so nice having him home and hard to see him go back, but he should be home this fall so we are looking forward to that!  We have been staying pretty busy and when we are home we are working in the yard or the tiny “garden” we planted.  So far so good and we’re getting some beans right now…it is getting too hot for the peas, cabbage, and lettuce to grow like they did at first…and the tomatoes are suffering a little, if I leave for a weekend I come back to some angry drying plants.  It’s amazing how complicated gardening can get…I’m debating right now if they have blight or not.  Wish my Grandma Frederking was her…she was a master gardener and would know what to do. 

The biggest excitement of late is the new retractable clothesline…I had to install it and that was an adventure…apparently pretreated lumber really gets hard after drying in the sun a few years…so Derek is a drill bit short now and some screws have made permanent homes in our fence.  All in all…I was still super excited to get it put up and start using it.  It has only been a few weeks but I really like it….first thing I washed and hung was sheets!  I realize after a couple of these pioneer woman type posts you think I’ve gone off the deep end…but I assure you I’m still semi-sane and just becoming more contentious of what my family and I use, the chemicals I use around us, and how I can improve our overall consumption.   Originally I wouldn’t of ever thought to get a clothesline…but after seeing how great the cloth diapers looked (WHITE!) after an afternoon of drying on a rack outside, I thought hmmm bet my dingy socks and tshirts would look much better w/ some sun power.  This lead me to a bit of research online and the perks of a clothesline started to accumulate.  I can save half off my energy bill by just using a clothesline? Hmm…and my house doesn’t get warmer bc I’m using the dryer? Saves on cooling (hence energy bill)…I don’t need a static reducer/softener? It’s better on my fabrics? Hmm…ok I’ll give it a go. 

So I have now embarked on the journey of a healthier laundry system.  I started using my own laundry soap about a month and half ago…it was super easy to make and get this….it costs between .01-.05 cents a LOAD.  Considering Tide/Gain/Era costs between .20-.25 cents per load…SUPER savings and there are no additives, perfumes, dyes, etc.  It’s 100% natural (and still smells CLEAN)!  It is suppose to be safe for high efficiency washers/dryers although I haven’t used them in any since we have a top load.  So far so good w/ no buildup or stiff clothes…I’m not sure if it is wishful thinking but I haven’t been pretreating as much and the clothes still come out clean, maybe even cleaner than they did when I used Tide.  I’ll post the recipe below along with several other homemade cleaners I use around the house.  I really encourage people to try some of them…they work really well, are 100% natural, super cheap, and because you can reuse and use less containers you’re wasting less time recycling or hauling trash to the dumpster.  I also have freed myself up at the store and the coupon clipping past time…If I don’t buy a lot of packaged cleaners/house hold items…I spend far less time shopping for deals, clipping the coupons, and going down aisle at the store. (So long Walmart!) Compare that to making them it is a HUGE savings…not to mention I control what goes into them and the chemicals around my family.

If you Google homemade cleaners you will get a ton of results/blogs about this…there are lots of different recipes and you may have to tweak the amount you use because of your water (hard/soft).  So don’t give up right away if you decide to try any.  These are the recipes I have found work best for us…I really had to experiment with how much dish detergent to use because it was causing a film on the dishes…I ended up adding vinegar to the bottom before starting and since then haven’t had any problems. 

First, some clarification:

WASHING Soda is not BAKING soda although it is generally packaged by Arm & Hammer, it can be found in the laundry area, the only store I can find it at is Dillons in our area...but I know TrueValue/Ace will order it in.  It comes in a yellow vs. orange box usually.

I mix the cleaning products as needed, usually every month and a half or two, I need to refill.  I just keep a small cont. of the Baking Soda and a storage cont. of the Borax in my cleaning caddy, an old Dawn cont. of vinegar, along w/ the spray bottles of glass and all purpose cleaners.  I buy a lot of vinegar but not much surprisingly of the borax/washing soda, etc.

I don’t always measure…don’t be anal and waste time measuring out some of this stuff (toilet cleaner)…just throw it in and go.  I follow recipes…MOST of the time J

Dishwasher Detergent:

Equal parts Borax and Washing Soda (I suggest starting small…I haven’t made any in over a year and I made half a quart sized container!!)

For my machine…I use ½ a TBSP w/ 1/4-1/2 cup of Vinegar

SIDENOTE: Since it has been around a year since I bought Cascade or another dishwasher detergent I checked the price at Walmart...Cascade powder was $6.98 a box.  Ouch...this recipes is PENNIES per load.

Laundry Detergent: There are tons of recipes for this including liquid…personally I don’t have the room to store a 5 gallon bucket of the stuff or the desire to stir it before using…so powder it is.

2 c. Borax

2 c. Washing Soda

1 bar Fels Naptha soap (grated) I have heard of people using Dove, Ivory, Zote, or there is a all natural Peppermint kind I can’t remember the brand name (bet that would smell good).

I prefer to use the food processor to grate the bar very fine, then I add in the Borax and Washing Soda.  MIX well…it will almost start to look like crumbs when its properly combined, you will be loving the food processor at this point.

Use 1 even tablespoon w/ ½ cup vinegar to your rinse per load.  You can add the vinegar to your machine rinse/softener feature or use a downy ball. The vinegar smell goes away upon drying...so have no fear you will not smell like a pickle.
SIDENOTE: I haven't truly researched the environmental impact or health concerns fabric softeners/sheets cause but I have heard static that they aren't good.  The US is the only country that actually uses them (supposedly) and most people don't consider them necessary.  If you're really worried about strong scented laundry (bc that is what keeps me up at night?!) you can purchase some essential oils from the craft or health food store and add that to the detergent when mixing.  Maybe design your own scent?

Windows/Glass Cleaner:

I’m sure you’ve all heard of this one.

Equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle.  Flat cloth diapers are excellent cloths to clean with so if you have any old ones you may of used for burp clothes or dipes…use them!

Bathroom/All Purpose Cleaner:

Start w/ a spray bottle (recycled or new)

2 Tbsp. Borax

2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

Fill half way w/ vinegar

Fill the rest of the way w/ water (warm is best to dissolve Borax)

This is safe for showers, toilets, glass, chrome, marble, etc etc…it is my go to cleaner.  The lemon juice disinfects or you could use hydrogen peroxide afterwards, vinegar also has disinfecting properties.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner:

Sprinkle 1-2 Tbsp. baking soda into the bowl, move/scrub around w/ brush.

Add ¼ c. vinegar and scrub or let sit.  I like to use an old dawn dish detergent bottle to “squirt” the vinegar around the edge.

Tub Scrub (or sink, etc etc etc scrub):

Mix equal parts (3 Tbsp) borax and baking soda in a bowl, add 1 tsp. lemon juice…mix into a paste, adding water until desired consistency.  I prefer mine thick at first and can use the shower to add water.  I have a textured shower floor in our master and it is a headache to get the gunk out of the very bottom but this works better than the Comet I've tried.

There you have it...hope some of you take advantage of this EASY and ECONOMICAL solution to some of the harsh cleaners out on the market (or the overpriced natural ones).  Good luck, I'd love to hear if any of you try them or if you have any questions I can try to help!

Spring Green

Some of you may know...(because if you'll listen I'll go on and on)...about my discovery of cloth diapers.  This isn't something revolutionary...they have been around for well...I'm gonna say centuries, but in this area, today, they are the minority.  I won't go into my full rant about cloth diapers and the crazy chemicals (that are banned in Europe and Asia) manufacturers use in disposable but how cloth has opened the world to me.

It started as a health concern for baby-to-be (Adam), reading an article on how a Mom started her cloth diapering business out of necessity because her premature baby couldn't handle the fumes in her incubator...and has led me to a more conscientious lifestyle of trying to waste, use, and leave less.

Cloth wipes seemed like an easy choice/decision once I started using the diapers...duh.  But then I started looking around the house and realized there were a couple more places I could substitute cloth for paper/disposable.  I've always been one to pick up a dish towel vs. using paper towels...so I have lots of those around.  I've seen/heard of a lot of people making a variation of a dish towel (smaller?) to use in place of those.  Great thing if the paper towel roll is being changed frequently (an 8 pack last over 6 mths here), but my "ah ha" moment is exceedingly more simple.  Cloth napkins...they might seem "fancy" but really they aren't a big deal.  I made my from some cotton and currently just have 12...someday I'll make more but for now it works w/ me being the only person to use them.  I've seen them at thrift stores...nice cloth naps for very cheap as well as the dollar stores.  The boys have their own version but they are more like washcloths to wipe hands/faces at the end of meals.  There are lots of areas in the kitchen where paper usage can be cut...paper plates, plastic cups, etc.  Personally...if you are using these daily there is a laziness issue...

[Some people ask me about my water usage...how it counter acts the savings of cloth.  Personally this isn't very logical to me...diapers take 500 years to decompose in a landfill (per treehugger.com)...and the average child uses 7,349 diapers until they potty train....sooo I guess I don't feel as guilty using a few extra gallons of water every 3-4 days.  Towels and cloth napkins are all done together once or twice a week...what I would do anyway.]

So once I saw how incredibly easy it was for me to make these little switches I began thinking more about everything.  How before I never would of given a second thought to throwing away piles of paper napkins or like with Aiden...using the bags full of disp. diapers.  The process of starting cloth diapers seemed to open my eyes to how wasteful American's have become.  It seems like we are living in a crazy world where ignorance is bliss and we don't need to think beyond "Burger King" or "McDonalds" most days (those fry cartons are recyclable!).  We are sooo lucky to be living as Americans, we live far better than most humans...and most of the time we take it for granted.  We're very arrogant in the fact we can just toss aside billions of waste and call it convenience.  Our lifestyle is one of overindulgence but my entire goal of writing this is to encourage all of us to just think a little bit more about what we do, use, or save.  I encourage Moms (the leaders of the packs!) to involve your children and families in an effort to raise kids aware of waste (trash, energy, water).  Aiden loves to point out what is recyclable now and when he's done w/ a box of crackers he gets excited to tear it down and put it in the recycling.

I know it isn't much but between all the cloth and recycling our current household of 3 is down to one less than full bag of trash per WEEK (the avg. per person is 13.38 pounds).  Imagine if we were all just producing 1 bag per 3 people...per week! I have to say I laugh at a lot of "green" initiatives...where politicians get involved and deals are made, people are suppose to fight for our environment through consumerism, etc.  I am in no way considering myself an "environmentalist" I like to consider myself just someone more aware of my surroundings and wastefulness.  We are poor candidates for the term "environmentalist" because of the full sized gas guzzling vehicles we own, but one step at a time...

Neurotic Sick Days: Reusable Bags

We're all sick and it sucks, but I decided to at least make good use of the down time.  Being neurotic a project was in order.  After running around to the doctors this morning we swung by the thrift store to snag some sheets.  Sounds weird right?  You betcha...I got two king sized shams and a flat sheet that sort of matched.  I even scored a waterproof twin mattress protector for $2...in the package otherwise gross.  Total cost of everything $4.58  Sweet deal.  I've been wanting to use reusable bags at the stores but when I restrict myself to two grocery runs a month I would need 15-20 bags.  Running between $1-2 a piece at the store, I find that kinda silly.  But, I've been making a real effort to "go green" and I'm honestly tired of trying to jam all the plastic grocery bags under my cabinet until I remember to take them to the recycling.  Soooo....I googled and found a blog on how to make my own bags, out of recycled material...sheets!  It took me an hour and half total to do the two bags...but I was also baking brownies to send off, and watching the littles, so it was a stop and start project.  It was amazingly easy once I got the first one done I saw the short cuts I should of used the first round...so the second bag took maybe 20 mins.  Total cost per bag...$.25 since I had the thread and I just used the edge of the pillow case as my handles.  I think I'm stopping at two today, my eyes hurt and the littles are getting restless, but only 13 more bags to go :) 

Decisions...Decisions...

I am the worst about updating the blog but since I haven’t had a very exciting past week, I figure it is for the best.  This maybe a weird topic to blog about but its whats going on in our lives.

This past week we’ve been kicking (and screaming ;) around the idea of an alternative way of schooling the boys.  I’m not saying public school doesn’t have its positives or great teachers…it is more like the red tape, lacking of parenting some kids have, and the budget cuts that are killing our school system.  It seems like public schools are way different than when we were there 10 years ago.  There seems to be a lot of positives about alternative schooling (such as a charter, private, or home schooling) but one major worry we have is socialization…and yet that is one major concern too.  I realize I’m biased to small towns since I was raised in one but it seems like the teachers weren’t as restricted with discipline and honesty as a lot of the teachers in more populated ones are.  I don’t believe in hover style parenting or sugar coating life…I believe self esteem is built through doing a good job and praise (maybe an encouraging “You’ll do better next time” too)…not about a “Yea! Everyone participated!” outlook.    Score should be kept at ballgames and I think kids should learn that practicing and giving it their best is the way to win…  Not all schools and definitely not all parents have adapted this thought process of sugar coating for their kids but it seems to be a growing politically correct world where they do.  In researching alternatives I’ve seen some different thoughts on the public school system and I feel like they make good points.  I worry about Aiden getting bored in school since he seems to be a quick learner…not all students learn at the same level/speed and while students shouldn’t be “left behind” what happens to those who are ahead of the curve?  I’ve spoken with a Mom in the area with an accelerated learner and she said they don’t offer AP classes…just assign them more homework.  So..hmm…is that a reward or punishment? I remember feeling like doing 10 worksheets a day over the same thing was so futile…was I actually contributing anything with these worksheets? This isn’t real life to me either and not all kids learn the same way.  Public schools are not about supervised socialization, so most students are learning their social skills and what is morally acceptable from their peers unsupervised…watch the news and see all the studies (and stories) on bullying and recently the school where 90 girls were pregnant or had babies this year.  One article I read I thought made a good point about how school creates an unrealistic pecking order and social status…some of the bottom feeding “nerds” of public schools go on to build their own Fortune 500 companies (you can't tell me Bill Gates didn't get bullied)…the jocks might get the shock of a lifetime at college when they realize they're just like everyone else, etc.  Another point was that the school setting isn’t realistic…while teachers do apply lessons to real life they can’t always go out and live it.  Alternative schools offer students real life lessons in places of business, now math isn’t just a worksheet and test on interest rates…it is going to the bank and discussing variable vs. fixed rates with a loan officer.    Of course there are drawbacks to alternative schools…socialization I mentioned before can be handled with extracurricular activities, charter schools, and other groups like Boy Scouts, 4-H, etc. But there is also the time and cost that is involved.  I see home schooling as a great alternative but part of me fears I'll be sending a shy awkward eighteen year old into a scary world. (Although studies show homeschoolers to be more well balanced and less peer dependent.)  So is this me just fighting society’s view of alternative schooling or my own fear of this responsibility? Decisions…decisions…

Now, I’m asking for opinions and experience from you guys…do you have any experience with alternative schooling? Is public school meeting your kid’s needs, academically and otherwise?  Anyone ever consider some other path than public school?

Clutter Bug...

Today after stumbling over the millionth toy, book, puzzle piece, and tool…I had it! I’m constantly after Aiden to pickup one set of toys before moving onto another or play in his room (see unrealistic expectations below).  And up until recently he’d been good about it.  But now…he doesn’t even make the attempt, so I clean up his toys as he MAYBE chucks one lego into the basket.  No kid wants to spend his time cleaning up…but no Mom wants to spend the rest of her life picking up after her kids.  Frustrated and tired of the battle, the only conclusion I could come to was to eliminate the clutter/toys.  So I decided to pack up all his toys and store them in the garage.  I figured this announcement would send Aiden into a tantrum or at least have him running to gather his toys up.  But…none of that happened.  The only time he got upset was when I took his green turtle that he’d been hoarding in his bed.  I left out most of his books and a few puzzles, mostly for my sanity.  This whole process didn’t seem to faze him in the least.  He seemed…excited.  It was like now that the clutter was gone he could see every book and puzzle as a bright new toy.  He was so excited when he sorted through his books and sat down to “read” them.  I’ve been teaching him shapes for around six months now but he never seems to focus or be interested in actually learning them, just flipping open the shapes.  Today after removing the entire clutter we sat down and read the shapes book…he named every single shape on the first try…a first.  I was amazed…how instant a change it was in his focus and attention span.  It made me think of how much clutter I have in my life…not just in material items but expectations, frivolous priorities, and hate to admit it, greed (bigger house please!).  It’s a hard thing for me to see past the clutter…but I’m so lucky to have my kids giving me a new (less cluttered) outlook on life! 

A Blog of Our Very Own...

I finally have one for our little family.  It took me a bit of time to figure out all the editing and things like that.  I'm sure there is much more learning curve to go so bare with me.
Today is COLD and snowy, most if not all of the schools are closed around the area since we got about 8 inches (by my calculation).  Aiden loves the snow, he thinks its soapy bubbles..."Look at all the bubbles Mommy!" "It's the bath!" When we were driving yesterday he was upset all the trees were "dirty" though...I had to explain it was snow, but he still didn't like it.  I love my little OCD'er, maybe in a few years he will be my little driveway shoveler...hmm...maybe we should have more kids! : )