Throwing Out This Week: Laundry Detergent

We are continuing our quest for a toxic chemical-free home this week.  The deodorant that we made last week continues to do a fabulous job for all of us. If you have not tried making your own, I recommend the recipe here. However, if that one doesn't work for you, there are several more out there on the internet that you could use.

This weekend, I mixed up the following recipe. Because I am always a skeptic, I only made a half-batch. After several loads of successful laundering, I will be mixing up a DOUBLE-batch in the next few days.  It has worked very well for us.

2 cups Borax
2 cups washing soda
1 bar unscented castile soap, grated

I still cannot find washing soda, so I used regular baking soda.  It's working fine.
Instead of grating the whole bar of soap, you could chop it up into small pieces and pulse it in your food processor.  I put all the ingredients in a storage container with a lid and gave it a good shake.  I have been using 2 tablespoons for large loads, and that seems to be enough.

If you are trying to eliminate harmful chemicals from your home, I suggest that you give this a try.  Everyone in your family wears clothes next to their skin or sleeps in sheets washed in laundry detergent every day. So, what you use does matter. 


I recommend checking out this post at oursimplefarm.com  and this post   at theselfsufficienthomeacre.com  for great ideas and inspiration.

Chicken Coop, Lettuce, and an Outfit

That's a random post title! 

I feel like I have a split personality. I have a farmgirl side that wants to be able to grow and raise everything we eat and become as close to completely self-sufficient as possible.  We are slowly working towards that goal - very slowly.  I also have a girly-girl side that loves clothes, shopping, cocktails, monograms, and Pinterest.  I used to believe the two could not mix, but I am now determined that they can.

Here goes:

We've been working on a chicken coop for the past few months.  It's almost finished. The only think left to do before the chicks can move in is to paint it white and to build and hang the door.  There is an old shed on our property that is falling down. Yesterday, we discovered three very nice hinges and some perfectly good boards in the rubble that we can use.  We've used as much of the leftover materials from our house as possible, but were running low. I like that something very old is going to be used. Here's a picture of what's been done so far:

Behind the coop, we'll build a completely enclosed yard for the chickens. We have a lot of hawks and other predators, so keeping the chickens safe is going to take some work.  I think some honeysuckle growing on the front and over the door will be nice.

On to the lettuce.  I get so sick of paying for lettuce at the grocery store.  And, I refuse to plant any more in the garden until we install a fence. The deer and rabbits eat it as soon as it comes up.  So, a few days ago, I decided to see if it would grow in the kitchen window.  This morning I saw that several seeds have sprouted!  If this works, I'm going to bring more pots inside and sow more - maybe arugula next time.

Check this out for great homesteading posts!

Finally,  I follow some other bloggers that, in my opinion, have very good taste. I enjoy seeing what they are wearing each day.  I have wondered though, how the OOTD (outfit of the day) trend got started.  It occurred to me this morning that it would be a great way to keep track of what I've worn to make sure I don't repeat too often.  This wouldn't matter to me much if I didn't teach high school students for three hours each day. They will definitely mention it if I wear the same thing too often.  Aren't they sweet???  I've also wondered about the angle of the OOTD pictures I see like the one below.  Well, if you don't have a decent full length mirror, and if your hair and makeup have not been done for the day, this is what you get.  

Cheers for a wonderful Monday!

First Day of School

I cannot believe the boys started school yesterday (and I started last Monday)! It was only a half day for us all, and I'm too tired right now to write about it other than to say that it went well.

The highlight for me was when one of the coaches told me that he thinks Boy 1 and Boy 2 are the best dressed boys in the school.

Maybe Boy 2's choice of garden clogs was not the best, but it's too hot to make him wear socks and sneakers if he doesn't feel like it. I'm proud to report that Boy 1's shirt was tucked in when he came to my classroom at the end of the day - impressive.