Homemade Fabric Softener!

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

As per a few requests, I decided to post a quick fabric softener recipe as a follow up to our Homemade Detergent. This stuff is way cheaper, and has NO chemicals.

Ok, hold on to your seats. This will be the easiest recipe you have ever seen. So prepare yourself.

Ok... Ready? : )

Homemade Fabric Softener:

1/2 c. - 1 c. of Distilled White Vinegar

*Add to your softener compartment, or try to remember to add during the rinse cycle (for those of us not lucky enough to have brand new HE washers... not that I'm bitter against my GREAT, AWESOME friend Lauren... Ha ha!!)

And that's it! YOUR CLOTHES WILL NOT SMELL LIKE VINEGAR. As a matter of fact, it helps get rid of most any unpleasant smells from your clothing. The vinegar also helps with static cling, fluffs up blankets, and really breaks up soap residue. This is also great for baby items!!

This stuff works great even for clothes forgotten in the washer for too long that have begun to stink: Add a 1/2 c. to 1 c. of vinegar and re-rinse.

Also, if you use fabric softener a lot, you can buy this stuff by the gallon (as I do) and add 20 drops of lavender essential oil to the jug. Shake well before each use.

Love, love, love this stuff! I use vinegar all over the house! I'll cover that more later! : )

And, you can look here if you missed our Homemade Detergent!

Hope this helps!

~Page

Essential Oils 101

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

I LOVE ESSENTIAL OILS!! This has certainly been a recent, new world for me, but I am loving it so far!!

These little bottles are power packed with properties that can kill germs, be great for your homemade cleaners, fragrance your home and laundry, be bug deterrents, first aid helps, and can even persuade your moods! And that's just the tip of the iceberg!

I have quite a little library started, and I'm nuts about all of them! But my all time favorite must be Lavender.

It just does everything. Has all the right properties. Is gentle to my skin. And is just... GREAT! : ) Not that I'm biased or anything, but this one is a must for any collection!

Now that I have hopefully gotten you all excited about EO and wanting more, I want to make sure that I start out these EO posts first by covering some basic safety tips. DO NOT go run out and by tons of oils without researching each one. Some of these oils can be dangerous if not properly researched and handled!

Check out this website here for several detailed descriptions about the oils and some of their properties.

Below is a very general guideline about EO safety: (also found here)

Essential Oil Safety

Essential oils are very concentrated. Their safe use requires they be treated with care and respect. The user should be knowledgeable about their properties and actions before any use. Most personal applications require drops rather than ounces.

* Always read and follow all label warnings and cautions

* Keep oils tightly closed and out of the reach of children

* Never ingest essential oils

* Don't use undiluted oils on your skin (Dilute with vegetable oils such as sweet almond oil or grapeseed oil (not GSE))

* Skin test oils before using. Dilute a small amount and apply to the skin on your inner arm. Do not use if redness or irritation occurs.

* Keep oils away from eyes and mucous membranes.

* If redness, burning, itching or irritation occur, stop using oils immediately.

* Angelica and all citrus oils make the skin more sensitive to ultraviolet light. Do not go out into the sun with these oils on your skin.

* Sweet fennel, hyssop, sage and rosemary should not be used by anyone with epilepsy.

* People with high blood pressure should avoid hyssop, rosemary, sage and thyme.

Oils to Avoid During Pregnancy

bitter almond, basil, clary sage, clove bud, hyssop, sweet fennel, juniper berry, marjoram, myrrh, peppermint, rose, rosemary, sage, thyme and wintergreen

Skin Irritants

allspice, bitter almond, basil, cinnamon leaf, cinnamon bark, clove bud, sweet fennel, fir needle, lemon, lemongrass, melissa, peppermint, tea tree and wintergreen

EO's really are wonderful. They can change the way you keep your home, and make it a much safer place by taking out all of the chemicals and such...

Next will be some more of my favorites, where to purchase (to keep from spending an arm and a leg), and some recipes to use in your home!

Hope you enjoy these gems as much as I do!!

~Page

The Wonders of Fels Naptha!

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

I have to say that I just LOVE Fels Naptha soap! As Lauren mentioned in an earlier post, we are both making our own homemade laundry detergent. Although there are other soaps that can be used for this detergent (such as Ivory or Colgate's Ocatagon), we both prefer FN! It's just the best!! : )

I wanted to take a little time to highlight FN and all of the other economical things it can also be used for. The more uses for your product, the more bang for you $$$$! If you look here, you can see many of the uses listed below and then some!

"**Fels Naptha Soap is a fantastic stain remover and pre-treater. It works especially well on oil-based stains. Just rub the stain with a wet bar of Fels Naptha Soap. Let it sit for a while and launder as usual. It works great on baby clothes which have formula stains.

~For chocolate smudge on clothes, rub the stain with Fels Naptha Soap and let sit in your filled washer with 20 Mule Team Borax for 30 minutes. Launder as usual.

~Thoroughly wash all clothing including hats, gloves coats in Fels Naptha Soap to prevent an outbreak of poison ivy. Poison Ivy resin can remain on your clothes for over 1 year. Washing with Fels Naptha will eliminate the resin from your clothing.

~To remove Halloween makeup from clothing, simply work a little Fels Naptha into the stain and launder as usual. It may take a repeat washing to completely remove the stain.

~To clean white canvas tennis shoes, simply work the Fels Naptha Soap into a lather and use a soft brush to work into the canvas. Launder as usual without chlorine bleach.

~To remove old stains on colored clothes, make a solution of 2 cups warm water and 1/2 cup white vinegar. Pour on stain. Let soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse well and work in Fels Naptha Soap. Launder as usual.

**Poison Ivy Prevention: Fels Naptha Soap has been used for over 100 years for the treatment and prevention of poison ivy, sumac and oak rash. If you think you have been exposed to poison ivy, oak or sumac, shower immediaetly with Fels Naptha to remove the resin from your skin. This will greatly reduce and in most cases, prevent any skin reaction to the poison ivy oil. Make sure to launder your clothes in some shaved or grated fels naptha (about 1/16th of the bar) to remove the resin from your clothes. Poison Ivy resin can stay on your clothes for over 1 year even if the clothes have been washed with normal detergent.

~Poison Ivy Treatment: If you are exposed to poison ivy and you have a reaction, simply shower with Fels Naptha to remove any resin left on the skin and it will help to dry up the rash as well."

FN also can be useful for certain lawn care aspects, cleaning paint brushes, or just general cleaning for really tough jobs.

I also wanted to put up a quick post on the liquid version of our detergent:

*6 c. Water

*1/2 bar Fels Naptha Soap, grated

*1/2 cup Washing Soda

*1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

*3 Gallon bucket to mix it in

*22 c. hot water

Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 6 c. water and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until dissolved and thickened, and remove from heat. Add 4 c. of hot water to large bucket (must be able to hold at least 3 gallons). Add soap mixture, and mix well. Add 1 gallon plus 6 c. (or 22 c.) hot water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.

I have made the liquid version, which works just as well as the powder. I just like the simplicity and the "lack of wait" for the powder much more!! : )

Again, I love FN and hope you find it as useful as I have!!!

~Page

P.S. Having trouble finding FN? Watch for sales here and get it for as little as $0.99!!!

The BIG Reveal! Happy Birthday, Son!

18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

As I mentioned in a previous post (here), my husband and I (mainly my hubby!) have been working on a special present for my son's birthday!

Here he is! Such a cutie! It's so hard to believe that he is already 2! Raising a child gives new meaning to the phrase "time flies when you're having fun". Ok, I could talk about my kiddo endlessly, but I better get back to the surprise... : )

I'm not sure if anyone has priced play sets for children, particularly the wooden ones... but the best way to describe them is as follows: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

No joke. It is more than ridiculous how much these things are!

For those of you who don't know, we are in the process of building a home, (which my awesome husband is doing by himself!), so we don't have any excess $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to buy a nice play set for our son... Ok--we can't afford the el-cheapo either (ha!), but that is what this blog is all about! Using our God-given gifts and talents to create wonderful things, all while being a good steward with what we have been given!

So here is what we did:

My husband has a sawmill. Yes, a sawmill. Someday I'll expound more on what that is like, but today--is just about the play set. My husband took some trees from our property and cut most of the wood for the play set. A 4x4 alone from Lowe's costs around $17, which we needed six of! Savings galore with the sawmill!

Here I would like to point out that one of my husbands God-given talents is

building. He can build ANYTHING.

Sorry ladies. This one is TAKEN! : )

Here's another progression pic...

Scott, my husband, designed and built this from the ground up. The slide was a steal of a deal found on Craig's List.

The metal roof was made from scrap pieces from our home. The swing was given to us. Blessing after blessing. Our God truly does bless, and also meets our wants as well.

The final product! Thank you, Lord!

What is left is the other swing and the sandbox (still in progress). Will post when finished!

We were able to save a ton of money by putting this together ourselves. (I helped! Really! Painting and Craig's List counts!! Ha ha!)

And here was the best part!

Isaac's reaction to seeing his birthday present! This was his ever growing smile from the second he came around the corner with Daddy! So worth it!!

Our little climber!

He had so much fun!

And so did we!

Thank you, Scott. You're a wonderful husband, father, and a great craftsman!

Happy birthday, son! You're an awesome kid and I'm looking forward to watching you grow!

~Page

Are you a Savvy Shopper?

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

This is quite a broad subject as you can literally shop for anything nowadays! Question is - are you a Savvy Shopper? Clever, discerning, sensible, wise, and ingenious are just a few synonyms of the word "savvy" and I believe they all describe how you MUST be if you are to find a good deal.

I am a girly-girl all the way and LOVE to shop! However, I have literally saved my husband and I, hundreds, if not thousands of dollars by being willing to hunt for amazing bargains and good deals. I'm not saying this to pat myself on the back, but letting you know that I talk from experience. :-) I can easily look around my house and view items purchased for a steal of a deal, or things that I transformed into something that would work perfectly in our home. I personally view it as a "game" or "treasure hunting", as it is quite FUN and an incredibly rewarding experience knowing that you're saving money! I definitely view it as one of the MANY responsibilities of being a Biblical help -meet for my husband and keeper of our home.

Craigslist.org, Ebay.com, thrift stores, consignment shops, and garage sales, are some of the most popular places to find a good deal. I know that there are many people not too keen on acquiring things 2nd hand, but let me tell you that if you're willing to try it - you'll quickly find yourself addicted to it!

I have gone into thrift stores and found brand new Aldo shoes (made in Italy), name brand clothing -new with tags, high quality dinnerware in perfect condition, antiques, Pottery Barn drapes new in package, these are just to name a FEW! You just never know what you'll find and hence why I call it "Treasure Hunting". Many people think that you have to go daily to find these deals, but I can tell you that I rarely ever get to go once a week, much less once every two weeks!! It is hit & miss, but you just never know what you'll find. It's worth it, so try it!!

In addition, many blogs are great resources of "Do It Yourself" projects -they show you how to refinish that old piece of furniture to make it look amazing, and thereby saving you lots of money! Our friend, Julie, is quite the inspiration with this and we find ourselves often in awe of her many creative ideas. You can view her blog here. You will not be disappointed!

If you don't like to do either of the above mentioned savvy shopping tactics, then you can always try your hand at couponing. Now for me personally, this is not something that I do very often, but I have friends that are amazing at it! They actually get paid to shop! ;-) My friend, Rachael, is quite informative on this subject and has a blog that goes into much more detail. You can check out her blog, here.

Now if you just don't want to do any of the items listed above, then I believe you can STILL be a savvy shopper (just not AS good-ha!). I believe planning ahead is KEY. Planning requires thinking ahead and preparing accordingly, you will save yourself time, money and stress by doing this. A few ideas along this line are having a gift closet, and collecting nice items that you find on clearance and having them on hand for just the time you need them. Shopping throughout the year and acquiring items for Christmas (we will have a post about this very topic soon!). Stocking up on sale items at the grocery store that you can easily freeze or store in pantry. Canning homemade goods and giving them as gifts. Be creative and think of ways that you can plan ahead and save your family time and money - become a SAVVY SHOPPER!

The little things really do add up - I think everyone realizes this. However, as you save your family in the "little areas", it really will show and add up. Figure out the ways you can save money and pocket those pennies for the more important things in life. You'll be SO glad you did!!

What are some ways that YOU save your family money? We'd love to hear what you do to save those hard earned dollars! :-)



~Lauren