Green Cleaning

I have started in the last year to use some homemade green cleaners. I have to admit so far I’m in love! They are soo much cheaper; I feel most clean better, and honestly, what more can you say about cleaners? I thought I would share which ones I’ve started using and which ones I want to try soon.

Laundry detergent. I am beyond in love with homemade laundry detergent. My skin is slightly sensitive, and obviously my son’s is as well. We always bought “free and clear” versions of the cheap laundry detergent, because honestly, what else could we afford? Young married couples don’t get money trees for wedding presents, though honestly they should. Or maybe we did and they just aren’t mature enough yet? Moving on… The laundry detergent I make is extremely easy, cheap: like I had Dutch grandparents cheap, cleans well, doesn’t affect my skin nor my son’s, and can be used on our cloth diapers! What is there not to love?? Yes, it takes a little time mixing the ingredients, but it took Jer and I about a half hour roughly a month before our son was born and we are still working on that batch three and a half months since he was born. And have a good quarter to third left. So now that I have you sold that it’s amazing, I’ll tell you what it is. Arm and Hammer washing soda (it’s the same as baking soda just a bit stonger), Borax, and Ivory soap. Three ingredients, that’s all. Ratio: one cup washing soda, one cup borax, one bar grated Ivory soap. Some people boil it into a liquid and add essential oils for scent… that’s too much work for me. I stir them all in a big bowl, put it in a sealed container, and use one tablespoon per load. Except cloth diapers, that’s only a half tablespoon. Ah-mazing. And Easy. Admit it you thought it would be hard. But I’m the queen of easy. And cheap- I am mostly Dutch after all.

Next thing I switched to was baking soda instead of Lysol. I hate Lysol. Anything that smells that potent cannot be good for you. And per my husband’s preference, we sprayed Lysol in the trash can after every bag of trash. Ick. Now, we sprinkle baking soda in the bottom of the new trash bag, and after anything majorly stinky. No more smell of Lysol, and honestly no more nasty smells at all really. I even use baking soda in the cloth diaper bin. And only the days where it’s 90 out multiple days in a row (and I hadn’t washed them in about 5 days…) have we smelled the diapers. I keep old parmesan containers for sprinkling baking soda. Works wonders! We keep one in the closet for the cloth diapers and one under the kitchen sink for cleaning.

Next I ran out of toilet bowl cleaner. And I do cloth diapers (as I keep saying). I clean the bowl at least twice a week. I’m not sticking my hands in there unless it’s been cleaned properly. And I ran out of the Works toilet bowl cleaner. Another smelly cleaning product. That I worshiped for needing a clean toilet bowl. So I looked at my list of green cleaners, and there was a mix. A complicated mix of lemon juice, washing/baking soda, and borax. I don’t do complicated. Ever. So I googled other ways. There must be something easier. Easier than running ten minutes to town with a one month old (or less I don’t remember exactly when I ran out) to Dollar General to pick up the Works. Easier than that complicated mix with instructions to boil. So I read the borax box… Hey wow! It cleans and deodorizes the bowl! Hmmm. So I now scrub my toilet bowl twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays typically, thanks for asking) with approximately a quarter cup of straight borax, straight from the box. It would be from a parmesan container if I had more than two empty (well now baking soda filled). Pour in, scrub, let sit for half an hour to overnight, as the box says. I love it. Well mostly. Right now I hate it. Since I started the water challenge and was peeing every ten minutes yesterday, I was going to do the overnight sit. Well I was tired. And forgot. Right now I have five minutes of the half hour left, and am typing faster than I ever have, because I have to pee soooo bad!!! Stupid water challenge. Back to the borax toilet bowl cleaner: it does not disinfect. So if you are anal about your toilet bowl being disinfected find something different. I figure it’s going to hold poop. In fact, I only stick my hands in it for poop. So what’s the point?

Well this post has just hit a second page on word…. So I will make what I want to try next (because honestly those are the only three things we regularly have changed) on my next post. Look out! I have an idea for a next post! One more minute till I can pee….. 

The Water Challenge

This week my health accountability partner and I are doing a water challenge. There are so many reasons when switching your diet to start with a water challenge first. But let me first describe what we are doing and why.

I want to change my diet (Everyone has a diet. I never understood how you go on a diet; everyone is all ready on one.) to be more consistent with what one should be eating. Less sweets, more fiber, more water, less empty calories. It’s not so much about losing weight as getting healthy. Hopefully the weight does drop and that would be great icing on my proverbial cake that I no longer can eat. Speaking of cake, Jerry hid the rest of my birthday cake in the freezer…. Only my husband would think to use my sensitive teeth against me…

Anyway, I want to gradually switch to a healthier diet. I’ve learned that I do much better at gradual change (Kaizen- slow, continuous improvements) than an all-or-nothing start. I just don’t stick with it when I jump in with both feet. I like to slowly go down the steps. Gradually get used to things. That didn’t work out so well with having a baby, but with my diet and exercise regimen it can.

The first thing to do to help in more ways than I thought possible is to start drinking the appropriate amount of water. Most of the time when we (myself included) grab a bite to eat because we are mildly hungry, it’s because we are thirsty. Not hungry. Hmm. So the number one reason I want to start with water is to curb my appetite, therefore hopefully helping my eating less calories a day. Water also obviously hydrates, giving more energy to work out. Or as we are learning, more energy to get up and pee. Less calories in from curbing appetite; more calories out by getting up to pee. There are so many benefits to water beyond just those such as improved brain function and decreased risk of cancer. And it has no calories! Amazing.

So what exactly is the water challenge? Well, the appropriate amount of water per day is half your weight in ounces. So if you weigh 100 pounds you need to drink 50 ounces of water per day. It’s super easy. Kinda. But you try fitting in as many glasses a day as I need to around feeding and napping routines. Not to mention all the peeing. So far today, I have had about half my intake. But the challenge is we have to do it every day this week. Not just today, every day. And from here on out, not really just this week. Basically, you can say goodbye to any other liquids because you will feel soooo waterlogged the first few days! Which is good, we need more water and less calories! Also, most health gurus allow tea and coffee to also count. But remember they have calories. Water doesn’t. Never forget to count your liquid calories as well! (That was when I learned you can’t drink two big glasses of chocolate milk a day and expect to lose weight! Bummer!)

Anyone else want to accept this challenge?

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. But honestly, isn’t that every day?

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. But honestly, isn’t that every day?

Why do people always wait for big cloud parting, lightning striking, hair on the neck raising, tingling sensations to happen before doing something about their lives? Or until a doctor tells them to shape up or die? I myself do that all the time, something big happens, like watching the premier of “Biggest Loser” each year or randomly reading a motivational book or getting pregnant to pretend to change. I say pretend because obviously I’ve never strived hard enough to actually complete a change. I started running and I dropped weight. I got pregnant, had to quit running for health reasons, and got fat again. (Okay I admit remained fat, but got fatter.) I started a blog. Three times. This I figure as number four, because it’s worked so well before. Those big mountain top experiences never actually last for forever. Why? Fear? Probably. But mostly I think all of us have a lack of self-control and perseverance. My waist line proves both for me. So today I step out. I’m starting this on my 26^th birthday: the wrong side of 25 as I’ve heard it so many times. I’m going to try to stick with it this time, and have some accountability to it. I will use my kaizen and actually get through this struggle of not doing my dream. My calling. I’m not me when I’m not writing, reading, knitting, scrapping, and all around starting to be a more natural, simple woman/wife/mother. It’s time to break out and start fulfilling my dreams. But I have to work to achieve them. And I will work on them here.