A Miracle of the Floor Covering Variety

I had given up all hope. A toxic, permanent mixture of dog drool, black enamel paint, and rust congealed and set in my carpet months ago.  It was an unfortunate era before Gracie's Prozac took effect.  (Yes, my dog is on Prozac. I like my house being in the condition I left it when I return from work...or taking the garbage out to the dumpster.)

This mess made an unsightly rectangle the exact shape of her dog crate in my bedroom.  I put a rug over it and have tried to ignore it. But like all the haunting evil characters in those horror films, it refused to leave me.

Every commercial product I have ever tried failed. Usually only succeeded in making the carpet wet, me sneeze, and Gracie displeased with the smell.  Then I tried the ammonia option. It helped. Did not cure the problem

Enter carpet cleaner option 2 - a simple, oh so simple solution. Literally.  Found all over the walls of the Internet and boards of Pinterest. Simply take one part blue Dawn dish detergent and one part hydrogen peroxide. Put in a bottle. Shake. Spray.  I only have towels (I don't like the ideas of germs hanging around sponges). So I took a damp folded towel and worked the solution into the carpet. I let it sit for 60 seconds. Then I sopped up the solution with another clean, damp towel.

The result was so exciting I had to call my mother. My mom and I don't get excited over most Suzy-homemaker issues, but we had a 10 minute conversation over the wonder of blue Dawn.

All that is left of the nasty, black and rust stains on my carpet are hints of the rust in the worst places. I suspect a second treatment will help the situation. I am getting rid of all other cleaners.

Now my hands are a bit dry from all that soap so I am off to get some of the lotion I will be posting about later this week!

Broccoli Salad

I love broccoli salads. However, since going vegetarian, most are not my cup of tea as they involve the freakishly popular ingredient - bacon.

After searching through allrecipes.com, I finally came across this one. I swapped dried cranberries for raisins as I prefer them to raisins. Next time I may do what various comments suggested and blanch the broccoli. However, it is quite tasty and improves with (reasonable) time in the fridge.

Zucchini Pie

What you put in yourself is just as important as what you surround yourself with. Thus, I'm going to use the weekends to highlight some of the recipes I've fallen in love with that you might find helpful or interesting.

Here's one that is perfect for those zucchinis that seem to take over farmers markets and gardens this time of year.

I found it on allrecipes.com.  I made it as described, just put it into a cake pan as my pie tins have disappeared.

Next time I will probably swap the tomatoes for some red or green peppers. I'm not a huge fan of cooked tomatoes unless they are doctored up into a killer marinara sauce. I want to keep something with color in there though, so the peppers are the most likely choice. The fresh corn was fantastic. Out of season, I might consider frozen or canned corn, but it wouldn't be as tasty.

It reheats wonderfully. Since I am enjoying it at least once a day, I haven't frozen it. However, I suspect it will freeze well and thus make a great thing to pull out for meals at work.

Here's the link to the recipe. Enjoy!

Lotion Bars I

Lotion "Ice Cubes"

There are several lotion bar recipes out there. I plan to try several on my quest for the perfect lotion.

The first one I tried was also one of the simplest options.  I found it on the blog, My Yellow Umbrella.  This was the first lotion product I tried, so I had to round up the necessary items. I picked up the beeswax at Hobby Lobby.  I forgot to grab a mold, so I hunted for silicone forms at Target and Meijer's. I was unsuccessful at Target. At Meijer's I found ice cube trays. Not the most exciting option, but since I am giving the lotion bars to people to test, it is a good size.

I decided to use lavender oil as I love the scent and it can be relaxing.

With the warning of the beeswax sparking in the microwave, I used a Pyrex glass measuring cup immersed in a pan of water. It worked like a charm. Plus it made it easy to pour into the molds.
It looks quite unappealing in the ice cube tray. However, the cooled and then were very easy to remove. You can see from the photo at the top of the post how they turned out.

The lotion is very moisturizing. However, it does leave a layer of oil residue on your hands for some time afterwards, particularly if you apply too much. I found if I used it sparingly it worked much better. The lavender smelled wonderful and was not too overpowering.

I like the end result, but I'm not in love with it. I will say this, I am incredibly picky about lotion. There is only one lotion I like that is commercially produced. The others annoy me for one reason or another. Thus, the quest to find the ideal homemade natural lotion may be a lengthy one for me.

Summer Feet

One of the hazards of my job is the wear and tear on various items (ie - sandals, backpacks, and those poor now torn jeans). Service trips and the World Youth Day pilgrimages usually result in some things never quite being the same. Then there's the effect on me. Besides the usual exhaustion, there's the lesser issues. The one that is really not that big of a deal that bugs me is how dry my feet get. Particularly after World Youth Day in Madrid last year.  I wish I would have done a bit of searching the  web last summer.

Several versions of this exist. Since I improvised a few things, here's my version of the Epsom Salt Foot Soak.

I got a nice clean bucket. Filled it up with several inches of hot water, the hottest I could stand. Then I tossed in a healthy handful of Epsom and stirred with my hand. I hauled it over to the sofa where I had also put an extra bath towel, the great body butter I got from my sister-in-law, and those socks that are supposed to help with dry feet.

I soaked my feet until the water was cook, about 30 minutes. Since I was multitasking, time flew by. I dried my feet, used one of those pumice stones, put on the body butter, and slipped on the socks. I did this after dinner, so I just kept the socks on until I went to sleep. I have done this a couple of nights now and my feet look and feel so much better.

As I said, there are many versions, so you can search for what works for you. I gleaned from the four or five I found to make the above version.

(No pictures for this. My feet are not something I feel like posting to the web and do you really need a photo of water in a bucket?)

Simple Room Refresher

Here's one I am a bit ambivalent about.

The concept is easy. I found the recipe on The Burlap Bag blog. As I had all the things needed on hand and a stinky dog, I figured I could put it to use immediately.

The baking soda works. That's a given. However, I do not think it is worth putting essential oils in the baking soda. I couldn't smell the lavender I used at all. As essential oils are not cheap and they make a more significant difference in other projects to come, I'll conserve it for those.

I'm going with a 7 star award on this one. The deodorizing effect of baking soda is valid, but the essential oil seems to me to not be worth the cost.

Glass Cleaner

Again, we have a simple recipe with everyday ingredients.  However, I was skeptical that something that resembled watered down milk could clean my glass. 

The acid test was what I like to refer to as "Gracie's Art." These charming, surrealist images are created with her little doggie nose on any glass surface she can reach (approximately 6-18 inches from the floor). Thus I have the canine equivalent of the Louvre on my patio windows and a small, cutting edge installation on the mirrored doors to the coat closet by my door.  Any glass cleaner has to cut through that and not leave a streak.

Again, the recipe for this came from The Everything Soap Blog. 

I tossed the ingredients into a bottle in less time than it took to dig out the corn starch from the back of my cupboard.  I have a small kitchen, but I love to cook. Thus I have more things packed into the few cabinets and drawer than I would think possible. Thanks to endless hours of playing Tetris on road trips as a kid and my dad's lessons on packing, I can make the feat work.

Taking my runny milky mixture to the mirrored entry way doors, I started spraying. There was a moment of absolute doubt and I was already composing my "it was a failure" post. I wiped for about a second or two more and then it was clear. I moved down the mirror to Gracie's art. This would be the deal breaker. Lo and behold, it cut through the caked on doggie art and left no streaks whatsoever.

It took a bit more elbow grease than some of the other options out there, but again, for the price difference and the knowledge that you're not layering on the chemicals, it is worth ten extra seconds of wiping. This gets a 10. Ditch those glass cleaners and start using this. For pennies you can have a big bottle of glass cleaner and no unnecessary chemicals.

Laundry Detergent

This was actually one of the first things I tried. However, being a single girl, laundry doesn't get too crazy around here and I wanted to try the detergent on some dirtier and smellier than usual clothes.

I used the recipe I found on Being Creative to Keep My Sanity.  I did not add in the Oxy Clean, though. Again, if you're one with particularly dirty laundry or you have kids, then you may want to keep that ingredient in.

It was incredibly easy to mix.  I just dumped all the ingredients into a 5 gallon bucket I have and mixed. I did use Zote and not Fels-Naptha.

I will admit I was skeptical with this. However, my laundry comes out clean with just a slight hint of the Zote scent (I used the pink kind). Since I use the vinegar as fabric softener, there is no artificial smell beyond the soap.

Oh, as for grating the soap, that was simple. I used a medium sized grater and it just took a few minutes. I had a movie playing while I was doing this and a few other projects, so I just sat down with a big bowl and grated.

As for the quantity made, I'm set for ages. I filled all the larger containers I could dig up around the house. The original blogger said it lasted her 9 months. I suspect I will do at least that long, if not longer.

The actual amount saved is going to depend on which laundry detergent you replace and how long the recipe lasts you. However, I also put a high value on the decrease in fillers and unnecessary chemicals.  I'm going with a 10 on this. If nothing else, the grating can help with some stress relief!

Carpet Stains

There will be another post on this. It will just require more research.

I have the worst carpet. The previous owners put down new carpet after they moved out, before we closed. However, it must have been the cheapest option imaginable. Plus it is that shade of beige which instead of forgiving the various sins of the homeowner displays them all proudly.  The Salisbury steak stain from a month after I moved (thanks little bro). The various stains from my beloved (most of the time) dog.  My coffee drips (really, I can't expect to be coordinated enough to carry my coffee until I've finished a mug).

Here is your answer.  Courtesy of what has become a favorite blog of mine for her conversational, honest style, One Good Thing by Jillee.  Plus I just have to love all those double letters in her name.

Carpet Cleaner 

1 part ammonia plus 1 part hot water. Mix in a spray bottle (can get for super cheap). Spray generously on your stain. Put a white towel on top. Iron.

I give it a 10 of 10 gold stars.  Works on all but the toughest grease stains.

Worked on everything but the grease stain left by the elliptical repair man, thus part two will come at some point as I tackle that stain.

Definitely have the ability to air out if you are using this quite a bit. It is a potent odor. Heed the warning label on your ammonia and do not play chemistry with it unless you know what you are doing.

All Purpose Cleaner

I was a bit skeptical about the all purpose cleaner so I waited to try it in a few places before passing judgement.

It gets a resounding 10 gold stars.  My bathroom sink was a fiasco - I hate cleaning my bathroom so I wait to the last possible minute when I can absolutely no longer stand it and would be so embarrassed if someone saw it that I cave and finally clean it. Whew. I also used it to clean up some spills on my stove top and wiped the bathroom sink.

I used the recipe from The Everything Soap Blog. Just scroll down that post. I'll be working on the glass cleaner post so you'll hear my thoughts on that soon.

It was very simple to make. The only ingredient I had to hunt down was tea tree oil. However, that was a simple search to see what stores nearby carried it. I didn't even have to go to a more expensive retailer like Whole Foods. 

It took me about a minute to toss the ingredients into a spray bottle.  I grabbed a few rags from the linen closet and headed to the bathroom where the results were great. The best part is that I didn't feel like I was covered in chemicals and needed a shower to clean myself up after cleaning up the house. 

This was simple, low cost, easy, and effective. A permanent switch for me.

Getting Ready to Clean

This week is all about cleaning the house. The best part of the week's recipes for cleanliness is that the ingredients you need are likely already in your cupboard. I only needed to pick up a few spray bottles. While some would have me reuse the bottles of my old cleansers, I didn't want all those chemicals mixing with the natural concoctions. Plus one or two use ammonia and you should never, never, never mix bleach and ammonia.

This week we'll give my reviews of natural versions of

• All purpose cleanser
• Laundry detergent
• Carpet cleaner
• Glass cleaner

The best part is that for most of these they rely on a few of the most basic ingredients:

• Vinegar
• Ammonia
• Baking Soda

You mix in a few other items to specialize and you're all set.

Quick Note

I decided today as I was planning out the coming weeks for the blog, that I would take the weekends off.  Right now I actually have weekends to myself. Once the school year starts, I will be working weekends and it is total chaos for me.

So look for posts Mondays through Fridays.

This coming week will focus on household cleaners and some great tricks. Then it will switch gears and starting the week following I will share my experiences with my first forays into homemade lotions, lip balms, and other personal care items.

Getting Started: Organizing in the 21st Century

Should you not be familiar with my personal assistant, let me introduce you:

This nifty program will sit on your computer, tablet, phone, any piece of technology you have floating through your home or office. You can clip from the web (text, pictures, links, everything you need), you can take notes, organize, search...whew! What a help.

It is what I'm relying on to organize myself on this endeavor. I also use it for work purposes and other personal things (saving travel ideas, new recipes).

Did I mention it is free? There's a storage limit, but despite my massive usage, I have not struck that limit any month.

Fun Form

I have to deal with a ton of forms in my work - the hazards of working with minors. Thus, when I want to keep things organized, I love all the fun and colorful printables that are out there. Since I got the punch for those Circa notebooks, they have become a fundamental part of my day.

There are tons of websites and blogs that talk abut household binders and other such things. This is my sort of take on it and some places you can explore if you want to create something similar.

My daily sheets are from here. She also has an Etsy shop if you don't want to print things out for yourself.  Your choice.

I then use one of several weekly planners, some specific to blogs, some not, to organize both this blog and the one I do for ministry work.  If you read closely you can get a teaser for the rest of the week. It is a warm up week as there's testing and documentation to do (plus I was waiting to hunt down a few supplies).

To-Do Lists are my best friends. I love that satisfaction that comes from checking off that little box. Here's one that I just started with a running list of projects and items that I'll give a test run and report back to you. Don't worry, since taking the picture the list has nearly filled the page.

Can you tell from these pages and photos how much I love Sharpies? My mom always said that she could bribe me to do anything with the lure of a new box of crayons. Some things never change.

With so many things to try and the need to figure out ingredients and supplies, I have a permanent list of what each 'recipe' requires. The shopping list printable I found is really useful for that.  It helps me to see what 'recipes' share ingredients so I can make them around the same time or how much to purchase. It will also be a great quick reference in the future.

Here's a long list of where you can find printables. Plus there's always doing a few web searches for yourself.

PS - Did I mention they're free?

• http://www.mommytracked.com/downloads/
• Great ones here - especially for families, though I’ve tried out a few as a singleton and found them helpful
• http://organizedhome.com/printable/household-notebook
• This one offers a sort of magnum opus of printables for household organization. For those aesthetically inclined, they all seem to work in the same sort of color scheme.  Also offers some great options for dietary concerns from those counting calories to those watching sodium.
• http://www.howdoesshe.com/1-free-organizational-printables
• Some great, more artsy options that may not work for your binder or notebook, but I plan to make use of the cute little matchbook covers to help organize small things around my desk, sewing and crafts areas.
• http://printable.tipjunkie.com/organization/
• A ton of options here. Again, there is a focus on moms and families, but part of the creativity process for me was also looking at how things can be re-purposed for my uses.  There are several fun and creative printables too. I will likely print the kitchen conversions for my mom (Martha Stewart she is not).
• http://printables.yourway.net/
• Encyclopedic in size and scope. Not always the most artistic, they are always functional.

Getting Started: Organizing Ideas the Old Fashioned Way

As this project was brewing in my mind I used several methods to collect and organize ideas, thoughts, and resources.  Though I am as much a 21st century girl as the next smart phone dependent female, I also have a love of the classics.

Thanks to a random gift from my mother - a very useful little item to wind your ear buds' cord around - I began receiving the Levenger catalogue.  After drooling over the pages dedicated to a Type-A bibliophile's ideal goods, I caved. I bought a starter pack for the Circa junior. I was hooked after about 3.4 seconds. Two more Circa notebooks have entered my house and they are worth the investment.

You can snoop through the website. I love the notebooks since they allow me to rearrange things as much as I wish like a 3-ring binder, yet function like a notebook. Plus there are all sorts of little add-ons.  I've picked up a few types of refill paper and a punch. That punch was worth the investment as I'll explain with my new infatuation - free printables.

The large Circa is for personal things (you'll see some of the insides soon, I promise) along with a few sections for a non-profit organization I work with on their board. One smaller Circa is predominantly work things with sections for each main area of ministry, a general notes, and then dreams/brainstorming. The last Circa, and most recent addition, is an attempt to keep my kitchen in order. I use it to keep those not-quite-recipes, but still more than just slapping PB&J on bread type ideas organized, one section is a record of all the grains and how to cook them that are in containers in my cabinet (I put them in containers instead of having bags of rice and quinoa sitting around), favorite recipes from my cookbooks so I don't have to page through one of those dozen tomes sitting around my house.

PS: These are my views, unsolicited and most definitely not compensated by Levenger.

Day One: Fabric Softener

Thanks to that service trip I mentioned, I nearly emptied my bottle of fabric softener washing the charming items coated with the debris of working with the school in Guatemala - hand prints of paint and unknown stickiness, dirt, cement, bits of trash. As I got sick, I knew I had one or two more loads but not enough fabric softener. Not wanting crispy jeans, I took to the web. Several pages had recipes for fabric softener that were basic, but I didn't even want to take the effort to mix two or three items.


Then I stumbled across suggestions on several sites to just use vinegar. Plain old, distilled white vinegar. Doing a search to see how to use it I was amazed, the answer made my day!


Use it as you would your fabric softener on any other given day.


I filled my fabric softener ball up to the line, closed it, tossed it in the washer and promptly forgot about my wash for a few hours (the norm for me). After drying it, it was soft with no smell of vinegar.


It meets the requirements of being far more eco-friendly and way more economically friendly too!


Success, this gets a gold star! I'd love to hear what you think.

The Beginning

Over the past few months, I've slowly accumulated a variety of things:

• Pinterest boards with DIY ideas and natural alternatives to store-bought products
• Evernote notebooks filled with recipes, ideas, DIY notes
• Levenger Circa Notebooks in varying states of organization
• And a realization that if I want to change things, I very well have to start with myself.

Thus, the dawning of a slow-brewing idea and this blog. What I intend to do is to share with you my efforts to live more naturally, greener, and happier, all the while being a bit more organized.  I had hoped to begin immediately upon my return from the service trip to Guatemala, but a rather nasty head cold has set me back a few days. 

Here's the plan, we're going to do a month long boot camp. That's right, each day I will do one new thing to get rid of a few complications, chemicals, or unnecessaries. Each day I'll share my success and failure with you. If you are like me an hooked on Pinterest, go ahead and follow me. I will share what I've found helpful and not so helpful in my exploration of the vast expanse of the Internet.  If you have something that you want to try, but might not be brave enough (or want a second opinion) send it my way. I might add it to the schedule.

To give you an idea of the fact that I'm a (relatively) normal human being who lives and works in the real world here's a bit of who I am. I am an absolute bibliophile who also adores movies (the good ones and the flaky ones). I have a high maintenance dog, Gracie, a Cairn Terrier who will likely appear frequently on this blog. I work full time as a youth & young adult minister so my hours are wacky, my job is unpredictable and like many of you I have to plan for meals at work and meals when I don't feel like cooking. Gracie is my only housemate, so I also don't have to consider the tastes and wishes of another person in this adventure.

Oh, I'm also not eating out or getting take out at any point this month. That might be the hard part. We shall see.

I promise future posts will be shorter, but this will also serve as my "who I am" for future reference.

So here we go!