Weekend Happenings

 Here we go again with the oily adventures :) The DD's and I are looking to knock the toxins out of lots of everyday items we use. While my everyday laundry days are LONG gone (yaaa) the DD's are in the thick of it.  After searching around, looking at lots of ways to make home made laundry detergent I landed on this powder. Recipe at the end of this post.

We all agreed we wanted to go with powder detergent. It's easier to make, store, and no messy spills running down the side of the bottle. The big girls like scented anything and everything, me not so much. I think we have come up with a good compromise when it comes to the smell category :)

This mix seems to have the right amount of cleaning, deodorizing and, it's a nice fresh smelling blend. The proof is now in the pudding...will it really clean our clothes? So far so good :)

Here we go with my unknown to me until now bubble obsession. There just aren't any bubbles at all, is it really working without the bubbles? I stuck my hand in to test the water. While my love of a bubbly mix was missing the water felt plenty soapy enough to do the job. The one down side is finding the ingredients might be a bit tricky for some folks. Since we live in a very populated area with a whole lot of organic/healthy living grocery stores I didn't have any trouble other than having to run to three different stores to get everything I needed. Of course everything could be ordered on line with just a click of the mouse but I really hate the on line ordering route if I can help it.

What about the cost?
Mule team borax - $5.99 (4 pound box) Cost per batch $.56 cents
Arm Hammer Washing Soda - $3.59 (3 pound, 7 ounces) Cost per batch $.71 cents
Castile Bar Soap -  $4.99 ( 5 ounces)
Baking Soda - Can't remember but dirt cheap :)
Essential Oils - $2.30

Total cost per batch - $8.56
This makes 80 of loads per batch for front end washing machines
40 loads for regular washing machines.

Don't hold me to the math!!! But I think I am pretty darn close

Tyler was so excited for Football kick off weekend!!! As a special treat he and Papaw spent the Saturday evening Bama game hanging out with Papaws adult buddies. We sweetened the deal a bit by having a sleepover after the game. Note to self, Ty boy needs a bigger Jersey!! That will be going on his Christmas list this year.

So many happenings in the fall around our home. Along with Football season and Labor day weekend we celebrated our first fall Birthday (lord we have so many) DD#1 Birthday is on Thursday, with jobs, schools, and every ones activities Birthdays are celebrated at Sunday dinner. Sweet Karsyn is a Daddy's girl until it comes to Birthday cakes...at that point she is any bodies girl as long as she can get  front and center of the cake!!!!

I PROMISE I had no idea that there was an essential oil sitting in this shot of the Birthday girl and her baby girl until I uploaded this photo to the blog!!!! I am telling you we really do use our oils :) This particulater oil is purification. Our yard is mosquito's central and I mean it's LOADED in the nasty buggers. A few of the grands got out the back door without being sprayed with our homemade bug repellent. Results of that unprotected outing....not good!!! Purification essential oil is one of our go to oils for skin health in mishaps such as this.

OK, so maybe this post is turning into an essential oil post after all. After a 4 day weekend of ripping and running my batteries were running on low this morning. Dark Chocolate is my normal go to pick me up but I am trying to limit my intake these days. I have heard great review's on using the Joy blend to get your motor up and running. It was worth a try :)

Every one is different when it comes to using essential oils in whatever form they are used. I am ULTRA sensitive to smells, it's just part of who I am. Two drops of any of the oils diffused for 20 minutes does the trick for me. I don't really consider that a bad thing since it helps my oils go a long long way. Our motto when it comes to oils is always less is more to start with!!!

I am not setting lofty goals for myself this week as I know I just can't get everything done I would like to do so I am sticking with the biggies for me.

Goal's
1.) Clean out the back and front pantries. What a hot mess!!! I am afraid I have let things slip over the summer. Sure hope I don't run into too many expired items but I'm sure there are some.

2.) Work with some retirement numbers that have been floating around my head since meeting with a financial planner last week. I wish I were one of those people who could just say "What ever you think/want "honey" but I'm NOT!!! The "Honey" while being the bread winner in my case is NOT the numbers person. When the grands are around I am pretty good at multi tasking except when numbers are involved.... forget it!!!

3.) Work on one of the many charity projects that has been piling up. One of the area's we and the financial planner do not agree on is charitable giving, but he sorta has a point. More balance might be needed. :)

Now that Summer is coming to end are any of the rest of you trying to clean up your act a little? Like  eating an Elephant I know I need to take one bite at a time, but at my age I also know when eating an elephant you can run into some elephant sized Poop. The Poop is what has me setting some LOW expectations this week :)

Powder Laundry Detergent:

2 Cups Mule Team Borax
2 Cup Arm& Hammer Washing Soda
1 Cup Baking soda
1 Bar of Castile Soap Grated
20 Drops Lavender Essential Oil
10 Drops Orange Essential Oil
Mix all, store in glass Jar
Use One TBLS of powder for front Loading Machines
Use Two TBLS of powder for Standard Machines