Homemade Supplies

With the economy being so bad around here, I've been trying to cut back on things that aren't needed, or trying to find alternatives for things like cleaning supplies that don't contain harsh chemicals.  

My sister in law Amy and I have already made our own laundry detergent.  It's been an amazing discovery and super easy to make.  We've been using it for about 3 months now, and other then the perfume smell being missed...it's cleans fantastically.

Here's the recipe:

4 cups of water

1/3 bar of cheap soap (we use Ivory) grated

1/2 cup Washing Soda (found in the detergent aisle)

1/2 cup Borax (20 mule team also found in the detergent aisle)

3 gallons of water

5 gallon bucket for mixing

Mix the grated soap in a saucepan with 4 cups of water, with the heat on low until the soap is completely dissolved.  Add hot water/soap mixture to 3 gallons of water in the bucket.  Stir in the washing soda and borax and continue mixing until thickened. (you only need to stir for about 5 minutes or so...It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look).  Let the mix sit for 24 hours.

I put the detergent into an old container I kept from my old detergent and use it's cap for correct measuring.  

After using this, I'm moving on to other things to try.  Next up is homemade "Swiffer" wet cloths to clean my bathroom floor with.  I'll let you know how it goes in the next couple of days.

Do you have anything you make at home rather then buy??  I'd love for you to share.

Finally Finished

A week ago I posted that I wanted to create this:



I finally finished one for Melody. After giving it to her though, Jordan wanted one too. Only he wanted it to be a dog. So I modified the cat pattern and created a dog pillow for Jordan. I think they turned out quite cute.



Now I plan on making one for my two nieces in the next few days...since I'm on a roll.

Bring It!

Well, I finished my 90 days of Power 90! When I first started, I was out of breath, could hardly do 10 jumping jacks, push ups were almost nonexistent, and I thought I was going to die. Well, now I hardly get out of breath, I'm able to do jumping jacks, I've done nearly 45 push ups in one workout, and though I still feel like dying I feel soo much better then I did when I started.

Here's my Before and After the 90 days:


This is me 20 pounds lighter and a total of 17 3/4 inches off my body. How amazing is that?!? Although I would have liked bigger results, I'm extremely happy with them anyway.

Now onto the next chapter on my journey towards a healthy life. P90X!! Amy, Bradd, Diana and I began this program on August 2nd. We are now 3 days in, and loving every minute of it. I hope to bring bigger and better results with P90X as it lives up to it's extreme name. I hope you are inspired by my feeling of accomplishment, because if I can do P90X...I can do ANYTHING!!