I think I got the cob out-Behind the Scenes at Great Day, Green Country

Last week, I was once again asked to be a guest on Great Day, Green Country. This time, I shared my Homemade Laundry Soap. You can see the live video of my dorkiness here, if you want to.

After three times of being a guest on the show, I think I got the cob out. If you know what I mean.

I did need to primp a little beforehand, making sure there weren’t any boogers or any lipstick on the chompers.

After laboring over the setup, while wearing really cute shoes, I was ready. And this is what was going through my head.

“Am I ready? Does this look right?”

“I don’t know. But my shoes are really cute.”

“Nope, it doesn’t look right. I’d better fix it. I am the master fixer. Hi-yah! I am ninja quick!”

“Cute, cute, cute. This looks cute. I like to make things cute. La da da da. La da da da.”

“Yep. This looks good. I should have gone with the anti-perspirant rather than the plain ‘ol deodorant. Keep the arms out and let the air flow.”

After everything was settled, all heck broke loose. And I decided my recycled Vodka bottle now containing my Laundry Softener was a photo op waiting to happen.

Yep, I’m a dork.

And then the camera’s began to roll and my heart skipped several beats and I began to sweat and sweat and sweat….But, I think the cob was finally removed-if you know what I mean.

They’ve asked me back again-I hope I can be even more relaxed and cob-less. Lord willin’ and the Creeks don’t rise.

Homemade Laundry Products

Third time’s a charm?

Once again, I will be LIVE on Fox23’s “Great Day, Green Country” this morning discussing my recipes for Homemade Laundry Products. Each of the recipes are easy to make and fit my frugal (cheap) lifestyle.

If any of the people at Fox23 ever read my blog, they would realize what a nervous, sweaty and dorky mess I am when I’m on air. That might deter them from another invitation. So, let’s just keep this information our little secret, shall we?

Here’s the video from this morning. Be kind….
Here are the links to my first and second appearances on Fox23.

Homemade Cleaning Products
Homemade Beauty Products

This morning, I highlighted Homemade Laundry Soap, Laundry Softener and Stain Stick, which I will briefly outline for you here.
If you click on the recipe titles, the links will take you to a more in-depth and pictorial step-by-step tutorial for each recipe. Also, these more in-depth tutorials offer printable recipes at the end of the posts.
(I also have a few links at the bottom of this post with more Homemade Household Cleansers, Homemade Beauty Products and Yummy Food Recipes.)

Easy, Homemade Laundry Soap makes 48 loads
1 Bar (14 oz) Fels-Naptha, Zote Soap or Ivory Soap
2 C Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (make sure it says “Super Washing Soda”)
2 C Borax
Blender/Food Processor

Cut the soap into manageable chunks and grind in a food processor or blender. In a large bowl, combine the soap, Super Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until mixed. Store in an airtight container. Use 1/8 cup for a normal load, 1/4 cup for a dirty load.

Homemade Laundry Softener  makes about 6 Cups
Here’s all the you’ll need to make your own Laundry Softener:
Container
1 Cup of Baking Soda
6 Cups of White Vinegar
(8 drops of Essential Oil if you are worried about the vinegar smell in your house. There will not be a vinegar smell on your clothing.)
Pour the 1 Cup of Baking Soda into your container. Slowly add the vinegar a little at a time. It will fizz and bubble up. Allow it to recede and then add a little more. Add the essential oils if desired. I’m cheap so I skip this step. Allow the detergent to breathe for a little while (5 minutes or so) before capping it. Add about 1/2 Cup of this mixture to your laundry’s rinse cycle or in the detergent reservoir if you have one.

Homemade Stain Stick makes about 3.5-4 oz
Here’s all that you’ll need to make your very own Stain Stick:
1/6 of a Fels-Naptha Soap Bar
1/7 of a Kirk’s Castille Soap Bar
3 TBS Water
1 clean, recycled Deodorant Tube (about 3.5-4 oz)
Blender
Small Saucepan
Spatula
Slice about 1/6 off of the Fels-Naptha Bar and 1/7 off of the Castille Bar. Cut into smaller chunks and transfer to blender. Finely grind the soap. Transfer the soap particles to a small saucepan and turn the heat to medium-low. Add the 3 TBS of water and stir. When the soap has become a thick paste, remove from heat and let slightly cool. While the paste is still slightly warm, use a spatula to transfer the mixture into the empty deodorant tube. Let cool completely before placing the cap on.

•   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •

I hope you have enjoyed these recipes! It may seem overwhelming at first to rid your home of toxins and store-bought everything. And maybe you don’t want to make these products, but would like the benefits of non-toxic products in your home without going broke. I have found some simple solutions to replace the things that I cannot make/don’t want to make myself by purchasing them from a non-toxic green company online. Without directly endorsing them, if you are interested in knowing more,  Feel free to email me with questions.

Here are links to my other Homemade Household Cleansers and Beauty Products:

Easy Laundry Soap
Homemade Stain Stick
Homemade Laundry Softener
Homemade Beauty Products
DIY Brass Cleaner
Organic Vegetable/Produce Cleaner
Homemade Household Cleaners

And here are a few Homemade Food Items to easily replace store-bought items:
Simple, Tasty Granola
Easy Crockpot Yogurt
Simple, Homemade Butter
Cooking and Freezing Beans, avoiding BPA
Homemade Hummus
Garden Fresh Salsa

If these parties are up, I link to them! (Here’s my complete Linky Party Page):
Monday: Crafts Keep Me Sane, The Better Baker, Skip to My Lou, DIY Showoff, Say Not, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Etcetorize, Sew Chatty, Brassy Apple, Flour Me With Love, Creating my Way, Mad in Crafts, Our Delightful Home, Sew Can Do, It’s So Very Cheri, Craft O Maniac, Polly Want a Crafter, Tuesday: Craft Edition, Inspiration Board , New Nostalgia , Lettered Life , Coastal Charm, Tip Junkie , Ladybug Blessings, Hope Studios , Todays Creative Blog, Wednesday: Someday Crafts , Day2DayJoys, Jillify It , Junk in the Trunk, We are that Family , Frugally Sustainable, Sew Much Ado, Fine Craft Guild , The Thrifty Home, My Girlish Whims , Quick, Easy, Cheap & Healthy, Trendy Treehouse, Thursday: Somewhat Simple, No Minimalist Here , A Glimpse Inside, The Mommy Club, The 36th Avenue, Cheap Chic Home, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans , House of Hepworths , The Shabby Chic Cottage, Friday: My Repurposed Life, It’s a HodgePodge Life, The Shabby Nest, Just Wingin’ It, One Artsy Momma, French Country Cottage, Finding Fabulous, Passionately Artistic, Petals and Picots, Simply Designing, Little Becky Homecky, My Romantic Home, Bacon Time, Simply Living, Saturday: Polkadot Pretties, Tatertots and Jello, Create and Inspire, Be Different, Act Normal, Craft Envy, Funky Junk Interiors, Petites Passion, Sunday: Under the Table, Natural Mothers, Mopping the Floor

DIY Laundry Stain Stick

Good-bye store bought stain stick. Hello, non-toxic, good smelling, homemade Stain Stick!

For most of this past year, I have been ridding my home of toxic chemicals by creating my own homemade products in the comfort of my kitchen, in my pj’s from time to time and usually accompanied by a glass of wine. (More of my DIY household recipes are at the bottom of this post.)

I don’t use a whole lot of stain stick, but when you need it, you need it. I came up with my own recipe that’s very simple to make, works great at removing stains, is super cheap ($.39 a tube) and smells fantastic.

Here’s all that you’ll need to make your very own Stain Stick:
1/6 of a Fels-Naptha Soap Bar
1/7 of a Kirk’s Castille Soap Bar
3 TBS Water
1 clean, recycled Deodorant Tube (about 3.5-4 oz)
Blender
Small Saucepan
Spatula

Slice about 1/6 off of the Fels-Naptha Bar and cut into smaller chunks.

Finely grind the soap up in a blender. Inhale the heavenly scent of the Fels-Naptha bar. Transfer the ground soap into the small saucepan.

Follow suit with the 1/7 of the Castille Bar Soap. Cut, chunk, grind, transfer.

Turn the burner to a medium low heat.

Add the 3 TBS of water and slowly stir the soaps as they are melting.

Once the soap is melted down to a consistency of paste, remove from heat and let slightly cool.

While the paste is still slightly warm, use a spatula to pack full the deodorant tube.

Let cool completely before placing the cap on. Use as you would any other stain stick, but do it with a little bit of cockiness knowing that you are saving some serious mula.
This recipe costs only $.39 a tube. Even the cheapest stain stick around can’t beat that price.
Here’s the financial breakdown:
1/6 of a Fels Naptha Bar ($1.50 / 6 = $.25)
1/7 of a Castile Bar ($1 / 7 = $.14)

•   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •

I hope you have enjoyed these recipes! It may seem overwhelming at first to rid your home of toxins and store-bought everything. And maybe you don’t want to make these products, but would like the benefits of non-toxic products in your home without going broke. I have found some simple solutions to replace the things that I cannot make/don’t want to make myself by purchasing them from a non-toxic green company online. Without directly endorsing them, if you are interested in knowing more,  Feel free to email me with questions.

Here are links to my other Homemade Household Cleansers and Beauty Products:

Easy Laundry Soap
Homemade Laundry Softener
Homemade Beauty Products
DIY Brass Cleaner
Organic Vegetable/Produce Cleaner
Homemade Household Cleaners

And here are a few Homemade Food Items to easily replace store-bought items:
Simple, Tasty Granola
Easy Crockpot Yogurt
Simple, Homemade Butter
Cooking and Freezing Beans, avoiding BPA
Homemade Hummus
Garden Fresh Salsa

If these parties are up, I link to them! (Here’s my complete Linky Party Page):
Monday: Crafts Keep Me Sane, The Better Baker, Skip to My Lou, DIY Showoff, Say Not, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Etcetorize, Sew Chatty, Brassy Apple, Flour Me With Love, Creating my Way, Mad in Crafts, Our Delightful Home, Sew Can Do, It’s So Very Cheri, Craft O Maniac, Polly Want a Crafter, Tuesday: Craft Edition, Inspiration Board , New Nostalgia , Lettered Life , Coastal Charm, Tip Junkie , Ladybug Blessings, Hope Studios , Todays Creative Blog, Wednesday: Someday Crafts , Day2DayJoys, Jillify It , Junk in the Trunk, We are that Family , Frugally Sustainable, Sew Much Ado, Fine Craft Guild , The Thrifty Home, My Girlish Whims , Quick, Easy, Cheap & Healthy, Trendy Treehouse, Thursday: Somewhat Simple, No Minimalist Here , A Glimpse Inside, The Mommy Club, The 36th Avenue, Cheap Chic Home, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans , House of Hepworths , The Shabby Chic Cottage, Friday: My Repurposed Life, It’s a HodgePodge Life, The Shabby Nest, Just Wingin’ It, One Artsy Momma, French Country Cottage, Finding Fabulous, Passionately Artistic, Petals and Picots, Simply Designing, Little Becky Homecky, My Romantic Home, Bacon Time, Simply Living, Saturday: Polkadot Pretties, Tatertots and Jello, Create and Inspire, Be Different, Act Normal, Craft Envy, Funky Junk Interiors, Petites Passion, Sunday: Under the Table, Natural Mothers, Mopping the Floor

Non-Toxic Homemade Household Cleaners

Today, I was a guest at Fox23’s “Great Day Green Country” on Fox 23 News morning show. I was asked to highlight the Non-Toxic Homemade Household Cleaners that I use around my home.
Here’s the video from this morning. Please, be gentle. I know I look like an idiot-I didn’t know which camera to look at.

I was quite nervous, but, you’ll be able to tell that. And apparently, I am a DIY Diva. What?!

The ingredients in these cleansers are so safe that you cannot only clean with them, but go ahead and eat them! I don’t know of many store-bought products that can say the same thing.

With just four simple ingredients (Vinegar, Baking Soda, Olive Oil, Tea Tree Oil), you can safely and effectively clean your entire house-without rubber gloves and a gas mask. And then, make a snack for later with the same ingredients.

I wanted to give you the recipes that I highlighted this morning on television. (I also have a few links at the bottom of this post with more Homemade Household Cleansers and Beauty Recipes.)

All Purpose Cleaner:
1 Part Vinegar
1 Part Water
Place the ingredients in a spray bottle and get busy.

This is the perfect combination for cleaning. Here are just a few things that can be cleaned with Vinegar and Water (but the list is really endless):
Cabinets
Tile
Sinks
Tubs
Toilets
Walls
Stainless Steel
Mirrors
Chrome
Counters

Now-you may ask, “Why Vinegar?”.
I’ll tell you why: Vinegar is a natural organic bi-product of fruits, vegetables and grains-meaning it’s both edible and biodegradable. It’s safe for the environment, for family members, and especially for those with asthma. There is no fear of your kiddos being poisoned. It is also a very effective and amazingly versatile household cleaner that is inexpensive to use.
It doesn’t contain harmful toxic chemicals, so if you pour it all down the drain-its impact on municipal sewer and water treatment systems is just like any food product.
Throw away those rubber gloves! It’s gentle on hands, so there is no need to wear rubber gloves. It cleans mirrors, chrome, stainless steel and more streak free, so there is no need to rinse after cleaning. Vinegar has been prized for generations for its usefulness as a stain remover, mildew eliminator, soap scum dissolver, chrome polisher, lime descaler, fabric softener, room deodorizer and as an unclogging agent.
So, I say back to you, “Why NOT Vinegar?”.

Anti-bacterial Cleaner:
1 Cup Vinegar
1 Cup Water
1/8 tsp Tea Tree Oil
Put ingredients in a spray bottle and use when needed.

This smells fantastic, you should know. Secondly, it gets rid of those nasty germs on just about everything but mirrors and t.v. screens. Because of the tea tree oil, it will leave streaks on glass, chrome or stainless steel.

Tea Tree Oil can cure almost anything that you might have. It is a natural antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-infection oil. It can be used in a variety of applications to cure and heal a host of ailments and conditions.It’s been called the “medicine cabinet” in a bottle. For example, Tea Tree Oil can help with:
Acne
Athletes foot
Bad breath
Body oil
Boils
Blisters
Colds
Dandruff
Dry skin
Germs
Fleas-even on pets!
Head lice
Insect bites and more

Furniture Polish/Cleaner
3 Parts of Olive Oil
1 Part Vinegar
Put the liquid ingredients into a jar, seal tightly and shake until mixed. Apply to a microfiber cloth and get busy on the wood in your house. Remix before every use. This polish restores life to sun-baked, old, vintage or neglected wood.

If you have any leftover, make a salad and pour over the top as a dressing. Olive Oil has amazing benefits both for the inside and the outside of your precious little body.

If you use extra virgin organic olive oil, you will benefit from higher levels of antioxidants, especially vitamin E and phenols, the same compounds found in grapes, because the olive oil is less processed. You can also use Olive Oil:
Replace Butter when cooking
Use it as a Body Oil
Control Frizzy Hair with a little bit on your palm and run it through your hair
Moisturize Dry Cuticles & Nails
Control a Nagging Cough or Scratchy Throat by swallowing a teaspoon full
Shine Stainless Pots & Pans by rubbing on after cleaning
Use as a Lip Balm
Or as a Bath Oil.

I love Olive Oil. It’s marvelous.

Toilet Bowl and Drain Cleaner
These two little ingredients can be used in two different ways.
For the Toilet Bowl Cleaner:
Spray the bowl with Vinegar and then sprinkle the bowl with Baking Soda. Use the toilet brush and scrub away. Look at your fancy, clean toilet.

For the Drain Cleaner:
Pour about a 1/2 Cup of baking soda down the clogged drain. Pour boiling water on top of the baking soda. Follow this with 1/2 Cup of Vinegar, then stand back and watch the bubbly magic happen. For really stubborn clogs, add 1/4 Cup of Salt in between the baking soda and the vinegar.

Baking Soda is able to get things clean and sparkly, but without scratching and scouring. It is soluble in water, which means it is easily rinsed away after it has done the job of cleaning. It also cleans:

Refrigerators
Ovens
Microwaves
Sinks
Baths
Toilets
And even your teeth!

It is not so suitable for cleaning glass, howevever, since it is mildy abrasive.

Now that you armed with your arsenal of cleaning products, it’s time to get busy and get rid of the dirty in your house. I hope you enjoyed these recipes. I love knowing that I clean my house without sacrificing quality!

Here are links to my other Homemade Household Cleansers and Beauty Products:
Easy Laundry Soap
DIY Brass Cleaner
Organic Vegetable/Produce Cleaner
Organic Face Cleanser
Organic Face Moisturizer
Organic Eye Makeup Remover
Simple, Organic Lip Balm

And here are a few Homemade Food Items to easily replace store-bought items:
Simple, Tasty Granola
Easy Crockpot Yogurt
Simple, Homemade Butter
Cooking and Freezing Beans, avoiding BPA
Homemade Hummus
Garden Fresh Salsa

It may seem overwhelming at first, to rid your home of toxins. If you want to learn a little bit more about toxins in your home, how they affect you and the environment, I have an educational team website called the “No Toxin Zone“.

Thanks so much for stopping by and spending time with such a weirdo. Make sure you become a Facebook Fan or a Linky Follower to keep up to date with what this weirdo comes up with next. Have a great day!