Make-my-own recipes

This past year, I have started making almost all of my household cleaners. I've been doing it in part to save money but also to have chemical and toxin free cleaners in my home. There are many great "green" and "safe" products out there, but they are much more expensive that making my own!  I wrote a previous post on my laundry detergent and baby wipes so but I really wanted to put my picture on here so I can pin these ideas on Pintrest! I know, I know, total geek!

Laundry Detergent

1 c. Borax

1 c. Super Washing Soda

1 bar Ivory soap, grated

I have been using this for all of my laundry and love it!

Here's another recipe I've been using and LOVING. It's an all purpose spray cleaner that I use on counters, tables, for a quick spill on the tile, etc.

All-Purpose Spray

2 tsp Borax

1 tsp Dr. Bronner's castille soap

Dissolve and gently shake in a 32 ounce spray bottle. 

6 months ago, I bought a 32 ounce bottle of Dr. Bronner's lavender castille soap for about $15.  It's super concentrated and you only need tiny amounts for cleaners. I also use it diluted way down to refill my foaming hand soap dispensers (about 1 ounce of soap to 6-8 ounces of water). Each bottle of the Method  foaming hand soap I was using costs $2.70 (on sale), so getting 25 refills and a whole gaggle of other cleaners out of a $15 bottle of soap saves a LOT of money and a LOT of plastic! 

By way of a disclaimer, I was turned onto Bronner's soap from perusing over on younghouselove.com. Check it out sometime...it's a GREAT site for household projects, decor, cleaning, organizing, etc.

Banana bread

I posted on FB this evening about a healthy, real food, homemade snack both of my boys love so I thought I'd share the recipe with ya'll. Plus, I've become such a Pintrest geek that I wanted to put a picture of something on my blog that I could pin! :)

Banana Oat Bread

(recipe from Karen Selph, my mama)

Ingredients: 

1/2 c. butter, softened 

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 c. flour (I use stone ground whole wheat and it works great)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 c. mashed ripe banana

1/4 c. milk

1 cup rolled oats

Cream the butter and sugar together. (Side note: if you want a lower fat version, I have also replaced 1/4 cup of butter with 1/4 cup applesauce and it turns out good too). Beat in the eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients except for the oats. In another bowl, combine the banana and milk. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk mixture to the butter, sugar and eggs. Stir in rolled oats.

Pour mixture into a greased 9x5x3 loaf pan and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
Enjoy!!

When normal feels beautiful

Tonight, as we got the boys in bed after coming home from some friends house, I found myself wondering why this weekend felt so wonderful. There was nothing spectacular about this weekend, nothing at all. And yet, it felt amazing. A sunny Saturday morning jog by myself, picking out my new kitchen sink with my grandma-in-law, hanging out at home with my boys all afternoon then church on Sunday morning that I got to sit quietly through, followed by a restful afternoon and then hanging out with friends. Nothing fancy. Just normal. It was the first weekend in months that we were all home, no one was sick, the weather was fantastic and the only downer was the kids melting down about not wanting to eat what I made for dinner on Saturday night.  If there's one thing I learned after a very trying year for our little family, it is to enjoy the normal stuff.  The run-of-the-mill weekends at home, the nights where I don't have to get out of bed to tend to a sick child or the days I'm not running from doctor appointment to doctor appointment and can spend time doing things I want to do at home. This weekend was one of those times that reminded me that sometimes normal feels beautiful. And, I am so thankful for normal.