DIY Febreze Recipe

I had no idea you could make febreze until I saw someone I knew had made it.  She gave me the recipe, and then I did some research to find out where it originated from.  While it's always hard to track things like this down, I found the recipe I received at FakeitFrugal.

1/8 cup Fabric Softener

2 tablespoons Baking Soda

Hot water

 Mix fabric softener and baking soda in a measuring cup until smooth.

Fill measuring cup with hot water and stir until well mixed.

Pour into spray bottle and fill the rest of the way with water.

Voila!  

Clutterific

My goodness, it's already Wednesday and I haven't posted anything.  Time to remedy that.

This week has been the unpack-and-find-a-home-for-it week.  Isn't it amazing how much random stuff can accumulate?  Those darn things you have such a hard time finding a home for because it's category is "miscellaneous."  It's becomes a little taxing, but I think I've made it through the worst of it. 

The whole ordeal has led me to find organization blogs, tips and photos.  I have to find just a little guidance to get me going in the right direction!  There are a lot of weeds to go through, but these two were my favorites.  

iheartorganizing was my first stop.  I had come across a really great cupboard organization photo and had to look around some more.  Everything looks so fabulous and inspires me to get my things in order.

Chaos to Order has a short entry on dealing with all those various items in your closet (which always seems to be the spot for them).  Photos and all!

How do you deal with organization and clutter?

Just a tiny bit of assistance

           Amazon

Considering my current position is Domestic Engineer (we're a household full of engineers here), I've been trying to figure out how to do this job the best I can and one thing I love to do when trying to do something better is find lovely books on the topic.  One book I found helpful is "Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping Home" by Cheryl Mendelson.

I appreciate Cheryl's detailed approach with all things home related.  Cleaning isn't just what this book is about, but also home safety, cooking and one of my favorites--caring for books (a lost art, no?).  

My favorite chapter is the first one, all about getting into a routine.  If there is one thing I enjoy, it's some sort of routine even if it is a little scattered.  I'm not a strict schedule setter but having semblance of similarity to my daily doings makes my brain (and soul) just a tiny bit calmer.

Now, why must I spend so much time learning about the homely arts?

Because I enjoy it!  I don't know if I'll be in this full-time position forever, but considering the fact I have yet to find a job in the area, I may as well work with what I've got.

What books of instruction do you enjoy?

Regression

I've suddenly found myself making more and more changes towards a frugal, green lifestyle.  I feel like I've gotten to a point where I'm "regressing" due to my current lifestyle change--doing my laundry in the bathtub.

As I mentioned recently, I made my own detergent a few days ago and I bought an indoor drying rack since it's been a very wet Spring.  When I couldn't find any quarters to do a load of laundry, I decided to take a page out of No Impact Man's book and toss the clothes in the tub.  Using 2-3 inches of cold water with a 1/4 cup of detergent I letting the clothes soak and then stomp around with my bare feet in the water to agitate the laundry.  So far I've done two loads, saving $5 already.  And by not using warm water or a dryer, I have made laundry an entirely electricity free chore (not to mention the extra exercise I get).  I'm hoping to get a hold of a washboard to help scrub out the dirt from my socks.

What are you doing to "regress"?

Decoupage it all!

As I mentioned yesterday, school is becoming rather hectic.  But not so busy that I won't include some decoupage into my day!  I decided to add pretty vintage labels from The Graphics Fairy to every single body and face care product I have on my bathroom counter--including the Seventh Generation disinfecting wipes!

It's probably the girliest looking bathroom I have ever had, but I adore it.

On top of that, I made a whole bunch of headbands!  The one below is my absolute favorite.  You can see the rest on my Etsy shop

And last, but not least, laundry detergent!  We've been running out of our current laundry soap so I decided it was time to make a batch myself instead of purchasing some from the co-op.  In comparison to the $10-$15 I spend on pre-made detergent, I spent roughly $1-$2 on 4 gallons which should last us several months.  I remember my family making it a lot when I was growing up, and funny enough it's the same recipe the Duggar Family uses.  Here is the recipe!

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and allow to cool.

I suggest you add 15-20 drops of essential oil to your detergent if you want a fragrance other than the Fels Naptha bar.

-If you want a heavy duty detergent, use the soap as it is.  If you want to spread it out over a longer period of time and it works for you, dilute it using half the detergent to half water.

-Use 1/4 cup per load.

Natural smells--Keeping Odors Away

While I don't want to brag, I'm told whenever I have guests over that my house smells nice.  I'm quite obsessed with making sure that everything smells pleasant, since I remember growing up with cat smell.  But, most of the time anything that helps improve the smell of a room or home tends to add harmful chemicals to the environment.  Here are some ideas I've found to make your home smell extra pleasant.

1.  Flowers.  Not even living flowers are necessary.  I have a bouquet of dried lavender hanging on my bathroom wall, which not only adds decor and color, but a delightful smell.  The steam releases the oil from the flowers each time you shower, so the scent is constantly renewed.

2.  Essential Oils.  Take a bath.  Add sweet basil, eucalyptus, lavender or rosemary essential oils to your tub.  Not only will you make your skin smell incredibly delicious, but the whole house will smell amazing.

3.  Candles.  Remember that lighting a match trick?  It works.  Find some soy candles that contain essential oils and place them strategically around you home.  Or beeswax candles.  They have a fairly neutral smell, but do contain a very light honey scent.

4.  Baking soda.  Absorb the smelly things in your home.  Put some in a pretty bowl and find an inconspicuous home for it.  This way, not only are you trying to add pleasant smells but you're taking the yucky ones away.

Sister Bonding

Yesterday I receive a text from my dad that asks about my 14 year old sister, Olivia visiting for the week.  It's currently her spring break and she decided she wanted to spend it with me!  Aw :).  So they drove up last night and now we're finding fun girly things to do.  Right now, that includes taking clothes to the consignment store and getting a haircut, among other various errands I had to run today.

While on the topic of consignment stores, I'd like to recommend to people who don't really want to sell their old clothes through Ebay due to not enough time or energy, take it into a consignment store before the Goodwill.  For those who are trying to keep their finances in check, this is a great option for getting rid of the cluttered clothes.  Those clothes cost you quite a bit of money initially, so just tossing them isn't such a great plan.  While donating is an excellent option (and believe me, the consignment store will not take everything.  They only took a few of my items), you can still make a few bucks and donate at the same time.  Just donate the rest that they won't take!

Once your closet is cleaned out DO NOT BRING OTHER CLUTTER IN!  It's tempting to see all the room and decide to fill it up again.  But unless it's something that looks incredible on you, don't buy it.  You don't want more clothes that you only half like.  Find clothes that make you feel and look amazing.

And that's my little piece of advice on closet cleaning, since I've been going at it for the last week.  Have a wonderful day!

The Week's Round-up--Spring Cleaning!

This week has been a complete "Spring Cleaning" type of week. I've been doing so much organizing, reorganizing, decorating and deep cleaning. Homework has been a little neglected, but I'm sure it won't be too brokenhearted. I also got to work on some new little projects, since there were birthdays coming up. And I've made a few sales in my Etsy shop which is incredibly exciting!  There are few things that are better than actually getting to sell your work.

The biggest accomplishment of the week was cleaning off the balcony.  Ever since we moved in, there was a pile of garbage full of empty bottles, cans and meat containers.  The huge garbage can filled with snow over the winter and everything rotted.  It smelled completely awful.  But now I can look out my back window and not have to see a gigantic pile of crud.  We also strung some lights around the back so we could have little soiree's during the summer :)

soi·ree 

[swah-rey]

–noun

an evening party or social gathering, especially one held for aparticular purpose: a musical soiree.

Along with the rest of my big cleaning projects, I went through drawers such as the jewelry and make-up drawer and sorted through everything.  While many of us can forget of these places, they tend to pile up a bunch of unusable items that just take up space (and my home has too little space to be taking up excess!).

I also took a trip to Goodwill for a few decorative items for the house.  I found some beautiful china to use as a soap dish a spoon rest.  Not only that, but I found the greatest skirt by Style & Co. for $4!  It's somewhat like this, but a little shorter and the pattern is smaller.  I can't stress it enough--Thrift stores are the place to be!

Here are some of the projects I did this week.  I had so much fun figuring out some new things and really  appreciated some fabric Christine gave me.  It took a while to figure out how to get the machine to like it since it had embroidery all over, but I think I got it down.  I also tried my hand at some smaller bags with pleats, which I had never attempted before, and elastic ribbon to make a headband.  Phew!

A pretty little make-up bag

The book bag I made from Christine's fabric gift.

A delightful little headband I whipped up tonight!