The Fels Naptha 5.5 oz. Soap Bar from Dial Corporation is a powerful laundry soap, used for over 100 years, that takes out any kind of stain simply, safely and completely, including grass, grease, oil, wine and more. Just wet the spot, rub the bar on it, lather it up, and throw it into the wash. Also used as a poison ivy home remedy!

75 Extraordinary Uses for Baking Soda | Life Hackery

Baking soda is a chemical compound that appears as a fine powder. It releases bubbles of carbon dioxide when it interacts with an acid and a liquid. It’s most commonly used in baking, where it acts as a leavening agent. The following are 75 other uses for baking soda aside from making muffins soft and fluffy.

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75 Extraordinary Uses for Baking Soda Life Hackery

Made with Love Lip Balm

Orange Apricot Lip Balm

Trying to come up with something other than candy for my kids for Valentines Day, I searched fun things to make for them.  ( other than crocheted hair accessories.  LOL  They have enough of those!)  I found a recipe for homemade lip balm and it turned out delightful!  The biggest plus to this recipe is that it's 100% natural. 

I had all the ingredients at home already, so I whipped it up in no time this morning. 

The recipe is

1 tsp beeswax
1 tsp apricot kernel oil
1 tsp calendula oil ( I used almond oil) 
5 drops of orange essential oil

You heat the wax and oils together in a double boiler, remove from heat.  While still hot add essential oil and coloring.  Now, This is a small amount of wax and oils, so it cools fast.  And the coloring did not blend fast for me.  So I had to heat it up for a few seconds in the microwave until I had everything blended well.  I also do not own a double boiler, so I made a make shift one with a glass bowl over some boiling water.  Just make sure your bowl leaves room around the side for steam to escape, you don't want a pressure cooker instead of a double boiler! 

Pour the hot liquids into a lip balm container and wait for it to cool.  I boiled my lip balm containers before I started this and let them air dry while I completed the lip balm.  I got my containers at Wal-Mart.  They are actually little plastic pill holders that I found in the travel size toiletries aisle ( .97 cents for 2).  Then I just let them cool and added a little orange sticker to the lid. 

These smell HEAVENLY!  They are not very shiny though.  A lot more like chap stick than lip gloss.  Which I prefer, because my kids are 5 and 7 years old. 


For the original recipe click HERE. 





  

Homemade Bath Salts

I LOVE SMELLS!  Well at least good ones. HA!   I also love to pamper myself as much as possible and when I ran across this recipe on Pinterest, I had to try it!  It was ALSO extremely inexpensive to make because I already had the essential oils, the salts, and the coloring.  I just need containers and I headed to Dollar Tree and found these little gems, for ( you guessed it) a dollar a piece.  And they are GLASS AND HAVE A SCREW ON TOP!  WHOOP!  Love a bargain.   

For the original recipe click HERE. 

Bath Salts Recipe

3/4 cup Epsom salts
1/2 cup coarse sea salt
1/4 cup baking soda
8 drops essential oil
food coloring

 ( I didn't have the coarse kind, so I used the fine grain sea salt and it worked just fine) 

I mixed all the dry ingredients together first with a fork.  I tripled this recipe and divided it into 3 equal parts.  Using different essential oils and coloring for each jar, I added oils and mixed some more, and lastly, I added the coloring. 

I made one of Grapefruit.  Grapefruit Oil is a wonderfully energizing oil that isn't too strong or overpowering. Both white and pink grapefruit oils are available, with Pink Grapefruit Essential Oil generally being considered the sweeter of the two.  Aromatic Description: Citrus. Tangy like grapefruit, but sweet. It is reminiscent to the aroma of the grapefruit rind, but more concentrated. 

 One of Peppermint/Sweet Orange.  Sweet Orange Essential Oil is most often referred to simply as Orange Oil.  With its versatility, affordability and wonderfully uplifting aroma, Orange Oil is one of the most popular of essential oils.  Aromatic Description: Citrus, sweet, reminiscent of orange peels, but more concentrated.  Aromatic Description: Minty, reminiscent of peppermint candies, but more concentrated. More fragrant than spearmint.

And One of Eucalyptus and Tea Tree. Eucalyptus Oil Uses: Arthritis, bronchitis, catarrh, cold sores, colds, coughing, fever, flu, poor circulation, sinusitis.  Aromatic Description: Eucalyptus Oil is fresh, medicinal, woody, earthy.  Tea Tree Oil Uses: Acne, athlete's foot, candida, chicken pox, cold sores, colds, corns, cuts, flu, insect bites, itching, migraine, oily skin, ringworm, sinusitis, sores, spots, urethritis, warts, whooping cough.  Aromatic Description: Tea Tree Oil is medicinal, fresh, woody, earthy, herbaceous.

For more information on essential oils and their uses, along with recipes and o=a lot of other useful information please click HERE. 

Other places to use your essential oils:  Add a few drops of oil to your trash can, laundry wash, drain, vacuum bag filter, or on a tissue for placement in your drawers.

Now head to Dollar Tree and get you some of these great little jars and pamper yourself!  You know you deserve it!!  

DIY Margarine/Smart Balance

OK, it's not really margarine. Everyone knows margarine is one chemical compound away from being plastic, and it's just NOT good for you.  But this homemade spread works the same as margarine as far as being very spreadable. It's more of a smart balance really.

Here's what you do.

You take one stick of pure butter. (I use the organic kind), a 1/2 cup of your favorite cooking oil. ( I use olive oil, but you could use any kind.) and a hand blender. You want to use butter that is room temperature because it blends better when it's softer. And you add 1/2 cup of the oil to a bowl. I use a glass bowl with a plastic lid by Pyrex that I picked up at walmart. Then you whip it together until it is creamy. Place in the fridge and as it cools it solidifies just enough to be the consistency of margarine. And your done!

It's that easy and it works great. It also makes your stick butter last longer because you're doubling the weight of the butter. You can make as much of this as you use. Just remember to add 1/2 cup of oil for each stick of butter. Lasts as long as butter would in the fridge.  This also makes great garlic butter, herb butter, all you have to do it add the spices and a little salt to taste.

Remember:  If you use organic products, you get organic margarine!  Yum Yum! 

52 Week Organized Home Challenge!!!

Back in January, I ran across a website offering help in challenging people to get their homes organized in 52 weeks. The name of the site is http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/organized-home.html. I have really enjoyed this challenge. I need it so badly. With a house FULL of pets, children, and us, we can mess some stuff up! So far we are on the week of recyclables and I am on track. Take a look at what I have done so far!

My kitchen has been completely over hauled. I cleaned all the cabinets out and organized them, the drawers, the pantry, the fridge, and my big craft closet that is in the same area. I also homeschooling in my kitchen at the table area and I organized that area as well. Like I said before, I am loving this. They give you one week for each section and I have practiced keeping it up everyday. Learning to be organized at 40 is a challenge, but the pay off is so relaxing!!

Green Onions Anyone??

Do you have green onions in your fridge?  Don't throw away the white ends. Simply submerge them in a glass of water and place them in a sunny window. They will grow.  And they will grow fast!  Over and over again!  I use kitchen scissors to cut what I need for whatever I am fixing.  And periodically empty out the water, rinse the roots off and give them fresh water.