Living Green

It’s been a couple weeks since my first post. I have added meat back to my diet slowly. We’re buying organic meat when shopping at the grocery store. When we eat out, I do sometimes order food that has meat that isn’t organic. My dear friend Natalie says…if you do what you can, it’s better than doing nothing at all. So we’re doing what we can.

This is my latest in ‘organic living’ :   A couple weeks ago my friend Jessica posted on facebook that she was going to start making her own cleaners for her home. This is something I saw the Duggars do when making their laundry detergent. I was definitely interested when watching the Duggars, and especially after seeing one of my momma friends trying it.  I thought it would be really awesome if I could make every day products we use at home for a couple of reasons.

1. I would know EXACTLY what was in the products we have at home…so they’d be safe for my children & pets to be near.

2. I would be saving our family a ton of money

3. It would lessen my carbon footprint. By making products at home there would be less waste, there wouldn’t be any harmful chemicals or preservatives. I feel like it’s our responsibility as Christians to take care of the earth. We should take care of what God has given us. I’ve just come to this turning point in my life where…I want to do better. The more I’m learning, the better I want to become. I heard this once…  “When you know better, you do better.”

I found a book online called Homemade - ‘702 ways to save money & the earth’.

So today I made my own shaving Gel for women on page 254. I found it easy to make. It only required: conditioner, shampoo, baby oil & hand cream. Let’s just say I used some tonight & it did the job, but wasn’t as wonderful as the store-bought shaving cream. I could’ve just used some of my shampoo and it probably would’ve worked just fine. Perhaps I’ll look for another ‘recipe’ for homemade shaving cream.

Next I tried making Liquid Hand Soap on page 259. You grate 2 cups of bar soaps, add ½ a gallon water, 2 tablespoons of glycerin, few drops of lavender essential oil & a couple drops of purple food coloring. Place all on stove in a large pot till the grated soap flakes have dissolved.  The soaps I used were extras I had from hotel visits. The food coloring I had at home already. The Lavender ($10) & Glycerin ($3.39) I purchased at Everman Grocery, and I have SO much of them both left.

I made the children some bubble bath on page 258. Bubble bath can get expensive…especially since I love the Johnson’s sleepytime bubble bath (it smells like lavender). So I followed their instructions: ½ cup of shampoo, ¾ cup of water, ¼ of table salt & then I added a few drops of lavender essential oil. I’m so excited! We now have my favorite baby bubble bath for the kiddos! The best part is I know exactly what’s in it & I won’t have to buy more containers of bubble bath. Kind of neat.

Soon I will try making:

-          laundry detergent

-          glass cleaner

-          household cleaner

-          honey lip balm…

I wanted to make the lip balm today, but Everman doesn’t sell Beeswax. Where do I find beeswax? Online they recommended finding my local beekeeper.  But hello?!?!?! Who knows the local bee keeper? Haha. I googled: ‘pensacola beekeeper’ & there is one listed. But I’m not sure how much I should be paying for beeswax…but next after lip balm I would love to try my hand at Beeswax candles like my wonderful ‘GREEN’ friend Erin.

Thanks for reading. Please share your thoughts & ideas. I love encouraging each other on this journey to being our best selves.