I began on Monday. First was mine and hub's bedroom. Why do we keep all these CD cases when we also have portfolios to keep them in? Three boxes of empty CD cases - big boxes, and after I had already gotten rid of one box last decluttering spree.
Hub finally sorted through his baseball caps and we went from about thirty down to five or six. He went through his clothes and we got rid of things that don't fit or are out of date and he STILL has more clothes than I do. Of course, that could also be because I wear long skirts and sweats all the time. LOL (And sometimes for two or three days in a row.)
The bedroom is completely clean. Every closet, under the bed, every drawer. The amazing thing is that we have four completely empty shelves (approx. 3' by 5') that haven't been empty since we bought the house six years ago. It's such a relief.
Then I moved onto the kitchen yesterday. I still have one drawer left to clean but the rest is finished. I had eight sippy cups for one baby. This is the thing. I think that not only is it harder to keep up and clean around this much stuff, but it makes you lazy also. If you only have three sippy cups, you have to keep up with them. Sort of like my coffee cups that end up in the car for a week because I have plenty more. Now, you can close the cup cabinet without fear of falling sippy cups. *takes a bow*
Today is the boys' room which will prove to be much more difficult than the rest I'm sure. His dresser drawers are clean, and I donated a good deal of things during the remodeling, but there's still mounds of toys in the closet. He can't part with anything, and he's home for spring break this week. This will be a test between a mother's determination and a son's unwillingness to change. Let the battle begin.
Then books are the only thing left. I've already cleared out the bedroom, so now I'm onto the bookshelves and the cedar chest. I'm determined.
As always, Oprah runs this show about an older woman who became a hoarder after her children left home every time I hit a decluttering phase. Someday, they will run a show about me - the woman who could fit all her belongings in a ten gallon bucket after her children left home.
But it did get me thinking about why we clutter, our attachment to things, and how not to let my family become clutterers again. A good part of it is laziness. We fell into a cycle of making a stack of papers on the hutch instead of sorting immediately. The kids toys get thrown into the closet bins during a quick pick up instead of the proper bins, and it stays that way.
Think about how much stuff you bring into your house every week and how much leaves. Books, mail, clothes, toys, handmedowns. I'm putting a stop to it.
It has taken three different decluttering phases for me to finally hit the big one - finally get to the point where I know I'll never accept another bag of handmedowns because they were offered. I'll stop buying every book I want to read when I have a beautiful library and a wonderful librarian who will get me anything I want.
People think decluttering is just about getting the stuff out of your house. It isn't. It's about finding out why you clutter and making changes not only inside the housing structure, but in who you are. You have to be ready. You have to be sick of it. You have to be able to see how cluttering impacts your life. It takes away from who you are. I want to write. I want to garden. I don't want to sort through closets full of stuff I should never have brought home. This is my space - the only space I have that I can control. Living in clutter isn't control. It's deceit. You deceive yourself into believing that your life will be better off with all this stuff when you know, inside, you'll probably never use it. You deceive yourself into believing it's all the kids' stuff, or your hubby is leaving trails, but in actuality, you have let this happen. You haven't set rules. And when being honest, it was you who accepted the majority of the stuff.
Here's to a fresh new outlook on life. My house will be clutter free tomorrow. Friday morning, all the floors will be scrubbed, even in that space under the bed I've been using for storage, and I KNOW I will never clutter my house again. I will think before I buy. I will think before I make that stack of papers on the hutch. I will require my kids to donate one toy for every toy they bring home (excluding birthdays). There is a time to save things, and that time is when you don't think you'll have anything in the future. I will have great things. I don't need to save like an old mad woman.
Showing posts with label green living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green living. Show all posts
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Friday, December 7, 2007
Homemade Cleansers
When I first became interested in green living and homemade cleansing products, I searched the web for ideas that would help my family on our journey. I ran across several blogs that encouraged a green lifestyle but it seemed so many ideas cost more money than most families have to spare. Although in the long run the benefit outweighs the cost, most American families cannot wait that long to see the benefit.
Below are things you can do now that will show a small decrease in the amount of money you shell out every month. Most take under thirty minutes, some drastically less.
Homemade Laundry Soap:
1/2c. washing soda (I use Arm&Hammer)
1/2c. borax
1/2 bar grated Fels Naptha - you can buy it online but I found it at our big grocery store chain
Melt grated soap in 6 cups water. Add washing soda and borax. Pour 4 cups hot water into a large bucket (I use ten gallon and it fills it a little over halfway). Add soap mixture. Add one gallon plus 6 cups water and stir. Let sit 24 hours and it will start to gel.
I generally stir the soap several times over the twenty four hours when I think about it. It sets better that way and doesn't separate later. The first time I made it, I didn't stir throughout the twenty four hours. It separated in my jugs and had to be shaken before each use. When I began stirring throughout, that problem ceased.
It looks similar to eggdrop soup when finished. You'll have swirls of gel in a thin liquid. I only use a half cup at a time. I also stopped using the borax and use one cup of washing soda instead. If you can't find the Fels Naptha, you can also use Dove bar soap. I only need to use 1/2 cup of soap per large load unless I'm washing my husband's work clothes. Then I use 1 cup of soap.
As for drying clothes. I generally hang, but if I do dry in the dryer, I dry natural fabrics separate from synthetics that way I don't get static cling and have to use a fabric softener.
No More Shampoo:
Last June, the people in my family who have hair (poor hubby excluded) stopped using shampoo and conditioner. My mother-in-law wasn't too thrilled when I told her I would be sniffing my children's heads for fruit salad scent after they spent the night, but she has finally gotten used to the idea of gathering products from the kitchen to clean the babies' heads.
1 Tablespoon baking soda in three cups of water
1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar in three cups of water
I scrub our scalps and about the first two to three inches of hair with the baking soda mix. I let it sit a couple of minutes while we wash off. After rinsing with water, I pour the ACV mix on our scalps and throughout our hair.
The baking soda works as an exfoliator and the vinegar cleanses the scalp and conditions the hair. I also use tea tree oil on the ends of mine and the baby's hair because we tend to knot up the most. You can also include the TTO in the baking soda or vinegar mix. Use sparingly. Too much and you'll be shaping pompadours with those natural locks.
Some people have no trouble adjusting to this change. I went through about a week where my hair felt like waxy cat hair when wet, but was fine after it dried. My hair and scalp have never felt better. The nap in my hair, especially around the nape of my neck, has diminished. My bank account is fuller. I'm not dumping chemicals on our heads or down the drain. My children are learning to watch what they put on their bodies and into the earth.
Household Cleaners:
How stuffed is your cabinet of household cleaning items? I first became interested in gentle cleaners after my oldest son was born. I remembered an after school special where a boy accidentally splashed a cleanser in his eye and his illiterate friend was unable to read the label to know how to help the boy. I guess more stuck with me from those specials than I ever imagined.
Washing Soda
Baking soda
vinegar
Those are the only cleaners I use in my house. If you don't like the scent of vinegar, you can add a couple of drops of any essential oil but honestly, the scent of vinegar dissipates quickly and the idea is for your house to smell clean...like nothing...not fragrances that can pollute your nose!
I am a firm believer that we create more problems on our bodies by constantly applying one product to reverse the damage done by another. If we take some time to stop and think, follow the chain, we will see that by using higher quality, natural products, we will need to consume much less. Not only our bodies but bank accounts will thank us.
If you have a recipe for homemade eco-friendly dish soap, please let me know and I'll post it. I've been searching for months and still haven't found anything that works besides baking soda on a rag.
Happy scrubbing! Crys
Below are things you can do now that will show a small decrease in the amount of money you shell out every month. Most take under thirty minutes, some drastically less.
Homemade Laundry Soap:
1/2c. washing soda (I use Arm&Hammer)
1/2c. borax
1/2 bar grated Fels Naptha - you can buy it online but I found it at our big grocery store chain
Melt grated soap in 6 cups water. Add washing soda and borax. Pour 4 cups hot water into a large bucket (I use ten gallon and it fills it a little over halfway). Add soap mixture. Add one gallon plus 6 cups water and stir. Let sit 24 hours and it will start to gel.
I generally stir the soap several times over the twenty four hours when I think about it. It sets better that way and doesn't separate later. The first time I made it, I didn't stir throughout the twenty four hours. It separated in my jugs and had to be shaken before each use. When I began stirring throughout, that problem ceased.
It looks similar to eggdrop soup when finished. You'll have swirls of gel in a thin liquid. I only use a half cup at a time. I also stopped using the borax and use one cup of washing soda instead. If you can't find the Fels Naptha, you can also use Dove bar soap. I only need to use 1/2 cup of soap per large load unless I'm washing my husband's work clothes. Then I use 1 cup of soap.
As for drying clothes. I generally hang, but if I do dry in the dryer, I dry natural fabrics separate from synthetics that way I don't get static cling and have to use a fabric softener.
No More Shampoo:
Last June, the people in my family who have hair (poor hubby excluded) stopped using shampoo and conditioner. My mother-in-law wasn't too thrilled when I told her I would be sniffing my children's heads for fruit salad scent after they spent the night, but she has finally gotten used to the idea of gathering products from the kitchen to clean the babies' heads.
1 Tablespoon baking soda in three cups of water
1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar in three cups of water
I scrub our scalps and about the first two to three inches of hair with the baking soda mix. I let it sit a couple of minutes while we wash off. After rinsing with water, I pour the ACV mix on our scalps and throughout our hair.
The baking soda works as an exfoliator and the vinegar cleanses the scalp and conditions the hair. I also use tea tree oil on the ends of mine and the baby's hair because we tend to knot up the most. You can also include the TTO in the baking soda or vinegar mix. Use sparingly. Too much and you'll be shaping pompadours with those natural locks.
Some people have no trouble adjusting to this change. I went through about a week where my hair felt like waxy cat hair when wet, but was fine after it dried. My hair and scalp have never felt better. The nap in my hair, especially around the nape of my neck, has diminished. My bank account is fuller. I'm not dumping chemicals on our heads or down the drain. My children are learning to watch what they put on their bodies and into the earth.
Household Cleaners:
How stuffed is your cabinet of household cleaning items? I first became interested in gentle cleaners after my oldest son was born. I remembered an after school special where a boy accidentally splashed a cleanser in his eye and his illiterate friend was unable to read the label to know how to help the boy. I guess more stuck with me from those specials than I ever imagined.
Washing Soda
Baking soda
vinegar
Those are the only cleaners I use in my house. If you don't like the scent of vinegar, you can add a couple of drops of any essential oil but honestly, the scent of vinegar dissipates quickly and the idea is for your house to smell clean...like nothing...not fragrances that can pollute your nose!
I am a firm believer that we create more problems on our bodies by constantly applying one product to reverse the damage done by another. If we take some time to stop and think, follow the chain, we will see that by using higher quality, natural products, we will need to consume much less. Not only our bodies but bank accounts will thank us.
If you have a recipe for homemade eco-friendly dish soap, please let me know and I'll post it. I've been searching for months and still haven't found anything that works besides baking soda on a rag.
Happy scrubbing! Crys
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