I'm slacking!

Wow am I slacking! It seems like it has been forever since I posted - I apologize! Sometimes life gets in the way! So the last time I posted I suggested taking a non-toxic cleaner mission - and putting some more focus in that area before moving on - how did everyone do? I found a recipe for a floor cleaner - that I revamped some - but I must add - I love it! I have a swiffer wet jet and somehow my husband made the non-refillable refills refillable....haha that was a bit confusing! Anyway he managed to get the cap off of those little buggers and he cut the teeth off so that we can re-use it. Sooooo now I can still have the convenience of my swiffer wet jet with a non-toxic cleaner! YAY! So the recipe for the floor cleaner is very simple - 2 tbsp. liquid castille soap and 1 gallon of warm water. You can add lemon essential oil and orange essential oil to this as well - however I would do so with caution if you have young ones running around as I have read that the EO's can make it a little slippery. For a little bit of a boost and a citrus smell I added about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to the refill bottle - not to my whole gallon of floor cleaner (I seem to recall reading somewhere that the lemon juice can mildew if it sits to long - but I may be wrong - anyway I just didnt want to take the chance) I have found that Castille soap in liquid form can be quite pricey - however using it in doses like this will make it last quite some time. There is no need to rinse your floor with this mixture and I have not noticed having a soapy film left behind. I would love to hear back from you - did you switch out a chemical cleaner for a non-toxic cleaner? If so how are you making out with it? Pros and cons? Maybe you have already done the switches and would just like to give some feedback on tried and true cleaners - I would love to hear how you are making your homes chemical free! If you are still transitioning over - this week take on another cleaner switch out - one step at a time will get you there sooner than you think!
Many Blessings
Tracy 

Wednesday!! Mid-week chaos begins!

As most people celebrate the coming of the middle of the week - I am beginning my run of chaos! Appointments, meetings and life is coming at me fast! I wanted to take a moment though and touch on this weeks challenge - getting rid of the toxic cleaners! How is everyone doing in this area? I am thrilled with my green swiffer sweeper replacements - I have had my swiffer sweeper for years, but grew tired of buying refills, I am thoroughly impressed with my washable sweeper pads! This week I used what was on hand which happened to be an old cotton flannel sheet, works like a dream! I think the prefolded cloth diapers will be even better - AND I am going to modify some of the prefolded cloth diapers and attach velcro strips so they can be used with my swiffer wet jet. So back to my swiffer sweeper - what I have been noticing the most is I am not "fluffing" pet fur into the air with my traditional broom - and I LOVE that fact! I have 2 dogs and 2 cats and believe it or not I am allergic to the cats, so sometimes sweeping can send me into sneezing fits of fury! No problems using my swiffer sweeper! Something so simple to make green and I am just doing it now - ya that is my duh!! moment this week!
On another note - I am still on the search for an AFFORDABLE liquid dish soap - not for dishwashers but for dishes done by hand. I purchased some Dr. Bronner's liquid castille soap - thinking I would use that in a dish soap recipe, after further research, in my opinion, this would turn out to be a very expensive dish soap. I will keep you posted on this search. If you have a tried and true handmade dish soap recipe I would love for you to share it with me! 
Many Blessings!
Tracy 

Scatter brained!!

You know the feeling right? A million different thoughts running through your head at once? Where do I begin, what do I do next, it's overwhelming to say the least. This is the story of my life....I am always in a whirlwind of thoughts. It's like : "I'm not easily ---- OH HEY LOOK AT THAT!" I literally do that all the time, my husband has now named those moments "squirrel moments" because they remind him of the dog on UP (if you have not seen that movie it is a MUST SEE!) So I am beginning to feel I am going in a million directions on the blog also - I have got green cleaner missions, grocery missions, getting rid of teflon, microwaves etc etc. So I am going to try to "unscatter" this ole head of mine if you will and work through some missions step by step. This week I am going to get back to the beginning of my blog and concentrate on some green cleaners. 
If you have not already done so - my challenge to you is to do away with one of your chemical cleaners this week and replace it with a non-toxic cleaner. There are alot of recipes for non-toxic cleaners on Oust The Chemicals! page, and I have found some more over the weekend that I cannot wait to try out that will be added to the page too - so if you have seen the page in the past, check back during the week because new recipes will be added. One of the new recipes I have found is for disinfecting wipes - great for those times you need to wipe something quickly. It also cuts down on paper waste! (another mission I am about to embark on, as my brain says "wait slow down - one step at a time!")
So go on the Oust The Chemicals! page and check out some of the green cleaner recipes, pick one and get started. If you have already done away with chemical cleaners maybe you would like to share your experience or ideas & recipes with the rest of us, or maybe you can let me know what your favorite tried and true green cleaner is. I would love to hear from you! Also I would love to hear how this challenge went for you - are you seeing a difference in air quality, health, improved cleaning power, is it saving you money? 
Happy Cleaning!
Tracy

Already Friday

In continuation of my grocery mission and updates I am happy to report that I did not have to purchase meats this week on my grocery trip, which left more money for adding bulk to the pantry. I have been fortunate enough to find a local farm with pasture raised animals where I have been purchasing my meats - and the amazing thing is - the meats are cheaper than the chain grocery store meats, and by far a much better quality. Did you know that alot of meat that is purchased at the chain grocery stores are preserved with gasses to help maintain their red color, injected with saline solutions, and sometimes other flavorings because the gasses change the taste and smell of the meat? Also alot of the time the meats we are buying in the chain grocery stores are close to if not already beyond the expiration date due to the processing, transporting and delivery times? This was enough to convince me to seek alternative options, and becoming a vegetarian was not an option for me. Check out Eat Wild to find local farms near you. 
I would have never thought a few years ago that when I started my mission to living frugally and more natural that I would be where I am today with revamping not only the household items, but our food sources as well. I assumed natural food living was an unaffordable option, how wrong I was. I was also less concerned with what was going into our bodies than by what was in the air around us. My mindset has changed a bit since then, and at times I think boy that was a pretty backwards way to go about this, however changing the cleaners, getting rid of the microwave and teflon and the other changes I made early on were affordable manageable changes, and small changes. I went about changing one thing at a time. So my biggest word of advice for someone who is on a frugal mission - take on missions that are easy for you to succeed, like replacing a chemical cleaner with a green homemade cleaner. The more successes you have early on, the better chance you will have at bigger successes in the long run. 
Many Blessings
Tracy