My New Best Friend: Coconut Oil

Are you tired of hearing me talk about how we're going natural? If so, I apologize. If not, well you're in luck, my friend!

Photo from Walmart.com

I've read article after article on it, listened to my sister-in-law talk about it, and I am FINALLY convinced that coconut oil is pretty much the single greatest substance in the world. Jenna Marbles' blog post about it is hysterical. I picked up a jar of virgin, unrefined coconut oil today. I've eaten it on a couple of things, and I put it on Izzy's bottom because she has one of the worst diaper rashes I've ever seen. So far I like it, but I'll let you know more later. I think I'll be picking up a jar of refined coconut oil to use in more foods, so I'm looking forward to that. That's my product rant for the day!

~Annie

The Natural Journey Continues

As I said before, I have begun dabbling in living a more natural life. Like many people I know, I have a nasty addiction to Clorox wipes. They are very convenient and leave my bathroom squeaky clean. They also, however, stink. They leave my bathroom smelling like harsh bleach for days. In an effort to live more organically, I am trying to kick my Clorox wipe habit. I have begun using wipes like those listed on "One Good Thing" by Jillee. While you could use old t-shirts like Jillee, I just went out and bought a pack of 18 white washcloths for $4 from Walmart. I left out the castile soap because I couldn't find any here in Grundy. However, later I found out from Lisa Bronner's blog that mixing castile soap and vinegar is a no-no (as is mixing vinegar and bleach, so don't go adding a little bit to your "Clorox" wipes thinking it will make it even better. It will just make toxic chlorine gas)! I've used them a couple times to clean the bathroom and so far they seem to be working pretty well!

My "Clorox" Wipes. I kept an old Clorox wipe container and pulled the flaps out so I could pull the washcloths through.

 I have since found out that using lemon juice limits the shelf life of these wipes to 3-4 weeks as it will go rancid. You could leave it out or use essential oils instead. Once my bottle of Clorox spray cleaner runs out, I'm going to make this bleach alternative from Frugally Sustainable, and I'll let you know how it goes! Until then, cheers!

~Annie

Going the Natural Route

After seeing various articles floating around talking about living naturally, I finally started looking into it. I have to say, I was pretty impressed! While I'm not ready to throw out the bleach and stop washing my hair, I am willing to give a couple ideas a try, starting with making my own laundry detergent! I used the recipe from Being Creative to Keep my Sanity. I highly, I repeat, HIGHLY recommend that you use a food processor to grate the soap or it takes for-ev-er! Also, don't try to stir that stuff with a spoon. Just dig your hands in there and mix it up. I used it for a couple of loads of laundry the other day, and so far I'm pretty impressed. I didn't take many pictures, but here are a couple of the end result:

The completed mixture. I didn't bother getting a lid for my 5-gallon bucket because you have to pay for it and if you line your bucket with a trash bag, you can just tie the bag up until you need to get out more!

I got a little jar from Walmart, and a coffee scoop because it's the perfect size for one load of laundry. So that's it. Super easy, and extremely cheap! So happy I decided to give this a try!

~Annie