Homemade Laundry Detergent....Does It Really Work?

I am always on the lookout for a good deal, especially if it's something that I can create myself.  With that being said, as I was tooling around in blogland the other day, I finally found a laundry detergent that seemed worth trying on How Does She?.com.  I found all of the ingredients in the laundry detergent isle at Walmart.  The recipe is as follows:

1 3lb. tub of OxyClean (optional)
1 4lb. box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (or 2 2 lb. boxes)
1 3lb. box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 4lb. box of Borax
2 Bars of Fels-Naptha laundry bar soap (or Zote)
1 55 oz. bottle of Purex Crystals (optional)
1 3 gal. bucket or larger with lid for storage

I started by grating both bars of Fels-Naptha soap into a large metal bowl.  You can do this by hand or with a food processor.  Since I don't have a food processor, I opted to grate it by hand and was fortunate enough to hand this job off to my husband (seriously, he was chomping at the bit to help out).  Once that was done, the process was simple.  I poured a little of each ingredient into a 3 gallon bucket (kind of like a parfait) and then put the lid on and shook it till it was completely mixed. 

The ingredients cost a little under $30.00 and made a huge supply that will probably last me a year since you only need about 2-3 tablespoons per load.  I am a bit picky about how things smell and often skeptical about how homemade things actually work, so I was overjoyed when I found out the recipe called for my favorite fabric softener (Purex Crystals).  It is an optional ingredient, but if you want things to smell good, I would choose to use it.  You can also add a second bottle to the mixture if you want a stronger scent and more softness.

My favorite scent is "Fresh Spring Waters" (blue bottle)

I was also not sure what "Fels-Naptha" looked like so here's a picture for those of you who dare to try this recipe.  I was also pleasantly surprised that it smelled good too.

  Here is a picture of my finished product in the bucket.

I kept the scoop from the OxyClean to use in my bucket!

The How Does She? blog suggested using the Purex container for easy use and measuring.  There are 3 lines on the lid  and each one represents about a tablespoon.  I used all 3 lines for a full load.

So......the big question......did it work?  I am happy to say that I did not waste $30.00 dollars and that I am very pleased with the results.  Not only did my laundry smell wonderful--it was also nice and clean.  A quick tip if you are going to try this recipe.  I found that the Fels-Naptha should have been grated a bit smaller because it does not pour out of the container lid very well.  If you are not using the Purex container, then no worries! 

Now my next big challenge will be finding an all-purpose homemade cleaner that I can live with...

God is Still Good

As many of you already know, we lost our precious little Kidney Bean on June 12, 2012.  It's hard to believe that it's been a little more than a month since it all happened, but God is still in control and has given us the peace that passes all understanding.  Our lives will never be the same and in just a few months so many things have changed.

After my miscarriage, several things seemed to happen at once... 

Sean and I made the huge decision for me to resign from my job and become a stay at home housewife and mother.  We had just finished our training to become foster parents and wanted to provide a consistant home environment for any children we accept into our home.  Putting them in daycare just did not seem like a good option anymore.  Of course, we are also hoping to try again for our own child, but we will love the children that God brings into our home no matter where they come from.  We are still waiting for a placement and due to privacy restrictions, we will not be able to share much more than the fact that we've recieved a placement. 

There was a short window of time for us to rejoin the Haiti missions trip that we had been planning on since November 2011.  Since we had just told the team about a week before my miscarriage that we would not be able to go, we needed to make sure that our airline tickets were still good and that our places hadn't already been filled.  Everything was still in place and we left as scheduled on June 26th.  We spent 10 days with Project Help in Borel, Haiti and had an increadible time ministering to the local community.  We participated in prayer walks, handing out water to farmers, VBS for the local children, repainting a bell tower and so much more than I have time to write.  Haiti also proved to be a time of healing for us.  There is much to be said about the joy recieved by helping others in need.  Here are a few pictures from our trip...

Through a very difficult experience, I have gained a closer relationship to my husband, family and Heavenly Father.  I have also heard countless stories of other women going through the same or similar circumstances and know that I am not alone.  I have taken a leap of faith by quitting my job, but I know that with this newfound freedom, I will be able to accomplish caring for my family in a much better way--not to mention the extra time I can now spend with my husband.  Sure we'll still have heartache and I'm sure trouble will still come knocking from time to time, but God is in control and He is still very good.

God is Good....All the Time

Today I'm keeping it short, sweet and to the point!  I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have been praying for us and sending your words of encouragment and well wishes.  I know that God has great things in store for us in this new journey He's put in our path.  Here is a picture of our little fighter...

Why Me God?

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:6-7

We had another Doctor's appointment today and I've been hanging all of my hopes on this very appointment.  Will I be able to go back to work?.... Will I be able to go on our missions trip to Haiti this year (June 26-July 5)....  How is our baby's development going and what should I be doing to keep him/her safe?....  The answer to the first two questions is basically "no" and I find myself strangely at peace with this decision.  I didn't see that coming--I thought that I would be angry and upset and saying the infamous "why me God".  I'm not able to work on any of my designs for The Blessed Nest, I'm not able to clean my own house (thank's Mom for all your help!!!), I'm not able to lift anything, etc, etc, etc...  I am able to sit on the couch with my feet up.  Many people would find this a wonderful treat, but let me tell you, it gets old really fast! 

As I was thinking about all the things I couldn't do, I realized that I am able to praise God in this momentary trial or "storm".  Instead of "why me", I'm saying "thank you Lord that our baby is still healthy and developing normally in spite of what my body is doing."  This baby is a beautiful gift from the Lord.  We've waited so long for our little "kidney bean" and the wait is still not over--we have till around December 17th (my due date).

We are now fully relying on God to supply our needs (It's really actually a pretty cool place to be)--He hasn't failed us yet.



In His Time...He Makes All Things Beautiful

It's been quite a while since my last post and there is much to share!  Where to begin....

Sean and I made the decision to become foster parents at the beginning of this year.  Since it seemed as though we would not have our own children, God spoke to our hearts and we realized how many other children are out there without loving home environments.  We decided to go through our local agency and after several months of training and preparation, we have finished the approval process. 

We painted up a storm getting "the kids" room ready and still have a few small things to finish, but we are ready to go.  Now the even bigger news...

As these things seem to go, we also just found out that we are expecting our first child this December!  We are officially statistics!  We are so excited and can't wait to meet our new little one.  Obviously God's timing is always impeccable.  We are still planning to foster children as well and look forward to our growing family. 

There have been a few hitches in the giddy-up and as of right now, I am on restricted activity at home and have one more week to go until they re-evaluate the pregnancy.  So far our little "kidney bean" is safe and the sonogram looked good so if you're reading this, please pray that things will continue to go safely and normally.

All in all, we have much to be thankful for and look forward to what the Lord has in store for us!

  

Feelin' Fallish

It's getting to be one of my most favorite times of year!  I love the crisp weather, the leaves, the pumpkins, apple cider (hot or cold), the clothes (layers are my strong point), etc..., etc..., etc...

It also is a season for some new decorations and it gets the creative juices flowing.  My friend and I had a blast the other night creating fabric pumpkins.  I think that the original design was from Martha Stewart, but we dumbed it down quite a bit for ourselves (I hate measuring) and this is what we ended up with...

Fabric Pumpkins

They turned out to be really adorable--we're hoping to sell them at our booth for a harvest festival in our local town.  They were also really simple (after we reduced the original 17 pages of instructions to about half a page).

I've also been working on several other little projects, one of which I just finished and is pictured below...

Sweet Chalkboard

This little chalkboard was once an old oak cabinet door (I forgot to take a before picture) that I rescued.  I've still got four more cabinet doors in varying sizes to paint and make into chalkboards.  I just bought my first can of chalkboard paint and I'm raring to go.....

Adventures in Haiti - Part 2

Yesterday, I shared about how most of our work days were spent in Haiti, however, we did have some time to drive around after work and take in the sights, people and overall culture.

One of my favorite things to see in Haiti was their public transportation.  They call it a tap-tap and if you are walking anywhere near one, you had better use caution.  They do not stop for anything--unless of course you are a paying customer!  The tap-tap is usually a brightly colored truck with an addition on the
back, however, we also saw several mini-vans used in like manner with no sliding door on the side.  If you look closely, you can see people hanging off the back--this is the norm--they try to cram in as many people as possible.

The people of Haiti spend most of the day outside--many of them are vendors along the street selling just about anything you can imagine (food, clothing, medicine, water, furniture, etc...).



This woman is creating some kind of meat, rice and veggie mixture in a fried tortilla to sell to the passerby



The Haitian people carry everything on their head--this was my most favorite part of Haitian culture!

It amazed me that most of these people were already out and about before 6:00 am, and they stayed out until well after our work day was finished.  On that note, I do have to mention their increadible work ethic.  Jobs are hard to come by in Haiti and we were able to hire a few locals to help with our wall project. 

I've never seen anyone work as hard as the Haitian men working with us--and their salary for the day amounted to about $6.00 US currency (I should point out that this is a decent wage in Haiti).

The earthquake's devestation was also a sight to see and trust me, it was not a good one. 

There was a tremendous amount of garbage everywhere!

We traveled to the presidential palace which, as you can see, is not habitable any more....

As we were taking it all in, there were a few vendors outside the gates who converged upon us.  As we were bartering over a painting, one of them told my husband that the palace was called the "devil's house" because their  government is so corrupt.

We also stopped at a cathedral that was destroyed by the earthquake. 

Here we encountered a mother begging for food for her baby--which brings me to another sobering reality of Haiti--the people are desperate.  They don't have government programs for housing or food like we do in the United States.  Most of them rely on what they can sell on the streets to support their families.  Matter of fact, it was not uncommon to be asked for gifts, money or food during our entire stay. Regardless of our actual financial situation--we are American, so to the Haitian people, we are wealthy.

We also had the opportunity to travel outside of city to the countryside.  One of our first stops was a mass grave site called St. Christopher's.  Thousands of  unnamed Haitians are buried here--the overwhelming loss of life is perhaps the worst of the earthquake's devastation. 

Below (in the distance) is pictured a tent village made possible by Samaritan's Purse .  This is one of the few relief efforts we encountered during our stay.

I realize that it all seems very hopeless, but God can use even the most hopeless of situations for His glory!  I learned so much during our trip about living simply and trusting God to meet my daily needs. 

More to come, my friends!  Stick with me....

Adventures in Haiti - Part 1

My husband and I headed off on our missions/work trip to Haiti this past June 28-July 5, 2011.  There is so much to tell that I could just write pages and pages, so I've decided to break it into several posts.  This was my first trip overseas and let me tell you....I will never be the same.

We arrived in the Port-Au-Prince airport and were immediatly hit in the face with a wall of heat.  The airport was filled with wall-to-wall people all scrambling to get their luggage.  We waited and watched for our luggage for about two hours and then headed out into the gaunlet of people all trying to "help" us with our luggage.  If you didn't have a tight grip, you were no longer carrying your luggage.

"The Wall"

We arrived to the compound where we would be staying and took a tour of the facility and work site.  Our main objective was to complete a security wall that was damaged in the 2010 earthquake.  We also painted three rooms and helped with a few other odd jobs.

Our living quarters seemed like a 5 star hotel compared to the living conditions of the rest of the city.  We had indoor plumbing, electricity and most importatnly, clean water to drink.  Apart from the occasional cockroach, we learned how to adapt quite well to our surroundings.

We started our mornings around 4:30 am--there's nothing like morning devotions on a rooftop overlooking the city... 

We ate our breakfast and had a short group meeting around 6:30 am and were at the worksite by 7:00 am.  The work was intense in the Haitian sun, but we had a job to do and everyone pitched in wholeheartedly.  We would break for lunch around noon everyday--which also served as "nap time" for some of us.

Sean and I had the pleasure of preparing dinner every night for the group.  Food in Port-Au-Prince is very expensive and in some cases, not safe to eat.  We planned the menu, went food shopping before we left (I love Aldi's) and everyone packed a suitcase full of food to take with us. 

We did actually do a bit of grocery shopping while we were there for some fresh veggies and hamburger that we were assured was ok for us to eat. 

 

Red Bell Peppers (about $5.00 American)



Haitian Grocery Store

After dinner we enjoyed taking it easy on the balcony or roof, singing silly songs or playing games (Settler's of Catan even made an apperance--I could write a whole blog on my love for this game). 

"Navy Showers" (turning off the water in between shampooing, etc...) became the way we ended our day.  There were two outdoor showers and one indoor shower--our water was gravity fed from large tanks on the roof and had to be brought in by truck. 

Rooftop Water Tanks (AKA our indoor plumbing)

We would meet again for group devotions and worship songs before heading off to bed--most of us crashed around 10:00 or 11:00 pm and if we were lucky--slept through the night....

More to come....stay tuned..... 

Facing My Giants

Have you ever had so many things seemingly go wrong all at once that all you can say is "Really God?........Really?"  That has been my world as of late.

In today's economy, it's not hard to feel the pressure of finances.  Gas prices alone have made me seriously consider breaking out my bicycle and pedaling the 22 mile trip to work (I haven't gotten that desperate...yet).  My husband's work hours were cut during the winter months, I broke a tooth, our brand new tire blew out on one of the many potholes left over from winter--these are just a few of my "Giants", but you get the idea.  Normally, I would  be a mess--stressed and worried to the max; and the ugly side of my personality would be making itself at home.  But I realized something....  We are under attack!

Last November, my husband and I made the commitment to join with our sister church in a missions trip to Haiti (June 28-July 5, 2011).  Also, as you may have noticed in my post "Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End," the Lord has been changing our lives and consistently molding us into His design.  My husband and I have been reading our Bibles more often and making it a priority to increase our prayer life together and alone.

I'll say it again, "we are under attack!"  Of course the devil does not want us to grow in the Lord or share our faith with others, so he's hitting us where it hurts--our finances.  He's hoping that our resolve will crumble and that we'll start screaming in defeat "I'm melting, I'm melting" just like the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. 

The moment I realized what was happening, I laughed (out loud).  2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."  I have a Heavenly Father who is watching over me.  He's also the same God that brought down the mighty Goliath by using a stone, a sling and a little shepherd boy named David (1 Samuel 17).

By the way, the "Giants" that I mentioned at the beginning,  have all been taken care of in one way or another.  The Lord provided above and beyond anything we could have ever imagined.  So now I say, "bring it" as I watch my giants fall and crumble one by one!

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.....

Yes, I began my first blog by quoting "Closing Time" by Semisonic.  What is "the end" you might ask?  I would have to tell you a story first, as it is tradition for the previously mentioned two famous words.  Traditionally, stories also begin with...

Once upon a time, there lived a woman named megzeee.  She was not the fairest in the land, nor did she have a lot of change jingling in her plus-sized pockets, but she was the daughter of a wealthy king, who loved and cared for her every need.  Her husband was charming, but not a prince, and they lived happily together in their small cottage, nowhere near any woods.

As most fairy tales go, a stranger crept into their happy life bearing news that what they had was not enough.  Entranced, the young couple began filling their lives with more and more "stuff" and forgot about the rich king's provisions.  The couple began to feel the lack of contentment and grew selfish in their ways.

One day, as the couple was wallowing in their own misery, a lightning bolt fell from the heavens and struck megzeee on the head.  A moment later a great clap of thunder roared and shook her husband to the ground.  All at once, the trance was shattered and they realized their foolishness.  "How much time we've wasted," they said.  We have not been communicating with the king and have completely forgotten his teachings.  Together they immediately sought out the king and asked for his forgiveness.  The great king willingly accepted and took away their discontentment.  He filled them with his love and gave them a quest--"...seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33, KJV).  And so the couple began perhaps the greatest journey of all time.....the simple life.

The End & The Beginning