The Extremely Long Blog Entry...

We had an incredibly productive weekend around here! Saturday morning, we started by taking a whole car load of kids toys and clothes to a local garage sale that benefits our fire department. Then, we made a trip to the dump to get rid of a few things. We gave a chair to the church. We cleaned out the refrigerator. We exchanged all the winter clothes for summer clothes in every one's closets. We had a fire and burned up some things (pyro Dan's fav thing). Purging feels so good!

I've also been on a "green" kick, making my own laundry soap and cleaners for around the house. Before you have me flipping over to the left (I'm not) I'll explain my thoughts.

The Bible says in Genesis 1:26 that God gave man charge over all the living creatures. Genesis 1:28 -30 says this "God gave them his blessing and said "Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth.
I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes. These will be food for animals, both wild and tame, and for birds."

We believe that this Earth was made by our heavenly Father for our use. We are to use it's resources and take care of it and it's inhabitants. The news and "others" would have us believe that we are evil just living on planet earth, that the best possible scenario would be planet earth without humans! What a dangerous way of thinking!

I Do believe that we should do all we can to help our planet. This includes recycling, reducing, reusing, looking at ways that we can change some of the things we've done in the past that have been harmful.

So to that end, I've been thinking about ways I can change some things. I'm planting a garden this year to grow some of my own produce. I'll let you know how that progresses as we haven't planted yet due to our "northness". Is that a word? :)

I've begun making my own laundry soap not just because laundry soap has lots of icky chemicals in it but because I have several children with extremely sensitive skin. Here's my recipe for my own laundry soap - thanks to my friend Angie in Texas!


1 Bar of Zote = 6 cups shredded (I freeze after shredding, or leave on counter for a week to dry out) cost $.76 per bar at Wal-Mart
3 Cups Borax $2.99 at the grocery store or Wal-Mart
4 Cups Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda $2.29 at the grocery store or Wal-Mart
1/2 Cup Vinegar in the rinse cycle HUGE bottle (much bigger than Downy!) for $1.79

I then mix all together in my Kitchen Aid or food processor and store in a plastic tub. I use 1/4 cup per load (remember I do huge loads for 6 people) when washing, and add the vinegar to my softener dispenser in the middle of my washing machine. The vinegar helps rinse any remaining detergents off the clothes, helps set the colors, and softens the clothes.

I also realized that some of the chemicals that I bought at the store to clean my house were downright harmful! Have you ever come out of your bathroom after cleaning it and had your sense of smell totally whacked out because the chemicals were so strong? Our great grandmothers cleaned with baking soda, vinegar and borax so why can't we? I did a search on the Internet and came up with some good alternatives. The one that Dan and I just made to clean the shower and other tough areas is here:

Multi-Purpose Deep Cleaner
1 cup household ammonia
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup baking soda
1 gallon warm water

Mix well. I put this in a large, plastic jug and then fill a spray bottle with it. Dan cleaned the shower with this and it has never sparkled so much!

If you are still with me and read this LONG blog entry...bravo! I will step down off my soap box now and start making supper. We'll chat again soon!