[Note: My printable organization/planning checklists are at the bottom of the post..]

I was hesitant to use the word “organization” in the title because this is one of my weakest areas. I get emails from readers asking how I make time for family, homeschooling, cloth diapering, projects and blogging, so I wanted to share the tips and tricks I’ve found.

I am by no means an organizing/cleaning guru… and my husband would be the first to attest that I have room for improvement in this area. Currently, there are toys on my floor and dishes in my sink, but my kids are playing happily and dinner is in the oven.

During an average week, I do 5-8 loads of laundry, cook three meals from scratch each day, attempt to keep the house clean, homeschool the kids, nurse the baby 8-10 times a day and try to keep up with this blog. (and try to go to bed before 10pm.. yeah right)

Besides the obvious fact that I’m probably crazy, I’ve found that I have to focus on organization and routine to be able to keep up with it all and that I also have to accept less than perfection (*ahem* my house right now) in different areas while focusing on the more important ones.

What Started It All…

When I only had one child, I was able to keep our 1 bedroom apartment clean and cook a hot dinner before my husband got home and even managed to brush my hair and do make-up most days.

Once one child turned into two, then three, then four, it seemed like there was such a volume of work to do that I couldn’t make time to do it all.

I felt like I was constantly mentally overwhelmed with the idea of everything that needed to be done.

A friend suggested that I read a book that had helped her, A Mother’s Rule of Life, and it literally changed how I ran the household and reduced my stress load almost instantly. (Note: It is written from a Catholic perspective but is universally helpful to all moms!)

The basic idea was just that you have a routine and plan for when every job needed to get done and how it would be done. This relieved the mental energy of worrying about when you would vacuum the floor or change the air filter.

Also, rather than scheduling everyone in the family to always be doing the same activities (which I was doing) it had scheduled activities for each child (school, play, chores, etc) so the children could get used to doing these things and knowing when they needed to do things. It eliminated the “I’m bored” because they knew when I would play with them, when school would happen, when they were responsible for picking up and cleaning, etc.

What I do…

I created a rough daily outline of our day, so at any given time, I know what we should be focused on. Since my responsibilities change so much day to day, I outlined the activities I had to get done each day and scheduled time for the things that would come up each day (online orders, vet visits, playdates, etc).

I also assigned major “chores” to each day of the week so that laundry was two days a week, cleaning bathrooms was one day a week, full mopping of the house was one day a week, etc. This let me not stress about the clothes in the laundry basket or the spot on the floor because I knew it would be cleaned soon.

I have scheduled times for meal planning, catching up on emails, reading to the kids and even relaxing (yes, I schedule time to relax…)

I also created checklists of all the things necessary to thoroughly clean each room and put them on paper (sweeping, dusting, picking things up, folding, etc) . This way, when I tell one of the kids to clean a room, they can reference all the things they need to do and not just pick up the floor and call it done. (I drew pictures for each item for the little kids).

We do school in the mornings after breakfast and I work and do blog related stuff during their nap/quiet time. After dinner as a family, we clean up, bathe the kids, read books, say prayers and the kids are in bed by 8.

After the kids are in bed, I finish up work stuff and spend time with my husband.

For everything that is on the schedule, we aren’t at the age of sports and extracurriculars yet, which helps open up the schedule, and while we have a TV, we can’t even get cable in our area, so we don’t watch it.

I’m a long way from perfect at managing it all, but I’ve found that the system at least helps me keep up with it without being stressed all the time.

My “Football”

To keep all the schedule, planning, meal plans, etc organized, I have a 2-inch binder that is my “football.” Just like the President supposedly has a case with all the top security information (the football) with him at all times, this binder has all of my important information and is basically my home management encyclopedia.

In it, I have:

• My daily outline of the rough times that I’ve scheduled for everything to happen that day. This is in a plastic sheet as it is pretty static.
• My daily “Most important tasks” of my top three things that must get done that day, what I’m cooking for dinner, what my workout is, how much water I’ve drank etc. This changes daily.
• Weekly Routine: The jobs that I do each day and when they are doing during the day. Laundry, mopping, deep cleaning rooms, cleaning windows, etc.
• Monthly Jobs: This lists has jobs that happen each month repeatedly, along with jobs that only happen during a certain month (changing of the kids wardrobes, planning the garden, outdoor work, etc)
• Meal Plan: Changes weekly but is planned ahead of time so I can shop for the week all at once and pre-prepare some items.
• Room Cleaning Checklists for each room in the house
• Daily Chores Sheet for each person in the house so that when it says “Morning Chores” on my daily outline, everyone knows what he/she should  be doing.

I highly recommend the book as she walks you through the planning and organization much better than I have. If i would be helpful to you, I’ve attached my printables that I use for organization. Included are: Daily Outline Sheet, Daily Chores Sheet, Weekly Routine Sheet, Monthly Routine Sheet, Meal Plan Sheet, and Room Cleaning Sheet, along with my daily “To-Do list” Sheet.

Click Here to Download the Organization/Planning Printables

If these are helpful to you, please share via facebook, twitter or pinterest so that others can use them too!

How do you do it all? What are your best planning and organization tips and tricks? Please share, I need all the help I can get!

Of all the stain removers out there, Oxy Clean is the most natural option that I”ve found… but it is also one of the most expensive options.

Thanks to Pinterest (go check it out if you haven’t… unless you value your free time!), I found a recipe for homemade Oxy Clean and from my scientific testing (aka: my kids stains for two weeks) it seems to be as effective as the store bought stuff.

It’s also really easy and cheap to make!

Homemade OxyClean Ingredients

• 2 parts water
• 1 part hydrogen peroxide
• 1 part baking soda

I use 2 cups water, 1 cup hydrogen peroxide and 1 part baking soda. This is a liquid recipe and also reminds me somewhat of Shout spray.

How To Make:

1. Combine all ingredients and put in an opaque dark bottle. I just stuck a sprayer from the dollar store on top of the hydrogen peroxide bottle.
2. Use as a pre-treat spray on stains or add 1/4 of the mixture above (about 1 cup total) to a load of laundry, add water and let soak for 30 minutes before washing.

Also, check out this recipe for homemade laundry detergent.

What’s the weirdest stain you’ve ever had to get out? Ever made your own laundry supplies before? 

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Oil Cleansing

Use olive, coconut or almond oil with Castor oil to clean your skin instead of a harsh soap. This will cleanse your skin naturally and keep from pulling out natural oils. My personal blend is 25% Castor Oil (don’t use straight!) and 75% sweet almond oil.

How to do it: Rub a small amount of oil onto dry face and massage into skin for several minutes. To remove, Soak a clean washcloth in steamy water and place on face until it starts to cool. Gently use the washcloth to wipe your face until the oil is gone. Softest. Skin. Ever! Here’s a website with much more detailed info if you are interested

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Natural Bronzing

Until I switched to eating healthy, I never tanned well at all! I used to try all kinds of natural “bronzers” and self tanning lotions (cringe on the ingredients!) in hopes of golden skin. Now, I’m excited to be able to tan easily, but for days when I want a slightly more bronze look, I head to the kitchen…

How to Do It: Mix cocoa powder, cinnamon and arrowroot (optional) until you get a shade you like. For me, this was at least half cocoa powder, about 30-40% cinnamon and a little arrowroot, but experiment to get your skin tone. Store in a small jar or container and brush onto skin for an instant bronze look. Bonus: it smells good! You can also mix this into lotion for a liquid version!

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Food Facial Mask

No need to drop a lot of money at the spa for great skin, just rub breakfast on your face instead! Many foods are also beneficial for your skin too!

How to Do It: Use honey, plain yogurt or whipped egg whites by themselves or in combination for a great toning facial mask that leaves skin glowing.

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Naturally White Teeth

Use strawberries (I know they are red!) and baking soda as a highly effective and natural teeth whitener. Oil pulling (swishing oil in the mouth and then spitting) is also an effective way to whiten teeth.

How to Do It:Make a paste of equal parts mashed or pureed strawberries and baking soda. Put in mouthguard or tooth tray and leave on teeth for up to 30 minutes. Repeat a couple times a week until your teeth are as white as you want. To speed things up, swish with 1 TBSP of olive oil each night for 20 minutes and then spit and brush well. This supposedly helps remove toxins too, but I can certainly vouch for its whitening capabilities!

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Natural Hair Conditioner

For an occasional hair strengthening treat, mix up some other breakfast foods into a natural hair mask. This certainly isn’t one for everyday use, but it makes hair shiny and smooth and even works on really curly hair (according to a lucky friend with lovely curls!)

How to Do It: Mix one banana and one avocado and puree until smooth (great way to use over ripe bananas and avocados!). Add essential oils if Banana isn’t your fragrance of choice. Comb through clean, damp hair and put a shower cap on. Leave on for at least 15 minutes and rinse out in the shower. Go sign up to audition for a hair commercial!

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Sugar Scrub

Sugar is not good for your body. It is, however, great for your skin! Since your skin doesn’t metabolize and store glucose or fructose like your fat cells do, sugar is a great way to tighten and smooth skin! Sugar scrubs in stores are expensive! Sugar scrubs in the kitchen are not!

How to do it: Mix equal parts of white or brown sugar and olive or almond oil and add essential oils of choice (optional). To exfoliate skin, rub the mixture onto skin and massage in for a couple of minutes. Rinse off with warm water. Enjoy!

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Natural Microdermabrasion

Ever seen those ads for microdermabrasion (not even sure I’m spelling it right!). Well, they look expensive and I’m leery of the chemicals they might contain. No worries though… the kitchen can help! Baking soda is a very effective natural and gentle abrasive that pulls off dead skin cells and makes skin glow!

How to Do It: Wet face with warm water. Pour some baking soda into hands and massage into your face for at least 3 minutes. It will sting a little (its called abrasion!). Rinse with warm water and pat dry.

Those are all strange kitchen ingredients I’ve put on my face, hair or skin. What are your beauty tricks and tips? What is the strangest thing you’ve tried in the name of beauty?

Shared at Conversion Diary and Fight Back Friday

Along the way, I’ve discovered a few resources and tricks for stretching a budget while eating healthy foods, so I’ve compiled them in hopes that they can help you too!

Tip #1: Most Important Factor In Eating Healthy Without Breaking the Bank- Meal Planning!

This alone has made the biggest difference in reducing our food budget and staying on track eating healthy foods. Meal planning allows me to make some foods ahead and have them available for lunches or to re purpose for dinners.

Since meal planning, I am also able to only go to the store once a week or less and can often prepare most of the food for the week in one day, which cuts down my overall food prep time.

Here are four of my weeks of meal planning with the recipes and shopping lists:

Week of Meal Plans with Recipes and Shopping List
Week Two of Meal Plans with Recipes and Shopping List
Week Three of Meal Plans with Recipes and Shopping List
Week Four of Meal Plans with Recipes and Shopping List

The system I use for meal planning and rotating meals is simple to adapt to your own favorite foods and dishes. The meal plans above let us eat a different meal each night of the month and then repeat. I also have more seasonal plans for Summer and Fall.

To make your own healthy meal plan system:

1. Write down 14-28 recipes that your family likes that are healthy. If your budget is tight, pick recipes that are also inexpensive to make.
2. On the front of a 3×5 index card, write the meal and the recipe.
3. On the back of the index card, write how much of each ingredient is needed for this recipe for your family size. (I usually plan for leftovers for lunches)
4. To meal plan: once a week or once a month, pick out the number of meals you need and put them in order for the week. Turn them over, add up the total of the ingredients, and you have a shopping list. (just cross off any ingredients you have already)
5. Stick the cards on the fridge or bulletin board and put them away in your recipe box as you use them.

This system can help you stick to a list, and helps ensure that you always have foods prepared or ready to prepare, which limits impulsive purchasing and eating! On nights we are busy or in a rush, stir frys are my go-to dinner. Just throw some leftover meat and a few bags of frozen veggies in a skillet or wok with some butter, and viola- dinner in minutes!

Tip # 2- Prepare in Bulk

I’ve found this especially helpful with regards to meat. When our budget is tightest, I prepare a large, inexpensive cut of meat and reuse it different ways throughout the week. I always keep an eye out for items like Turkey, Ham, Brisket, etc to go on sale for these occasions.

A couple weeks ago, for instance, I found whole turkey’s on sale for 39 cents a pound, which worked out to between $5 and $6 per turkey… I bought seven. Now, when we have company, (or even when we don’t) I just stick a turkey in the oven and have leftovers for the whole week.

To further stretch the budget, use the bones of any meat you eat to make a healthy bone broth or stock. Here are some simple recipes for turkey or chicken stock and highly nutritious beef broth/stock. Both can be stored in the freezer or even canned (make sure you follow instructions carefully when using any kind of meat product) to stretch them even further.

Some examples of how to repurose the meats:

• For turkey: leftover meat is rolled in lettuce leaves for lunches, made into turkey enchiladas for dinners, slowcooked in Crock Pot for soups, added to omelets, put in stir frys etc. Bones used for broth/stock
• For Beef (Brisket, roast, etc)- leftover meat is seasoned for fajitas, put in omelets, made into barbecue, thrown in soups, made into omelet quesidillas, etc. Bones used for broth/stock
• For Ham- Roasted with cauliflower for “ham and potatoes” dish, used with bone for ham bone soup, put in omelets, wrapped up in lettuce or on salads for lunch, stir fry with cabbage for fast meal, etc

You can also prepare large amounts of ground beef, chicken breasts or any other meat you have around and structure your meals for the week around this.

Tip #3- Find Inexpensive Vegetables

Veggies can vary tremendously in price, depending on the time of year and the source. Focusing on veggies that are in season will help cut costs some.

In the winter, we use a lot of frozen vegetables since they are cheaper, and in my opinion, fresher than the “fresh” produce that has been shipped halfway around the world.

Vegetables like cabbage and sweet potatoes are inexpensive year round and can be great fillers and substitutes in recipes. I stock up on things like these when they are in season, usually buying several cases of sweet potatoes in the fall from farmers markets.

Cabbage costs just pennies a pound from farmers when in season, and can be made into sauerkraut for later use.

Winter squash also stores well and we buy this in bulk too.

Farmers markets, CSAs, and local farmers are great resources for buying inexpensive veggies in bulk. (more on that below)

Tip #4- Order in Bulk

Though there is more of a cost upfront, ordering in bulk can usually save money in the long run. we order non perishables like coconut flour, shredded coconut, olive oil, coconut oil, herbal teas, liquid castille soap, almond flour, etc in bulk from a co-op.

We also order cheese in bulk 10-20 lb blocks from an organic farmer who offers raw cheese. Finding these resources in your area can be tricky, but once you find and establish a relationship with farmers, it can be a tremendous help to the budget.

Even websites like Amazon.com offer products like shredded coconut at decent prices in bulk.

Tip # 5- Find a CSA, Farmer’s Market or Local Farmer

Websites like Local Harvest and Eat Well Guide can help you find a farmer, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) or farmers market in your area. Websites like  EatWild.com have resources for finding a local supplier of grassfed beef or other healthy animals.

Ask around too! We get most of our meats and vegetables from Amish farmers, but they don’t have listings online. Check with local health food stores- many will know places to find these items locally.

Tip # 6- Grow Your Own Food

Even if you live in a big city, it is often possible to grow at least some of your own food. We have a 25 x 40 foot garden for vegetables, and also have fruit trees, grape vines and blueberry bushes in the works this year.

We are able to grow enough vegetables for summer and preserving throughout the year for our family of 5 in this space. We offset a lot of our food bill last year by growing our own, and it was much easier than I expected.

I haven’t tried it myself, but a lot of people recommend Square Foot Gardening to maximize space in small yards. Consider checking out a book on this if you are tight on space.

Tip # 7- Get Some Chickens and Even a Cow!

I’ll be writing about this more in the future, but having chickens can be a great way to save on healthy food while on a budget, especially if you eat as many eggs as we do. We go through a dozen eggs a day right now, and since the truly free range eggs are close to $5 a dozen at times, having our own chickens is helping cut down the food bill a lot.

This wasn’t honestly something I ever expected to do, but we reused an old shed to make a chicken coop and now have 18 chickens producing 8-12 eggs a day in our backyard. Websites like Backyard Chickens offer a lot of information about raising chickens, even in a small backyard.

For most people, it isn’t feasible, but having a cow can also really cut down on the food bill in the long run. Right now, we get our beef from cow-sharing, where we purchase part of a live cow and pick up the meat once it is processed. If keeping a cow isn’t for you, look for a farmer that offers (grass-fed) beef in your area.

Tip # 8- Preserve When Possible

Another factor that can really help cut down a food bill is the ability to preserve foods for use when they aren’t in season. Last year, I tried my hand at canning, and we are still enjoying the outcome.

This year, the goal is to can all of our tomato products for the year to cut down on BPA expsoure from canned tomatoes. I also plan to can applesauce by buying several bushels when they are in season and making our own. Last year, we also canned condiments and pickles, and will do this again.

Freezing is another way to preserve foods, and our extra deep freeze in our shed has been a tremendous help for storing our 1/4 of beef and veggies from the garden.

Dehydrating is another option, though it takes a while and can be a slow process, at least with my dehydrator. If money is tight, look for dehydrators and canners at garage sales and thrift stores to save money over buying new.

Tip # 9- Don’t Buy Drinks!

If you are trying to eat healthy, hopefully you’ve already cut out things like soda, canned drinks and processed juices from your food budget. If not, do it now! This alone is a big step in improving overall health.

If you have consumed much of these beverages in the past, go back and look at the percentage of your food bill that they take up. In general, buying beverages in any prepared form is an expensive and unhealthy option.

Even fruit juices cause a big insulin spike in the body, and are expensive without offering much nutrition. Pasteurized milk isn’t a healthy option either as it contains some levels or hormones, and the nutrients have been largely removed by the pasteurization process.

Cutting those items from the food budget will often free up a lot of cash for healthier options. If you aren’t a fan of only drinking water, ever… there are still some healthier and cheaper options for nutritious drinks.

• Water Kefir or Kombucha- These two beverages can be made at home for pennies and are great sources of nutrients and probiotics. Both are made with different types of reusable colonies of healthy bacteria and once you have these, they take only sugar and water to make again and again. I got my supplies from Cultures for Health, and have been very impressed. They also have some great videos explaining how to make both. Added Benefit: water kefir gets carbonated like soda, so it is a naturally satisfying sub for one of the most unhealthy drinks available!
• Herbal Teas- To help my kids get vitamins in, I make herbal teas and keep them in a large pitcher in the fridge. I order herbs like Red Raspberry Leaf, Alfalfa, Nettle and Stevia in bulk and make tea by the gallon. It works out to under a dollar a gallon, usually much less. I use about a cup of dried herbs per gallon of water, and steep overnight for the most available nutrients. The kids love it, and I love that they are getting vitamins. Bonus: the mixture above tastes similar to sweet tea, a vice of old!
• Homemade Coconut and Almond Milk- (coconut milk recipe coming soon!) I’ve found that making coconut and almond milk is much cheaper and healthier than buying them. It also lets me sneak in extra vitamins and good fats!

Tip # 10- Save Money in Other Areas

The biggest advantage to eating a healthy real food diet is saving money in other areas (like doctor bills!). We haven’t been to a doctor since we started eating this way all the time, and we all coasted through flu season no problem.

There are other areas of a budget where you can save money to help buffer the food bill also. Here are some of the way’s we’ve done it:

• We don’t eat out… ever. I admit, I love eating out. Not because the food is good (it usually isn’t) but because I don’t have to cook or clean for one whole meal. This is a big deal when you cook three hot meals a day and then have to do the dishes (and mop the floor as they case may be with a one year old!). That being said, eating out even once a month can use up a lot of the food budget at once. Saving the money from eating out lets me provide healthier options for me family at home, and  none of us miss eating out much. [The one exception here is that my husband and I go out on a "real date" every couple months when family offers to babysit, though this is usually just for salads!]
• Make expensive baby items at home: I’ve saved money by making my own Natural Homemade Baby Wipes and baby food. Both of these items are expensive in stores and healthier when made at home. In the future, I’m working on cloth diapering/wipes, which will save even more money.
• Make Your Own Natural Cosmetics/Beauty Products- This is another area to save money and get healthier options. Try using someNatural Homemade Substitutes for Conventional Beauty Products or making your own deodorant and toothpaste.
• Make Your Own Cleaning Products- This one is so easy and saves a lot of money. If you aren’t doing this already, you should be, and you probably already have the stuff at home. Try these recipes to make the switch easier:

Make Your Own Natural Homemade Laundry Detergent-Video Tutorial
Natural Homemade Laundry Detergent
Natural All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe
Natural Oven Cleaning
Natural Homemade Glass Cleaner Recipe
Easy Homemade Scouring Powder Recipe
Floor and Tile Cleaner Recipe

• Cut Back on Supplements- Unless you are taking a very specific supplement for a condition, chances are you can back off of some supplements when you start eating healthier. You can also get vitamins, minerals and probiotics much more inexpensively my making herbal teas, bone broths and kefir/kombucha. Your diet is naturally higher in these things too, so if you have to cut back on the supplements to eat a real food diet, consider doing this. Supplements are meant to “supplement” a good diet anyway, and you can’t out-supplement a bad diet. In general, it is better to have healthy food options than to pop pills.
• Exercise at Home or With Your Kids- Chances are you already have running shoes (or exercise barefoot… the trend is growing). If you are paying for a gym membership, consider using this money for real food instead. Do some sprints outside or learn how to do pushups at home. Make exercise fun without being a gym-rat by playing a game of soccer with the kids. Added bonus: you are keeping your kids active too!
• Do a Media Detox: If you’ve made the above changes and money is still tight, consider doing a media detox and cutting back on entertainment related expenses. We cut out cable a couple years ago, and don’t even miss it. We can watch most things online, and even signing up for Netflix is cheaper than a cable bill in most cases. Face it- the news is usually depressing and it doesn’t seem to be getting much better. Consider getting rid of the cable, newspaper subscription, new radio, etc to have money to put in healthier areas of your life. Our kids don’t get video-games either (oh, the horror!) and they don’t care… they have this great entertainment called the backyard!

Salad dressings were my former vice. I would eat Ranch on anything, in fact, I will be forever grateful to it for getting me to love broccoli. Now that we eat real foods, I keep a recipe tab specifically for homemade dressings, and have come to love these. I can even whip one up at a restaurant by having them bring me all the ingredients “on the side.”

My current seven favorite homemade dressings recipes are:

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Creamy Homemade Caesar

Ingredients:

• One egg yolk at room temperature (very important it is not cold!)
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard or mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, finely crushed
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• salt, pepper and spices to taste.

How to Make It:

1. Whisk egg yolk with whisk or blender on low speed.
2. Once creamy, add vinegar and other ingredients and blend until creamy.
3. Slowly add oil, stirring constantly until incorporated.
4. If it doesn’t incorporate well, your egg might still have been too cold!

Great with: Dark lettuces, chicken dishes, or on asparagus.

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Zesty Italian

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 small squirt of Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1-2 cloves finely minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp each of thyme, basil and oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It:

1. Pull all ingredients in small jar and shake vigorously.

Great with: any salad or as a marinade.

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Tangy Greek

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• small squirt dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp each of oregano and marjoram
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

How to Make It:

1. Put all ingredients in small jar with lid and shake until well mixed.

Great with: dark lettuces, feta cheese, olives, and cucumbers. Also a good marinade for a cucumber and onion salad.

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Sweet Asian

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons honey
• pinch of dried ginger or 1/2 tsp fresh zested ginger root (preferable)
• spices to taste

How to Make It:

1. Put all ingredients in small jar with lid and shake vigorously. You can also mix in blender or small food processor.

Great with: Sesame chicken (as a marinade and dipping sauce), on a spinach salad with cashews, on cauliflower fried rice.

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Raspberry Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
• 2 teaspoons honey

How to Make It:

1. Put all ingredients in blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Great with: salad with feta and cashews, grilled chicken salad, marinade on pork.

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Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• one clove of garlic, finely minced
• small squirt of dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon honey (optional)
• salt, pepper and basil to taste

How to Make It:

1. Mix all ingredients in small jar or blender.

Great with: any type of salad or as a marinade on beef, chicken or pork.

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French

Ingredients:

• 1 squirt of mustard
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste (organic)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon of honey (optional)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder or small chunk of fresh onion

How to Make It:

1. Put all ingredients in a small blender and blend until smooth.

Great with: any type of salad (I like it on chef salads), kids like to dip things in this dressing.

Other great things to throw on a salad:

• nuts: especially pecans, walnuts and macadamias
• olives
• chopped veggies
• chopped apples
• sliced strawberries or blueberries
• grilled or baked chicken
• sliced steak
• shrimp
• all of the above!

Did I miss any? What is your favorite salad dressing? Do you have a healthy variation? Please share below… I’m always looking for new ideas!

This post is part of Seven Quick Takes Friday at Conversion Diary and Fight Back Friday.

Why switch to natural laundry soap you ask? Conventional laundry detergent is loaded with chemicals like sulfates, fragrances, phenols and more. Many brands contain things like petroleum distillates, which are linked to cancer and lung disease. Fragrances in these detergents are made of a mix of harmful chemicals.

Luckily, making your own laundry soap is an easy and fast process! You only need three basic ingredients to make either a powdered or liquid laundry soap:

• Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer Brand available at most stores)
• Borax (20 Mule Team Borax available at most grocery stores)
• Bar Soap (Dr. Bronner’s,  Ivory, or other natural, unscented bar soap)

Washing Soda and Borax should be available at your local grocery store on the laundry aisle. Natural bar soaps are in the healthy, beauty or organic sections or online. You can also add a couple tablespoons of baking soda to help freshen clothes.

Wonder what’s in these ingredients? Borax is a naturally occurring mineral made up of sodium, boron, oxygen, and water. It is an ingredient in most of the natural soaps available now (Seventh Generation, etc) but it is much more inexpensive to make yourself.

Washing Soda, sometimes called sodium carbonate or soda ash, is made from common salt and limestone or found as natural deposits.

Dr. Bronner’s soaps are free trade and made with vegetable castille soap and pure organic oils.

To Make powdered laundry soap:

1. Grate the bar soap or mix in food processor until finely ground. Use the soap of your choice. I personally use Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castille Bar Soap because of its exceptional quality, and because it is available in several different natural scents like lavender, tea tree, peppermint, almond and others.
2. In a large bowl, mix 2 parts washing soda, 2 parts Borax and 1 part grated soap. (Add a few teaspoons of baking soda if desired).
3. Store in closed container. I keep mine in quart or half gallon mason jars. If you are using a big enough container, you can skip step 2 and just put all ingredients in storage container or jar and shake.
4. Use 1/8 to 1/4 cup per load of laundry.

To make liquid Laundry Soap:

1. Grate one bar of soap with cheese grater or food processor.
2. Put grated soap in pan with 2 quarts water and gradually heat, stirring constantly until soap is completely dissolved.
3. Put 4.5 gallons of really hot tap water in a 5-gallon bucket (available for free in bakeries at grocery stores, just ask them) and stir in 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of Washing Soda until completely dissolved.
4. Pour soap mixture from pan into 5-gallon bucket. Stir well.
5. Cover and leave overnight.
6. Shake or stir until smooth and pour into gallon jugs or other containers.
7. Use 1/2 to 1 cup per load.

These recipes are also a great way to save money on laundry. By my calculations, I am saving over half on my laundry bill by switching:

On the powdered recipe, I spent:

• One 55 ounce box Washing Soda- $3.49
• One 76 ounce box of Borax – $4.99
• One Bar Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castille Bar Soap- $2.99

With the amount this mixture I use (1/4 cup) per load of laundry, this recipe works out to $0.09 cents per load of laundry. This saves me almost $0.15 per load over using Arm and Hammer or Tide. With the liquid recipe, the saving are even more. A Five-Gallon batch costs $4.30 and washes at least 80 loads, costing about $0.05 per load!

Happy Washing and have a healthy week!!