Easy Garbage Disposal Cleaning Cubes

Do you have a love-hate relationships with your garbage disposal? Wanna join my club? Seriously, what is more annoying than a garbage disposal that tries to attack you with stinky water every time you turn it on?

I'm a big believer in offense when it comes to most kitchen situations, don't you? I mean isn't it better to prevent stinky water attack than trying to fix it after the sudden onset of the deadly kitchen geyser? I think we can agree on that.

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DIY Trash Can Deodorizer

If you are some kind of domestic goddess who scrubs your trash can clean weekly, then I applaud you. However, if you are like the rest of us-- your trash can will stink from time to time. I mean, hello-- trash can bags leak, some things are just stinky, and sometimes you forget to take out the trash.

Nobody's perfect (except maybe you, domestic goddess) but most of us want to have a nice smelling kitchen without all the work. That's why this crazy, simple DIY hack will make you appear like the domestic queen that you are. No one will ever know it's just a DIY hack!

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Non-Toxic Stain Remover

Got a stain? Well, that sucks. But do you know what sucks more? Chemicals in traditional stain removers. Yeaaaah.... you know, stuff like Methylisothiazolinone, PPG-3 Methyl Ether, Kerosene (petroleum), and C14-15 Pareth-7. These chemical ingredients may contribute to unpleasant things like cancer, but that's cool because at least you'll have that stain out, right?

But don't just believe me. Check out the EWG's Guide to Healthy Cleaners and see how your stain remover rates on the toxicity scale. But be warned. It can be pretty scary!

If you decide to reduce chemicals in your home to help protect your health and wellbeing, then you may be interested in a really easy non-toxic stain remover.

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Easy DIY Car Freshener

Cars can be stinky. Especially when you have a dog and an active man who frequently ride in them. Also, I may or may not be the best at cleaning my car, but that doesn't matter and it is not important at all. What is important is that we don't have to tolerate the stink! There is a simple solution: air fresheners!

And noooo... I am not talking about those popular retail brands. I stay a million miles away from all retail air freshener products because they are one of the MOST TOXIC substances you can find! Seriously. Google it and you will probably toss out every air freshener product you own lickety-split.

FUN FACT: Did you know that most retail air fresheners are derived from petroleum and can aggravate the respiratory system? True story. If you have respiratory goals (or if you simply like to, you know, breathe) then you may want to consider ditching those plugins and sprays ASAP!
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Easy DIY Mattress Cleaners

Let's talk about mattresses. Can we just all agree right now--- mattresses are dirty.  Really, really dirty!!

In fact, they are so dirty (aka gross) that there are studies showing that preventable harmful contaminants were found in over 50% of mattresses that were cleaned regularly!! They estimated that typical home and hotel mattresses are much, much dirtier due to lack of regular cleanings! And that doesn't even begin to touch the air quality issue with dust mites and other air pollutants that surround a dirty mattress! And if you like to sleep as much as I do-- then that's a problem!

It is recommended that you wash your sheets weekly, but at most every 2 weeks. But what about your mattress? How often should you clean it? Well, it depends on some variables...

• Is your mattress without a Organic Mattress Pad?
• Are pets allowed in your bed?
• Are their "accidents" at night?
• Do you eat in bed? 
• Do you go to bed without showering first?
• Is your bed the location of sweaty hanky panky?
• Do you use your bed for more than just night-time rest?

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How to Easily Remove Adhesive Naturally

This is so stupid easy that it isn't even funny, but everybody loves stupid easy, right? Why would you want to do anything the hard way, especially if it concerns glue? You don't because that's just ridiculous. So welcome to the easiest blog post of the year. Yaaaaaay!

I have always absolutely detested adhesive stickers. The are such a huge pain in the butt! Half the time I can only get half of the sticker off before I regret purchasing the item it is simply because it's nearly impossible to remove all the glue!! But I found the most simple and easy way to remove any sticker, glue, adhesive, or even crayon markings. It's ahhhhhhh-mazing!!!!

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How to use the Thieves Premium Starter Kit

You may or may not know that I'm totally obsessed with Thieves essential oil. It's this amazing blend that smells like Gingerbread cookies and Christmas in a bottle. And there is a bonus!! It has some major germ fighting and immune boosting properties, too.

I forgot to take a picture with the Thieves 15 ml bottle! Ooops!!

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Simple Homemade Wood Furniture Polish

My life goal has been to find chemical free DIYs which are cheap, easy, quick and effective. Because who wants to be exposed to hazardous chemicals, but also who wants to spend more money, effort and time doing anything. Not me. That all just sounds silly to me. Thankfully, making your own cleaning products happens to be ridiculously easy.

A few years ago I started this blog to share all my chemical free DIY life hacks with you guys and I've been loving it! To be honest, I really don't know why I haven't shared this recipe before because it's so incredibly easy! Once I started using this simple DIY wood polish recipe I wondered why does anyone even buy the bottled stuff anymore! This is so quick and easy to make and it saves money, too! YAY!

Wood Furniture Polish

• 1 TBSP Olive Oil or Jojoba Oil
• 1/4 c of Vinegar (use white vinegar if you are afraid of staining, but Apple Cider is good for dark wood)
• 1/4 tsp vegetable glycerin (optional)
• 25-30 drops of essential oils (I like using 10 drops orange, 10 drops lemon, and 5-10 drops cedarwood or pine) I recommend this brand
• 4oz Glass Spray Bottle

Simply mix everything into a spray bottle (glass is recommended) and lightly spray over the wooden furniture. A little goes a long way! 

Using a soft cloth, wipe the polish around until it completely covers the surface of the wood furniture. It shouldn't feel sticky or wet. If it does, there is probably excess -- just do a second round of wiping! 

Tada! Done! I really don't know how much easier wood polish can get! 

You will have to shake this before each use because the vinegar and olive oil will separate naturally.

This isn't a duster/cleaner-- I typically use these fancy chemical free cloths for that.

Storage:

This recipe should last quite a while if kept in a cool, dark place. Sometimes the carrier oils (ex: olive oil) can go rancid so always check the expiration date on your bottles. I like to label my spray bottle with that same expiration date so I can keep track. 

If you'd like to learn more about getting safe, high quality essential oils please read about where I buy my essential oils and why I use them.  If you'd like to join my Natural Living Support Group on Facebook please fill out this form! 

Amazingly Easy DIY Citrus Dish Soap

Sometimes I question my intelligence.

I have been trying to figure out a DIY dish soap recipe for months. MONTHS! I've been shaving down bars of soap, melting them, and then adding all these amazing ingredients, but then it ends up becoming a weird pile of goop. I've tried everything and NOTHING WORKED! Until now. This recipe is seriously so simple that I'm really ashamed that it's taken me this long.

Are you ready for this one? It might blow your mind cuz it's soooooo easy!!!!

DIY Citrus Dish Soap Recipe

• 1 cup of Liquid Castile Soap (like this one)
• ⅓ cup of distilled or purified water
• 1 tsp vegetable glycerin which helps to cut grease and thicken soap (I like this one)
• 5 drops of Lemon essential oil (I recommend this brand)
• 5-10 drops of a complimentary essential oil like 5 drops of citrus fresh and 5 drops of purification (I recommend this brand)
• ½ tsp fine salt
• Optional: 1/2 capful of Thieves Household Cleaner to have more suds

I add the salt to your soap dispenser or bottle, then add the essential oils and shake the jar to mix them together. FIY: Adding the salt to your essential oils helps prevent that whole "water and oil don't mix" thing. They will still separate a little, but not nearly as much.

Next, add the water-- shake, shake, shake to get the salt dissolved. Add the vegetable glycerin and castile soap-- give it one good shake and you are ready to get scrubbing!

TIP: This works best when NOT added to dish water, but rather put in a small dish and you dip the sponge into it to clean the dishes individually.

I gotta say that I'm pretty impressed with myself. If I have a particularly greasy item I'll just squirt a little directly into the grease and scrub-- it easily has come off for me every time! The vegetable glycerin also helps it to be gentle on skin, too!

Essential Oils for Dish Soap
My favorite essential oils to use for dish soap are Lemon, Citrus Fresh and Purification because they smells fabulously and they clean really well!

I really like Lemon because of it's strong degreasing properties. I'll add other essential oils into the mix for better cleaning-- Citrus Fresh can help remove grease and grime from dishes, and Purification removes odors and disinfects as it cleans. Lately, I've been really liking Citrus Fresh, Purification and Lemon together. It smells so fresh and so clean clean!

But if you aren't a fan of citrus, you can use peppermint, lavender, Thieves, tea tree, pine or any other essential oil which is typically used in cleaning products, too. It's a lot of fun to create your own signature scent even for dish soap!!

If you'd like more information about essential oils please visit this post or if you'd like to join my Natural Living Support Group on Facebook please fill out this form!

I can't wait to hear what you guys think of this DIY dish soap recipe! I hope you like it!!

Are you looking for Hand Soap? Try this recipe! I looooove it!

Homemade Air Freshener Recipe

I have a thing about scents: I loath bad smells and I'm obsessed with good ones. This has absolutely been an issues since I decided to become chemical free because most air fresheners are toxic. The other side of this story is that I live with a firefighter, a dog, and three cats so.. yeah, things can get smelly!

Back in my before-I-knew-better-days, I used to have those scented plug-ins all over my house, but I ended up with some nasty headaches so I stopped using them and then I moved to those spray air fresheners before I realized what's actually inside of them!! Go look at your favorite air freshener on EWG and see. It's a little disturbing. Or a lot. Okay, probably a lot. Just go look!!

After that, I replaced them with an aromatherapy diffuser which has been amazing and so many people have complimented me on how great my home smells which makes me soooooooo happy. But if you know me, then you know I WANT MORE!! I wanted something to remove odors!

I already use my DIY carpet freshener which is great at removing odors and deterring bugs, but I wanted to make something to spray on my sofa, chairs, curtains and other items which were laying around the house, but were a lot harder (or impossible) to toss in the washer. Plus, it's difficult to move the diffuser to an office and it's impossible to use in the car. I can easily carry this spray bottle in my purse anywhere I go.

What You Need:

• Glass Spray Bottle (Like this one- 4 oz or this one- 1 oz)
• 50% distilled or purified water
• 50% alcohol (rubbing alcohol or cheap vodka)
• 10 drops of essential oil per oz of water/vodka mix 
• Pinch of salt (1 oz) or ¼ tsp salt (4 oz)

Mix the essential oils in the salt and then add the liquid. This helps to keep the essential oils dispersed into the water/alcohol mixture cuz you know water and oil don't mix ya'll. As soon as you combine everything, feel free to use it! It's so simple, quick and cheap! I love it :)
Here are some ideas for your scent combinations: 

I recommend this brand of Essential Oil

• Grapefruit and Peppermint (3:1)
• Stress Away and Lime (3:1)
• Joy and Jasmine (3:1)
• Lavender, Orange and Bergamot (2:1:1)
• Purification and Lavender (1:1)
• Rose, Lavender and Lime (2:1:1)
• Lavender, Chamomile and Ylang Ylang (2:1:1) 
• Idaho Blue Spruce and Orange (2:1)
• Pine and Lemon (1:1)
• Lavender and Peppermint (1:1)
• Orange, Pine, and Clove (2:1:1)

I normally use Lavender, Peppermint, and Bergamot, but lately I've been wanting a smell that is more citrusy for summer so I added some orange and lime to keep it more in the season! Feel free to experiment and have fun! It's a blast making your own custom scents. You never know what you're going to absolutely fall in love with!

You can watch this video for a trick on how to find out which scent pairs well with one another!

If you want to make your own DIY perfume and making scent blends, check out this post.

If you'd like to make a DIY reed diffuser check out this post from my friend Vanessa!

If you'd like to learn more about essential oils please join my Facebook group by filling out this form! It's a lot of funnnnn!!

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Easy DIY Foaming Handsoap

I'm a nurse and by default that makes me a total germaphobe. I literally wash my hands dozens of times a day with those chemical filled soap, but I wondered if I could replace the soap with essential oils to be gentler on my skin and the environment. After seeing this article about how research is showing that some ingredient in hand soaps, toothpastes as other products can cause increased risk for chronic health issues like breast cancer!

I started playing around trying to find the perfect foaming hand soap recipe! I admit I am a bit of a foaming hand soap snob.

For years, Clint and I have been buying those Bath and Body Works Foaming hand soaps in pretty much every scent imaginable. They have been a bit of an obsession, but after finding out what makes those incredible smells-- well, we were less than pleased.

So since then it's been my DIY mission to make a foaming hand soap that we both love and adore!

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Unclog Blocked Drains Like a DIY Boss

The Impenetrable Ball of Grossness was clogging our shower drain. Undoubtably it was some combination of the previous owners funk, my long hair, lots of dog fur, and apparently some sort of mutant drain kryptonite. None of my all natural ways were helping and somehow it was actually getting worse.

It was The. Slowest. Draining. Shower. Ever. It took more than five hours to completely drain. So sloooowwww...

After copious amount of plunging attempts and tossing baking soda/vinegar at it while muttering threats against the drain's life proved to be unsuccessful, I decided to research how to unclog stubborn drain build-ups. The problem was that I couldn't really find an answer, but I did I see some "tips" which ended up being something like this {clears throat}:

• Use lots of baking soda and vinegar (over and over and over again)-- which is what I had been doing for weeks. 
• Use salt and baking soda with hot water
• Use washing soda to degrease your drains
• Call a plumber

Psh. Call a plumber {laughs} 

In true cheap DIY fashion, I decide that I was going to make the mother load of DIY drain cleaners by using all that ingredients that people recommended to use separately. Uh huh, yep. I know. It's BRILLIANT!!

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How to Make Borax Free Laundry Detergent

Hear ye! Hear ye! I have heard the cry of the people!! No more BORAX!!

I set off on a mission to find a good alternative to the original laundry detergent recipe using greener ingredients!! {superman pose} I did a bunch of research as to what can be substituted in place of borax and there were many, many, many suggestions. I ended up trying out a few different recipes, but settled on what I call…. {drum roll}
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Norwex vs E-Cloth: Cleaning Without Chemicals

Would you believe me if I told you that you could clean without chemicals and get a BETTER result?

I found out about Norwex when Emily, an awesome person/blog reader, told me about how well they had worked to clean her windows. And when you guys tell me that something is awesome-- I listen!!!

These types of cleaning products require only water to work and can clean just about any surface. I really love that these products are reusable and washable to they really reduce our environmental impact and save some money on paper towels/cleaners! Emily's story inspired me so much that I bought a bundle of Norwex products to try out. It included a window cloth, an all purpose cloth, and a dust mitten. 

But while on Amazon I saw that there was a similar brand which provided more products for less money, but didn't get quite as good of reviews as Norwex. I thought that this would be a great opportunity for a BATTLE! They cost about $20 less than the Norwex products so I wondered if the difference in cleaning would equate to the difference in cost...

Norwex vs E-Cloth (dun dun duuuuuun!)
1) Dust Mitten (Norwex) and Dusting Cloth (E-cloth)
The Norwex dusting glove is a lot like the Swiffer dusting products. It picks up the dust without it just being relocated which I LOVE. It even handled my pet hair dilemma which is fantastic because I have a lot of pet fur. With the Norwex, I cleaned everything and I could have kept going, but I was out of dust. (darn!)

The E-cloth worked more like a traditional duster and seemed to move the dust around rather than collected it unless you completely wet it, wring it out and the dust with it. It does a much better job this way! So if you purchase the e-cloth duster, please make sure that you get it nice and wet before you dust!

2) All Purpose Cloth (Norwex ) vs Kitchen Cloth (E-Cloth)
The previous owners of our house must have put some voodoo magic curse on the kitchen granite because there has always been these bumpy areas. Seriously, it is the arch-enemy of my life. Nothing has ever worked to get any of it off! So, I did the obvious: I cleaned half of the bumpy areas with Norwex and the other half with E-cloth. Guess what?! It's 98% gone! These are amazing!! Just water! Seriously! Whhhhaaat?!?!

{mind blown} Pooooft!

I actually thought both product performed well, but I loved the added scrubber on the E-cloth product. The Norwex product has a ribbed side that is for scrubbing, but I liked the E-cloth scubber just a little more for tough spots. Seriously, both did great though!

3) Window Cloth (Norwex and E-Cloth)
OMG. It worked! Like Windex! Sure, it requires slightly more elbow grease than a typical spray window cleaner, but it's totally worth it! It removed pet nose stains, finger prints, dust and there were zero streaking on any window or mirror!

{sigh} I'm in love!

Both products are awesome, but I liked that you only needed one cloth for the Norwex window cleaner while you needed two (a cleaner and a polish cloth) for E-Cloth. But if we are going simply by performance-- they are just about equal.

4) And There is MORE!
The E-Cloth Home Cleaning Set also provides a stainless steel cloth, range and stovetop cloth, and a bathroom cloth which are not provided in the Norwex set.

I don't think that the stainless steel and bathroom cleaners are necessary because the Norwex "all purpose cloth" can do those functions too; but I LOVE the range and stovetop cloth. I'd definitely recommend it for daily cleaning of the range because it totally kicks butt. Seriously.

How did I never know about this?!

It also has been tested to remove bacteria from surfaces using just the cloth and water! WTF. {mind blown x infinity}. And they last up to 300 washes! Sweet.

So what's better than function? Cost and saving the world, of course. 
If you buy the Norwex packet with all three items, it's about $50. That's less than $17 per item, but it lasts for 300 washes and you won't need to wash it every time you use it. Win.

I've made a simple math problem to help you see how you could save money:

Cleaning supplies + paper towels = money
Reusable cloths + water= savings. 
Savings in cleaning supplies = more shoes

Now that's logical, people.

Plus, it will help save the world! No more chemicals and less waste! Plus Emily told me that 13 billion tons of paper towel are tossed into our landfills every year? Isn't that crazy?! But you can make a difference! I think these cleaning cloths are a great way to be more eco-friendly.

Conclusion
So which is better? Eh. It's hard to say. They both did very well! The E-Cloth kit does have a lot of "extras", but I feel like most of them aren't necessary except the range and stovetop cloth (love it) and I don't really like extra clutter (I have enough-- trust me).

The price tag on the E-Cloth set is about $20 less than the price of the Norwex kit. Is it worth it? Personally, I prefer the Norwex duster and window cleaner just a little more than the e-cloth, but I love the e-cloth oven range. Oh, the choices!

Here are some links to look at the products on Amazon.com (affiliate links-- if you buy the recommended product you pay the same price and I get an Amazon commission to buy more cool stuff from Amazon to blog about. True story.)

Norwex Household Package

E-Cloth Home Cleaning Set, 8 Count

Norwex Microfiber Dusting Mitt

You can search and find products separately as well if you only want to buy one or two of the products instead of the kits!

Have you tried Norwex or E-Cloth? I would love to hear if your mind was blown as much as mine! And I have to give a big shout out to Emily for introducing me to the idea of using Norwex! THANK YOU!!

**If you're interested in a E-Cloth GIVEAWAY check out this post!!***

Looking for Other Ways to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution: 
Clean up Indoor Air Pollution with these easy steps 

P.S. Due to the multitude of comments which contain Norwex affiliates who are trying to gain business by leaving comments on my blog: If you are a Norwex Rep and you leave a comment with your Norwex link-- that is spam and you will be deleted. Be respectful. This is my "home" and these are my visitors. 

Disclaimer: I was not paid or compensated for this review.

If you buy any of the products from my recommended Amazon links I will get a very tiny and rather small commission from Amazon (your price stays the same) which I will use to buy more stuff to blog about. True Story. 

Honest Co. Dishwashing Gel vs GrabGreen Dishwashing Detergent

The Battle of the Eco-Friendly Dishwashing Detergents!

Many of my readers don't want to make their own dishwashing detergent and have asked me for options for eco-friendly commercial brands. I did some research and I wanted to try these brands to see how they stacked up against each other.

In the left corner, we have GrabGreen Dishwashing Detergent: 

It's a tiny pre-packaged detergent that you toss into your dishwasher and go! Easy, simple, no fuss. Includes a rinse aid.

In the right corner, we have Honest Company's Dishwashing Gel:

It's a liquid so you can determine how much you need/want to use. You just put it in the dispenser and go! It's also compatible with a rinse aid (but not included).

Round One: 
How Green Can You Go

I use the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to compare products safety. I like them because they break down chemicals into what's harmful and their degree of safety.

They use an A (Safe) to F (may kill you) scale. To put things in perspective, only 6 products got an A score and many of the big names (like Cascade and Finish) got a big fat F.

You can click on the link to EWG above to see where your dishwashing detergent ranks.

EWG's rating of GrabGreen Dishwashing Detergent: B

GrabGreen uses A LOT of different ingredients and some are rated as low as a C, which means they could be potentially harmful, but it's still a lot better than most of the detergents out there.

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Clean that Indoor AC Vent the Natural Way!

This is embarrassing. I haven't cleaned my indoor air conditioner vents in.... well, a long time. Yes, I am refusing to tell you exactly how long it's been and that's my right as a woman. It's like how a woman never tells her weight or her age-- you can guess, but she'll never confess. ;)

The thing is that the vents are always so hard to clean. ::moan, whine, being really dramatic:::

I've tried to use an old toothbrush, but it just spreads the grim around. And then there is always the old standby of using a rag and pushing it around with my fingers, but unless you have freakishly small circus hands or, in fact, have children to do your manual labor- it will hurt. Adult size fingers just don't go in those little slots!

But do you know what does fit in there?

• A flat ruler, butter knife, paint stirrer, thin spatula or any other similarly shaped object (knock yourself out world!)
• Q-tips

I use a two step method... but don't worry. It's so easy!

Step One:

• Put an old rag over one end of the long flat, thin object of your choosing (popsicle stick, ruler, spatula...) 
• Spray it with your homemade all purpose cleaner or store bought all purpose green cleaner. 
• Side note: I'll caution against using a traditional heavy duty all purpose cleaners because the AC is going to be sucking up any cleaning residue and circulating it around your house. I don't know if you want alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride traveling through your air supply-- just saying! But it's all good. I don't judge if you do. ;)

• Use the damp washcloth (wrapped around your thinly shaped long object) to clean in between the vent... thingies. 
• I don't know what they are technically called and I think "thingies" is perfectly logical. 
• Don't focus so much on the edges because dirt will collect there-- that's what step 2 is for. But you will probably have to move the rag around a bit on your object because if it gets too dirty it'll start to smear the dirt around instead of clean it. 
• Repeat this process until all the vents are clean (except the edges where dirt collects)

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DIY Natural Toilet BOMBS!!

So I was browsing around Pinterest and found a website that talked about Toilet Bombs. Yes, bombs that go in the toilet. Whaaatttt?? That definitely got my attention.

The basic idea is that you combine a couple ingredients together and then drop it into the toilet where it cleans the toilet and the essential oils make your bathroom smell lovely.

I used the instructs from Healthy Holistic Living to make my toilet bombs! Check out their website because they made the toilet bombs look super cute with a little flower pattern! Love it!

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 c Baking Soda
• 1/2 c Citric acid
• Essential oils (total of 90 drops) I recommend this brand

Equipment

• Mixing Bowl
• Whisk
• Spray bottle or misting bottle
• A flexible or shallow mold (ice cube trays, small silicone molds, madeleine cookie tray)
• Mask for mixing (recommended)
• Glove to prevent an irritation to your hands (optional, but recommended)

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Natural, Safe Tile Floor Cleaner- Only 3 Ingredients!

Just keep cleaning

Just keep cleaning

Just keep cleaning cleaning cleaning

What do we do we clean, clean, clean….

Sometimes, I feel like cleaning is my life. It's never done!! And with all the harsh chemicals it's so important to find something safe for my family. I mean, seriously, who want any nonylphenol ethoxylate on their toesies!

Psh! Chemicals. Ruin everything.

Anyways, months ago I went on a mission to find a GREAT natural tile floor cleaner. I honestly didn't think it would be that hard, but I should have known better! Whenever I think something will be easy-- it's not. Oh, life! You're so funny!! she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes (Yes, I am perfectly aware that I wrote in 3rd person)

I don't know how many different recipes I used but they all kept leaving a film on my tiles! It was driving me nuts. I knew that there had to be something better... and then I found it! Yay!

What You Need

• 1.5 gallons hot/warm water
• 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide
• 1/2 cup white vinegar (but you can add 1/4 c more for dirtier jobs)
• 5-10 drops Essential Oil(s) 
• Like Purification, Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint, Thieves 
• Optional for tough jobs: Add a splash of a green cleaner.

I've been eyeballing the measurements for a bit and it works just fine, so don't get too wrapped up on the exacts here!

Mix the ingredients into the hot to warm water. Stir to combine. 

Ready. Set. Mop!
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Megan's Liquid Gel Dishwasher Detergent (Borax Free)

A wonderful reader, Megan, suggested that I try a liquid dishwasher detergent in lieu of my Non-Borax Powdered Detergent. To that I said challenge accepted!! I love when you guys give me thing to try!

I gave it a shot when I ran out of my powdered dishwasher detergent and I have to say that I am very impressed. I thought it performed very well compared to the powdered formula which I posted about earlier in the year. The plus is that the ingredients are easier to find and it's a bit gentler without the citric acid.

Ahhhh! I love options!

Megan's Liquid-Gel Dishwasher Detergent 
Makes ~4 cups (64 TBSP)

• 3 TBSP Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile Soap
• 3 cups warm water
• 1 cup Washing Soda 
• You can find this for only a few dollars at most Walmarts or many grocery stores in the laundry aisle.

Simply add the ingredients in a jar and shake until the washing soda dissolves. Shake it. Seriously. Shake it. A lot.
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Remove Mineral Deposits from Faucets Naturally

Have you ever had a faucet that squirted streams of water in the wrong direction or even in multiple directions? Or maybe it was just a mist? If so, it's probably due to minerals (like calcium) that have built up over time.

The Man and I were becoming increasingly annoyed with our kitchen faucet due to mineral deposits. The misbehaving stream of water was constantly changing directions, randomly spraying every which way, casting mists which would cause us and everything around us to get wet. Now, you can understand that a person can only tolerate that for about a day.

Maybe.

Probably not.

Okay, maybe 4 times max.

I decided to use some simple every day supplies to whip up something to remove those deposits!

What You Need

• 3/4 cup Vinegar
• 2 TBSP Hydrogen Peroxide
• 1/4 c Baking Soda
• 1 rubber band
• 1 plastic bag

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