Greener Spring Cleaning: Part 5 (Homemade Toilet Cleaners)

If you missed my earlier posts this week, so far I have shared greener cleaning tips for:

• Windows
• Room Freshening Spray
• Carpets and Hard Floors
• Sinks, Tubs, and Counters

Now, see if you can guess what I was using to clean toilets until recently... If you said "homemade all-purpose cleaner" then you can go right to the head of the class. You're such a good reader! Yep, that was my favorite for toilets (and literally everything else) until a couple of weeks ago, when I decided to switch it up a bit.

Today, I am sharing with you a few different recipes for homemade toilet bowl cleaners, and I have to say that I am waaaaaay more excited by this than I probably should be! Some are very basic and some take slightly more effort, but the end results are worth it.


Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner #1 (Vinegar)
First up, Green Grandma suggests that you need nothing more than straight distilled white vinegar for cleaning toilet bowls. Simply add a cup or two and walk away for a few hours. Then, come back and scrub the bowl.

This is my least favorite, to be honest. The vinegar alone doesn't cling or fizz or do anything that "shows" that it is doing its job. There is nothing else to make it smell a bit better; even though I am much more accustomed to the smell of vinegar, it is still a bit much when you use a large amount in undiluted form. (NOTE: I do realize that we do NOT need any fake fragrance to make everything smell "fresh" or "clean" -- that is a marketing gimmick. True "clean" has no smell.) Even though I know that this is perfectly effective for killing germs, it's not my first choice. It is, however, very cheap, very easy to use and completely non-toxic, so it deserves mention in the lineup of natural choices.


Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner #2 (Vinegar + Baking Soda)
Pour a cup of baking soda into the toilet bowl and then follow with a cup of white vinegar. You get the fizzing action and once it's done, you scrub the bowl. Baking soda neutralizes odors and vinegar kills germs. Straightforward, right? (You can adjust the proportions to your preferences.) You can also follow with lemon juice or a few drops of lavender essential oil if you want it to smell nice. Safe, cheap, effective, and you can easily do this with everyday kitchen items. No mixing or storing needed.


Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner #3 
I learned about this recipe at a MOPS meeting:

• 3/4 cup baking soda
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 10 drops tea tree oil
• 10 drops lavender essential oil

1. In a mixing bowl, combine baking soda and essential oils (Lavender smells nice and both lavender and tea tree oils have antiseptic qualities).
2. Add vinegar to the toilet bowl and then pour in the baking soda mixture.
3. Allow the fizzing of the chemical reaction to take place and then scrub with a toilet brush.

For all three of the above recipes I asked myself, "Now what about the rest of the toilet? The seat, lid, outside of the tank...?" These all have to get clean, too, so of course, I used that all-purpose cleaner and a sponge. Sometimes, this seemed like more work, so that was why I often just used the all-purpose spray cleaner for the whole shebang. One product, and done. 

Then, I tried this next recipe (also from the MOPS meeting), which calls for castile soap. It is far and away, my favorite homemade toilet cleaner. EVER! (In other news, I am really, really in LOVE with castile soap, and I plan to use it in my next batch of all-purpose cleaner, in place of dish soap.) Without further ado, here is my new FAVE homemade toilet cleaner recipe! (Who knew I would ever use that expression?)

{My New FAVE Homemade Toilet Cleaner}

Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner #4

• 3/4 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon castile soap with tea tree (I used unscented castile soap.) 
• 3-5 drops of tea tree oil (if using unscented castile soap)

1. In a 2-cup measuring cup with a spout, or a measuring bowl, mix together the baking soda and water.
2. Add castile soap (and tea tree oil, if desired) and stir.
3. Pour into a squeeze bottle (I used an clean, empty condiment dispenser.) and make sure it is covered by a finger or cap. Then shake well. If you do not have a mixing bowl or measuring cup with a spout, a funnel may be helpful. (Remember, do NOT use old cleaning product containers from toilet bowl cleaners or that sort of thing.) 
4. If the consistency is too runny, add a little extra baking soda. You want it to be thick enough to cling to the inside of the toilet bowl. (As another side note: You can make this recipe and yesterday's recipe for my other new favorite, homemade soft scrub, all with a single 1-pound box of baking soda!)
5. To use, squeeze out enough to coat the inside of the toilet bowl. (The recipe said this makes enough clean two toilets, but I found that it was enough to clean three.) You can either scrub immediately OR you can walk away and let it set. I have tried both ways, but I can't say that I noted any distinct differences. Just do whatever is easiest for you.
6. Now, as a bonus, I decided to clean the rest of the toilet with this cleaner instead of reaching my my all-purpose spray cleaner. I just put a small amount onto a sponge and wiped everything clean. Tip: Start with the less dirty surfaces (top of tank, handle) and work your way toward the germier surfaces (outside of bowl, where spray happens, if you have a boy) and so on until you have cleaned it seat and all. (Don't forget to clean your sponge. I put mine in the dishwasher, but it seems that there is a microwave cleaning method that I have heard about, too.)

So, there you go. Non-toxic, effective, and you can clean the whole toilet -- inside and out -- with this single recipe! It doesn't smell funky. It clings to the bowl very well, and you even get some fizzing action, if you like that sort of thing. The only possible downside is that you will need to mix up another batch the next time you want to clean toilets. (I had fun doing this, so I don't see that as a problem.)

Plus, putting it into a condiment dispenser? This is brilliant! I was so excited to hear this idea. If you make this one, don't forget to label your container with a permanent marker. Include the recipe, so you can make it again without looking it up. Enjoy!

Greener Spring Cleaning: Part 4 (Homemade Hard Surface Cleansers)

Spring is in the air around here for sure. Both outdoors and inside our home are starting to smell fresh. Today, I spent some time tackling the grime on various hard surfaces: tub, counters, sinks, and toilets. (More on that last one to come later...)

I've already mentioned my old standby, homemade all-purpose cleaner, a few times this week. So, I won't keep blathering on about that. I will just mention that it is what I have used for the past few years to clean counters, sinks, the tub (and toilets). That said, I will add that I am more recently interested in a couple of cleanser recipes that I learned about at our last MOPS meeting. I am excited to share the results with you!

Homemade All Purpose Scrub

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup washing soda
• 1/8 - 1/4 cup salt
• 10-20 drops essential oil of choice (optional)

(We made this at the meeting and did not include any essential oils. I haven't added my own, so I can't comment on how that works, but here are the directions I was given. I have been using it around the house for over a week now.)

1. Use a spoon to mix the ingredients, distributing the oils. (We just scooped the dry ingredients into a baggie to take home and put into our own containers, but if using essential oils, you will most likely want do your mixing in a medium size bowl.)
2. Store in a mason jar or a Parmesan cheese container. (I also learned at the meeting that the lid from an old Parmesan container fits onto a canning jar. What an awesome epiphany that was! This is how I am currently storing my scrub cleanser.)
3. Use as you would a powder scrub cleanser (like Comet). Sprinkle directly onto counters, sinks, etc. and wipe with a damp sponge or cloth or sprinkle onto the sponge or cloth and then wipe surfaces.

Observations:

• I was worried about the salt being irritating for dry, cracked skin. I was relieved to find that this was not a problem.
• This is not my absolute favorite cleaner because the powder seems to take a few extra swipes to get cleaned away. (Not that it's bad. It's certainly safer than a lot of things I could be using, but I never used powder cleansers even when I did use store-bought cleaners. This is just not my preference.)
• I was really optimistic that this would erase old stains on counter tops, but alas, it didn't do the trick. (Read on for what did, though!)
• One thing it did work great for was getting rid of the ring of grime that was where the counter top meets the outside edge of the sink -- worked better than anything else I can think of!
• Positive features: This is quick and easy to make. One batch will last a long time. You do not need many ingredients, and all of them are inexpensive and readily available and your local grocery store. (Find Washing Soda in the laundry aisle -- not to be confused with baking soda.)
• I would be very leery of using this on wooden tables. Not that you were probably considering that, but I figured it was worth mentioning. It could very likely scratch the finish. So, if you are looking for a recipe for a cleaning product that you can use anywhere in the kitchen and dining room, this would not be my recommendation.

Homemade Soft Scrub Cleanser

• 3/4 cup baking soda
• 1/4 cup castile soap
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 10-15 drops tea tree oil (optional)

1. Combine baking soda and castile soap in a medium bowl.
2. Add water and tea tree oil (which has antiseptic qualities) and stir mixture with a fork.
3. Add vinegar slowly as it will bubble up.
4. Stir until it has a paste-like consistency.
5. Pour into a container, using a funnel, if you wish. (Mine is stored in an old kids' shampoo container. I will not mention the brand name because I don't want you to think I am recommending it. Knowing now what I wish I had known then, I never would have used that stuff on my children! You might also wish to use an empty dish soap bottle or another type of squeeze bottle.)
6. To use the soft scrub, squeeze out a small amount onto a sponge or directly onto the surface that you want to clean.

{Safe and Green Homemade Soft Scrub!}

Observations:

• This was my first experience using castile soap, and honestly, I had no clue what I was missing! It is wonderful. I bought the unscented version, but you could make this with any of the other scents that it comes in such as tea tree or lavender. (Mine is Dr. Bronner's brand and I got it at the nearest health food store.)
• Confession: I didn't really like the smell of tea tree oil when I first started using some months back (for making moisturizing oil). Lately, though, I have been using it for more homemade concoctions and the scent is definitely growing on me. I'm not going to make perfume out of it or anything, but... It's worth it to give it a chance.
• This homemade stuff is AMAZING! Just gently scrubbing with a sponge helped more with some counter top stains in the master bathroom that anything else I have tried in the 8 years we have lived here. (I have no clue what the stains are. They came with the house, but my best guess is coffee.) Anyway, I decided to kick things up a notch and combined this soft scrub with an old toothbrush and some good old-fashioned elbow grease and BAM! The stains are almost gone. (Honestly, you probably wouldn't even know about it if I weren't pointing it out. Below and to the left of the toothbrush, in the bottom photo.)

{Bathroom Counter BEFORE Homemade Soft Scrub}

{Bathroom Counter AFTER Homemade Soft Scrub}

• This made me so excited that I decided to try it on the ring around the tub. It worked wonderfully for the grimy build-up and once again, when armed with a toothbrush and my own scrubbing power, this made a decent dent in the orange ring (rust stains from our well water). 
• Here's how it worked on the bathroom sink. The top part of the photo shows the orange rust ring and the bottom part shows how it looked after I scrubbed gently with a toothbrush. No real muscle needed for this task!

{Bathroom Sink BEFORE (top) and AFTER (bottom)}

• And, if that's not enough to convince you, it also knocked out the nasty filth that was lurking in my stainless steel kitchen sink (including the drain trap, which was just plain gross). So, now you know my dirtiest household secret: Until this afternoon, my kitchen sink was a veritable cesspool of germs, admittedly the most neglected of the high-traffic areas of my home. Now, it's soooo shiny and germ-free!

{Kitchen Sink BEFORE (right) and AFTER (left)}

• In case you can't tell, I quit using store-bought Soft Scrub years ago because I was concerned about what was in it. Clearly, I had forgotten about all the benefits of cleaning with this type of thing and certain parts of the house were missing out on more thorough cleaning. That's won't be happening any longer now that I can make this homemade version.
• I hate wearing rubber gloves, so knowing that the ingredients are safe to touch (and inhale) is a nice feature of this scrub (in addition to its effectiveness!).
• Like the first scrub cleaner, it makes a nice size batch that will last a good long while (even with the extensive scrubbing that I put it through just today). The ingredients are common, cheap, and totally safe to use around kids.
• Also, I will sum up by making it very clear that of the two scrub cleansers, this second was my clear favorite. It just took care of build-up that the other one couldn't in the sinks -- both porcelain and stainless -- and on the counter tops, this one was tops.

Greener Spring Cleaning: Part 3 (Homemade Floor Cleaners)

Mud season is officially under way here in Michigan and that means plenty of dirt getting tracked in on my linoleum and wood floors. (And occasionally onto the carpet, as well, even though we have a no shoes in the house policy.) These are my current favorite homemade solutions for cleaning all of my floors.

All-Purpose Cleaning Solution: (For Hard Floor Surfaces)

• 2 cups water
• 3 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dish soap (your safest bets are Dawn or something like Seventh Generation)
• 1 teaspoon Borax

Combine ingredients in a spray bottle (one that did not previously contain chemicals!) and shake gently. Using a funnel is helpful when filling your bottle. Optional: Add a few drops of essential oils if you would like a light scent. Label your bottle with the recipe using a permanent marker. Cover the writing with a piece of clear packing tape to prevent it from being wiped away over time.

To mop the floors, add a small amount to your bucket and then fill it with hot water. This solution cleans up all sorts of gunk and it disinfects, too. Personally, I have had no issues using this on our floors, but of course, you may want to test it on a small area before tackling all of your floors.

Now, what about carpet cleaning? If you have kids and pets, you are sure to get an assortment of spots on them. For small messes, I often grab my spray bottle of All-Purpose cleaner and a microfiber cloth. But let's be honest. Most of the messes on my floors aren't small!

For bigger stains, I have successfully used baking soda and vinegar to remove every kid and dog-related bodily fluid that can possibly end up on the carpet. I'm talking blood, vomit, urine, and poop -- completely eradicated with just a couple of simple to use, inexpensive, and totally safe things. To get this nasty business out of your carpet without resorting to commercial carpet cleaners (which are loaded with toxins and do NOT work as well -- Believe me, I've tried a number of them, even the ones that claim to be specifically for pet stains.) follow these steps. This even works on old stains!!

{Urine Stain: BEFORE}

{Urine Stain: AFTER}

Carpet Stain Removal

• baking soda
• vinegar
• water
• clean cloths (microfiber cloths are good for this)

1. First, sop up as much liquid (and solids, if that applies. Ew, I know...) as possible.
2. Next, cover the soiled area with a generous sprinkling of baking soda. Let this set overnight.
3. Vacuum up the baking soda. You will see that this has already absorbed some if not all of the yucky stuff (and hopefully, taken a lot of the smell away, too).
4. Pour undiluted distilled white vinegar over the soiled area. Sit back and let the bubbling action do its thing for a minute or two.
5. Now, grab your microfiber cloth and start scrubbing the carpet. This should get out the remaining grossness.
6. Pour some fresh water over top scrub/mop it up with a second clean cloth.
7. Allow the wet spot to dry. You will be amazed! (However, if it is not as clean as you would like, repeat the above steps.)

{Unknown Set-in Stain: BEFORE}

{Unknown Set-in Stain: AFTER}

Greener Spring Cleaning: Part 2 (Homemade Room Freshening Spray)

Got stinky stuff in your home? Yep, we all do from time to time. Here, I will share my tried-and-true recipe for making room freshening spray out of totally safe and natural ingredients. Don't worry, it tackles the tough stuff from greasy kitchen odors and smelly trash cans to bathroom funk (including diaper pails!) just as well as store-bought sprays.

The difference is that instead of masking the smell with artificial fragrances and other chemical nastiness, this simply eliminates it! Behold the power of baking soda. The vinegar helps to kill any bacteria that is lurking in your home and possibly causing those less-than-pleasant smells in the first place. Mixing up some room freshening spray is quick and cheap to do with three simple ingredients that you should already have on hand. (And if you don't, trust me, you will be getting these soon, because they are just that important for homemade cleaning solutions.)

Homemade Room Freshening Spray

• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Combine ingredients in a new (not one that previously contained chemicals!) spray bottle.
2. Shake gently and spray as needed. A few mists should get rid of even the toughest household odors.

{3-Ingredient All Natural Room Freshener}

Other Tips:

• I learned about this recipe from Green Grandma's book, Vinegar Fridays, which is a great resource for natural cleaning solutions (and many more uses for vinegar).
• A funnel comes in handy when filling your bottle, but it is not necessary.
• I store my bottle of room spray in the main bathroom, but you can make more than one bottle and store it wherever you will need to use it.
• You can also use this as a fabric refresher. Just spray onto fabrics and allow to dry. Again, baking soda is a natural deodorant and the vinegar kills and yucky odor-causing germs so this is just as effective as Febreze -- just without the scary chemicals that you shouldn't be inhaling.
• Be sure to label your bottle with a permanent marker. Include the recipe so that when you need a new batch, you don't have to look it up.
• If you want to prevent the marker from getting rubbed off over time, just add a piece of clear packaging tape over the top.
• You can find spray bottles at Dollar Tree, IKEA, Target, and craft stores.
• You do not need to buy name brand baking soda. I just found this on sale, so that is what I have. I tend to stock up and buy several boxes whenever I find a good deal since this is a staple at our house. 
• The above is true of the vinegar, too. I tend to buy the one-gallon jugs from Kroger because that is usually my best deal.
• I don't personally add a scent to my room spray, but if you like you could add a few drops (say 3-5) of essential oils such as lavender or orange just to give it a little extra something-something.

For more tips on homemade cleaners, check out my previous posts:

• Homemade Window Cleaners
• Homemade Laundry Detergent
• Greener Cleaner Experiment (my first foray into homemade cleaners -- from 2010)

Snow Day Science Experiment

We are on our third snow day in a row. And once again, it was because of the extreme cold not the snow that school was canceled! Since it was too cold to venture outside, we ended up doing some indoor activities. First up was a science experiment: inflating a balloon with vinegar and baking soda, which I had heard about here. Our first balloon worked great. The second one was a flop, and we were done after that.

{We successfully inflated a balloon using science!}

Materials:

• empty plastic bottle (with a small mouth, preferably)
• vinegar
• baking soda
• balloon
• 2 funnels

Directions:

1. Using a funnel, fill the bottle about 1/3 of the way with vinegar. (Note: I first drew a line with a black Sharpie so that the kids would have a visual for when to stop pouring.) One child held the funnel and bottle while the other one poured the vinegar. (Note: Our bottle was an old teriyaki bottle that I pulled from the recycling bin. The neck is warped from the dishwasher, but it had the narrowest mouth of any bottle I could find in the bin, so it was the clear choice.)

   

   {Pouring the vinegar into the bottle}

2. With a second funnel (or the first funnel, assuming you have first dried it completely), add baking soda to a balloon, filling it about half way. They switched roles so that the first pourer was now the holder of the funnel and the balloon, and the first holder was now the pourer of the baking soda.

   

   {Pouring the baking soda into the balloon}

3. Carefully stretch the balloon's opening so that it fits over the mouth of the bottle. (Note: They can tear, so watch out for this.) Be sure not to spill the baking soda into the bottle while you are doing this. I did this step myself.
4. Kids can now lift up the balloon, allowing the baking soda to spill into the bottle. The chemical reaction makes the balloon inflate, which is fun for everyone! (Note: If your balloon happens to break apart while doing this, try to stop them from pouring in any more baking soda. Otherwise, you wind up with a volcano instead of an inflated balloon. While fun, too, this was not the science experiment I was going for, so I wasn't prepared for it!)

   

   {Adding the baking soda to the vinegar}

{I love his excitement!}

Homemade Peppermint Bath Salts

A while back we made bath salts at a MOPS meeting, which I thought were great! After getting the link to where the idea originated, I decided to make more of my own, some of which we are giving as gifts. I'm very happy with how this year's teacher gifts turned out. They look pretty, they smell wonderful, and most importantly, they have been test-driven and given two thumbs up by this mama.

To get started, I chose three different scents: peppermint, orange, and lavender, and I found the essential oils at a nearby health foods store. Why did I choose peppermint oil for the gifts? Well, it is currently vying as my favorite fragrance of the three types of bath salts that I made. Orange is on top at the moment, but peppermint seemed like the obvious choice for Christmas. Plus, it has lots of health benefits like alleviating muscle soreness as well as stress, improving circulation, helping ease congestion, and promoting energy and alertness. These are all the curative properties that I will personally attest to. Peppermint essential oil is also said to help curb appetite, just by inhaling the scent, so that may be an added bonus I have not noticed yet. At any rate, these bath salts are a perfect no-calorie indulgence during the crazy-busy holiday season.

{Easy Christmas gift idea!}

Ingredients: (Makes enough to fill 2 half-pint mason jars)

• 3/4 cup Epsom salts 
• 1/2 cup coarse sea salt 
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• food coloring (I used 10 drops of red.)
• essential oil (The original recipe calls for 8 drops, but I found this to be much too faint once I got into the tub, so I have doubled it for the gift batches.)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients. (If making gifts for teachers, kids can help pour the ingredients.)
2. Add essential oil and food coloring*. (Kids may be able to help with this step. I helped Logan count out the food coloring, but I added the essential oils myself.)
3. Use a spoon or whisk to mix it all together. (Kids may help with this step, too as long as they don't stir to roughly.)
4. Store in an air-tight container. (It will clump together somewhat after time. This happens to store-bought bath salts as well, so I don't see this as a problem.)
5. Enjoy your bath salts or package them up and give as gifts. 

*Notes about food coloring:

• Food coloring is optional, and mainly just for presentation. 
• Once diluted in the bath, you don't need to worry about it staining your skin.
• When I made orange scented bath salts I used a combination of 3 drops red and 5 drops yellow to make orange. 
• For the lavender bath salts, I used 8 drops of neon purple food coloring. 

Notes on Where to Purchase:

• The best deal I have found for Epsom salts is at Sam's Club, but they are very reasonably priced and can be found near the first aid section of any grocery store.
• Coarse sea salt is found in the baking aisle. I have also used natural sea salt, which has smaller grains that don't look as much like the bath salts you might purchase, but it's a bit cheaper and it works the same.
• My essential oils came from a natural foods store, but you can also find them online.
• Lavender essential oil was the most expensive at $8.79 for a 0.5 ounce bottle, followed by peppermint oil at $8.29 for a 0.5 ounce bottle, and the least expensive was the orange essential oil, which was only $3.99 by comparison. (That may sound pricey, but since you will only use a few drops at a time, a bottle of essential oils will last a long time, so I look at this as a good investment.)

How I packaged my gifts:

1. First, I filled each half-pint mason jar with bath salts.
2. To make tags that read "Peppermint Bath Salts," I downloaded this free font. I put it in 24 pt. font, switched the color to red, and printed it so that I got 8 per page (in portrait layout). Then, I used plastic templates to cut them out, and then layered them on top of oval cut-outs of red card stock (which I made with another template.) I adhered the layers and then added a gold eyelet.
3. I used a glue dot to affix the bamboo spoon to the jar.
4. I cut a 21" length of red and white bakers twine, which I wrapped around the jar twice before tying on the tag.
5. Then, I added a red card stock circle to the top of the jar and topped it off with a cute peppermint button, which I bought a few years back from Oriental Trading, attached with another glue dot. 

DIY: Watercolor Paints

This recipe was one I first saw on Pinterest. Found here originally, this will make enough watercolor paint to fill 6 egg carton cups. If you want more colors, you can double the quantities, or just put less into each egg cup. I would probably just put less in each cup, since the yield for each color was quite a lot, considering that these are watercolor paints. This recipe is an easy and inexpensive way to make paint at home, and it's the first recipe I have seen for a true dried cake watercolor recipe. More importantly, it works!

{Trying out our watercolor paints}

Materials:

{Paint AFTER Setting Overnight}

• 4 Tbs baking soda
• 2 Tbs vinegar
• 1/2 tsp corn syrup
• 2 Tbs corn starch
• liquid food coloring
• empty egg carton
• mixing bowl
• spoons/skewers/popsicle sticks for stirring
• something to protect work surface
• paper 
• paintbrushes
• small container of water

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine baking soda with vinegar and wait until fizzing stops. 
2. Add corn syrup and cornstarch and mix. (Note: The original directions I found said until a "uniform consistency" but I found it glue-like on the top, and paste-like on the bottom, which is not what I would call "consistent" but it worked for me.)
3. Pour into egg cartons. You can pour it in without measuring, but I wanted to know quantities, and I found that one egg cup would hold 1 tablespoon of the paint mixture. Tip: For some reason our egg carton was leaking, so I quickly moved it on top of a cereal box liner (like free "wax paper"). I suggest covering your work surface before pouring the paint mixture into your egg cups to avoid leaks.
4. Add food coloring to each cup and carefully stir to mix. Tip: I tried using a spoon for this, but I found that it was sloshing the colors from one egg cup to the next. Then, I switched to a skewer, and had much more control. I used 5 drops each for red, yellow, blue, and green. To make orange, I combined 2 red + 3 yellow (this came out redder than I was hoping for, so maybe it needs more yellow) and purple was just plain odd. At first I combined 2 red + 3 blue and wound up with black! Then, I added 3 drops of neon purple and that combination made the nice deep violet that I was after.
5. Allow paint to set overnight. A couple of the colors had a little moisture on top when we used them, but this is okay.
6. Use wet paintbrushes to apply to paper. Tip: We used card stock, which worked fine, but watercolor paper is recommended. Thick paper is ideal. Tip: Paint shirts/smocks/old clothes are always my suggestion for painting with kids.
7. This paint dries quickly, which is nice because you can hang the paintings up much sooner than with other paints we have tried. Also, Mia liked that she could apply it thickly and get 3-D effects, not something that is normally achieved with watercolor paints. The colors do fade once they dry, but that is typical of watercolors, so I was not surprised by this.
8. This paint should keep for awhile, but with food type paints, it is hard to tell. (Note: Since I have the problem with the egg carton that is leaking, I am keeping mine on top of the cereal box liner for now. I may have to apply tape to the bottom in the future so that I can move this from my counter into our regular art supplies storage.)

{Finished Paintings}

DIY: Air-Dry Clay

Since we have enjoyed making oven bake clay, it made sense that we would like this recipe, too. When I saw it on Pinterest labeled as a "Model Magic" type clay I was intrigued. I have always wanted us to try out the Model Magic, but I had never wanted to pay for it. So, as you can imagine, I was pretty happy to find out how easily it can be made at home. Plus, I am always looking for more fun things to do with food coloring. You can also paint this clay after it hardens, I am told, but I have not tried that since I wanted to experiment with the food coloring.

We made this batch of air-dry clay back at the end of March, so it easily will last you 2 weeks if kept in an airtight container. I made some final beads with the last of this clay 3 weeks after mixing it up, and decided to bake it, which had mixed results. The pink came out very well after I sprinkled a small amount of corn starch onto a cereal box liner and started rolling it out. The purple, however, was very moist, and several additions of corn starch did not seem to remedy this. Undeterred, I made beads with both colors because I truly wanted to know how long this stuff would keep.

I also decided to try baking the beads since I realized the recipe was very similar to this one for Bright White Clay Dough (same ingredients, different proportions), which I had also seen on Pinterest. So, I baked my last few beads on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 175 degrees for 2 hours, flipping half-way through the baking time. Then, I let them cool in the oven. The pink beads turned out great, and as expected, the purple beads did not. Although they firmed up and were functional, the color had turned a putrid shade of brown, so in the end, I tossed them out.

So, my final conclusions are that a) This recipe definitely works for making an air-dry clay cheaply and easily at home! b) You can also bake this clay, if you prefer not to give up counter space for a couple of days while it hardens. c) Food coloring will work for this clay. Colors fade after they dry/are baked, but that is to be expected. d) Clay will keep for 2-3 weeks in an air-tight container.

{Mia's sculptures + some purple beads, BEFORE drying}

Materials:

• 2 cups baking soda
• 1 cup corn starch
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• food coloring (optional)
• large pot
• spoon
• bowls (1 per color, if making more than one color)
• damp dish towel (1 per bowl) 
• optional clay tools: rolling pin, cookie cutters, straws, knife, rubber stamps
• container to keep clay (if not planning to use it all right away)

Directions for Making Air-Dry Clay:

1. Combine baking soda, corn starch, and water in a large pot. If desired, add food coloring. (Note: I actually divided this into 2 half batches in 2 different pots and added neon pink food coloring to one and neon purple food coloring to the other, 5 drops per batch.)
2. Cook on medium heat, stirring almost constantly until the mixture forms a mashed potatoes-like consistency.
3. Place clay into a bowl (I used 2 since I had 2 colors) and cover with a damp dish towel. Allow clay to cool.
4. Knead the clay until it is smooth. If damp, add a little corn starch. Tip: We did this on top of a cereal box liner (free "wax paper") and it worked very well to keep the counter clean. Plus, the clay didn't stick to the surface.
5. Make things with the clay. You can make free-form sculptures like Mia did. (Note: Parts of her sculptures did start to fall off and I don't know if that is because of the material or because of how she made things.) I chose to make beads. Another option that we didn't try this time around is making ornaments/tags by cutting with cookie cutters, using rubber stamps for designs, and punching a hole for hanging using a straw. How To Make Beads: 1) Roll clay into coils. 2) Slice segments with a knife. 3) Use a straw to punch a hole all the way through the clay.
6. Set aside to dry in a safe location. I found that this takes about 48 hours. 
7. Store extra clay in an air-tight container. I used old Cool Whip tubs, not at all fancy, but perfectly functional. As I mentioned, this clay still worked fine after 2 weeks, but only some of it turned out after 3 weeks, so that gives you an idea of how long it will last.

{Here are the oven-baked beads: 1 purple and 3 pink}

Fizzy Fun

According to Pinterest, I saved this idea 32 weeks ago, and we just got around to trying it yesterday. I'm not sure why I waited so long. It is quick to prep for, doesn't require many materials, and I don't think it cost more than a few cents (except for purchasing some eye droppers, which I know will get plenty of use). I don't know if this activity counts as science or art, or both, but it was pretty fun for my little man. I guess you could even argue that this helps develop fine motor skills because he was concentrating very hard while working with the eye droppers. Dropping colored vinegar onto the baking soda elicited lots of "Wow" reactions for 15 minutes. Truthfully, I was hoping this would entertain him for a bit longer, but being a boy, he had to find out what would happen when he dumped ALL of the vinegar into the cake pan of baking soda. At that point, he exclaimed, "Whoa! That BIG bubble is so cool!" 

{Note the tongue sticking out, the sure sign that a kid is hard at work!}

Materials:

• cake pan or clear glass baking dish
• baking soda
• vinegar
• food coloring
• muffin tin
• eye droppers
• tablecloth (optional)
• towels/washcloths/paper towels, etc. for spills

Directions:

1. Fill your cake pan or baking dish with a shallow layer of baking soda.
2. Fill your muffin tin cups mostly full of vinegar. (We used a 6-cup mini muffin pan and I filled 5 of the 6 cups. The empty cup we used as a place for resting eye droppers.)
3. Add a couple of drops of food coloring to each cup of vinegar. Stir to mix. I think I just used the eye droppers for this, but spoons work, too, of course.
4. Let your child use eye droppers to drop the colored vinegar onto the baking soda for fizzy fun.

A Few Notes:

• This is not a mess-free activity. We prepped by laying a vinyl tablecloth on the table. Then, we dressed Little Man in his paint shirt, an old t-shirt of mine that we close at the back of the neck with a clothespin. His hands got stained with the food coloring, which is not a big deal. It washes off eventually, but just be aware that this will almost certainly happen.
• We had one eye dropper at home, and I think it was purchased from a natural foods store. The other four eye droppers I just purchased this week at our local small-town grocery store. They are smaller and I found them near the checkout along with other candy making supplies. The four-pack cost $2.99, which I felt was reasonable enough.
• If you do not have food coloring, get some. It is very inexpensive, and you can do so many things with it. I recently found that the Kroger brand packages of four colors were on sale for $2.99. This is the time of year to find it on sale, with Easter on the way. I am planning to do a post soon about all of the different projects we have done using food coloring, so stay tuned for that.
• Don't have eye droppers? Check your medicine cabinet. You might have a dosing syringe or something left over from some oral medication. Or, see what ever else you can find that will work, and feel free to share your thoughts.

Vinegar Fridays: Book Review and Giveaway

Green is My New Favorite Color
I was very excited to receive a copy of Vinegar Fridays by Hana Haatainen Caye (aka Green Grandma) for review. Why am I so excited? Ever since Logan was born and I became a full-time mom, I have slowly gotten away from some conventional ways of cleaning and have switched to greener alternatives. Sometimes I look back and wish I had known about greener alternatives when Mia was a baby, but it is never too late to learn "new" things. While vinegar itself is not new, and the tips for using it have been known for generations, we have been bombarded by chemical cleaners in the past few decades. If you're like me, you have grown up using only commercial products for everything. Lately, we hear more and more news reports of things hurting our kids, so I am sure you will be glad to learn that there are simple, safe, and inexpensive solutions for cleaning practically everything! I never knew that vinegar has so many uses, and honestly, I had never used it all that much until last year when I began making my own cleaning solution. I am excited to be able to share some of Green Grandma's tips with you as well as point you toward a giveaway so you can get your own copy of this great little book.

Something for Everyone
Vinegar Fridays is a compilation of Green Grandma blog posts, organized into chapters of related items: cleaning in the kitchen, cleaning for other areas of the house, pest control, car care, kids, pets, health, beauty, and more. In the introduction, the author explains that her tips are "intended to change the way you traditionally do things -- and get you out of the habit of using chemicals and toxins in your everyday life." There is literally, something for everyone in this book. Several tips could easily fit into more than one chapter, so I found myself wishing there was an index for easy reference. Luckily, I had highlighted anything that I thought I might use (which means that my copy is full of neon yellow) and I found myself reading and rereading those highlighted sections this week, as I tried out as many tips as possible.

Why Vinegar? 
In chapter 2, Hana Haatainen Caye explains exactly what is in those commercial cleaning products and why you don't want them in your home.

1. Floor and glass cleaners and furniture polishes contain ammonia, which "can cause skin rashes and eye, nose and lung irritation." (page 3)
2. Toilet bowl cleaners, disinfectants, and laundry whiteners contain bleach, and when the American Association of Poison Control Centers' released its annual report for 2007, it showed that "over 14,000 children were poisoned by chlorine bleach." (page 3) When chlorine bleach is produced, mercury and dioxin, a carcinogen, are released. Bleach is also a skin irritant and can cause asthma attacks. Not to mention, that "when combined with ammonia, the result is a toxic gas!" (page 3)
3. Formaldehyde can be found in several places in your home including your cabinets and carpet, as well as in disinfectants, furniture polish, and detergents. This can cause "nasal stuffiness, itchy eyes and nausea." (page 3)
4. Glycols, found in degreasers, floor cleaners, and dry-cleaning solutions, can cause eye, nose, throat, and skin irritation.
5. Many carpet and air deodorizers contain napthalene. Possible side effects of inhaling this include headaches, nausea, confusion.
6. Petroleum distallates, found oven cleaners and pesticides can irritate the skin.

If you are feeling scared and overwhelmed by all of that, don't despair. The good news is that you can replace all of your dangerous commercial cleaning products with vinegar, which is cheaper and safer for your family and your home. Vinegar is an effective antiseptic, and it cleans and deodorizes. What more could you ask for from a cleaner?

Do Try This at Home
Someone's in the Kitchen with Vinegar
I definitely wanted to try a few tips from the book before reviewing it. As with everything, results vary. What works great for me, may be slightly different for you. Of course, this also means the ideas that didn't go so well for me, may have positive results for you. Really, you have nothing to lose by trying. My only major disappointment was using distilled white vinegar in the dishwasher (page 13). First, I tried making my own dishwasher detergent using Borax and Arm and Hammer Washing Soda. I expected this to work great since this is what I have been using to make laundry detergent for the past year. I was frustrated to find a cloudy film on all of the dishes, and that was even with using vinegar in the rinse compartment. I thought maybe I wasn't using enough vinegar, so I tried again, only the second time I used vinegar in the rinse compartment and our regular dishwasher detergent capsules. I still had very cloudy dishes, not spotty, but covered with a film. While I am sure it was harmless, it wasn't very appetizing, and Mia refused to drink from the cups that were cloudy. So, I wasn't interested in trying that again.

You'll be sure to like this method of cleaning your microwave. "Put a microwave-safe bowl in the center of the oven with 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup water. Cook on high for 90 seconds and let sit for a few minutes." Once the water has "cooled down a bit, just remove the bowl and wipe down the microwave with a damp cloth." (page 14) (Note: I used a microfiber towel that I got in a 24-pack at Sam's Club for about $12, and absolutely love.) This made cleaning the microwave super easy and I knew that the smells and any germs would be gone.


Remember when I mentioned that I started making my own cleaner about a year ago? One of the first things I tried was straight vinegar for cleaning the toilet. I didn't like it because of the smell. I have changed my viewpoint on this as I have been using green cleaners. Yes, vinegar has a smell, but it always goes away in a reasonable amount of time, and I much prefer the smell of vinegar to the smell of bleach. This is increased by the knowledge that vinegar is safe to touch and inhale and bleach is not. (And I do not like wearing gloves when I clean.) That said, I decided to give distilled white vinegar another shot at toilet cleaning. (page 10) A couple of nights ago, I poured a cup of distilled white vinegar into the toilet and went to bed. In the morning, I scrubbed it a little, and was pleased with the results. The toilet was clean, sanitized, and even a bit whiter. I am convinced that the vinegar made a dent in the orange streaks in the the toilet bowl, which are caused by the iron in our well water. Verdict: You won't find a better toilet cleaner; it's simple, safe, and effective.

Distilled white vinegar (1 tablespoon) also can be combined with water (1 cup) and baking soda (1 teaspoon) to make a fantastic room deodorizing spray. (page 19) Just mix in a spray bottle and use as needed. This is perfect for bathroom odors, including the ammonia smell coming from our small, open trash can where I keep Logan's used cloth diapers until I'm ready to wash them. I was curious if this would take away kitchen smell, too, like grease, and sure enough, it will. The plus is that I don't worry as much about where the spray lands because I know it is safer than the aerosol room spray I was using (as infrequently as possible because I was pretty sure it wasn't really a good thing, but I didn't know there was an alternative.) Now, I will never buy those sprays again.

I cleaned all of the bathroom mirrors with a 50/50 mix of distilled white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. (page 11). Spraying the solution onto one of my microfiber cloths instead of directly on the mirror made for sparkling, clear mirrors that were totally streak-free. That was a first for me.

I was excited by that success so I decided to see what would happen if I took the same mixture sprayed on my microfiber towel and wiped down the chrome faucets, which always seem to have soap scum and mineral deposits on them. Wow! This was so quick to do, and it worked better than anything else I had tried before. I didn't even have to scrub them with a toothbrush.

Next, I tackled the shower door. (page 10) It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but this turned out to be a sorely neglected feature of our master bathroom. To clean the shower door track, I poured undiluted white vinegar in it and let it soak for a few hours. When I went back, I rinsed with hot water and watched the gunk started pouring out. A little bit of scrubbing with an old toothbrush yielded a lot more gunk, hair, and orange iron build-up. It was pretty gross, but I feel better knowing I took care of that mess before it got any worse. And now that I know how easy it is to clean, I'm going on record to say that I have no excuse for ever again allowing it to get as disgusting as it was. To clean the shower door itself, I sprayed it with vinegar and then took my shower, allowing the steam to do the work for me. I wished I had a squeegee to wipe it down afterward. I'll have to add that to my shopping list. I did notice some film on the door when I went back later to check on it, so I sprayed more vinegar and gave it a light scrub with the toothbrush, followed by a hot water rinse. Problem solved. When I was scrubbing out the shower door track, I inadvertently discovered that the vinegar and toothbrush were taking off all that that build-up iron on the inside of the shower itself. You can't imagine how excited I was by this discovery! I have tried countless things to remove all that orange from our shower with little success, but all of a sudden it was just coming off and I was barely touching it. Needless to say, I tackled as much of the shower as I could with my little toothbrush and spray bottle of vinegar. (Note to self: I should probably add larger scrub brush to my shopping list to go along with that squeegee.) Since a picture is worth a thousand words, this one should tell the story of my rust removal pretty well.

{Vinegar + toothbrush = less orange shower. No elbow grease required.}

Around the House
For cleaning the mini-blinds, a most abhorrent chore, I used a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water in a small bowl. (page 7) I put on some inexpensive cloth gloves (the stretchy winter kind), dipped my fingers in the solution, and then slid them between the slats in the blinds. This was time-consuming, like any other method of cleaning blinds, but it worked, and as a bonus I didn't have to worry about Logan poisoning himself when he started sticking his face into the bowl.

By this point in my experiments, I am pretty sure that vinegar has magical powers. It's even giving me motivation to do chores that I let go longer than I should like dusting the wood furniture. (page 8) To do this, I made a 50/50 mixture of white vinegar and olive oil in a small bowl. I dipped one of my microfiber towels into the liquid and then started wiping the furniture down. This is fantastic for so many reasons. The wood looked wonderful, clean and shiny. It seemed to get rid of the grime that was built up in little crevices that I can't tackle with a dry cloth alone. I had previously been using my home-made all-purpose cleaner, but it didn't work this well, although I felt safer using that than back in the days of using Endust. It evens smells nicer than aerosol sprays (as long as you don't mind the smell of salad dressing). Once again, when Logan wanted to "help" I had no reason to be concerned for him touching or possibly ingesting my cleaning solution.

The last of the household cleaning "miracles" was using vinegar as a carpet spot remover. Even if none of the other trials had been successful, I would be touting the powers of vinegar just for the fact that it did wonders for my carpet. As described on pages 48 and 49, I first used vinegar to eliminate a spot where (conveniently enough) the dog had just thrown up. There are a few steps to this but it's completely worth it. First, blot up liquid. Then, sprinkle baking soda over the spot and leave overnight. In the morning, vacuum up the baking soda. Then scrub with distilled white vinegar and follow that with water. I was incredibly amazed by how well this worked at eliminating the spot and the odor, especially considering that we have tried a few different products, mostly geared toward pet accidents, with little success. Don't tell her I told you this, but the following day, Mia urinated all over the carpet. (Moms of preschoolers know that they get so involved in playing that they forget to go.) Of course after sopping it up with my microfiber towel, I reached for the baking soda. In the morning, I was worried when I saw so much urine on the surface of the carpet, but now I realize that is the way it was supposed to be. The baking soda did a great job of drawing it out and the vinegar took care of the rest. Once I knew that this works on pet stains and kid messes, my next question was "how will it do at tackling set-in stains of unknown origins?" I am thrilled to say that it got rid of one, so I am planning to do the rest of my house as time allows. If only I had known about this sooner, it would have saved me a lot of frustration, time, and embarrassment. Since seeing is believing, I have included some before and after photos of my amazing carpet stain removal experiments.

{Urine Stain (aka "Pee Pee") -- with Baking Soda}

{Urine Stain (aka "Pee Pee") AFTER -- Can you say "Wow!"}

{Stain of Unknown Origin -- BEFORE}

{Stain of Unknown Origin -- AFTER}

I Feel Pretty
Okay, after all of that cleaning, this may come as a surprise, but vinegar is my new favorite beauty product. Earlier this week I posted about my experience with no 'pooing. My new method of hair washing without shampoo was inspired in part by Green Grandma herself, and involves, you guessed it, vinegar. I've been no 'pooing for 7 weeks now, and I have no plans to go back to shampoo. To read about my experience, see my post. For more information check out Green Grandma's post or chapter 11 of the book, Vinegar Fridays, which is devoted to the topic of no 'pooing.

If vinegar is good for hair, it must be good for nails, too since they're made of the same stuff, right? After soaking my feet in a bowl of water mixed with 1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar, I polished my toe nails. I was hoping that the soak would smooth out my cracked heels like it did for Green Grandma (page 23), but I must have set my expectations a bit high. My feet were soft, but I still had dry, cracked heels. Oh well, I figured, and decided to try out the nail polish since she said it would go on smoother and last longer after an application of vinegar. (page 26) (Honestly, I didn't expect the foot soak to be a miracle cure, so I wasn't terribly disappointed.) Verdict: the polish did go on more smoothly, and as far as I can tell it lasts longer (no chips yet, and it's been a few days). So, this was a success.

I really wanted the acne remedy to work. In fact, I think this is the first thing I actually tried from the book. (pages 26-27) In a plastic container with a lid, I mixed 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in a cup of water. I apply this morning and night after I wash my face. I decided this is healthier (and cheaper) than the store-bought astringent containing things I cannot even pronounce. Right away, I was sure it was working. I remain optimistic despite getting two new breakouts. It certainly isn't any less effective than the store-bought stuff, because I was getting zits while using that, too.

I haven't used face masks in awhile. As any mom will tell you, we don't spend as much time or money on ourselves as we did in the BC era (Before Children), so that seemed like an obvious extra to cut out of the beauty regimen. However, after trying Martha Washington's Vinegar Facial Mask, (page 25) I am planning to make this a weekly me-time ritual. It's easy to make up; there are only 3 ingredients. Combine 1 egg, 1 teaspoon honey, and 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, apply to your face, and wait 20 minutes before rinsing with warm water. I know that this improved my skin because my husband commented on it both the evening that I did the mask and the morning after. My skin was fresh and glowing, and I swear it even felt tighter, at least temporarily. This will definitely give you some exfoliation, just not in a harsh way like those scrubs do.

High Hopes
There are many, many more tips and tricks contained in the book, Vinegar Fridays. I am sure it will take me a few months (or even years) to get through them all. The good thing is that I have this guide to refer to whenever the need arises, and I have high hopes that vinegar will get the job done. I've compiled the following list of tips I am sure to use in the near future:

• removing crayon from the wall (page 8)
• hiding scratches in wood furniture (page 9)
• cleaning the grime off cupboard doors (page 13)
• unstopping clogged sinks (page 15)
• getting garlic or onion smell off of hands (page 20)
• eliminating odors after carsickness (page 21)
• for minor cuts and scrapes (page 24)
• wart removal (page 26)
• relief for aches and pains (page 33)
• to soothe coughs/congestion (page 34)
• to prevent ear infection (page 35)
• relief from nausea and vomiting (page 36)
• sunburn relief (page 43)
• treatment for itchy skin-- caused by bug bites or poison ivy, sumac, etc. (page 44)
• gum removal (page 45)
• cleaning toys (page 46)
• all natural flea-bath and preventive -- To keep in mind for when it gets warmer (page 47)
• cure for pet's hot spots (page 48)
• keeping rabbits out of the garden (page 51)
• getting rid of ants --This will have to wait until next summer. (page 54)
• laundry stains and other woes (pages 60-61)

Two Ways to Get Vinegar Fridays
Want more great ideas that will save you money while making your home clean and healthy? Buy the book, Vinegar Fridays by Green Grandma, Hana Haatainen Caye. Or win a copy of Vinegar Fridays by doing the following:

1. Like Green Grandma on Facebook.
2. Post a comment on the Facebook page letting her know I sent you. Simple, huh?

The deadline for this giveaway is Wednesday, December 14, 2011. One winner will be randomly selected by Green Grandma. The winner will be announced on this blog.

Coming Clean

My "Dirty Little Secret"
I have been trying to figure out when it's appropriate to share my "dirty little secret," and I have decided to just "come clean" and make it public knowledge to all three or so of the my regular readers (and anyone else who happens to read this). I haven't shampooed my hair in 7 weeks. There I said it. Okay, there have been two trips to the salon where my hair was shampooed by my stylist (despite my telling her both times that I had just washed it), but I personally have not used shampoo in 7 weeks. Before you get grossed out, let me explain that I am still washing my hair, just not in a "conventional" way. Aside from my husband's initial comment, "Your arms are getting tighter around that tree all the time," nobody has said anything. Maybe they haven't noticed a difference, even though I have. I suppose that is good since I have been trying to appear to be a "normal" person, however, I am really hoping to start getting some compliments soon because I want to share my "no 'poo" success.

A Seed is Planted
Sometime over the summer, my friend Jenifer announced on Facebook that she had stopped using shampoo. I had never heard of such a thing, so admittedly, I thought it sounded a bit odd. However, she is a very green person and I respect and admire that about her, so the idea stuck with me. Then, when I read that Green Grandma (one of my favorite new blogs) was also no 'pooing with positive results, I felt like it was time to give it a try.

I didn't even realize a person could wash her hair without shampoo, and since it had taken years of trial and error to find the commercial products that give me the best results, it was natural to have some reservations about ditching my Pantene. My biggest fear was that I would look like a greaseball and that was not going to be okay since I was just getting started with my chocolate business and I figured that people wouldn't want to eat or buy food from someone who looked like she hadn't showered in awhile. So I asked Jenifer for some advice, which she quickly provided. She joked that pony tails were her best friend for the first few weeks, which I can understand. And not to be shocked if my hair gets flakier. That's just the scalp getting back to normal (more on that later). Mostly, she gave me some reading to check out, and this helped me understand more about no 'pooing before I jumped in with both feet. Here is another blog that Jenifer suggested, and I found to be quite informative.

My other concerns were pertaining to the vinegar rinse. I worried that vinegar isn't the best smell on earth, and what if my hair ends up smelling like it? Jenifer assured me that rinsing helps get rid of the smell, and by the time my hair is dry, it will not smell like vinegar. And she's right. Also, most of the websites I looked at (including Green Grandma's) said to use apple cider vinegar and I only had distilled white vinegar in the house. I asked if this was okay to use, and Jenifer said yes. It's what she uses. I asked about the difference and she suggested that it was personal preference (and budget) comparing apple cider vinegar to sirloin and distilled white vinegar to hamburger.

Debunking the "Squeaky Clean" Myth
I'll let you in on a secret that the shampoo companies don't want you to know. Washing with shampoo, especially as frequently as they have led us to believe is necessary for clean hair, is actually bad for your scalp. It strips it of natural oils, which causes the oil glands to kick into overdrive, which is turn means that we have to wash our hair more often to keep up with the excess oil that is being produced. Your hair does NOT need to "squeak" to be clean. That is marketing, pure and simple, and most of us have bought into it for years because we didn't know there was an alternative.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat -- No Thanks!
Getting away from using shampoo is an eco-friendly choice. The amount of energy used to produce and package baking soda and vinegar is much less than what is involved in creating shampoos and conditioners. Using commercial shampoo guarantees that you will use commercial conditioner, because shampoo is so harsh, you will have to add moisture. Shampoo is essentially detergent. Detergent is not really good for your hair, and I assume this means it isn't good for the environment either since shampoos are filled with chemicals to do everything from produce extra suds (completely unnecessary for cleaning hair) to preserving the shampoo and preventing growth of bacteria (nice to know you aren't using bacteria-laden shampoo, but doesn't it make you wonder why this is needed in the first place?) to making it smell nice. In other words, by using shampoo, you are massaging chemicals right into your skin, which is your largest organ. Scary, huh?

In addition to saving me money by passing on the shampoo, my scalp is now healthier. I wouldn't be surprised if my overall health is better, too, given the toxins that are in that Pantene I was using. (Check this list of shampoo ingredients to avoid if you want to know more about your current shampoo.) I don't wash the kids' hair all that often since it doesn't really need it, but I am considering transitioning them over to no 'pooing. The biggest concern that has kept me from doing it is the vinegar rinse. I am afraid they will fight me on this because it doesn't smell fruity like what they are used to, and if it happens to get into their eyes (which, face it, it very likely will), it will burn. However, after learning more about the chemicals used in shampoos and how the FDA does little to regulate them, I may have to change this how we wash the kids' hair. The Suave Kids shampoo they currently use has the same bad ingredient as Pantene: sodium lauryl sulfate. When it comes down to it, exposing them to toxins is a much greater concern than the temporary stinging in the eyes, especially when the FDA is not going to protect consumers from known carcinogens.

My Wash Routine
When I began no 'pooing I tried to go 3 or 4 days between washings like Green Grandma, but it just didn't seem to work and I wasn't all that happy with how I looked. (My pony tails look like weird stubs, not really cute, so I really wanted to avoid that option.) At this point, I am washing every other day, which is half as often as I used to wash when I was using shampoo. Online, you will find many different variations of how to no 'poo. This is mainly due to the fact that everybody has unique hair, so your washing needs may vary from mine. It may take a bit of trial and error before you get it figured out. Here is my routine:

1. Before washing, I brush my hair and scalp well. This is actually very new to me. Having curly hair has meant that I formally did not brush it since it would create frizz and damage the hair. I haven't noticed any damage, and since I am washing immediately after, frizz isn't a concern. The brushing helps distribute the natural oils before washing. Note: Natural bristle brushes are recommended, although I haven't purchased one yet.
2. Next, I add 1/2 tablespoon of baking soda to a measuring cup and get in the shower. (Initially, I used a full tablespoon, but I have tweaked it to fit my needs.) I fill the rest of the measuring cup with warm water, and mix the baking soda in with my finger. To wash, I just pour small amounts at a time all over my scalp, gently massaging as I go. I then rinse out my hair as usual. 
3. In place of conditioner, I use about 1/2 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar (again, I started out with a full tablespoon, and I have tweaked the amount as I've gone along). I pour it into my measuring cup, and then fill the rest with warm water. I pour this mixture over my entire scalp, and then wait a few minutes before rinsing it out. Since I am only washing every other day, I use this time to shave my legs, which works out nicely. Lastly, I rinse. Note: Since I'm on a "hamburger budget", I've been using the distilled white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar.
4. That's it. I let my hair air dry, and I no longer need to use styling products to make my hair behave.

Ready for My Close Up
My naturally curly hair looks different depending on what point in the "wash cycle" I am at, but it's actually more predictable now than it ever has been before. I've always joked that my hair has a mind of it's own, which I am sure other curly-haired people can relate to. Now, I know that it will be curlier on the days I wash it -- really nice, almost controlled looking curls that are soft, shiny, and very nearly frizz-free. (And believe me that last detail is enough to convince me this no 'poo business is a good thing that I am doing for myself. I never would have guessed I would have such beautiful hair without the use of styling products considering that I was never able to get it to behave with any of the commercial products that I have tried over the years.) On the off days, it loses some curl, but it is fuller than before and it looks nice when I finger comb it and fluff it out.  

I have never been as happy with my curls as I have since I gave up shampoo. I think my hair is beautiful, and honestly, I don't know if I have ever felt that way before. The funny thing is, I am not buying expensive salon products-- just plain old vinegar and baking soda: safe, cheap, and effective. What more could I ask for from a shampoo and conditioner?

{I washed my hair the day of this photo.}

{See how happy I am with my hair?}

{Close-up of hair on day after washing.}

{Best bed head ever.}

By the way, stay tuned to the blog for an upcoming review and giveaway of the book Vinegar Fridays by Green Grandma. Vinegar has more uses than you can even imagine, so I can't wait to share.