For those of you near a Harris Teeter, Triples begin today. Remember the rule of only twenty (to triple…you can use more but they will be at face value) coupons per household. I’m sure that Harris Teeter’s gonna be packed all week. People love triples.
I’m heading out after lunch with my kiddos and I just may swing in there. 
Happy shopping.
In yesterday’s post, I mentioned the dark side of produce known as the Dirty Dozen, however, there is a brighter side of our leafy friends called the Clean 15.
Don’t you just love that?
It’s the good vs. bad – even in produce.
(And doesn’t that conjure in your mind visions of bad apples dueling with sweet peas in a fierce fight for “table rights.” No? I guess that’s just me. Must stem from an over-active imagination that I’ve suffered with since childhood.)
Another method of stretching all those dollars that we talked about yesterday is knowing where to wisely spend extra cash. Focusing on purchasing the Dirty Dozen organically or at the farmer’s market while purchasing the Clean 15 at Aldi or your local supermarket will definitely allow for healthier decisions.
Just like the list I shared on the Dirty Dozen with number one (apples in 2011) being the highest contamination, the Clean 15 is a chart of fruits and vegetables numbered in order of least contamination.
Yay for onions. And sweet corn. And some unknown fruit and veggie cousins like avocados, asparagus and eggplant that this country girl never had on her table growing up. Those were just unusual produce decorations at the grocery stores and truthfully, didn’t appeal to my little girl taste buds. However, as an adult, I wouldn’t mind trying some of them now.
Don’t hold me to it though.
And certainly don’t ask me, if I actually swallowed them…if and when I try them.
I’ll never tell. =)
Back to the produce war, sweet corn also has a somewhat “dirty” little secret that you may want to be aware of in order to shop smart. Commodity corn crops (used for biofuel and animal feed) is almost always grown with genetically modified (GMO) seeds and here’s the interesting tidbit, so is some, not all, of the sweet corn grown for our intake. This is just a heads up for some of you who are serious about GMOs and human consumption since often GMO sweet corn is not noted in our stores. If this concerns you, organic sweet corn would be the route preferred.
Or get to know your farmer’s market better.
Or grow your own corn from your own seed selection.
That back forty’s getting pretty full, huh? {rolls eyes}
Tomatoes actually made it onto the Dirty Dozen list in 2008 but has been pushed out since then with other dirtier companions. Yet they are not on the Clean 15 chart either.
This veggie…er, fruit or whatever class you want to put it in, is typically one that most people attempt to grow in their own back yard.
Thanks to my dad, we have faithfully been growing tomatoes since we were first married. He would buy them and plant them or perhaps bring us plants that he’d started from seeds. The rest was up to us.
Sadly.
We’ve had some good years and some bad ones. Last year was a bad one. (Sorry, Dad.)
But we will keep trying. I’m not going to use city water this time…see if that helps. And also use some manure.
It all comes down to this -fruits and vegetables are supposed to be good for you. Let’s keep it that way.
Our kids love, love, LOVE fruit and vegetables and I want to to feel good about giving them to them. There are growing health concerns with pesticides and their side effects -specifically with children and pregnant women.
I just want what is best for my family.
So whether you choose to grow some of these veggies or not, it is definitely a relief to know that this group of produce, the Clean 15, is less harmful given their unique and protective designs of rinds, skins, husks, etc. You can pick these up at the store with a greater peace of mind knowing that the pesticide levels are little to none.
And the change saved on frugal sales for the Clean 15 will allow more wiggle room on purchasing organically grown produce on the Dirty Dozen chart.
And pennies add up.
Armed with this knowledge, we can shop wisely and really not stretch the budget. It’s a matter of give and take.
Some organic, some not.
Some Dirty, some clean.
Spend a dollar, save some change.
It all comes out in the wash.
Sometimes literally. =)
Don’t let the fear of expense cost you healthy living. Shop smart.
Today as I was planning my meals for this week, going through ads and making my shopping lists, my eyes kept straying to the organic produce. They never do that.
But as I mentioned in Baby Steps, we are trying to eat better and choose with greater care what we put into our bodies. And sometimes, yes, it may mean a bit more money. However, even organic foods run sales and markdowns.
Something that I had pinned a while back on Pinterest was the well-known chart called The Dirty Dozen. This is a list of the top fruits and vegetables that absorb the most pesticides. If possible, these are the ones to buy organic.
Typically it is listed in numerical order of which would be the highest pesticide, herbicide and other chemical contamination for that year. Since I could not find the 2012 Dirty Dozen list to share, I made my own chart listing the guilty culprits from 2011 in alphabetical order. =)
FYI: Celery was the number one (highest) contaminate for 2010 crops only to be outranked by…wait for it…apples in 2011. Yup. And we love apples. Guess that tossed the ol’ adage “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” out the window!
For those interested, here is the list in order of highest contamination for last year:
Yikes. We love, love, love the first few listed….quite dearly, I might add.
So what do you do when your budget doesn’t allow for organic foods across the board?
Ummm,…that would sooo be us.
If the money for organic produce is simply not in your budget on a given week or perhaps not at all, try to buy the dirty dozen at the farmer’s market. While produce at a farmer’s market is often not organic, it is a far cry better than the fruits and vegetables produced on massive industrial agricultural farms.
Buying fruits and veggies in season and in bulk (think canning here…it’s on my summer to-do list) can sometimes allow you the ability to strike some rather awesome deals at produce stands. And you’d be supporting local economy. A win-win in my book.
So if your wallet stands in the way between you and organic, local farmer’s markets are certainly a healthier choice.
Another option would be to grow as many of the dirty dozen as you can yourself. This would provide you with the advantage of knowing exactly where the produce was grown and how it was nurtured and harvested.
Confession here: I need to work on cultivating my green thumb a bit more before attempting a huge garden undertaking. Well, see how many of my herbs, veggies and flowers survive this year’s blunderings.
Can I just say that this is a hard pill for a frugal gal like myself to swallow, but for the sake of the health of my family, I will gladly hand over a few more bucks. We are/will be saving money in different areas as we continue on in our journey towards simple, healthy living. So in the long run, not to mention long term, it is a wise choice.
And taking care of our health is worth every extra dollar.
Right, Pop? You’d rather have a healthy apple than George or Abe any ol’ day, huh?
By the way…..Kroger has organic apples on sale this week. Just so you know. =)
Happy shopping, negotiating and/or growing.
Linking up to these parties: Women Living Well
Hey, hey. Hope that you guys have a had a great week. Aren’t you glad that it’s the weekend? I am.
It’s time for some more tips and tricks for Walt Disney World. In this series, we’ve already covered:
Today we are going to be talking about ways to save some money on the “big” expenses while at Disney. Notice that I said …some money. Things cost. Prices were similar to other vacation spots -in my opinion. Inflated, yes, but not shocking.
HotelStaying in a Disney Resort would have been wonderful, but for us it was not an option. Why? We have too many children. It would have meant purchasing another room. Major expense. And simply not an option with our children’s ages -even if we did have the money.
**The current Disney resorts only allow up to five occupants per room. However, Walt Disney World is putting the finishing touches on a new economy resort featuring Finding Nemo, Little Mermaid and Cars. These new suites will accommodate up to 6 guests and boasts of fairly good rates. We looked into these (obviously not for this trip but for the future) and found that our hotel rates saved us nearly $1,000 over this new economy Disney suite. We had booked our hotel in advance and received some really good rates. We could have gotten even better rates a few months earlier but we were not ready to purchase them yet. So weigh your options and then book in advance.
On the flip side, we did stay in a really nice hotel near Downtown Disney that was affiliated with the resort and ran a daily shuttle to the parks. It was called Hawthorne Suites (Lake Buena Vista).
We did our research and found that it had many, great reviews.
We LOVED it.
(Tuesday’s breakfast: country fried ham, mini waffles, eggs, donuts, bagels, fresh fruit, cereal, oatmeal bar and hot/cold beverages)
Our hotel was quite close to the Disney parks, so we opted to drive the short distance to and from the parks everyday. Traffic was surprisingly never an issue. This allowed us the freedom to come and go according to the needs of our little ones and not be regimented by the hotel’s shuttle schedule. If you do not have little ones though, definitely save yourself the daily parking fare.
Parking
(I added the actual row number later as we walked by it {painted on the ground} to the tram.)
So word to the wise, check for your parking ticket before you leave the park in the afternoon.
If you are like us, strollers were a must. Bringing our own stroller could have posed an issue with using the hotel shuttle if we had opted for that route. (We had read online that the hotel shuttle did not allow double strollers- wasn’t sure what that meant for our Sit-n-Stand.)
Renting strollers at the parks is an option for those who don’t want the hassle or those who flew to DW. Yet there were several cons that I felt outweighed the pros of renting their strollers.
All-in-all using our own stroller worked really well for us. It was way more comfortable for the babies (DW are made of solid plastic for ease of cleaning/sanitizing), smaller to navigate, easier to spot in the “endless sea” of stroller parking (required for specific attractions), made walking to our van a breeze and saved us a boatload of cash.
This can be a huge expense. Yet it doesn’t have to be. Disney lifted the ban on bringing in your own food and beverages which allows people to save mega bucks in their budget.
We did not buy 90% of the children’s food or drinks at any of the parks- with the exception of Animal Kingdom. We bought everyone’s drinks there.
**You are not allowed to bring drinks with straws or caps into the park-for the safety of the animals. This ruled out pretty much everything but filling your own water bottles. On the other hand, we read that Florida water doesn’t taste very well, so we opted for spending some money.
Not buying meals for our small kids was an easy decision. You see, we have found out over the years that our children simply do not do well eating in stimulating, public places. Eating is the last thing on their mind and we have wasted a LOT of food and money in the past. Was not gonna happen at Disney.
They can also be picky at times. What to do?
Well, our kids have a special love for peanut butter sandwiches. Plain. So that’s what we did. We packed lunches every day. (And no, it wasn’t always PB.)
And snacks. And drinks. And we were all happy.
So was our wallet. =)
Fuzz enjoying her Sprite at AK {comes with a paper straw}
However, we would allow the girls to pick one treat each evening. They really looked forward to this and would spend the day discussing what they would choose. Too cute
Flame Tree Barbecue {Animal Kingdom}
Hubs and I would split a meal at one of the quick service/fast food counters. This was another tremendous savings each day. With all the walking, the stress of keeping track of four little kiddos and the fatigue (oh, the fatigue!), sharing a meal was more than enough. The portions were certainly big enough to do this.
All the same, if we were still hungry, we’d grab another appetizer, snack or just munch on the kids’ packed treats later on in the day.
We were definitely touring Disney on a Dime, but then again, so were most of the families there. And you know what, we had a blast in spite of being frugal. Years down the road, we won’t remember the areas where we had to pinch pennies or that we had to drink bottled water all week instead of soda or lemonade. We were making memories with our children and that’s what we’ll remember- the smiles, the looks of wonder and the laughter.
And those, to me, are priceless.
I will share some more details about snacks/foods next week as we discuss saving money on “little” things. So stay tuned.
Happy weekend.
Some days we just get the urge to craft. We can’t hold it back. It’s uncontrollable.
Ever been there?
You have an idea that just won’t go away.
Finally, you just do it.
You craft.
And nothing gets in your way.
Not even eggs.
Thanks, Fuzz. You’re girl after my own heart,… but just let me know the next time you want an egg carton, …pretty please?
Yes, I know Friday’s Funny is a bit early. Oh well. Back tomorrow with more on our Disney on a Dime series.
Ever have days where you are struggling, I mean really struggling to see, to comprehend the big picture? I have. In fact I’ve had days, many days, this past winter that I’ve been straining in my spirit to fathom the small portion in my life that I did not understand.
I still cannot.
Life can be like that. It’s the story of your earthly journey being written by the all-knowing, all-seeing hand of God and yet given to you one. word. at. a. time.
Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to us. We don’t understand. What can I do with this event or circumstance in my life? The word, if you will, alone seems to have no meaning. What possible purpose could this serve? And we begin to question.
We even go so far as to put words together in a finite attempt to desperately discern its function in our life. So we begin to mesh our problems together in order to discover the reason for it all. 
What happens? The end result is skewed. It is distorted. Why? We are not the author of our biography. We cannot see the future which sometimes clarifies the problems of today and the sadness of yesterday.
We also have days when life seems to be falling into place. We’re getting it. It all makes sense…or so we think. But it’s a matter of perspective. Today’s a little clearer than yesterday. Why is that?
It all hinges on where we stand. Up close and in the moment, we’re confused.
We get frustrated. We shed tears. We hurt.
But one day, we will understand. We will see the wisdom of the twist and turns in our life. It may be months or perhaps even years down the path of life before events become clear. And others we may never recognize their purpose in this life. Rather they are a matter of faith, a matter of the heart while on this earth.
Are you with me? Can you trust the hand of God? Even when all we have is “one word” – a mere glimpse of the larger picture, our life?
Then one day as we’ll step back and see God’s plan, we’ll realize how great He is and will be filled with thanksgiving that He was in control all the time.
I found this message hidden in the “playroom” {aka: messy bonus room} this past winter- right in the midst of my own inner struggling. It caught my eye as I walked by. And drew me closer so that I might see the entire message. I uncovered it all.
And it made me think. First as a mother, I wonder what this message was all about? =)
But also as child of God, it spoke to me.
God is working all things for good in my life. In trials, we draw closer to Him. Yes. God is good all the time.
And there in the midst of chaos and clutter, I found encouragement.
It was a sweet little reminder of the love of my Lord written in a little childish message. Just when I needed it most.
And I smiled through my tears…then and now.
It was a step, albeit a tiny one, in my walk with God. Recognizing His goodness and love in a moment of human confusion and discouragement.
Blessings,
First of all, I just want to say how overwhelmed I am by the scores of people who read yesterday’s post, Baby Steps. Wow. I’m glad that I am not alone in my desire to change. You guys are the best readers.
Anyhoo, I just wanted to drop you guys a line about a sale that I spotted at my local Walmart. I wasn’t even planning on looking at children’s clothing, just your average customer cutting through the clothing department. I’m such a softie {no pun intended]} when it comes to children’s clothing- especially soft fleece rompers and pjs.
Makes me think of warm little snuggles on cold, winter evenings. And of sweet-smelling babies. And a crackling fire in the fireplace. And sipping hot chocolate topped with whipped cream.
*sigh*
Let’s just skip summer and fall and head straight to winter, shall we?
Ok, maybe not. However when the sign above says $1.00, they have my full and undivided attention….regardless of how far off the season is from now.
They were too cute. Some were marked $1.00 and others were priced higher but still rang up for $1.00. So you may have to price check.
Perfect time to stock up for your kiddos for winter or for baby gifts. Check your local Walmart for similar sales.
I just love the pitter-patter of little feet.
Ten tiny toes.
Adorable little shoes.
The excited wobble of a wee one learning a new skill.
Those first few baby steps are a milestone. And such a sweet one. They remind me of life.
We learn. And we keep learning. Learning can sometimes mean change. It can mean steering us down a new path.
For some of us, change causes us to flee in the direction we’ve come, to comfort, to familiarity.
Yeah. Me too.
But you know what? Deep down, we all desire change no matter how uncomfortable it makes us. We want to improve, to better ourselves.
And that is the mission behind this little series of “Baby Steps“. In our home, we desire change. Hubs and I are committed to making some changes. Nothing really earth shattering, mind you. But the benefits will be long term. The series will encompass developments in three areas of our lives.
We want to simplify our lives. To recreate the good ol’ days in the midst of a high-tech, modern society. Some remember fondly the days of chatting over picket fences, chasing fireflies at dusk and playing checkers on the front porch while waving to the neighbors driving by. And for others who don’t remember this lifestyle, visions like these only seem like a dream come true. Where living was easy and slow.
Now I am realistic enough to realize that memories are not always accurate nor are tales of bygone days always as perfect as indicated. But I still yearn for a slower pace of life. I think that this is true of many of us.
We are beginning to take baby steps to simplify our life and home. So that we can have time to chat over the fence. Flit after fireflies with the children. Play checkers on our front porch.
It will mean letting go.
Not only do we dream of a simpler lifestyle, but Hubs and I are seriously reevaluating our environment and diet. We have given up most processed foods, the use of our microwave (ours is an exhaust unit for our stove so we can’t get rid of it) and most commercial cleaners.
So what are we doing?
We are taking baby steps to better health. This means making most things from scratch. Wait, you say, what about living a simpler, easier lifestyle? More work {homemade} + simple living = oxymoron, right? I guess to some it may seem that way.
However, some things that I’ve made from scratch have been soooo super-duper simple it was almost pathetic. And the freedom from toxins,chemicals, preservatives, food coloring and artificial sweeteners in my cleaners and food has been a relief and actually downright liberating.
Join me as I exchange things in our home for a better, healthier way.
Life is passing by so quickly. I want to change. Me. I want to keep growing in my walk with God. I’d like to be yards farther down this path of growth, but I’ll be happy with baby steps from where I’m currently standing…as long as I’m moving forward, to stronger faith, to better service.
I also desire to be a better wife to Hubs. We recently went on a couples retreat with our church and it. was. refreshing. Just us. No kids. We needed it. It was inspiring. It was a reminder to love each other. To shift our thinking (his brain/her brain), to refine our home and marriage. It stepped on my toes.
In turn, this urges me to seek better, more consistent mothering. I love my children with all of my heart- and then some. My love simply multiplies as God blesses our home with each new child.
Mothering is a beautiful thing.
And yet at times I feel like a failure. I want, no, need to do better. They are growing so quickly.
And last of all, I want to improve myself, learn new skills, attempt new things. To put it in the words of Hallmark, “Life is a special occasion” and I want to experience it, to enjoy life. Life is a gift and I don’t want to take a single day for granted.
That’s it in a nutshell.
To simplify. To health. To growth.
Outward. Inward. Forward.
Baby steps.
Happy Monday.
P.S. FYI, our baby is on the brink of taking his first steps. Caught him standing by himself today. So, yes, he was the inspiration for the title of this series. =)
Linking up to these parties: Women Living Well,
I guess one of the most important details for our Disney Trip was planning our time. There is soooo much to see and do that you are somewhat dazed. And flying through Disney World at break-neck speed just doesn’t sound right.
Here are a few things that we learned that helped maximize our minutes and allowed it to be a truly wonderful week.
You go when you can -obviously (and when you can afford it). However, if possible, it is best to avoid the heat of summer (ask me how I know-even nearly 25 years later I can still feel the burn). Remember we are talking about Florida here.
They also recommend not going during spring break. (uh-oh. remember rule #1-you go when you can.) For us, well, spring break was the best time. Knowing that it would be crowded meant we just had to manage our time even better.
We found a site called TouringPlans.com which was helpful in steering our planning for Disney. It was not free, but it helped us to know which park was busiest, what attractions were closed, how many minutes wait for rides, etc.
Touring Plans helped us map out a plan for each day. We chose DW touring plans for parents with small children and then tweaked it specifically for our family. By the end of the week, we were not sticking to our original plans via our Androids like we thought we would. The site does not take into consideration the use of rider swaps.
Would we purchase the membership again? Probably not. It helped us in our pre-plans, but then most of those plans got screwed with longer waits, rider swaps, etc. I wouldn’t consider it money wasted, because it gave us a game plan for each day. It was helpful for newbies like us. We just wouldn’t need to purchase it again. Just my two cents. However it may be just what your family needs, so check it out.
Speaking of rider swaps earlier, this is an excellent feature. It allowed Hubs and I to enjoy going on rides with our children. Due to our wee ones, we were never able to ride attractions as a couple which would have been fun.
Oh, well. Watching the thrill on our girls’ faces was just as special.
We had to approach the attractions as a family- so the Disney workers could see the other spouse and the “need” {read: many kiddos} for the rider swap. Then one of us would take Bunny or Fuzz and get in line for the attraction.
The spouse left with the babies and the other big girl would go sit and enjoy the gorgeous Florida weather. It was a time for snacks, diapers, drinks, etc. Bird watching quickly became a favorite pass time for Zip and Pop. Or should I say bird chasing?!
Then when… say, Hubs got back with Bunny (who’d be all smiles), I would go to the fast pass lane with Fuzz (or Bunny would ride again if Fuzz was too short or scared). The rider swap would be handed over, gaining us immediate access to the front of the line. Rider swaps saved our family from having to wait in the line twice.
**You could even save the rider swap for later that day if you prefer. Unlike the fast passes, the rider swaps are good for any time on that given day.
I cannot say how much I loved this feature. As soon as we arrived at a park, we would try to have in mind which fast pass we wanted to get first. Then we would come back at our cards’ allotted time and give them to an attendant who would then direct us to a separate line. It was such a relief to by-pass the multitudes of people waiting for Space Mountain (for 90+ minutes) and be in/out in 10-15 minutes tops. As soon as we made use of our fast passes, we were eligible to get some more for another {busy} attraction.
Sometimes you may be given “surprise” fast passes at the ticket gate or at the machines (like above). We actually didn’t use the fast pass for the Carousel of Progress. It was an older attraction that moves people through fairly quickly. (Btw, it was a really cute ride- times really have changed over the past century.)
We also did not use the above Meet Mickey passes since we had already met him and his friends at Camp Micky-Minnie (in Animal Kingdom). Not to mention that the Mickey attendant told us that we could not use the passes since we were three hours late. We had assumed that the Disney princesses AND the Mickey passes were for the same time…10-11pm. We’d received them at the same time.
However the attendant for the Princesses told us that she would slip us in to see Mickey after we were done with the others- if we wanted.
We went straight to the head of the line to see Cinderella and Co. The line to see them was HUGE considering the hour (after 11pm). Once we were done, forget about seeing Mickey again- we got on the ferry to start the trek home from Magic Kingdom.
So, yeah, sometimes you don’t use them, but they certainly do come in handy when the day is hot and the line is long.
(By the way, my girls are like any other little girl. Mesmerized by princesses. It was too sweet. They were just full of questions…are there really princesses out there somewhere? ….where do they live?…are there really princes?…what about their castles? Of course, it was an excellent opportunity to remind them that through their faith in God, they, too, are little princesses.)
If you are waiting in line for an attraction, then your spouse or someone else can run and grab a fast pass at the same time. Or take the kids to the bathroom. Or change a dirty diaper. Or buy a funnel cake for their sweetie. Ahem. Whoever that might be.
To maximize our sleep at night, we would bath the kids the night before. Four very sweaty, dirty, sticky-with-sunscreen kiddos would go flying through the tub every evening from anywhere between 10pm-12am. (Thankfully we only had one late nighter at MK due to the fireworks, princess meetings, and the necessary ferry/tram ride just to get to our van.)
I would do this to Bunny with her damp hair at night. This made hair styling a breeze and helped avoid some serious bed-hair in the morning:
**Hats can also hide messy hair and protect from the sun. A win-win. =)
I also had packed the kids outfits in labeled ziploc baggies with socks, undies- everything needed. This was a tremendous help. Let me say that again. This was a tre-men-dous help. It made the mornings so much smoother.
I also took my showers the night before. I tried out Laine’s No Heat Headband Curls. Loved it. I felt so fancy and put together in spite of the late nights and early mornings.
I laid out our clothing the night before too. (and no, there were no ziploc bags for us. Not a bad idea though- I just didn’t have any big enough to not wrinkle our clothes.)
Pack the diaper bag. Charge your phones, cameras and computers. Pack the snack bags- as much as possible.
Seriously. Do these things. You will thank yourself in the morning. And your Hubs will thank you for it. And your kids will thank you- for us, it meant getting to the park on time.
Ride the tram. As much as of hassle that they were, the trams made toting four weary children and food/diaper bags much easier. 
Strollers have to be collapsed to ride the trams- which was/is a royal pain. We quickly learned that carrying the babies and having the big kids help with all the bags the short distance to the tram pick-up was way, way easier than loading and reloading everything in the stroller.
Another tip would be specifically for entering the Magic Kingdom. Drive to Epcot and park. It will not be crowded due to opening an hour later than MK. Then simply load the stroller down with babies and bags, grab the hands of older kiddos and walk to the monorail station (remember you arrived early and found good parking). Roll the stroller and kids right on and ride to MK. Then tranfer to the MK monorail and sail smoothly into the MK gate entrance- with NO juggling of children or loot. 
Or if you’d prefer, you could roll right onto the ferry for a boat ride instead of the second monorail to the MK entrance.
Little things like this {that are hassle free} make a HUGE difference when daddy and mommy are tired. =)
Make every minute count. Children grow up way too fast.
Also in this Disney on a Dime series:
We’re All Ears (Intro)
A Mouse Celebration (Telling the Kids)
Happy planning.
I know. I know. This is sooo overdone in the blogosphere. You can stop reading if you want. I won’t hate you- I may not speak to you anymore, but I won’t hate you.
My commercial dishwasher detergent stockpile from Kroger [from about 3.5 -4 years ago] is finally depleted. Yeah. $0.38 a box deal.
It was time to jump on the bandwagon and make my own. I liked It’s Just Laine ‘s mix (and her stinking cute glass) and also One Good Thing ‘s recipe.
So I combined the two. It’s just a small batch that I may continue tweaking over the next few days/weeks specifically for our machine and water type.
I grabbed a jar from Walmart yesterday and also my washing soda and kosher salt. (I already had the pink lemonade kool-aid and Borax. And we always have a big jug of vinegar with our cleaning supplies for our DIY glass cleaner.)
Here’s the recipe:
1 c. washing soda
1 c. borax
1/4 c. kosher salt
2 packs unsweetened Pink Lemonade Kool-aid
Use 1 tbsp of mixed detergent and add vinegar to the rinse aid compartment. And you are done.
It was so incredibly simple that I felt guilty.
Why had I put it off for so long?
Then I ate a piece of chocolate and felt much better.
I just dumped all of my ingredients together in my clean, new jar.
Was that silly of me? to wash my jar for soap?
Then I gave it a good shake…for good measure. And I’m sorry about that. It made the glass all cloudy for my pictures. I was oh-so tempted to take a napkin and wipe off the inner edges for the photos, but I held my OCD self back.
Whew.
My first load is sloshing happily as I type. And it makes me feel good to cross this off of my list of projects.
**I’m storing this in our laundry room to keep little people out of it. And also so no friends or guests mistake it for a sugar bowl or something. Not everyone reads labels, ya know? Yes, I’m a worry wort.
How about you? Anything that you’ve been pinning and meaning to do- for ummm, ages?
Please share. Make me feel better.
