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I will no longer be posting at this site, Please check out my new website at

www.coloradourbanhomesteader.com

Homemade Dishwashing Detergent

I have finally run out of Cascade for the dishwasher and have made my first batch of homemade dish washing detergent.  It is super simple to make and fits into a reused pasta jar nicely.  I have tried it, and it cleaned the dishes well, but did leave some water spots.  Doesn't really matter to my husband, but it bothers me, so next time I will add vinegar to the rinse cycle and supposedly that will take care of the water spot problem.



I used:
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1/4 cup citric acid
1/4 cup kosher salt
Mix it all up and store in reused pasta jar.  Use 1 tablespoon per load of dishes.


 Cost breakdown:
Borax (76oz. @ $5.49)=                                 8oz. @ $0.58
Super Washing Soda (55oz. @ $4.59) =         8oz. @ $0.67
Now Citric Acid (4oz. @ $3.49) =                 2oz @ $1.75
Kosher Salt (16oz. @ $2.00?)=                      2oz. @ $0.25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL                                                                     $3.25 for 20oz. = $0.08  per tablespoon (load)

Homemade dish washing detergent = 8 cents per load
Cascade dish washing detergent = 23 cents per load

Recycled Paper Fire Bricks

For Christmas, my sister gave me a Paper Fire Brick press.  At first I didn't know what it was or that even such a thing existed.  What is it you ask?  It is a press that will take recycled paper materials and press them into a brick shape that you can use in your fireplace instead or in addition to firewood. 

I think my husband was more excited about this than I was.  In our house we go through A LOT of paper material on a weekly basis.  I alone go through about 3 boxes of cereal, we get three newspapers on Sunday for the coupons, and then there is all the scrap paper and junk mail that we get too.  Now instead of recycling it (which isn't as great as it is made out to be, because recycling is still an industrial process that uses chemicals, inefficient garbage trucks, and lots of fossil fuel; but more on that later), I can now reuse it to keep me warm.

How do you make a Paper Fire Brick?   You take any paper material (except magazines), so that means junk mail, newspaper, printer paper, scrap paper, wrapping paper, old Christmas cards, cereal boxes, toilet paper roll, etc. and tear or shred them into 1/2" wide strips.  Take those strips and place them in a bucket full of water and let sit for two days.  After the paper material has gotten mushy, take the pieces and place it into the brick press and squeeze out the excess water.  Let the brick dry for at least two weeks and use in the fireplace.  It's that easy!   The biggest issue is letting the bricks dry so that they will burn better, we have found a good solution for the winter time.  Take a cookie wire race and place it over the heater vent; it will dry the bricks faster while still heating the home.  During the summer, just leave them on a porch to let them sun dry. 

You can buy it for about $25.  The one we have is made by Northern Industrial Tools, and we like it so far.  The only draw back, is that once you press the logs, they are had to get out of the mold.

 (We don't have cats, but took this bucket from a neighbors recycle bin, washed it out and it works great for our soaking paper.  Someday I will cover it and make it look pretty)

 ( These are some of our first bricks that are drying over our heater vent, under a side table)

 (At first we tried drying them outside, but because of winter, they took too long to dry and would freeze)

 (Here I am pressing a brick)

 (Ta-da!)

 (Our bricks are very colorful because of all the recycled Christmas wrapping paper)

 (Stuff the brick mold)

(Press it down)

 (Lift it out of the mold, and there you have a fire brick)

Reusing Packaging Materials

I have been slowly finishing products around the house, and have kept the packaging to reuse.  Here is my stash, it is growing quite large.   Within the week I will have to start making my own dishwasher detergent so hopefully I can find a use for a few of my bottles

Decision: To Use or Not To Use Papertowels and Napkins

I mentioned before that we are couponers and that we have a stockpile of a bunch of things.  Well, yesterday I ran out of paper towels in the kitchen and went downstairs to take the last three rolls from our stockpile.  In my mind I think "can we do away with paper towels?"......

We use a lot of paper towels in our household, and so I first have to understand what we use them for so that I can decide if we can do without them. This would be a big change for me, and one that would make it very apparent to guests/family that I am an urban homesteader.

1. Wiping up spills around the house
2. Cleaning windows, TV screen
3. In place of napkins (when we run out of napkins or if they are more handy)
4. Drying produce after washing them
5. Drying larger pots and pans occasionally
6. Drying hands after washing them
7. Blowing my nose because they are handy
8. Who knows what else, it's an uncontrollable reflex to reach for a paper towel right now.

Yup, all of these reasons can be replaced with something more efficient, more absorbent, and more reusable.....a dish towel/hand towel. 

I asked my husband if when we run out of paper towels, if he wouldn't mind switching to washable towels.  He kinda looked at me for a second, thought about it and then said nope he didn't mind. (I love my husband, he seems supportive of my urban homesteading quest.  He said he is up for pretty much anything I want to do except replacing toilet paper!  haha)

I have been keeping my eye out for a bunch of earth friendly wash cloths/cleaning cloths that I will need to buy.  Right now I am not sure how many I will need, I guess it will be trial and error.  And a system for drying them, storing them, and a washing bin to throw them in.  I have found a couple cute ideas on Pinterest.

Same goes for napkins, rather than the disposable ones, I am going to invest in some reusable/washable ones that will match our dishes.

I am still deciding if I want to replace the Kleenex with washable fabric.  I have a bunch of old baby wipe tubs that can be used as a container for the reusable facial tissue.  Hmmm.....I am sensing a project for the future.

I will keep you updated if and when we actually make the switch to reusable/washable papertowels, napkins and facial tissues.

Cleaning Chemicals

 I watched "Comerical: Redefining Clean for a New Generation" on Netflix.  Now, it is not the greatest movie; it is poorly produced and didn't state where they got their facts from, but it did make you think twice about what you are cleaning the house with and/or putting on your body.  I would still recommend for anyone to watch it.


Some of the interesting facts that got me thinking were:
*  A adult will come into contact with 72,000 chemicals on a yearly basis.
*  Stay at home moms have a cancer rate 54% higher than working moms.
*  Chlorine is the #1 toxic household poison

I am a stay at home mom, and since I am home all the time naturally I want to make sure my house is clean since I have to live in it and see it all day every day.  With a baby and two crazy dogs, I am always cleaning.  I never really thought about how it affects my health or my baby's.  In fact, my thinking was the opposite.  I thought that if I had a clean house (I am not talking about a sterile house since I believe that germs and some allergens are good for you) we would be healthier.  By cleaning the house on a daily/weekly basis, I am actually hurting myself and baby because of the toxins we are breathing in and being absorbed through our body.  Who knows if cleaning products are actually linked to cancer, but it's fair to say that it's probably not good to be around toxic chemicals.

The movie followed a family as they gave up the store bought chemical cleaners and switched to a more healthy/non-toxic/green alternatives.  From watching the movie, I realized that I didn't have to give up cleaning, or live in filth, but rather just change what I cleaned with.  Most of their new cleaning products were vinegar, baking soda, washing soda, and peroxide based.  Same with their personal hygiene products.  Then the light bulb went on in my head, if something is not safe to ingest then why would I want to breathe it or put it on my body; it will still be absorbed.  Anything that happens to the outside of my body should be safe for the inside of my body.

At the beginning of the movie, they asked the family how many cleaning supplies they thought the had in the house and the mom severely underestimated the number.  Of course I started thinking about how many I had in the house, I thought it was about 20 all together.  I too severely underestimated the number.  I have 58!  I was amazed by how many store-bought stuff I had on hand for my baby.  About a month ago, I actually had to switch brands because she was having an allergic reaction to something in our first product.  I can't believe that I didn't just go homemade at that point, instead I am now subjecting her to other chemicals.  And to think that I was trying to do the right thing, by buying the more expensive product too! 

I am slowly going to switch over to toxic-free, chemical-free cleaners and personal products as I need them.  In the movie, the family went cold turkey and tossed all their cleaners and switched immediately.  I feel since I have already paid for the products  I am going to use them up and then reuse the bottle/packaging if I can.  In the mean time I am just going to be more conscious of opening up a window while cleaning and toss all of my air fresheners right away.

More will follow when I actually start making switches.  I think the biggest switch will be my window cleaner, I swear by Windex.  I think it is the greatest and nothing else can compare...we'll see.

Walking to the Grocery Store

Two years ago my husband and I decided that since we both worked and lived in the same city, that we were going to only have 1 car.  It has been great, there has only been a handful of times where we wish we had two cars, but not often.

Since I am now a stay at home mom, he takes the car 4 of the 5 days of the week.  So if I need something from the store I used to be trapped, until I realized that I can walk there.   The local grocery store is 1.75 miles away, so it makes for a nice 3.5 mile with with my little girl on a nice day.

Today I needed some veggies for my turkey soup that I am making, so I walked to the grocery store.  Our grocery store prides itself on providing produce from Colorado growers, and so I now make a conscience effort to purchase those items (at least until I get my own garden and don't have to go the grocery store to buy produce). 

I was pretty happy, the celery and carrots I needed were on sale and the organic type.  Score!  But I did forget to bring my reusable bag, bad me.