DIY Liquid Castille Soap. The easiest DIY you’ll ever do.

Since I learned about laurel sulfates and parabens and their dangerous risks, including endocrine disruption, protein breakdown, cancer.. to name a few… I’ve been looking for safe products, ways to de-toxify our home environment Here’s what I’ve learned.

Products, especially shampoos, are starting to be more available. But, they are not inexpensive. Enter Castille soap. The hippy staple for decades. Castille soap is so good, so pure, so versatile. You can use Castille soap in so many ways from hair and body, to laundry and scrubbing your sink. But Castille soap can be pricey, especially if you’re using it in so many ways.

I found an awesome DIY on Pinterest to turn Castille bar soap into liquid. It has saved me so much money, and it’s so incredibly easy that I had to share.

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All you need:

1 bar of Castille soap (Kirk’s is pretty inexpensive)

1 mason jar

1 pot

2 3/4 C water

Knife

Boil the water. While it’s boiling chop up the soap.

Place it in the mason jar.

Poor the water in the jar. It’ll melt pretty quickly. Some bits take longer so let it sit for 20 minutes. Stir.

I forgot to take a picture till after I used most of it! 😂 it’ll make an almost full jar.

Use in all your normal liquid Castille soap ways. It’s a bit thin, but cleans perfectly. I use it in my homemade laundry soap, hand soap, dish soap… etc.. You can add essential oils of your choice.

Some DIY recipes are tricky. But this is a great one to cut your teeth on if your a newb.

It hasn’t been an easy transition for my autism kids. I use old shampoo bottles for shampoo and liquid soap. So far so good. I’m currently working on finding a way to get them to accept DIY toothpaste because I haven’t been able to find something without glycerin. (Glycerin prevents re-mineralizing toothpastes to do their job). I’ll post when I find an autism accepted recipe for my family😊.

Good luck! Let me know how you’re turns out.

What is Zero Waste, and some easy ways to start.

I had to sit a moment and think about where my zero waste journey began. I decided it began as a teenager in the late 80s. I became more conscious of recycling and was vegetarian for a while. I remember asking my mom to buy recycled loose leaf notebook paper. I had to convince her of its merits, since it was about a dollar more.

As a grew older I began to be more aware of how plastic was convenient, but I knew I could save money buying one permanent thing, rather than repeatedly buying plastic bags.. etc. I think living through financial struggles really helped me dig into ways to save money, and they always involved making something myself, sewing something, or repurposing something. Really, this is how our ancestors lived.

This gradual unfolding of my life has lead me to realize I can label myself “zero waste”… much like I did with minimalism.

Zero waste means we stop using plastic in our daily living. For me personally, I feel like a steward of mother earth. She has few advocates. I can do my part. So can you. If we all did, we’d have a much healthier planet to leave our posterity.

Since I’m fairly new at this, and you might be too, I’ll share some things I’ve started doing. Then I’ll share my upcoming plans for my zero waste living.

1. Use cloth towels and napkins instead of paper towels. You can make them, or buy them. Here is a great DYI

2. Make your own beeswax plastic wrap, I’ll post about my first time making these next.

3. Use reusable grocery bags. I’ve been collecting these, and keep them in my car so I won’t forget. If I do, I recycle the plastic grocery bags.

I sell reusable grocery bags that I paint, on my etsy shop

4. Stop buying plastic as much as possible. I know in our consumer driven disposable world, this is easier said than done.. but I’ve found you can find reusable products almost anywhere. (Even Wal-Mart sells metal reusable straws)

5. Make your own earth friendly products. Skip the chemicals! Helps your body and the earth. Win win! I make my own laundry soap, soft hand soap, sunscreen, body butter, lip balm, mascara, and toothpaste. I’ll post soon about my DIY adventures.

Home made laundry soap (just needs a stir) and beeswax wraps.

6. Dry your hands on your clothes, when you can, at public restrooms, instead of using paper towels or hand dryers.

7. Recycle all the things! My proudest garbage days are the days when I have a full recycling bin and a nearly empty garbage bin. Yes!

8. Be conscious. There are so many little things we can do. Like not using a plastic straw at a restaurant, or bringing your own reusable take out box.

My future plans of zero waste include:

1. Removing toxic plastics for from our home. This one is big…and trickier than you think because these plastics are in everything and replacing them is tough because I’m on a budget.

2. Continue to share and educate others on this important topic.

I am a newb.. but mostly in the terminology. I love my planet. “It’s where I keep all my stuff!” as the Tick would say. I know a lot of people won’t make these changes. I know corporations won’t stop using masses of plastic. But the few kind souls who do, will make a difference.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Ghandi

Top 10 Gentle Approach Ideas to Unplug

Last night our power went out. It was almost dark so I went looking and collecting all my kids. All accounted for, we all sort of huddled together in the kitchen looking for light sources. I went in the front yard to see if it was just ours or our neighborhood. Several neighbors were outside as well and we waved and agreed on the outage.

I suggested we all go out on the trampoline and jump, have some fun and pass the time. My 12-year-old climbed on the roof and gave us reports of how far the power was out. The rest of us had some legit laughs jumping in the dusk.

I have to admit. It was exciting, and I was grinning when it went dark. Why? I have been thinking about that. I’ve come to the conclusion that deep down I long for a simple time. I loved the way we were all together. The battle to unplug my children is challenging, especially with my three boys on the autism spectrum. Their generation seems to have been born with a port attached to them. Having the power out meant I wasn’t being the “out of touch with technology” parent trying to stifle their love of the internet. It was just a pleasant event that filled me with unexpected joy. It made me think. How can I get my kids to want to look away from a screen? I’m not naive, I know this tech is here to stay, and I quite enjoy it myself. But I know as well, that it can be addictive and all-consuming. Here are some ideas that I’ve come up with, and used in the past to help unplug.

1. Go hiking, camping, get outside. It’s renewing to get out into nature, and breath clean air, smell the mountains.
2. Go to museums. I love the Clark County Heritage Museum in Henderson, NV for example. My kids do too and there are no touch screens explaining anything. It’s an old school historical museum and my kids and I love it.
3. Take day trips. Sometimes it’s just fun to have a change of scenery and be in a new place. I have a list of places near us that we’ve never been to. Kids and adults love an adventure.
4. Board games. When one of my children asks for a specific board game, I do my best to buy it for them if possible. Not so much if they are begging for a video game. Recently we got Ticket to Ride Europe. It’s a super engaging game. The more people playing the better, its loads of fun.
5. Get active. We aren’t a real “sporty” family, but we like to get out and ride bikes or fly kites. If you’re into sports play with your family, or find like minded people. I’ve learned that I need to say yes when my kids ask if I’ll ride bikes with them.
6. I make manipulatives like playdough. Sometimes the big kids play, and I’ve got a recipe for magnetic playdough that is sure to get them off the screens. The novelty of a new kind of playdough usually works. Moon sand, oobleck, or just covering a table with shaving cream gets the kids excited. Rotating these various manipulatives works so they don’t get tired of them.
7. Dance Parties. We have family dance parties periodically. Usually, everyone gets involved. We have a disco ball and twinkle lights up around the room. We turn up the music and laugh at who can dance the silliest.
8. Ice cream taste tests. We’ve done this before and it was delicious! Everyone had to vote out of the five ice cream brands we bought. It was a lot of fun.
9. Take awkward family photos, on purpose. We have a good photographer friend who has a lot of hats and wigs and props. We pose ridiculously and can’t stop laughing. The pics are so fun to look back on. You don’t need a professional photographer, anyone can do this. It’ll become the perfect facebook pic.
10. Window shop or thrift shop. We mostly love to thrift shop. My kids love to search through the junk looking for that hidden treasure.
11. BONUS: Set the example. Let your kids see you reading, creating, sewing.. anything that excludes a screen. Your example will count for something. If not now, they’ll remember when they need it.

Keep in mind these are all ideas that will appeal to kids and teens over outright parental technology boundaries. A gentle approach to getting kids off media for a while. Of course, we all need to set boundaries for our children and ourselves. I have them myself in my home.

Until the next power outage, I hope we all unplug a little more and live life. 🙂