A paddle short of a canoe trip?

I wanted to share a couple of "recipes" with you- not because I am (see post title) but because it is super cheap, better for your health, and so much better for the environment. I just made a container that contains one gallon of laundry detergent and when the math is said and done- each load of laundry will cost about 1 and a half cents.
So, in case you are interested in chemical free laundry detergent here is the recipe:

---1 bar of mild smelling or unscented soap (do not use Fels Naptha- even though some websites recommend it- there are a bunch of unnamed chemicals in it)
---1 cup of Borax
---1 cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
---4 cups of water
---a few drops of essential oil (optional)
---and a 1.5 gallon pail or bucket with tight fitting lid.

Finely grate 1 bar of soap.
Bring to boil 4 cups of water and add the soap. Let the soap sit on the stove for about 10 minutes covered until the soap melts and remove from heat.
Put the soap mixture into pail or bucket and add borax and washing soda. Combine until well combined. Add 1 gallon of water and continue to mix well- about 5 minutes- with large spoon.

Cover and let sit for 24 hours and then add essential oil if you choose- mix in well. Use 1/4 cup per load of laundry (this should be enough for about 64-72 loads). If you choose to double or triple- use a 5 or ten gallon bucket to store and then transfer to smaller containers as needed. Shake or stir your smaller container before each use.

I also made a chemical free- all natural multi purpose cleaner. It contains equal parts of vinegar, water and essential oil to your taste. I cannot stand the smell of vinegar so the essential oil was a must for me. Put into a spray bottle and shake well. I cleaned my floors this morning, my counter, my cabinet fronts and my refrigerator handles with this solution using a half cup of water and half cup of vinegar and two or three drops of mandarin oil. It worked great!

I read that laundry detergents, dryer sheets and fabric softeners are among the worst offenders for the environment and personal health. After I try a few homemade chemical-free replacements of those products, I will post those recipes here and my conclusions about them. Or, do your own research and see what you can come up with. I would love to hear about it if you try these or something different.

It's a BOY!

I can't believe it. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. We are having a BOY! YIKES! How does one do that after three perfectly amazing and gorgeous and sweet little girls?! Advice is appreciated and so are name ideas. My love, Kim

Happy 2009!

Our Christmas holiday was spent with family and friends up in Redmond, WA. Those of you who know me well- know that I crave a good, dark, cloudy, rainy, windy day. You know that I was longing to get away from the Utah Snow/Sun/Snow/Sun/Snow for a while and enjoy some good Seattle winter weather. Unfortunately, the weather elves wanted to play a trick on me- and indeed they did. 2 feet of white, wintry snow fell for 8 days straight in Redmond. I grew up there and have never seen anything like it. We were snowed in. It made for some great pictures though and probably the most picturesque Christmas ever experienced by humankind. The smiles on the faces of our daughters also made my great sacrifice worth it! Thank you weather elves and Allgoods for hosting our little clan for 2 weeks!

So, you couldn't really tell from these pictures that it actually snowed while we were there. That is because this is our new camera and we didn't get it until Christmas Day and didn't take pictures with it until we got a lesson from Jon. Unfortunately, the snow was near melted by then. So, I will plead for some pictures from the family and post asap. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and continue with your merriness throughout the New Year.