Today, as I do every Monday, I started the laundry. On this hot, humid day in May, I was dreading turning on the dryer. So, I decided I wasn't going to. I took the first load of laundry outside and proceeded to hang things all over my fence and the swing set. If only there was some invention where I could maybe hang them all in a line. Possibly there would even be some sort of mechanism to hold them in the air so the wind and sun could do the same job my dryer does for free. Oh wait, I think I remember something my great grandma once had. What was is called? A clothes line and clothes pins! Those are still a thing, right?
My husband came home and informed me that we actually have a clothes line in the garage. So, I hopped on my bike and bought a bag of clothes pins, put them in my bike basket and happily rode home. I hung my second load then took a walk while my three year old practiced his bike riding skills.
It is this kind of old school thinking that I really think needs to come back, at least in my life. Sure, it may take up more time, but for a gal who is always looking for a way to burn more calories and get a free tan, hanging clothes on a clothes line is really more beneficial than just getting my clothes dried for free. I'm starting to realize as I branch out with making my own cleaning, body and food products that, not only am I saving money, but I am enriching my mind and my body while capturing a simpler time. I'm finding the more I do, the less I watch tv and a lot of my bored eating has subsided. This is probably because I am no longer bored. This week I hope to make deoderant and toothpaste as well. Stay tuned for more on my hippie transformation!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Week 2 of No-Poo
Week 2- Um, this isn't getting any better and then...Eureka!
I suffered through week 2. I was being kept awake at night because of how vane I am. I wanted my nice shampooed, oil free, hair back. So, I would vow to wash my hair the next day so I could go to sleep. Then the next day would come and I would somehow get through it without washing my hair because, dog gonnit, my husband would not be right about me giving up! I could see the end now, though. I committed to two weeks and I was more than half way there. I used some more baking soda and then decided I should try something else that I read about. Borax. There are people on the internet that rave about how wonderful it is to wash your hair with this. Do NOT believe everything you read! It was aweful! My hair was still greasy, but now it felt like straw! Ugh, now I know I guess. Then I did another egg/lemon juice wash and it returned to it's next day without shampoo look. Phew! Never thought I would be glad to see that!
I made it through two weeks! Then, on the first day of week 3 I washed my hair with shampoo and conditioner. Hooray, right? I must have been so relieved you say. Not exactly. My hair was an aweful fly away mess. It was so whispy. I think what might have happened is that by not washing it for two weeks, my normally brittle hair was actually gaining some strength and the little fly aways that I'm accustomed to had grown out some, so now I had quite a bit longer fly aways. This was a worse look than what I normally have. So, I thought, I'm not any happier with shampoo than I was with my shampoo alternatives, but if I continue not to use shampoo maybe I will have stronger, thicker hair. That sounded like a good hypothesis to me!
Now I am seventeen days in and I have had a Eureka moment which is why I decided this needed to go on a blog for other no-poo curious and advocates to read about! I have scoured the internet for information on natural hair care and have found several ingredients that could help clean oily hair. Also, there was a lady that had a recipe for a shampoothie.
1 egg
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 of a cucumber
I decided, what do I have to loose! As I was making this, I remembered reading about how rosemary is a good astringent. There was instructions to boil the rosemary to make a tea and then use it, but since it was an after thought I just threw 1 tsp of dried rosemary from my spice rack into my shampoothie. This made about a cup altogether. I realized I had more than I needed so I put half in a different cup and stuck it in the back of the fridge where I hope a child doesn't find it and drink it.
Once in the shower, I rinsed my hair for a minute or so in warm (not hot, you don't want scrambled egg in your hair) water Then dipped my hand in the cup of shampoothie and started putting it on my head. Between the peel of the cucumber and the rosemary, there was a nice exfoliating effect. Once it was applied all over my head, I massaged it in for a minute or so then let it sit while I washed up my body and shaved my legs.
Then the rinse started.
It takes forever to rinse it all out. I just rinsed it regular for about a minute then turned the water off to get out, but once I put my hand to my head, I realized there was still some in it so I had to turn the water back on and kind of separate my hair a bunch to get it all out. Pain in the butt, right?
TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!
It looks like I used shampoo! No oil at all! I found the magic all natural shampoo recipe for my hair! I am looking forward to using the rest of my shampoothie this week to see if it will work even better once the rosemary has a chance to infuse it. I am still going to try to wash my hair only every other day or so, but I am so excited and had to share with the world my joy!
Will I ever go back to shampoo? I can't say for certain, but if this continues to work for me, I don't see why I would!
I suffered through week 2. I was being kept awake at night because of how vane I am. I wanted my nice shampooed, oil free, hair back. So, I would vow to wash my hair the next day so I could go to sleep. Then the next day would come and I would somehow get through it without washing my hair because, dog gonnit, my husband would not be right about me giving up! I could see the end now, though. I committed to two weeks and I was more than half way there. I used some more baking soda and then decided I should try something else that I read about. Borax. There are people on the internet that rave about how wonderful it is to wash your hair with this. Do NOT believe everything you read! It was aweful! My hair was still greasy, but now it felt like straw! Ugh, now I know I guess. Then I did another egg/lemon juice wash and it returned to it's next day without shampoo look. Phew! Never thought I would be glad to see that!
I made it through two weeks! Then, on the first day of week 3 I washed my hair with shampoo and conditioner. Hooray, right? I must have been so relieved you say. Not exactly. My hair was an aweful fly away mess. It was so whispy. I think what might have happened is that by not washing it for two weeks, my normally brittle hair was actually gaining some strength and the little fly aways that I'm accustomed to had grown out some, so now I had quite a bit longer fly aways. This was a worse look than what I normally have. So, I thought, I'm not any happier with shampoo than I was with my shampoo alternatives, but if I continue not to use shampoo maybe I will have stronger, thicker hair. That sounded like a good hypothesis to me!
Now I am seventeen days in and I have had a Eureka moment which is why I decided this needed to go on a blog for other no-poo curious and advocates to read about! I have scoured the internet for information on natural hair care and have found several ingredients that could help clean oily hair. Also, there was a lady that had a recipe for a shampoothie.
1 egg
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 of a cucumber
I decided, what do I have to loose! As I was making this, I remembered reading about how rosemary is a good astringent. There was instructions to boil the rosemary to make a tea and then use it, but since it was an after thought I just threw 1 tsp of dried rosemary from my spice rack into my shampoothie. This made about a cup altogether. I realized I had more than I needed so I put half in a different cup and stuck it in the back of the fridge where I hope a child doesn't find it and drink it.
Once in the shower, I rinsed my hair for a minute or so in warm (not hot, you don't want scrambled egg in your hair) water Then dipped my hand in the cup of shampoothie and started putting it on my head. Between the peel of the cucumber and the rosemary, there was a nice exfoliating effect. Once it was applied all over my head, I massaged it in for a minute or so then let it sit while I washed up my body and shaved my legs.
Then the rinse started.
It takes forever to rinse it all out. I just rinsed it regular for about a minute then turned the water off to get out, but once I put my hand to my head, I realized there was still some in it so I had to turn the water back on and kind of separate my hair a bunch to get it all out. Pain in the butt, right?
TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!
It looks like I used shampoo! No oil at all! I found the magic all natural shampoo recipe for my hair! I am looking forward to using the rest of my shampoothie this week to see if it will work even better once the rosemary has a chance to infuse it. I am still going to try to wash my hair only every other day or so, but I am so excited and had to share with the world my joy!
Will I ever go back to shampoo? I can't say for certain, but if this continues to work for me, I don't see why I would!
Shampoothie results!
No-Poo! What The...
Now onto my biggest experiment yet! I have decided to join the no-poo movement! While this may sound like I have committed to being very constipated, I assure you it has nothing to do with bowel movements! Sorry for my junior high boy moment there...Anyway, going no-poo means to stop using shampoo.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Ok, now that I've given you ample time to freak out and lament about how gross I am, let me give you some more information.
A few weeks ago, my mother in law asked me if I saw the news story on how sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laurethe sulfate may be dangerous. Just so you know, these two things are harsh detergents the strip oil. They are used in basically anything that suds (shampoo, soaps, dish detergent, laundry detergent, face wash, etc.) Beyond being dangerous, they apparently mess up the natural balance of your hair which causes you to use all of those other products just to get a mildly, desirable effect. So, this tid bit of information along with my obsession for making things led me to look for shampoo alternatives (I'm not crazy, I'm still going to wash my hair somehow!)
Week One- Why the heck am I doing this again?
So, I made a two week commitment to not using shampoo. Everything I've read told me that there would be an adjustment period of 2-8 weeks where I would just have to wait out the greasiness and to invest in some headbands and hats. This almost had me running back to my beloved shampoo and conditioner, but I am stubborn and since I committed, I had to go through with it so my husband wouldn't be right about me giving up!
I have very fine, thin hair that is about down to my shoulders, along with this, I also have oily skin which means I was washing my hair everyday because it was oily everyday. So, I decided that I would suffer through washing my hair only every other day with shampoo alternatives that would not completely rid my hair of oil. The most common recipe I found for shampoo was
1 tbs of baking soda
1 cup of water
That was it and for conditioner
1 tbs of apple cider vinegar ( I love vinegar!)
1 cup of water
Yup, that simple. This should last about a week or two I found out, but not until I used all of it the first time...
Since I wasn't loving the results, I decided to use more baking soda. I just put about a tbs in my hand and mixed a little water to make some paste. Then, I apply it to my roots and massage it in and let it sit for a few minutes. You want to be careful about using it on more than your roots though. It can make your hair feel dry and cottony if you use too much. You have to play around with what's right for you.
Then use the conditioner. The apple cider vinegar evens out the pH balance of your hair from the baking soda. If you have oily hair like I do, I suggest not using on your roots because it makes it look more oily. Again, you have to play around with what is right for your hair.
I wore a lot of head bands that first week, but even with this, I couldn't take the grease! So on day 5 I did an egg wash. This consisted of 1 egg and 1/4 cup of lemon juice put through the blender. I left it on for about 5 min. while I washed up and shaved and this made my hair look soooooo much better! Not as good as shampoo, but I was able to ditch the head band for a day!
Thank goodness I was at a retreat this first weekend and didn't have to endure church with a greasy head. My next post will cover week two.
Me, after one week of no shampoo.
Household Experimenting!
So, I've been on a natural/make my own household products kicks lately. I figured that as I go through these experiments, I guess you could call them, that I should somehow document what I am going through.
I have been making my own laundry detergent for about a year now.
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
2 bars of ivory soap
I throw the ivory soap in the food processor and it turned into a fine powder, then I add the other ingredients and viola! 2 tbs. per load.
A few weeks ago, I decided to see what else I could start making. I figured I might as well start with fabric softener to complement my detergent.
3 cups water
1.5 cups white vinegar
1 cup of any kind of hair conditioner
Stir it all together. You can put it into your washing machine, or do what I do, which is put in a spray bottle then spray onto a wash clothe and throw it in the dryer. Although this works good, I will be looking for a different recipe once I use this up. Hence the natural part of my making things kick. I would like to find one that doesn't use the conditioner to get the chemicals out. I am also going to invest in some essential oils and experiment with adding some scent to the clothing.
I also make my own cleaning solution/ant repellent. It's just a white vinegar-water mixture not in any specific measurements, but my three year old loves to use the spray bottle and it makes me feel better knowing he can spray to his hearts desire and not get hurt. Vinegar is my homeboy at this point. I am convinced that there is nothing is can't do!
Now onto my biggest experiment yet! I have decided to join the no-poo movement! While this may sound like I have committed to being very constipated, I assure you it has nothing to do with bowel movements! Sorry for my junior high boy moment there...Anyway, going no-poo means to stop using shampoo.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Ok, now that I've given you ample time to freak out and lament about how gross I am, let me give you some more information.
A few weeks ago, my mother in law asked me if I saw the news story on how sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laurethe sulfate may be dangerous. Just so you know, these two things are harsh detergents the strip oil. They are used in basically anything that suds (shampoo, soaps, dish detergent, laundry detergent, face wash, etc.) Beyond being dangerous, they apparently mess up the natural balance of your hair which causes you to use all of those other products just to get a mildly, desirable effect. So, this tid bit of information along with my obsession for making things led me to look for shampoo alternatives (I'm not crazy, I'm still going to wash my hair somehow!)
Since this could be a rather long post documenting my no-poo journey, I'm going to expand on it in another post.
I have been making my own laundry detergent for about a year now.
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
2 bars of ivory soap
I throw the ivory soap in the food processor and it turned into a fine powder, then I add the other ingredients and viola! 2 tbs. per load.
A few weeks ago, I decided to see what else I could start making. I figured I might as well start with fabric softener to complement my detergent.
3 cups water
1.5 cups white vinegar
1 cup of any kind of hair conditioner
Stir it all together. You can put it into your washing machine, or do what I do, which is put in a spray bottle then spray onto a wash clothe and throw it in the dryer. Although this works good, I will be looking for a different recipe once I use this up. Hence the natural part of my making things kick. I would like to find one that doesn't use the conditioner to get the chemicals out. I am also going to invest in some essential oils and experiment with adding some scent to the clothing.
I also make my own cleaning solution/ant repellent. It's just a white vinegar-water mixture not in any specific measurements, but my three year old loves to use the spray bottle and it makes me feel better knowing he can spray to his hearts desire and not get hurt. Vinegar is my homeboy at this point. I am convinced that there is nothing is can't do!
Now onto my biggest experiment yet! I have decided to join the no-poo movement! While this may sound like I have committed to being very constipated, I assure you it has nothing to do with bowel movements! Sorry for my junior high boy moment there...Anyway, going no-poo means to stop using shampoo.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Ok, now that I've given you ample time to freak out and lament about how gross I am, let me give you some more information.
A few weeks ago, my mother in law asked me if I saw the news story on how sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laurethe sulfate may be dangerous. Just so you know, these two things are harsh detergents the strip oil. They are used in basically anything that suds (shampoo, soaps, dish detergent, laundry detergent, face wash, etc.) Beyond being dangerous, they apparently mess up the natural balance of your hair which causes you to use all of those other products just to get a mildly, desirable effect. So, this tid bit of information along with my obsession for making things led me to look for shampoo alternatives (I'm not crazy, I'm still going to wash my hair somehow!)
Since this could be a rather long post documenting my no-poo journey, I'm going to expand on it in another post.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
So...it's been forever.
It has been forever since I've posted, but there has been a lot going on. Let's take a look at the list.
1. I worked a bunch the few weeks before Easter and customers suck.
2. I have been keeping up with running through all that (yay!)
3. I reached 6 miles last week and am going for 6.5 tomorrow.
4. We got our foster care license!!! We should be able to start visitation next week!
5. We started potty training our big boy and he is doing better than I could have hoped.
So lots of big things. I am 1.5lbs away from my 10% goal with weight watchers and I would like to hit that this week, but with last weekends free for all and trying to rein in my sugar cravings this week, it's doubtful. The 6.5 mile run tomorrow should help. I also decided that I should start running to my meetings on sat. morning. It's 3 miles round trip. It breaks it up, but it still counts, right?
I've been struggling with motivation and self sabotage lately, so I started a facebook page to find some online workout buddies. No else is really posting, so it kind of sucks, but maybe it will take off eventually. It's called Leah's Fitness Friends if you're interested. In the meantime, I am very proud of myself for reaching my goal of running three times a week. I really need to work at adding two weight lifting sessions back in though. One down this week, still need to carve out time for another one.
1. I worked a bunch the few weeks before Easter and customers suck.
2. I have been keeping up with running through all that (yay!)
3. I reached 6 miles last week and am going for 6.5 tomorrow.
4. We got our foster care license!!! We should be able to start visitation next week!
5. We started potty training our big boy and he is doing better than I could have hoped.
So lots of big things. I am 1.5lbs away from my 10% goal with weight watchers and I would like to hit that this week, but with last weekends free for all and trying to rein in my sugar cravings this week, it's doubtful. The 6.5 mile run tomorrow should help. I also decided that I should start running to my meetings on sat. morning. It's 3 miles round trip. It breaks it up, but it still counts, right?
I've been struggling with motivation and self sabotage lately, so I started a facebook page to find some online workout buddies. No else is really posting, so it kind of sucks, but maybe it will take off eventually. It's called Leah's Fitness Friends if you're interested. In the meantime, I am very proud of myself for reaching my goal of running three times a week. I really need to work at adding two weight lifting sessions back in though. One down this week, still need to carve out time for another one.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Running, running, running, SQUIRREL, running, running, running...
Yesterday I ran 4.3 miles at an average of 10:59 pace. I will call that successful since my goal was 4 at 11:30. I ran with Phil on a running path at a park nearby. It was really nice to be in some nature instead of having to look out for cars all the time. Although, a squirrel was really close to me at one point and I was very tempted to chase it. I refrained, but barely...
I have one more workout to reach my goal this week, but I really don't feel like driving to the gym. I think I'm going to do my last weight lifting session at home instead. After all, we do own weights, a weight bench, an exercise ball, tension bands...wait, why do we pay for a gym?!? Oh yeah, because it's waaay to easy to sit on my butt here instead.
Now I would like to do some comparisons between country running and city running. Just a few things I've noticed since I've started running here.
Country Running
I have one more workout to reach my goal this week, but I really don't feel like driving to the gym. I think I'm going to do my last weight lifting session at home instead. After all, we do own weights, a weight bench, an exercise ball, tension bands...wait, why do we pay for a gym?!? Oh yeah, because it's waaay to easy to sit on my butt here instead.
Now I would like to do some comparisons between country running and city running. Just a few things I've noticed since I've started running here.
Country Running
- Dirt roads are waaay easier on your knees than pavement
- No stop lights or crosswalks
- No sidewalks
- Few cars
- Few people
- More animals
- Smell of manure in the air
- Shade from trees
- More potholes and puddles
- Many fellow runners/walkers
- Scary people at bus stops
- Smell of fried food and cooking meat in the air (mmm!)
- Parks with set running trails
- More small dogs barking constantly
- Greater need to ice my knees when I'm done
- Many more paths to take
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Grounds in the coffee throw off the whole day!
I woke up at 8 this morning feeling pretty good (I usually don't get up until 9ish). So, I thought, what the heck, why not start the day before Danny wakes up. I had Bible study at 9 and this gave me a chance to actually get there on time. On Tuesday mornings, I always have my coffee and breakfast at church. So, I get settled in and sit down to drink my mocha and it taste, well....less than delightful. Therefore, I did not get my coffee. That combined with waking up earlier made me very sleepy.
After I left church, I went to my mother in law's house to drop off D so I could go to the gym. I dawdled for a half hour or so and finally decided that if I didn't go lift today that I would not meet my goal of weight lifting twice and running three times. So, I dragged my butt across the street to the gym and put in my time. Some days I feel awesome after a workout, energized and whatnot. Today I felt like I needed coffee!
Then there was work. I am not fond of work. When I worked at Ruggero's (Italian restaurant) I didn't like going to work, but at least all my friends were there with good food. Where I am now just leaves me drained. I am usually by myself for hours and am expected to push the suggestive selling on everyone who walks through the door, or even past it, it seems! I am just not a sales women. I am nice, pleasant and a hard worker, but I like to save money and don't like pushing things that people don't want or need. I cannot wait until the day I can say good bye. Phil, my husband, has told me that I can quit at any time, but I would feel guilty right now. I like my manager and that would leave her in a real bad position to be another man down. So, I will wait until at least after Easter. My plan is to just keep working a little bit until we get Blake and then make being a mom to both him and Danny my full time job. I know it won't be easy, but at least it will be something I'm passionate about and want to improve on. So, for now, I will let my three followers get back to their, undoubtedly, more interesting lives and I will go to bed so I can get up and go back to work in the morning where there is a chance the vice president of the company may show up. I really, really, really hope not...
After I left church, I went to my mother in law's house to drop off D so I could go to the gym. I dawdled for a half hour or so and finally decided that if I didn't go lift today that I would not meet my goal of weight lifting twice and running three times. So, I dragged my butt across the street to the gym and put in my time. Some days I feel awesome after a workout, energized and whatnot. Today I felt like I needed coffee!
Then there was work. I am not fond of work. When I worked at Ruggero's (Italian restaurant) I didn't like going to work, but at least all my friends were there with good food. Where I am now just leaves me drained. I am usually by myself for hours and am expected to push the suggestive selling on everyone who walks through the door, or even past it, it seems! I am just not a sales women. I am nice, pleasant and a hard worker, but I like to save money and don't like pushing things that people don't want or need. I cannot wait until the day I can say good bye. Phil, my husband, has told me that I can quit at any time, but I would feel guilty right now. I like my manager and that would leave her in a real bad position to be another man down. So, I will wait until at least after Easter. My plan is to just keep working a little bit until we get Blake and then make being a mom to both him and Danny my full time job. I know it won't be easy, but at least it will be something I'm passionate about and want to improve on. So, for now, I will let my three followers get back to their, undoubtedly, more interesting lives and I will go to bed so I can get up and go back to work in the morning where there is a chance the vice president of the company may show up. I really, really, really hope not...
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