There are days when I feel like I'm getting 2 steps ahead and 3 back. Trying to keep up with our little home and big life is somewhat demanding.  I've been making my own laundry soap and household cleaners for years. The laundry soap recipe is just the basic....

1 part fels napth or your choice soap
1 part washing soda
1 part baking soda
MIX and use a couple scoops per load. I CHOSE  to switch the baking soda
for the Borax as a whitener as I think it's not as harsh on fabric.

I ALSO use a scoop of the soap in a bucket of HOT water to wash throw rugs in the summer. I lay them out on the lawn use the hose to saturate the rugs, put the soap mixture on the rugs....I have an old mop that I use to squash and squish the rugs using pressure. Rinse WELL  with the hose and hang to dry.
I've found it is always a great wall wash in the same amounts and way.

I've recently found and began using items from a company called Radiantly You. It's very similar to all the items that I make but don't always have the time to. It's all quality items made in the same way with the same ingredients and I've used most and like all I've used.
The prices are very affordable and in some cases the same as it cost to make. They also have the home made detergent in liquid form that I know a lot of my friends prefer. Here is a link to my site...
radiantlyyou.com/RondaK

I make, use and sell dryer balls. WHAT in the world are those you ask?  Well these.... 
I buy only high quality Alpaca wool to wind and wind then throw them into the washer with HOT water and a TON of  good quality dish soap. As they agitate, they are felted (the fibers attach themselves to one another) then I throw them into the dryer where the felting process is finished.  There are some pictures below.
I also hand dye the wool which is of course all chemical free. That's done before I wind the balls then add a layer of color onto the balls. In large loads, using 6-8 balls cuts the dryer time around 50%!  It's works because the wool absorbs the moisture from the clothing, once the moisture is mostly gone, they then add the moisture back into the air and that's what eliminates the static cling....see YOU are learning even from me :) If you're interested in learning more or purchasing some of the dryer balls, leave me a message and I'll contact you.

Another tip that I offer is buying the wet, generic swifter floor wipes.  I  add  lemon essential oil and a bit more water then make sure that all the wipes are absorbing the liquid.  I personally use doTerra essential oils for their high quality and amazing purity and strength. The lemon adds more cleaning and offers an awesome aroma to the wipes. 

Well that's it for today but there will be a LOT more tips and rants to come on living natural and green. What more would you expect for me?? 
Have a great day and remember to Talk Like a Northerner whenever you can!

Minimalist

Kind of a big word, with bigger meaning. When we moved from our 5 bedroom home some years ago it was because we were on the way down, sd#1 was almost a senior in high school and sd#2 had only 4 years to go.  Just imagine what buying a 2 bedroom home was going to be like for us. I first approached it as a gift. An opportunity to clean and declutter. We donated several rooms of furniture to the local agencies that helped fire victims, women leaving abusive homes etc. It felt liberating....for awhile. And in just 2 years we'd need a crib for our first amazing grand. Although he and his mom never permanently lived with us, it was quite the revolving door home for the next few years as we'd be blessed with 2 more amazing grands-a girl and another boy. Our house was sometimes busting out at the seams but it was blissful. We cherished our time as we knew they'd grow up and as a close family, that's what we do. It's our belief that the old adage "it takes a village" is so important. That and I'm a bit of a control freak but that's another story.  
In between grandchildren  and their mom's trying to find their independence I've developed quite  the scrap room where I'd sew quilts and dresses for our grand daughter. I'd also scrap 25 years of pictures that I'd captured at various stages in 5 lives. Then I took up knitting and crocheting. By the time sd#2 brought home baby #2, I warned her that there was a chance that a yarn ball or two may land in the bassinet. Or that a ream of fabric could quite possibly be grabbed instead of a blanket. It was at this time that I had to come to terms with reality..  I'm a crafting HOARDER.  I simply can't keep moving stuff from room to room and denying.....I admit that I have an issue. So a few weeks back I began decluttering my craft room which my children affectionately call the CRAProom. It's so not easy but I can do this. With each item that I donate or give away, what goes with it is a sweet memory and the love taken to create something from it. I love the memories and reliving them is so sweet. Ill hold on to a swatch or piece of yarn that holds special memory. 
After my dad passed we cleaned out his house. He had several cloth table cloths from his mom, my grandma. I remember the few times we visited her, she used fabric cloths on her tables...no plastic that could easily be washed with a soaking rag. She used fabric and most likely were gifts or from a good will or salvation army. I brought them all home, hand washed them and hung them to dry. When my hubs commented that it's too bad the few stains didn't come out, I remarked that I'd wanted them to remain. That way all the coffee drip marks and tea bags stains would be in my heart as we now use them. I love how they smell and feel. I have one on daily and YES our crazy grands spill and soil them quickly but they aren't the first and hopefully the last to do so. 
So minimizing is a good thing, but holding onto special items in the process is a VERY very good thing. 
So until next time talk a little like a northerer, catch some memories as you do so.

Yes it's me 2 days in a row!!  Woohoo I'm currently sitting in our screen porch that hubs and I affectionately refer to as "the lanai". Do you remember on the Golden Girls, the home that the gals lived in-actually Blanche owed it. They'd have drinks on the lanai each night whether it be sweet tea or a scotch and water, the drink was made better by sipping it on the lanai.

I'm surrounded by swaying trees-the sound and smells are amazing! I'm not sure if the fragrance is the mint growing or the Lily that is smiling at me, I'm just THANKFUL..

So in my quest for the simple life many, SO many changes have come about. The first most radical would have to be my form of shopping. Let me go back 7 1\2 years ago when sweet daughter #1 was researching wholesome and economical ways of raising children the way of the hippy.  Yes, daughter #1 was born 30 some years late. She has been a tree hugging, bra burning environmental conscience child since .....well conception. I seriously can't think of a time she was not aware of her world and taking care of it. That child was reading the codes off of containers that I'd bring home from shopping to see which recycling container they belonged in wayyyyyy before she could read. And as I would bypass the individual recycling containers to throw the containers into the garbage can, she'd roll her eyes and most times shame me as she picked it back out, rinsed it and placed it into the appropriate box. So it goes to show just why when she was 6 months pregnant with our grandson we were stopping at every Good Will and Salvation Army, Craigslist and rummage sale for -cloth diapers. Yes the queen of Liz Claiborne shoes and Coach purses was searching for used and new cloth diapers because as you know.."the plastic ones fill up land fills at alarming rates" sd#1 would repeat. Not to mention how much healthier it is on the baby and his skin. She knew every chemical and how it leached onto skin from plastic diapers! Sd#1 was paying attention in those science classes we paid plenty for....who knew? By the time that baby graced our lives with his BEAUTIFUL presence, Nana had been schooled and integrated to a whole new way to live by sd#1 and to this day I'm grateful. 

I can't begin to tell you how I LOVE my work and how working with autistic children brings my heart joy, but what is going on? WHY is there the need and before I go spewing information and numbers regarding  the statistical studies....know this-before there were big food corporations, before canned foods that last 4-5 shelf years, before cows and chickens were forced to mature 25 weeks ahead of schedule-there was no autism to study. There were no plastic diapers leaching chemicals onto baby skin. And this is EXACTLY why I am glad our grands wore cloth diapers. Hippy Mom was way ahead of her mom's game, and that's why I changed my way of shopping. Here's to talking and thinking like a northerner.

Well, guess who's back.....

OK really Ronda.....it's been like 3 years since "I've talked like a northerner". I really have no excuses other than to say that LIFE HAS BEEN FULL AND GOOD!
My previous blogs were mostly about weight loss and I'm still celebrating and enjoying that thankfully but my life has blown up into many wonderful (mainly) pieces.
I think I'll concentrate on the cherished past memories and future plans that bring such an abundantly happy life to this chick.
Learning a plethora of new ways to live has been an amazing and eye opening venture for me.
As you know I had breast cancer and chemo/rad some years back. Life saving measures at the time have turned into a pain in the butt on the body. I have had no less than 3 surgical procedures to try and change or save tissue or other body part. I'm currently dealing with dental work.....actually that started about a year after all treatment was done.At any rate, it's caused me to change my entire way of living from diet to home to environmental issues. I no longer spend hours at the grocery store scouring the isles for eye catching, easy-just add one or two items and your meal is complete items. On the rare times I run to the local store it's for bottled water and coffee.
My dear and indulging sweet hubby has learned to consume and drink many home made, beyond healthy meals. You'll be surprised how this gal that used to love eating out at least twice per week has traded garden gates for restaurants and rubber boots for spendy heels.
It feels good to be back to blogger land....I have missed it. I need to go and get my compost pile turned so for now...ta ta friends :)