Homemade Laundry Detergent

Good morning! 

Today, I'm sharing my homemade laundry detergent recipe with y'all. I've made my own detergent for years because it's economical and it makes me enjoy doing laundry just a teensy bit more (I still don't really like it. Who does?) After using this recipe and seeing how well it works, I'm a little flabbergast looking at the ingredients of commercial detergents. I can't pronounce half the things on the back-- and why are they such bright colors? 

This recipe is much cheaper and environmentally friendly than those commercial detergents, which is super nice because those two don't always go together. I really love when friends come over while I'm making a batch because it's so easy to spare a jar and let them try some. I've never had a friend not like it. 

You'll Need:

1 gallon hot water 

1/2c Borax

1/2c Washing Soda

1/4 Bar Ivory Soap, grated 

10 drops Lavender Essential Oil (optional)

2-3 Empty Laundry Detergent Containers 

-Start with 1/2 gallon water in large pot on stove with medium heat. 

-Grate 1/4 bar of ivory soap directly into pot, gently stirring occasionally, trying to make as few bubbles as possible. 

-Add 1/2c Borax and 1/2c Washing Soda 1/4c at a time, stirring in between each addition. Stir until water begins to feel thicker- starting to become gelatinous. 

-Add 1/2 gallon water. 

-Let sit for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

-Add 10 drops of essential oil (optional) 

-Remove pot from heat and let sit for 10-15 minutes to cool. 

-Pour liquid into empty, clean laundry detergent containers and let sit uncapped until completely cooled. 

*If you don't have a pot that can hold a gallon of water, you can also do steps 1-3 and 5, then pour liquid into containers, heat another 1/2 gallon of water, then add that water to the container too. If you have more than one container, just make sure you add equal amounts of the first 1/2 gallon and the second 1/2 gallon to each container. :)* 

To use: 

-Shake container before use, detergent tends to separate. 

-Use about 1/2c detergent with each load. 

*Also, you can use the detergent immediately after making it, while it's still hot, if necessary.*

Big hugs and happy washing, 

Madelyn 

3 Tricks for Making Your Cold Less Miserable

Hello! There's been a lot of non-blog-ish stuff going on here in my neck of the woods, so sorry for the crickets lately. I've had multiple people say to me that I haven't posted on here lately. Which is cool, I like that people actually read what I write on here (hi mom!).

I'm just getting over a summer cold-- a cough, runny nose, the works. I'm on my feet 9+ hours a day working at a pool and I-- like everyone else-- don't really have the time be miserable and sick. I have a few tricks to share with you today about how to fight the ick:

1. Zinc Tablets: According to research from the Mayo Clinic, zinc might prevent or reduce the length of colds by preventing the cold virus from multiplying. I've used zinc the last couple times I've had a cold and I have noticed that, for me, my cough-y, ache-y feelings lessened about 30 minutes after taking the dissolving tablets (similar here). The pills have sit on your tongue and dissolve-- you can't chew them or drink/eat anything for fifteen minutes after the pill dissolves-- and they leave a tangy metallic feeling in your mouth for a bit. It's unpleasant, but short-lived.

2. Exercise: Now, exercise doesn't mean go run a marathon (especially if that's not normally your thing) but it does mean get active! In the immortal words of Elle Woods, "exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't kill their husbands."Physical activity may not feel great while you're sick but it's important to kick start your immune system with a little movement. And it gives you endorphins, which will make you happy, and therefore less miserable. :)

3. Stand on Your Head: no, seriously. The first time a yoga teacher told me this, I rolled my eyes and thought: when my nose is stuffy, it hurts to lay down, let alone stand on my head! Crazy hippie yogis. Well, I'm eating my words now because those crazy hippie yogis knew what they were talking about. Somehow, it opens your sinuses and when you come out of it you can actually breath through your nose! I don't get it, but I know from experience it works. This wikihow has gifs and step by step instructions on how to get into a headstand (and you can always do it with a spotter or against a wall). Just make sure your body weight is in your forearms and not your head. And breathe.


What do you do to get over a cold? I loved this post by Jodi with additional ideas for curing a cold-- I may test out her advice this winter!

This Post is About Face Wash. *cue eye roll*

I've been writing this post in my head for quite some time, but haven't put the pen to paper (err...typed a blog post? you know what I mean) until now because part of me feels a little silly about sharing stuff about face wash...it seems almost superficial- and I don't want what I write to sound superficial or fake. Ever. I've also worried about not knowing enough- I'm certainly not an expert in skin care, but I know what's worked for me, so here it goes...

This post is about face wash. *cue eye roll*

I use oil to wash my face. Which seems completely counter-intuitive given the countless skin care TV ads and magazine articles that brandish cute phrases such as, "banishing blackheads!" and "fight oil!" featuring a gorgeously photoshopped model with pore-less skin holding the bright orange/blue/green bottle of expensive stuff that besides "banishing" that acne will also leave your skin with a curious tingly-feeling. Based on the information in these ads, it seems like willing rubbing oil on your face would be the antithesis of skin care. The older I get and the more I read, the more skeptical I've become about ingredients I can't pronounce in stuff I eat or slather on the largest organ in my body-- my skin. A lot of the words on the ingredients list on the back of the face wash bottles take at least a master's degree in chemistry to pronounce correctly.

I struggled with acne throughout high school and subscribed to the idea that I wasn't using good enough face wash for a long time. I took pills prescribed by the dermatologist that not only did it not make my acne go away, but made me feel like I had a perpetually peeling sunburn. I used Proactiv and other fancy-shmancy "treatment kits" but nothing has worked as well as this mixture: equal parts castor oil and olive oil mixed up in an old honey bottle from Earth Fare. It's called the oil cleansing method, and I can't remember how I first found out about it (probably pinterest, if I'm being honest with myself). I thought about it for awhile before I actually pulled the trigger. And it worked.

Part of me thought it was just the time in my life I started using the treatment: I was nineteen and had recently started eating drastically better (by cutting my sugar intake in half, hasta luego daily sugar-y lattes) than I did in high school. While both of those factors probably contributed to the success of my voyage into the hippie fringe-movement of facial care, I just got back from a five day break at home where I forgot my toiletries bag at my apartment. As cheap as I am, I couldn't justify buying the stuff to make new face wash for less than a week long trip. I just used my mom's store bought face wash-- and now I'm in the midst of a breakout similar to the kind I used to get in high school. Lovely, right? So now I am sure that, at least for me, the oil cleansing method has a big impact on my skin.

Here's how it works for me: I wash my face in the evening and I start by shaking the bottle-- especially if I only made a new batch a few days ago-- the olive oil and the castor oil tends to separate a bit and pouring a dime-sized dollop into my palm. I rub it all over my face, including over my lips and around my eyes and let it sit while I brush and floss my teeth. Then I turn the tap water on as hot as I can stand it and get a washcloth completely wet. I wring out the cloth and place it over my face for 20-30 second (it feels amazing, like a mini spa treatment) then I use the wash cloth to wipe off the oil and my makeup from the day. I rinse it out really well afterwards and reuse the same cloth for about a week.

Shortly after starting this I was sitting in Biology class and my professor, a Canadian guy in his mid-thirties, starting talking about how, "like dissolves like- so if you really want to get rid of pimples and stuff you should wash your face with oil!" Most of the people in the class were skeptical, but I was like, score. 

Disclaimer: I experienced a horrid breakout for the first two weeks after starting, but all the resources I found said this was normal and the oil was just attracting stuff that was deep in your pores, like a magnet, up to the surface and it should go away by the end of two weeks. It sounded a little trite when I first read it, but I waited it out and sure enough my skin did clear up just when they said it should.

Later on, I began using Bragg's apple cider vinegar (ACV) as a toner. After washing my face in the evening, I would spot treat with pure ACV and use a mixture of 75% water to 25% ACV all over my face. Eventually that mixture became 50/50 and now I don't even bother-- I just use a little bit of undiluted ACV on a cotton ball and rub it all over my face. Most people think it stinks, but we clean with white vinegar at my house so the smell doesn't really bother me (is there such a thing as an acquired smell? I have an acquired smell for vinegar...?) but even if it did-- the smell goes away once it dries so if you can endure for five minutes, it'll be fine.

How was that? Eye-roll worthy, or good food for thought?

Thanks for reading! 

-Madelyn 

Resources:

More about the oil cleansing method: http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/
More about ACV as a toner: http://www.skinacea.com/acne/acne-treatment-acv.html#.U1feq-ZdX4g
More about uses for ACV: http://wellnessmama.com/2042/7-healthy-uses-for-apple-cider-vinegar/