No shampoo & decluttering pics

So I promised you guys some pics of my hair since I have stopped using shampoo and I've been soooooo busy that I haven't had time to blog much. I've been decluttering my house like CRAZY and I have those pics here for you today, too! (Not pics of the house yet, but of what's come out of it)

I haven't washed my hair with shampoo for 3 weeks and 6 days now! (I'm using water and sometimes baking soda and apple cider vinegar) So far so good. I've had some questions, so I'll try to answer those and if you have any more questions, please feel free to comment below and I'll get back to you!

Q: Why not use shampoo?
A: Because shampoo dries out your scalp and hair, stripping it of it's natural oils. Your scalp then goes into overdrive to produce MORE oil and you end up going back and forth between oily and dry. Not healthy.

Q: Why use baking soda and how much?
A: Baking soda removes the buildup from your hair. I use about 2-3 tsp mixed into a cup of warm water.   Pour it on my wet hair and massage my scalp, then rinse.

Q: Vinegar? Can I use regular vinegar or does it have to be apple cider vinegar? Will I smell like vinegar when I get out of the shower?
A: Vinegar acts as kind of a freshener/conditioner for your hair. You don't have to use apple cider vinegar, but it doesn't smell quite as strong as regular vinegar. You will not smell the vinegar when you get out of the shower. I use about 2 tsp mixed with 1 cup of warm water and pour it over my wet hair and then rinse. I use it after the baking soda treatment.

I also use a dry shampoo that I bought in the states called "batiste dry shampoo". It's like a talcum powder aerosol can and you just shake, spray it on your roots, work it in, and that's it. I use it maybe once a week.

Q: Was there a hat only stage?
A: I think there would have been if I didn't curl my hair or use dry shampoo. Both of those things really helped. You can make your own dry shampoo by grinding oats into a powder (add cocoa powder to it if you have dark hair) and then work it into your roots and shake out/brush out vigorously over the tub. Sounds weird, but works. It took about 2 and a half - 3 weeks for my hair to feel great.

Q: Is your head itchy?
A: The first week it was, but not at all since then.

Ok, so here's all the pics I promised! First hair pics and then all the junk I've gotten rid of this week! (except for the 6 garbage bags of stuff I got rid of at the beginning of the week)

I took these pics 10 minutes ago, so they are RECENT lol 3 weeks + 6 days with no shampoo!

 the back of my suburban loaded (there's a dresser under there!)

 midsection of my vehicle :)

 There's the dresser and some chairs

front seat, too :)

I can't wait to take the next load away! It really feels great!

New and Improved Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe!

Hey, guys :) So awhile back I posted a recipe for homemade laundry soap that I've been making and using for the past 2 years (and have loved) and you can find that here......however, I have found a new recipe that is a little easier, costs about the same, and I think I like a little more! The recipe was found here at Green Willow Pond's blog and I'm going to share it with you today.

Pros:

1. It's a powder instead of a liquid, so you don't need the 5 gallon bucket and it takes up a lot less room in your laundry room.

2. It's better on stains!

3. It takes 5 minutes to make instead of 10-15 minutes.

4. It's still cheap cheap cheap!

K, so here it is:

1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
1/2 cup Oxiclean (I only used one scoop = 1/4 cup)
1 bar of Ivory soap (I am pretty sure you can use whatever kind of soap you like)

Very finely grate the bar of soap and mix with the other ingredients. Store it in a mason jar with a measuring spoon attached. Use 1 heaping Tablespoon per load and 2 or 3 if the load is really dirty (work clothes, cloth diapers, etc) Use either hot or warm water when you start the wash, add the soap, then add your clothes. You can then switch it to cold water or whatever you prefer. The warm water just helps dissolve the soap at the beginning. I bought my Oxiclean at Walmart and it cost about 5 bucks and should last a few months for sure. Hope you like it as much as I do!

Too Much To Do and Too Little Time

This is a topic that always comes up when women are talking.
"Oh I've been sooo busy lately!"
"There just isn't enough time in the day!"
"I don't know how to get it all done!"
"I can't keep up."

It's a common theme in all of our lives, no matter what our circumstances are. It doesn't matter if you have one kid or 7, work outside the home or stay home or work from home, married or not.......the tasks seem endless and the days too short. I find that I pendulum between "super-mom" and "losing-it-mom" most of the time. How do I find balance? I know I can't be super mom and I don't ever want to be losing-it-mom, but how do I do that?

One thing I have discovered is that the more kids you have, the worse it gets! There are more mouths to feed, more messes to clean, more stuff in the house to manage, more fighting going on, more training needed, more love to give, more safety concerns, more, more, more! I think it is possible to "wing it" (as is my personality and my preference) if you've got a couple kids - maybe - but past that and it's either going to be complete chaos or things are gonna run smoothly (aka discipline and a plan).

For years we've had the same old problems in our home -

I can't seem to keep up with the laundry (now it is worse than ever!)

There's too much clutter and we can't find what we need when we need it.

The dishes are endless and the kitchen is always a mess! (Matthew doesn't dare try to cook in there most of the time)

My office is a dumping ground and too small of a room with too much going on in it.

On top of all that, I am trying to get a workshop for my new business set up in my basement and because power tools and foster children don't mix, that means we have to have a whole room made for it - build a wall with a lockable door and move all my storage........

STEP 1: DECLUTTER

I am in the midst of GETTING RID OF AS MUCH STUFF AS POSSIBLE. Most of it is donated or thrown out and a few things have been sold, but there is much more to sell/get rid of. I think one issue is that, sure, I get rid of lots, but I get given lots, too! I'm gonna have to stop giving other people's junk a loving home.....that's all there is to it.

STEP 2: ORGANIZE WHAT YOU'VE GOT LEFT.

This is so much easier said than done and it's gonna be difficult if you still have too much stuff (which most of us are guilty of). The way I am doing this is I am making a list of all the things in my entire house that need storage. Example: Bedding, clothing, dishes, out of season platters/baking pans etc, sewing, keepsakes, toiletries, toys, files, artwork, tools, craft supplies, out of season clothing/coats/hats/mitts etc. , baby accessories (highchair, cradle, exersaucer, swing, etc). Then I decide where it should be stored, how much room it needs, if it needs to be purged further, and what it should be stored in.

What you store something in makes a HUGE difference. For example, all my kids clothes that don't fit are stored in rubbermaids labeled according to size, so every time I do laundry, the small pile of "no-longer-fits" is easy to put away in storage. But it's NOT easy to put away (even though it's so nicely categorized) cuz the rubbermaids are in a dark room in the basement - they are stacked on each other - and I have to unstack them, find the right one, and then take the lid off to put the stuff in = HASSLE. So what happens instead is I throw all the clothing in a grocery bag, run it down the stairs....and pitch it in a corner or on top of something to deal with on a rainy day. So I need to get some bins that have slide out drawers, like those craft carts, I think. Or dog food bins, or something like that, to store our out of seasons in.

IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO USE YOUR STORAGE SOLUTION THEN IT IS NOT A SOLUTION.

That's enough for today, I think. I guess this is now a "getting back on your feet" series and this is part 1. It's all about time management, stuff management, and discipline......not fun, but necessary and VERY rewarding :) This is gonna be fun! See you soon...........

Intentions

"I didn't intend to leave my phone on my bumper"

"I didn't intend to lose my temper and yell at my kids"

"I didn't intend to forget to pay that bill on time"

We don't intend to. That's the problem. WE NEED TO INTEND TO.  

This morning I do not feel like being a good mother. I am tired. I am a little grumpy. I have a cold. I feel lazy. BUT I have kids and they are gonna go all haywire on me if I don't set some GOOD INTENTIONS!

So for today, I needed to start off my day INTENDING TO BE A GOOD MOTHER.

Thank you, Sharpie, for my custom mug this morning! 

I also have these reminders on my stove for me to read every time I am in the kitchen - which is often:

Left:

I am the thermostat that sets the emotional climate for the entire home. I am positive, excited, and encouraged.

Middle:

I am not called to be perfect, I am called to be at peace. 

Right:

My children are a BLESSING in my life and I am raising them to be a BLESSING to this world.

(you can find these at Hannnahkeeley.com!)

I choose my thoughts carefully. I don't let my mind think what it wants. Instead, when I feel like crap, I think things like......

"I would like to read with my children this morning!" 

"I am going to spend one-on-one time with each of my kids today and this is what I am going to do with each of them......" 

"I can't wait to see how fabulous my kitchen is going to look when I have finished washing all these dishes! Maybe I'll make something yummy for dessert......"

Instead of thinking things like.......

"Ugh. I have SO much housework to do. What is the point anyway? It's always such a mess. I can't keep up. And the kids are acting like brats! I wish they would just be quiet and clean up after themselves for once......"

So far so good :) I have a feeling that today is gonna be one of those FABULOUS days! ;)

	Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Yucky Dresser to Rustic Entry Table

I bought this dresser about 10 years ago for $5. 

I call it the "gack" dresser because I painted a gack from a Dr. Seuss book on the side when Logan was a baby. 

The dresser is well made, but the drawers always stuck, so I hated using it. The only reason I've kept it for so long is because of the gack I had painted on it. So for the last year and a half it has sat outside my back door, slowly weathering away. 

I decided a couple weeks ago, to tear it apart and make something out of it AND save my gack painting. I ended up replacing all the pieces except for the top and the front (where the drawers used to slide in) which I made into the back of my new entry table. It was a learning experience but I love the end result! Here are some pics of the transition:

A piece of old horse tack 

 

view from the back

Now the question is: Do I sell this beauty? Or do I keep her? Hmmm.......thoughts?