The Story of a Wall

Just thought I'd let everyone see what we've been up to these last few weeks....

Once upon a time there was a beautiful old brick wall hiding under some yucky, pinky-beige sheetrock. One day the lady of the house and her beautiful daughter, Issy, got bored and decided to see what it looked like underneath. With much swinging of hammers and breaking of nails...

the wall was uncovered.

And lo and behold...

Oops! There was an old doorway in the middle of this lovely brick wall. Now what were the ladies going to do?

Why, make the man of the house build in some shelves, of course!

And when you give a lady a shelf....

You must also help her rip out the carpet to reveal the gorgeous hardwood floors underneath (okay, maybe not so gorgeous as they are stained up, but the floor refinishing is another story!). And once that is finished....

You must also add a cool, relaxing green paint, accented with a rich, chocolate brown. Throw in a few old and new accessories...

And to think.... It all started with a wall!

New Pack Member

Exciting news! We adopted a puppy today from the shelter! We've named him Jupiter, and he is some sort of shepherd mix. He's going to be a very BIG dog! Jupiter is so excited about having a home, that he asked me to help him start his own blog where he will chronicle his adventures as an adopted pup (with my help, of course)....
www.adoptingjupiter.blogspot.com

More Do-It-Yourself

So here's some more DIY, only no fires this time ;-)

Homemade Laundry Detergent
I actually borrowed this recipe from a couple of different websites. It is quick and easy to make, and WAY cheaper than commercial detergent. I spent about $10 on the main ingredients (more for the optional essential oils) and still have plenty left to make more batches, and I typically spend more than that for one container of commercial detergent. I double this recipe it to fill a 5 gallon bucket.

1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap (you can get this in the laundry aisle at Publix)
1/2 cup washing soda (again, Publix laundry aisle, but you can also get it from places that sell pool supplies as it is also known as soda ash) - not to be confused with baking soda!
1/2 cup borax (got mine from the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart, I think Publix also had it, though)

Grate the soap and put in a large saucepan. Add 6 cups water and heat on the stove until the soap melts (this really only takes a few minutes, the water never even got to simmering). Add the washing soda and borax and stir until dissolved (again, only takes a couple of minutes and the mixture still had not even started simmering). At this point your kitchen will smell all good and soapy! Once the washing soda and borax are dissolved, remove the mixture from the heat. Pour 4 cups of hot water into the bucket, add the soap mixture, and stir. Then add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir again. To me, this soap smelled really good by itself, but you can add essential oils in whatever fragrance you like (1/2-1 ounce). Though I liked the smell, I did add 1/4 ounce of lavendar oil and 1/4 ounce tea tree oil.

You will use only 1/2 cup of detergent per load of laundry, so a 5 gallon bucket like I used will last a really long time!


Dishwasher Detergent
Again, I borrowed this from another website. It is a cheap, homemade dishwasher detergent that also works really well.

1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax

Combine in a container with a lid (I used a large, recycled butter container). That's it. Can't get simpler than that! You will use 2 tablespoons per load of dishes. I have noticed with this detergent that my dishes are very occasionally cloudy or spotty, and I just give them a quick rinse in the sink as I'm putting them away. If you have a newer washer with a separate rinse compartment, you can put vinegar in to keep the cloudiness/spottiness from being an issue (and vinegar is a lot cheaper than Jet Dry!).


All-Purpose Household Cleaner
Here's a quick, simple recipe for all-purpose cleaner (for countertops, etc.):

1 part vinegar
1 part water

Put it in a spray bottle (I use a recycled Lysol all-purpose cleaner bottle) and shake it up. That's it. When you use it, there will be a mild vinegar-y smell that disappears as it dries. From what I understand, vinegar kills bacteria so it is just as effective as the commercial cleaners, but much safer for your family and the environment.

Tip: You can also use a mixture of vinegar and water in your carpet cleaning machine and in your mop bucket. The vinegar odor really does go away as it dries, and I have found that the vinegar is much better at neutralizing bad odors than the commercial carpet cleaning chemicals. I have three dogs, two cats, and two kids, so there are accidents. When I use commercial carpet cleaner, I can still smell traces of urine/vomit/etc. after using it, even after using it a couple of times. I was AMAZED the first time I tried the vinegar in the carpet machine! I cleaned the carpets, waited for it to dry, and then got down all fours and sniffed all around. Not a trace of doggie or kitty odor ANYWHERE! My husband works with a woman who used to clean houses that were getting ready to be sold, and she said she used vinegar for almost all of her cleaning because it works so well at getting rid of tough odors. And you really don't smell the vinegar at all after it dries.


Homemade Hair Detangler
Here's another homemade alternative to a commercial product. Like most kids, my kids get really bad tangles in their hair, and any of you who have seen Emmy's hair can imagine the rats' nests that she has every morning. I was buying leave-in conditioner spray for their hair at about $2 per bottle, and we were going through a bottle a week. This is a much cheaper way to do it...

I saved the spray bottle from the commercial detangler and bought some Suave strawberry scented conditioner (about $2 for a large bottle). I put a little bit of the conditioner in the bottle (probably about 2 tablespoons, but I just eyeball it), and fill the rest up with water. I shake it up and spray it on their hair and it works just as well as the premade, commercial detangler and does not leave their hair greasy or heavy. At the rate of only 2 tablespoons a week, that  $2 large bottle of conditioner will last months, versus the $2/week I was spending before.