September 28, 2020 by maggielane

Reusable Napkins, Wipes, Paper Towels

I’ve chosen to use lots of reusable cloth products over the years – cloth napkins, cloth diapers, and mama cloth. At the beginning of COVID, I had to come up with a cloth alternative for paper towels when all the regular paper towel were out of stock. I ended up using something I already had. I raided my cloth diaper bins and pulled out our cloth baby wipes. I’m so glad I did. We’ve probably cut our paper towel usage by more than half. I still keep paper towels on hand for extremely greasy or germ-filled cleanups. But for the messy faces and daily spills, these work great for us. Read on….

Many companies offer various different reusable paper towels these days to help people reduce their use of disposable paper products. I tried some of them. But, honestly, the flannel baby wipes we used when we did cloth diapers with our kids, are the best washable cloths that I’ve found.

They are small, soft, and absorbent. I keep a tissue box cover full of them on the kitchen counter with them all folded over tissue style so that the kids can pull them out easily. They are just the right size for what the kids need. I keep a bin in the Butler’s Pantry for dirty towels. The kids throw them in there and they get washed with all the kitchen laundry.

I keep this tissue box cover on my kitchen counter for the kids to grab flannel wipes from when they need to wipe a messy face or clean up a spill. This makes convenient so they reach for the cloth wipes rather than a paper towel.

How to fold tissue style. 1) Purple wipe goes down first. 2) Green wipe covers half of purple wipe. 3) Red wipe covers green wipe.

4) Fold purple wipe over red and green edges. 5) Repeat process by laying another wipe on top of the purple. 6) Fold the Red over. 7) Go again until all are folded. 8) Place in your tissue box.

I like this Tissue Box Cover best. It works great on the kitchen counter and looks nice. I like that I can set things on top.

My favorite wipes are these flannel baby wipes by OsoCozy.

Recycled Sewing:

You could also easily make reusable wipes for this purpose using an old flannel shirt or pajama pants. I have some saved for just this purpose. I’ll get around to it someday. In the meantime, these work well for me.

Jump in and make your own. It would be a great upcycle project. Break out the scissors and sewing machine, or give some purchased wipes a try.

It certainly has saved us lots of paper towels each week.

* Note: There are no affiliate links in this post.

September 25, 2020 by maggielane

Homemade Foaming Hand Soap

I took this photo 9 years ago when I started reusing my foaming soap bottles and making my own hand soap. I made a batch of 8 bottles today. My ingredients have changed over the years, but the basics are the same.

Your favorite dish soap + your favorite essential oils + water = soap for pennies!

You can see my original post if you visit the Kitchen Sink page.

Lately I’ve also started adding 1 tbls of aloe gel to each bottle which helps keep your hands soft and makes the soap feel silky like the fancy soaps you buy at the mall. I vary the oils I use. Lately it’s Tea Tree and Grapefruit. I also like lemon and lavender, orange and clove (just one drop), geranium and pine. Be creative and experiment with your own favorite scents.

The essential oils you use also add disinfecting properties. Many people think that soap disinfects. This is a misconception. Soap actually does not disinfect inasmuch as it changes the pH of your hands. Soap on it’s own is a solvent. It lifts the dirt, grease, and germs and allows them to be washed away with the water. This is why hand washing is so important for fighting COVID-19. But soap, in and of itself, does not kill germs. If you want to add anti-microbial properties to tour soap, this is where the essential oils come in. Oils like tea tree, clove, and lemon are anti-bacterial, and anti-viral. Grapefruit is anti-microbial. So choose yours oils based on their properties and the smells you like.

If you want more info on what oils are good to use based on their properties, check out my Herbs and Oils Pocket Reference Chart.

I’ve saved myself hundred of dollars each year by making my own hand soap. Here’s my soap bottle lineup. All refilled and ready to go.

December 7, 2018 by maggielane

Cotton-lined Dishwashing Gloves

I posted about these originally in 2014. See post here. Try are back in stock and I just ordered more. Here is a non-affiliate link. I’m looking forward to using less lotion this winter for my chapped hands thanks to these. Happy dishwashing.

April 8, 2014 by maggielane

Product Update: Cotton-lined dish washing gloves

So, see my post below to read about the virtues of these wonderful dish washing gloves. Just wanted to let you know that 3 months later I’m still using the same pair of gloves! I’m shocked and amazed at the quality of these gloves. I’ve never had a pair of rubber gloves last so long and I’ve never liked a pair as well as I like these. Usually after a month at the most mine have holes and I’m throwing them out. And these get heavy use. On most days I use them 2-3 times a day. They are wonderful and you should all order some. Use my Amazon link and I’ll get a few pennies for your purchase. Wash away…..

Original Post:

I usually don’t post about products but have any of you used these? Casabella Premium Water Stop Latex Gloves (affiliate link – see my Disclosures page). I just discovered them and they are working wonders for the eczema on my hands that flares up periodically with the use of irritants like dish soap and hot water. But, what’s a city girl to do? The dishes have to be done. NYC apartment = no dishwasher. I can’t make the kids do the dishes yet. And the regular latex gloves from the store irritate my hands just as bad as dish soap with all those powdery linings. Well, guess what? These are wonderful! They have a “cotton flocking” which means that tiny cotton fibers have been adhered to the interior of the glove. Now, I will warn you that when I first got these and opened them up my first thought was, “These aren’t lined with cotton.” You see, I was expecting a cotton fabric lining and that is not what it is. It feels like a soft, less rubbery glove on the inside. I wasn’t sure that it was what I wanted but decided to try them out. I have been using them for around 3 weeks now and let me tell you the are well worth the $7 price tag. The lining (though not what I expected) doesn’t irritate my hands, they fit well and don’t slip and they have yet to crack or get a hole which is something that I can’t say for the gloves I used to buy at the grocery store. I’m sure they will wear out eventually but right now I am very happy and will definitely order more. They have definitely made dish washing a much happier chore at my house.

Note: These are latex, so if you have a latex allergy I would avoid them since I don’t know that the cotton flocked lining would protect your skin sufficiently.

February 19, 2014 by maggielane

Shhh! My Surprising Secret for Keeping my Kitchen Clean

Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone. (Well, actually do… share this post and improve my blog traffic.) But, I’ve been finding it easier to keep my kitchen clean. It took me a while to figure out why. We moved in the fall and it seemed like in the new kitchen it’s easier to keep clean than the old one. This really didn’t make sense. The new kitchen is smaller, has fewer cabinets and storage places and less counter space. So, why would it be easier to keep clean? It took me a couple of months to figure out but it finally hit me.

When we moved, we removed some conveniences from our life. Now it seems counter-intuitive that removing conveniences would make something easier, but that’s what happened. Let me tell you the story.

When we moved we threw out our microwave. This decision was made mostly due to a lack of space in the new kitchen. The fact that half the buttons were broken had something to do with it too. And I know that it is better for us to eat food heated on the stove, but that’s another topic. So, we moved and began settling into the new place without a microwave. After a month or so I was noticing that it seemed easier to keep this kitchen clean. Why would that be? A couple of months went by and it finally dawned on me. The reason (partly) is because I no longer had the microwave to rely on.

I realized that before in my spacious kitchen where counter and cabinet space was abundant, that I often relied on the microwave for reheating food, and usually on paper plates too. When we moved we gave up both the microwave and paper plates. Since then it’s been easier to keep the kitchen clean because I end up doing it in short spurts here and there throughout the day. Before, I would let myself fall back on using the microwave and paper plates and then go about putting out the next “fire” (solving arguments, changing diapers, cleaning up spills, etc…. you know everyday life). I would move the kitchen to the bottom of my “To-Do” list because I didn’t have to do it right then. I could get to it later. When the next meal came along and I still hadn’t gotten around to cleaning the kitchen, I would fall back on the paper plates and microwave. The cycle would continue and we would end up with stacks of dishes and no clean silverware in the drawer. So, I would end up washing just enough forks and spoons to get us through that meal and then I’d have to deal with all again at the next meal. The kitchen was a monster and something that I could never get on top of.

Now, without having the conveniences at my fingertips, I have to wash the pans because there is no hot food if I don’t. And it’s easier to wash a drainer full of dishes in the morning and then another one while I cook dinner. Cleaning the kitchen is not the dreaded chore anymore. It feels smaller and easier.

Now, lest anyone have the mistaken impression that I am against ever having a microwave or against ever using paper plates – I am not. But, I’ve realized that removing those things from my life has ended up being a blessing in disguise. It’s taken away a crutch and made me keep on top of things that I otherwise would let slide. Not having the microwave and not keeping paper plates around forces me to keep up better cleaning habits in my kitchen.

And lest anyone also have the mistaken impression that my kitchen is now always clean here’s a picture just to prove it. It’s not always clean. We’re busy and I still let the kitchen work slide when more pressing things like 3 kids and homeschooling takes over my day. But, it’s no longer the dreaded chore that it used to be for which I am thankful.

February 12, 2014 by maggielane

DIY Olive Oil Hand Soap and Dish Soap

This is easy peasy for all of you who aren’t brave enough (like me) to undertake the daunting process of making your own soap from scratch.

With this recipe you can customize your blends, and add your own essential oils for scent and disinfecting purposes.

We avoid all the natural soaps and all the store bought soaps because members of our family react to the coconut oil in almost every natural soap and have very sensitive skin which reacts to the mainstream soap brands. So, once you take out coconut oil as a base ingredient and all the main soap brands and all their irritating ingredients, then you aren’t left with much except coming up with your own homemade soap. However, the process of making my own soap from scratch is a bridge too far for me right now. I’ll make lots of things from scratch (as you can tell from the recipes on this blog), but cooking fats and handling lye with littles around just makes me too nervous. Maybe I’ll try it one day, but right now, soap is one project that I don’t have the time, energy or ambition for. So, this is the way you do it without having to make it from scratch yourself. And I just found out that it has a name. I’ve been making soap this way for the past several months and didn’t know what it was called until recently. It’s a process called “re-batching.” Basically, you’re taking an existing bar or leftover pieces of soap and remake it.

For our purposes, we will be turning a bar of soap into liquid hand soap and dishwashing soap.

Now, if you research DIY soap recipes online, you will find that almost all of them call for liquid castille soap. Now aside from the fact that most of those contain coconut oil as part of the base for the soap – which rules them out for me – the other factor that has driven me to develop this recipe is the expense. Even if buying castille soap is cheaper than buying regular dish soap at the store, liquid castille soaps are expensive and basically, I’m just not willing to pay that much money for them.

So, here’s what I do instead. Note: This recipe is very easily customized to meet your needs so change the ingredients to suit your purpose.

Basic DIY Liquid Hand Soap:
Start with 1 bar of Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Soap (affiliate link, see Disclosures Page). Amazon charges $3.99 per bar for this (you can find 8 oz. bars even cheaper other places online), and you’re only grating 1/2 cup of shavings which is a very minimal amount. So, this recipe will cost you probably less a quarter per batch. To make the soap, start with a cheese grater. Grate enough shavings to loosely fill a 1/2 cup measuring cup. Don’t use the largest shredder but the next size down. Dump the shavings into a small glass bowl. Add your favorite essential oils for fragrance and disinfecting. To decide which oils you want to use, click here for a list of essential oils and their properties. Then add 1 cup of distilled water. (You could use tap water if you’ll use the soap up quickly, but if you don’t use it up fast enough you may find bacteria or mold growing in your soap and have to throw the rest of the batch out). Let the mixture sit overnight. The water will soften the soap shavings and in the morning you will have a lovely, scented liquid soap. Stir the soap and pour it into an old soap dispenser and you’re done. This recipe will make enough soap to fill a 10 oz. soap dispenser. If you’re not sure what oil blends to use, my favorite for hand soap are geranium/cedarwood or lemon/lavender. If you want to make a moisturizing soap, add 1 teaspoon of your favorite oil (olive oil, almond oil, etc.) to the bottle and shake well. Note: Over time the soap may begin to solidify or coagulate in places so that it looks like there are things floating around in your soap bottle. This is normal and the nature rebatched olive oil soap. If this happens you can just vigorously shake your bottle to remix it. If it doesn’t mix all the way, you can either use it as it is (which is what I usually do). Or if you bothers you, pour your soap into a sauce pan and gently heat it on low (do not boil) and stir until it is all recombined. When it has cooled a little bit pour it back into your soap dispenser.

DIY Liquid Dish Soap:
Follow the recipe above, except only add 3/4 cup of distilled water to the 1/2 cup soap shavings. This will make a more concentrated soap. If using distilled water, feel free to double and triple the batch so that you don’t have to make it as often. The best oils for dishwashing purposes are citrus blends – lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, tangerine. I would suggest using lemon as the main oil as it has wonderful disinfecting and solvent/grease cutting properties, and then adding some other citrus oils based on what scents you prefer (be creative and come up with your own combinations). Probably 12-15 drops of oil total is sufficient for a small batch of this recipe. If you double or triple the recipe, adjust the essential oil amounts accordingly. I should warn you that you won’t see any bubbles in your dishwater when using this soap. Olive oil soap is a very low sudsing soap and hardly makes any bubbles. It will still work fine though. It’s just not what we are used to.

DIY Foaming Mosturizing Hand Soap:
Follow the recipe for the basic hand soap above. Add about a 1/4 cup of the end product to a foaming soap dispenser and fill with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon of oil to the soap dispenser to make a moisturizing blend. Keep in mind that olive oil soap doesn’t foam much. So, I use it for one of my bathrooms, but don’t expect typical results in a foaming dispenser. If you want the typical foam then I suggest using this foaming hand soap recipe.

This basic recipe will work with any bar soap that you like and works well for you skin. Feel free to try it with something other than olive oil soap. The moisture content and sudsing may be different with another bar soap, but try it out. It will save you money and if you use a soap with minimal ingredients it will be better for your skin too.

January 25, 2014 by maggielane

Cotton-lined dish washing gloves

Note: These are latex, so if you have a latex allergy I would avoid them since I don’t know that the cotton flocked lining would protect your skin sufficiently.

September 12, 2013 by maggielane

What books are popping off my bookshelf?

Peruse the shelves to find out what I’ve been reading lately….

Visit the Library to see what I’ve been reading lately. The topics that I’ve found interesting include cooking, gardening, historical recipes, herbs, natural cleaning and remedies, etc. Maybe you’ll find something that peaks your curiosity there too.

June 25, 2013 by maggielane

Homemade hand sanitizer

Field trips, outings, all day playing with toy food at the museum – hand sanitizer is a must! Make your own hand sanitizer without alcohol and chemicals. Easy to take on the go to keep those little hands clean.

May 9, 2013 by maggielane

DIY Linen spray – freshener

Need to freshen those linens? Make your own linen spray. Use it anything that needs to be spruced up without washing. Would work for carpets and rugs too. Easy DIY linen spray recipe.