Make your own Goo Gone

I have used goo gone for a while now- to get the sticky labels off of jars & it works, but it is so stinky... and probably toxic- so when I found this great idea--- I thought I'm going to try it. 

its easy & really works.  Just mix equal amounts of coconut oil and baking soda.  I put the jar of coconut oil in a pan of water on the stove & heat it up until it's liquid- then measure it out and mix the soda into it.  Then when you need it, just scoop a bit out and rub it on- and wash off. 

Here is a brand that we like on amazon

Washing outside windows

Oh what a day!!! My windows were looking horrible- and have needed to be washed for a while now.  So I had seen this way of washing them here & I decided to try it.  It worked!!  First I took out all my screens, rinsed them off with the hose- sprayed the all purpose cleaner (you can get the recipe for it on the blog under cleaners) on and scrubbed them- then rinsed all of them and let them set to dry.... 

This was really pretty easy to do- first use a high powered nozzle on your hose & spray the window down

then dip whatever you are going to use to scrubb the windows into the soulition-  (the recipe for it is at the end of this post)  and scrubb each window.

then.... take the nozzle again & squirt it down really good to rinse them off.  You don't need to dry them with anything, just watch as the water ripples down the window & sheets off into a shine.

I don't know if you can really see how clean they look from this picture, but trust me... it's amazing!!   So if you want to try it yourself, here's what you'll need!!

Oh ..... it feels so good to have nice clean windows!!!  Now I'll enjoy it while I can, until the next rain/wind storm!!  :(

Life looks much better through a bright clean window!! Have a good week-end!

The Best Sugar Scrub

I went to a Favorites party last night with some of my FAVORITE people, and I am wishing I had taken pictures to share with you of all their favorite things!! Next time I will.  I took some of this Gardners Hand Scrub that I found at onegoodthingbyjillee.com 

 it's so simple, 2 ingredients but oh my I LOVE it.
All you need is sugar and Dawn dishsoap- the new hand renewal ones that have olay in them.  There are 3 or 4 different ones.  Just fill a jar with sugar I filled them 2/3 full and then squeeze in some dawn- stir & add a little bit more sugar until it looks good... not too runny. That's it

I poured it into some FAVORITE jars I had made, tied a spoon & cute bow on it and it was done!  I attached a recipe card onto the bottle of Dawn Soap too so they can make more.   If you would like a copie of the recipe leave me a comment & your email and I will send it your way!  Just rub a little bit of the scrub onto dry hands & feet- scrub it into your skin & wash it off--- your hands will be so clean you'll LOVE it too!  Thanks Jillee!! :)

How to clean your coil stove

So I told you yesterday about the bar keepers friend! I couldn't stop just there! I had to try it on my cracked stained stove! Just look at the difference!

 Have I sold you yet on the product?

I pretty much used the same method as my tub!

1. I took out all of our coils.
2. Sprayed water on the stove in a spray bottle to get everything wet
3. Sprinkled a thin layer of the magic cleaner on the wet surfaces.
4. Lightly rubbed in the product with a dish scrubber.
5. Rinsed the product off
6. Amazing clean stove with no sweat and blood!

Seriously give it a try you'd be amazed by the price of the product and how well it cleans!

How to clean your bathtub!

I can't believe that I'm letting the blogging world see how nasty my bathtub was! But yeah it was pretty gross! I've heard about this magic cleaner a few times and was skeptical to give it a go! I mean I tried everything to get my grippers cleaned on the tub. Apparently I wasn't trying the right cleaner. Here is the before and after!

 This magical cleaner is the most amazing stuff ever! No deep scrubbing! Pretty much just pure amazing!

This is what I did to clean my tub...

1. I took out all of our shampoos and body washes.
2. Turned the shower on to get everything wet
3. Sprinkle a thin layer of the magic cleaner on the wet surfaces.
4. Lightly rubbed in the product with a dish scrubber.
5. Turned on the shower again to rinse
6. Amazing clean shower with no sweat and blood!

Seriously give it a try you'd be amazed by the price of the product and how well it cleans! Click here to get some delivered right to your door! Thank you amazon

UPDATE: They have recently come out with a wet version and I really really like this just as much!

How to clean a Front Loading HE Washer

Does your front loading washer ever start to smell musty or like mildew?  After I had mine for a few months I noticed this horrible smell in mine, and so I started searching to find where it was coming from.  This is what I found & what I do to prevent it from happening......

How to clean your Front Loading Washer....

first separate the rubber flap in the front like this-- yuck, see that gross gunk in the bottom of it?  It never dries out, so after awhile it starts to get moldy and smells really bad.

take a paper towel and wipe down inside of it-- do it a couple of times to get all the water out

and this is what you end up with--- after I have wiped it out really good, then I take a paper towel and spray it with pine-sol or another disinfectant and wipe it out again-- No more mildew! I try to do this after each load, but I hadn't done it for a couple of times, and it was pretty bad.  There's your tip for Tuesday-- it doesn't make laundry any more fun, but it does make breathing a little better! :)

Hardwood Floor Cleaner

I have been playing around trying to find a cleaner that I liked for my hardwood floor, and I have tried a couple different things-- this is the one that I  made this last week- I have only used it 2 times, but I really like the way it cleans.  I was just getting so tired of buying things that I didn't LOVE.  So this is what I came up with it's only 5 ingredients and you will have most of them on hand.  You might have to go out and buy some castille soap-- I buy Dr. Bronners. the label is a little crazy-- you'll understand if you read it.  But I LOVE this stuff it's a great cleaner, it's good for yor hands, body, scalp too. It's made from all natural oils, and has no foaming agents... anyway I typed the recipe up for you on a card below

 try it and see what you think--- and as always if you want the file so you can print the card as a 4x6 photo just leave me a comment with your email address & I will send it to you!!! Happy Cleaning! :)

Home Made Liquid Laundry Soap

I have been using a homemake laundry detergent for a few months now--  and I have loved it.  But it was a little time consuming and tricky (well tricky isn't the right word- the girls were helping me make it last time & MESSY is the better word... as in the pot of soap boiling over all down the stove & floor.  Haha good times!!  It was great laughs!!  I'll just say "I wasn't the one in charge of watching the pot!")   Anyway getting back to the process of making the detergent...you had to grate a bar of soap and cook it down on the stove with other ingredients & then when it cooled down it thickened too-- so you had to shake it up before using it everytime.  It wasn't that bad.. because it really did work well and saved so much money.  But I decided to try something else this time, and I am sooooo excited!!!!! It works just as good as the other one and is so much easier to make.  I have washed 4 loads with it, and it works great. So let me show you how.

Into a gallon container pour: 

 3 Tablespoons of Borax

3 Tablespoons of Washing Soda

2 Tablespoons of Dawn dish soap

4 Cups of boiling water

10-15 drops of essential oil  (I used Lavender)

Swirl- don't shake the ingredients-- until everything is dissolved, then let it cool....  

You can use any kind of Dawn soap- there are different sents if you want to do that instead of using the oil to make it smell good. I chose to use the blue Dawn because it works really good on grease, so I thought it might clean tough stains better. But it doesn't smell all that great- so I used the essential oil. 

after it has cooled- then fill the gallon container up with water--I put the container in the sink, turned the water on low and allowed the suds to over flow out of the container...

And this is what you end up with... a gallon of laundry soap ready to go.  Add a 1/2 Cup to each load,  I have a front loading HE washer and it works great in it too.

Oh yea and totally off the laundry soap topic.. yesterday morning I went for a bike ride-- and ran into someone that said she had made the crock-pot yogurt I had posted a few days ago!! --- I was so excited ... sometimes I wonder if anyone is out there, or if I'm just talking to myself!!  :) Haha-  Thanks Christine, you made my day!

Make your own foaming soap

How many of you use hand soap? Hopefully you all said I do!! Well today I am going to share with you something that I have been doing for a few years. You can make your own hand soap & it will cost you pennies to make a bottle. Here is what you need:


An empty foaming pump type bottle- I just use one from Bath & Body.
A bottle of your favorite liquid soap- you can use any brand-
And water
I like to fill the empty bottle about a 1/4 of the way full with the liquid hand soap. You can use less or more, it just depends how thick you want the foam to be. Then fill the bottle the rest of the way full with water-- that's it, you now have foaming soap for a fourth of the cost. I works just the same as the store bought and like I said if you want a thincker foam, just add a little more soap.

We also use this type of bottle to put our Eye make-up remover in and it comes out beautiful- no need for a cotton pad- just rub it onto your eyes & wash off. Here is how to make it:
1 cup water
1 1/2 Tablespoons baby shampoo- use the non-tear type
1/8 teaspoon of olive oil
Mix it together & pour into a bottle- it works great, but Jamie found out it doesn't take off waterproof mascara. :)

Homemade Cleaners

It's time for Spring Cleaning... I have spent the last couple of days trying to CLEAN-UP my house. After all the Easter FUN we had... and just everyday stuff it is sometimes a never ending chore to keep things nice and clean the way I like them. But I have to tell you I LOVE the homemade cleaners I have been using. Some I have used for years & some are new ones I have just started using the last 8 months-- We made cleaners a few months ago at "club" and Tara typed them up on recipe cards for me.... so I thought you might like to try using them too. Just start with one and see what you think...


this stuff will not streak... it's so good you are going to love it.


and this cleaner is AMAZING.. great for tile, sinks, tubs... it makes lots of suds, so you have to be able to rinse the area your cleaning really well


This is probably my all time FAVORITE.. it will make your counter tops shine like nothing you have ever used..


love this stuff too... cleans just as good as any of the store bought ones I have used... and saves lots of $ too.


I use this alot too... but DON'T use it on granite- because the vinegar will cause it to dull over time, and make sure you add the soda last after everything else has been put in the bottle. For all the cleaners I just pour them into spray bottles, and then I write the ingredients on the back of the bottle too. Then it's easy to make more when you are getting low. They are so much better for you because there are no harmful chemicals in them. Let me know what you think about them!

Here is one more... I have been making a homemade laundry soap that I liked, but you had to grate the bar of soap & boil everything on the stove... it was a little time consuming.  So a few months ago I decided to try this one and I LOVE it!! It is so easy, I haven't figured the math on how much it cost per load- but I know it can't be more than .10 really!!  And I can't tell the difference in my laundry.