Becoming Crunchy

If you’ve been with me since the beginning of this blog (Hi Mom!), you’ll remember me mentioning that I was called Crunchy by a friend.  That was the first time I’d ever heard the term, but I loved it from the second she said it.  It’s like a cool way to say “you’re so Granola!”  Okay, maybe there isn’t a cool way to say that. 

Anyway, I loved the term, and decided to use it whenever I could.  Then I found out that she wasn’t the only one who knew that word.  There’s a blog I found called “Adventures of a Somewhat Crunchy Mama”  I don’t remember how I found her blog, but once I read her title, I HAD to keep coming back.  It’s the best title for a blog, ever! 

Recently, she has been doing a series called “31 Days to a somewhat Crunchy YOU.” She has been giving us tips each day on how to be a little greener.  Now, I have to admit that I’m crunchy more for the ‘saving tons of money’ aspect  than the ‘let’s save the planet’ aspect.  But I’m not sure it really matters in the end.  It’s still doing our part to be a little healthier for ourselves and our environment, no matter what your reasons. 

Today, she has asked us to share our recipes for homemade cleaning products.  I have to admit that I don’t have any recipes for homemade cleaning products. I won a sample of someone’s homemade laundry soap from someone’s blog last month, but have yet to receive it.  So I’ve never even tried homemade cleaning products!  But, never fear, my friend Heather has decided to ‘go crunchy’ and recently found a great resource for making your own natural cleaning products.  The book is The Naturally Clean Home, and she shared two recipes for dishwasher soap to her friends on her Facebook page the other day.  Being the good friend I am, I ripped it off her page and am posting it here!  At least I’m giving her total credit.  Maybe some day I’ll try this.

Easy dishwasher soap recipe:

2 cups of Washing Soda, 1 cup of Borax, and 1 cup of Baking Soda. (All items can be purchased at your local grocery store).

Mix ingredients together and put in a container and use 2 Tbsp per load. If you have too much residue build up, use 1 1/2 Tbsp.

A scented recipe:

2 cups Washing Soda, 2 cups Borax, and 20 drops of lavender essential oil (make sure it's concentrated, not scented massage oil). You could use any scent you like, i.e.. grapefruit, orange, etc. Same storage and usage directions as recipe above.

If you’re interested in finding other recipes for cleaning products, go to Adventures of  a Somewhat Crunchy Mama.  You can also go through some of her recent posts to find out what other ways you can save a buck and/or save the planet.