Carpet Care

My sister in law asked me about a cleaner for carpets. I knew I had saved some, but I had to find them first Maigan!  lol!  I've found several that are supposed to have great results.  All are made with simple ingredients that you probably have in your home already.  I do want to say that I have not yet tried these.  I do feel pretty confident that they must work because I read a bunch of reviews when I was looking for them.  Almost all were positive results.  They use some of the same ingredients that the other homemade products I've posted already use.  With each homemade product that I've tried, I've had very good results.  All that being said, however, I cannot speak from first hand experience on these yet.  :-)  If you try them, please write and let me know your experience with them, good or bad.  My goal in all of this is not necessarily to be the "go to expert" on all of the homemade products, I simply want to find alternatives to the expensive cleaners we buy in the stores that work as well, are cheaper and safer than the brand names.  If others can benefit from our research, I'm thrilled to share what we find. 

1)  Spot Cleaner for Carpet

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup warm water

Put in spray bottle and spray directly on the stain and let sit for a few minutes.  Use a damp cloth to rub stain.

For tougher stains found two more solutions:

2)   Carpet Cleaner Solution for Tough Stains

1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup borax
1/4 cup white vinegar

Mix to make a paste.  Use fingers to rub into carpet and leave for a few hours.  Than vacuum over several times. 

3)  Second Cleaner for Tough Stains

1 Tablespoon baking soda
3 Tablespoons vinegar
2 cups water

Mix baking soda and vinegar(this will fizz quite a bit at first).  Add water and stir.  Put in spray bottle.  Scrub with a brush.  Wait 5-10 minutes and blot dry.



4)  Carpet Deodorizer

2 cups baking soda
10 drops of your favorite essential oil

Mix together.  Sprinkle powder on carpet.  Let sit for 30-60 minutes and then vacuum. 


5)  Steam Cleaner Solution  for Steam Cleaning Machines

1/4 cup lemon scented ammonia
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 teaspoons dishwashing soap
a little less than one gallon of hot water

Mix together and add to the solution compartment on your steam cleaner.

I can't wait to try these!  Between having a new puppy and our foyer having carpet in it, we have lots of spots that need cleaning!  Until I can afford to rip up the carpet in the foyer and replace with something more visitor friendly, I will continue trying to keep it clean.  I'm hoping to try these this week since I have a couple of extra days off.    I'll give you an update when I do to let you know how they worked for me. 


UPDATE ON THE DRAIN CLEANER:
Along that same note,  I did use the drain cleaner yesterday and had pretty good results.  I'm shedding hair worse than a cat so our drains seem to constantly be stopping up.  Our drain was not totally clogged yet, just very slow draining.  After using the drain cleaner, it drained much more quickly, but was still a little stopped.  When it is totally unstopped it makes an awful sucking sound. ( It scared Samuel half to death the first time it happened!  lol! He was climbing up the back of the wall trying to get away from it.  )  I think I'm going to do another round of the drain cleaner to see if it completely clears.  Like I said, it drained out much faster, so it did work, but I like it when there is NO standing water at all.  I'm hoping with a second application that'll do the trick.    Remember that this mixture is also used for drain maintenance about once a month.    I think once I get it totally unplugged and use the cleaner as maintenance, we probably won't have the problems we've been having the last few years.


Happy carpet cleaning!  Hope you have good results.  :-)

Have a wonderful week! 

God bless!

Carrie

Homemade drain cleaner

Well, I confess I've been a bad blogger this week.  Between traveling on Monday to see a friend whose dad was not doing well, keeping the baby a couple of days and being sick a couple of days, I just haven't made time for blogging.  I hope to make up for missing by giving you several things today.

First of all:

Homemade Drain Cleaner

1/4 cup baking soda
1/2 cup white vinegar

Pour in the baking soda and then add the vinegar.  Normal for it to fizz, so don't worry.

This recipe got rave reviews for both clearing a blocked drain and for maintenance cleaning of your drains(do about once a month).

It's all natural, no harsh chemicals, cheap and used with items you probably already have in your home.  :-)

I'm planning on trying this today.  We have a slow flowing drain right now.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Second item I want to share today is a recipe Micah's Aunt Gail gave me years ago.  It is wonderful and so simple to make.

Crockpot Cream  Cheese Chicken

3 lbs. chicken pieces
1 package Italian salad dressing mix
4 T. melted butter, divided
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth

Place chicken pieces in crockpot and sprinkle Italian salad dressing mix over the chicken.  Drizzle 2T. melted butter over chicken.  Cook on low for 6 hours.  Melt 2T. butter in a saucepan and saute onion and garlic.  Add the cream of chicken soup, cream cheese and chicken broth.  Stir until smooth.  Add this mixture to the crockpot and cook on low for an additional 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Serve over rice or noodles.  (We like it over rice)

Enjoy!

Last thing to share today...

I read this article on one of the homesteading sites that I like to read each day.  They have tons of ideas on all natural items you can try.

This one is for natural ways to helps clear up a pimple.  Not something lots of folks like to talk about but nevertheless part of most of our lives.  I break out worse now than when I was a teenager!  Go figure!   Anyway,  the simplest one that struck me and I continue to find this recommended is toothpaste!  I can't wait to give this a try.

I'm going to print the article here for you.  I do suggest you check out their site though.  I think you'll be hooked once you see it.  :-)

Homesteading Self Sufficiency Survival

 

How to Get Rid of Acne Overnight There are several easily available items found in our homes that can be used for getting rid of acne fast. Some of the home remedies are as follows: 1. Ice Pack: Application of ice will help to reduce the swelling and irritation associated with acne. For this, take some crushed ice and wrap it up in an aluminum foil so that the ice do not get melted quickly. The n put it inside a plastic bag and cover it up with a towel. Now place the ice pack over the can for about 10-15 minutes. Thus the open pores will shrink and force the oil and dirt to come out of the pores. Take a break for few minutes and apply it once again. 2. Toothpaste: This is one of the most popular method to treat acne because it actually helps to get rid of acne overnight. Still, there are many people who do not know the exact method of how to get rid of acne overnight with toothpaste. Take a coin size of toothpaste on your fingertip and apply it on the acne. Allow it to stay on the acne overnight. It will absorb excess of oil from the acne and reduce its size to a great extent. Next morning, wash it off with lukewarm water and then with cold water and you will be surprised to see the difference! However, you should not gel toothpaste for this purpose. Find more on toothpaste on pimples - does it work. 3. Sandalwood Powder: The natural medicinal properties of sandalwood helps to heal up the acne at the same time prevent acne scars. Prepare a thick paste of sandalwood powder and black gram powder and some rosewater. You can replace rosewater with milk as well. Apply the paste all over your face and leave it overnight. Rinse it off with water on the next morning and you will notice that the size of the acne has gone down and the skin pores look smaller as well. 4. Egg Mask: Before applying this mask make sure your face is thoroughly cleaned. Take white portion of two eggs and add 2 tablespoons of lime juice into it. Beat the mixture well so that the two components blend well with each other. Dip a cotton swab into it and apply it on the acne generously. Wait for about 15 minutes and then wash off thoroughly with cold water. 5. Honey and Cinnamon: The antibacterial properties of honey and cinnamon helps to reduce acne very quickly. You have to prepare a face mask with the help of one tablespoon of raw honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Apply it liberally on the acne on your face. If you have acne scars then you can use this paste on them as well for acne scar removal. Leave it on the acne for about half an hour and wash off. You can see that the redness of the acne going down almost instantly. Before you start any of the treatments given in this article on how to get rid of acne overnight, I would like to tell you that all the methods of treatment given here may not be suitable for you. Every skin type is unique and what suits your friend may not suit you at all. Therefore, try to find out which one is just right for you. You should clean your face with a mild cleanser before any treatment for best effect. Eat the right kind of foods that consist of plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables for acne prevention. Cut down on fried and processed foods. Drinking ample amounts of water will help to flush out the toxins from the system. Thus, your skin will stay healthy and acne will be in check.   Blessings to you all this coming week!   Carrie  Philippians 4:19--"  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Write a comment...

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Mountains and Valleys

It's been a difficult couple of weeks for me.  I find, however, that no matter how down I may be, I always seem to come across folks that are going through a much more difficult time than I am.  Why is it that we tend to think we are the only ones suffering?  For it is not so.  The whole world is full of people going through their own struggles.  If we could only take our eyes off ourselves and open them to the needs of others, focusing on our blessings, instead of what we don't have,  maybe we would stop wallowing in self pity.  I think it would put things in a more accurate perspective, for sure.  Life is hard.  There is no way around it.  It is filled with mountains and valleys.  Hopefully, more mountains than valleys.  :-)  But I find as I look back at my 42 years of life, it has been through the difficult times that I have grown the most.  My relationship with my Lord has strengthened as it never would have had I stayed on the mountain top.  So I think I can honestly say, "Thank you Lord for the valleys."  I am a much stronger Christian because of the valleys and a much stronger person overall.  I pray that my trials will bring honor and glory to God.  I hope that my life will magnify the name of Jesus...always!  If you are on the mountain top, praise Him!  If you are going through difficulties, praise Him even more!  For it is through the refiner's fire that we are made more like our Savior.


"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. "
Phillippians 4:11

God bless,

Carrie

Homemade Shampoo

Well, I have to admit this next tip, I was very skeptical about.  Homemade shampoo.  I knew there would be recipes out there for homemade shampoo, but the one I kept coming across most frequently was surprising.  It only has two ingredients:  baking soda and water.  Yep, that's all.  It just sounded too simple.  However, I'm willing to try anything once, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Here is the recipe:

Homemade Shampoo

1 Tablespoon baking soda
1 Cup water

Mix together and put in an old shampoo bottle for convenience.  Shake well before each use.  Can be doubled or tripled depending on the size of the bottle you want to store it in.  Work in a little at a time and massage in for about 1-2 minutes.  Rinse very thoroughly.

**One note about this mixture that will seem different...the consistency of the shampoo.  It feels like you're squirting water on your head.  It's not going to be thick like a normal shampoo. **

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.  It did not take very much and I have a LOT of hair!  My hair looks and feels very clean.  I would even go so far as to say my hair feels cleaner than it does with my normal shampoo.  It doesn't have that "heavy" feel that some shampoos leave.

I'm curious as to whether it will stay clean as long as it does with normal shampoo.  I just washed with this this morning before church, so I will have to let you know in the next few days how it does for keeping my hair clean compared to regular shampoo.  I normally only have to wash my hair about every 3 days.  We'll see if I can go that long with this mixture.

Stay tuned for more experiments in going "all natural".  I have been very pleased with all the results so far.  I haven't found one thing that did not work yet.  I plan to continue switching over to all natural one by one.  I'm loving all the money that I'm saving and there is a sense of pleasure over knowing that not only am I being a better steward, but it's better for our family by not using so many man-made chemicals/products and better for the environment too.  :-)  It's a win/win situation all around!

Thanks for reading!  ;-)

Blessings to you all this week!

Carrie

Another Money Saving Idea

Here is a money saving idea that we have been doing for the last couple of months...instead of drying your clothes in the clothes dryer, hang dry them on a line.  Our electric bill has gone down by $15 just by doing this one simple thing.  I have been so excited!  I didn't think it would make that much difference.

  One thing that you will notice is that the towels and jeans are more stiff.  I do like soft towels.  However, I don't like them enough to pay an extra $15/month to dry them in the clothes dryer.

  A couple of thoughts on how to help this problem, if you just can't stand the stiffness--

1. You can try throwing them in the dryer for about 5-10 min.  with a wet wash cloth and a dryer sheet.

2. Take them out before they completely finish the spin cycle and then hang.  The more damp they are, apparently reduces stiffness.

3.  Hang your jeans, pants and shirts upside down.  This seems to lessen the stiffness and it also decreases wrinkles too.  :-)

Also, the more they move while on the line...like a windy day, is supposed to decrease the stiffness, too.

If you're like our family though, we seem to have a constant flow of laundry.  So I can't wait for windy days. The stiff feeling is not a big deal to me.  I'm just trying to get the water off me after all, but you decide what you think.

Another thought about line drying your clothes...It's not as hard on your clothes and it's better for the environment and of course, my favorite part of it,  easier on your pocket book.

I've noticed that while I'm out there hanging the clothes up, I tend to spend my time talking to the Lord.  There's something about being outside in nature that just makes me feel closer to Him....always a good thing.

A friend mentioned a while back about a homemade fabric softener that you spray on while hanging them on the line.  When I get the recipe for that, I'll pass it along.  It's made from hair conditioner.  Sounds interesting, but I haven't tried that yet.

Anyhow,  hope you have a blessed weekend!

Carrie

Is Jesus Your Savior?

Well, I got some bad news this evening.  My mom's oldest sister passed away today.  She was 83.  This makes the fourth death in less than a week.  :-(  The one thing they all had in common was their Savior, Jesus Christ.  So I guess I should say the bad news was for us, not them.  They are in a much better place and I know some day I will see them again.  :-)   I suppose it is only natural that as I get older, I know more and more people that are dying.  It doesn't make it any easier though.  We grieve for our loss.  But one thing I find myself reflecting on more and more is.....am I doing all I can to make sure my family and friends know Jesus as their Savior?  Am I living a life that reflects Christ's love to others?  Do I witness to people?  Do I pray for them? Am I inviting others to church? Loving them? Comforting them? Encouraging them? Am I doing all I can to live a life pleasing to my Lord?  I know I have a great deal of room for improvement.  It's so easy to get busy with "life" and forget our purpose for being here on earth.  If God didn't have plans for us, He would take us to Heaven as soon as we got saved.  But He doesn't do that because He wants us to share with others His love for them, what He has done for us, how He will do that for them too.  We should pray for opportunities to share God's love with others and to help us recognize the opportunities right in front of us.  The fields are ripe unto harvest and our time is short.  We don't know how long we'll have on this earth.  Two of the people that died were in their 80's, but the other two were 52 and 47.  When will our day come?  We don't know, but we need to be ready.  Are you ready?  Is Jesus your Savior? If you died today, where would you be?  Where would you spend eternity?  If He is not, please do not wait another day. 

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. "
Romans 10:9




 
God bless!

Carrie

Homemade Bathtub Cleaner

Thanks to everybody for the prayers.  I want to ask for continued prayers for us as we attempt to discern the Lord's will for our family...in particular my job situation.  I know God has a perfect will in all of this.  We're just trying to make sure we are in it.   I have some possibilities, so prayers for guidance would be greatly appreciated.  Sure wish He would just send an angel to show me the path.  :-)

I'm trying something new tonight.  It's a homemade bathtub cleaner.  I'll have to come back in an hour and let you know how it worked. I read about it in several places today and they all swear it works very well.  We have a particularly difficult bathtub!  It does not like to be cleaned! I have to admit though, that the bathtub is probably one of the most neglected things in our home!  lol!  I hate cleaning it.  It is one of those old(blue) iron(I think) tubs that the finish is gone from, which makes it very hard to make look clean even when you've scrubbed til your hand is about to fall off!  I am hoping that this homemade concoction will work well.  From what I read, not only does it clean, but it comes clean easily.  We'll see.  I have to admit I am skeptical on this one...at least on our tub.  I sure hope I'm wrong though.  Would love to be wrong this time.  :-)  Stay tuned for the reveal in about 45 minutes or so.  I'm going to put the recipe on here so you can try it too if it works and so you'll know if it doesn't, not to try it.

Homemade Bathtub Cleaner

Equal parts of :

Dawn dishwashing liquid
White vinegar

Warm the vinegar and add the Dawn. Put in a spray bottle.   Shake a little to mix.  Spray over entire surface and wait one hour.  Scrub clean and rinse thoroughly.

Very simple and inexpensive if it works.  :-)  Keep your fingers crossed!


FINDINGS ARE IN!

I am happy to report that it does work!  Yay!  I've thought for 3 1/2 years our bathtub was a dingy brown, but I was wrong!  Who knew?!!!!  It's really blue underneath all that yuck!  TMI, I know!  I would like to say that I did have to put some elbow grease into it too.  It didn't just wipe off for me.  However, that being said ours is especially hard to clean b/c of the lack of finish on it.  Even with store bought cleaners, I have to really scrub and it does not look as clean as it does now.  It really is taking the grime off(This is embarrassing.  Mine was pretty bad.)  I missed a few places when I sprayed it and I'm putting some there now to go back and get it in an hour.  I don't think for most folks it would be as difficult since most bathtubs have a finish on them.  Give it a try and see what you think.  Let me know how it works for you.  Now that I've found something that will actually make it look clean, maybe I'll clean it more often...maybe....hopefully, lol!  :-)

Homemade Washing Powder

Hmmm, well today has been another "bad news day" for our family, unfortunately.  :-(  It seems like we've had a constant barrage of those in the last couple of months.  I am remarkably at peace though.  I can only attribute that to being a "God thing", because otherwise, I'd be a basket case.

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. "
Philippians 4:7


Without boring you with the details, suffice it to say that things just got a lot tighter for us financially.  It seems like the noose is getting a little more tight every week that goes by.  However, that being said, our God is faithful to supply all of our needs.  He has never failed us and I know He never will. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated.  :-)

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. "
Philippians 4:19

I wanted to share another tip on saving money that we have discovered.  It's making your own washing powder.  We were buying the large box of Arm and Hammer washing powder before we started making our own and it was around $15... a pretty penny to drop just to have clean clothes.  We have been so pleased with the results of the homemade washing powder and it costs pennies per load compared to the brand names.  I think you will be very pleased with the results.  If the economists are correct, things are going to get much more expensive in the very near future, so I think many people will be looking to save as much money as they can.  I encourage you to give this a try.  You won't be disappointed.

HOMEMADE WASHING POWDER

1 bar pure soap (Fels-Naptha, castille, etc) , grated first and then run through food processor.(washes out very easily)
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax
(We add a couple of Tablespoons of Phosphorus to this.)

Place soap in a medium sized container with lid. Add washing soda & borax. Mix well.
Use 1 Tbsp per load or 2 Tbsp per load for heavily soiled clothing.

Add 1/2 cup white vinegar to your washer in the fabric softener part. This will help get the soap out of the clothes.  (They do not smell like vinegar once dry.  :-))

The clothes smell very  fresh and clean once dry.

Well, I hope you all have a blessed week!

Carrie