Hair/Skin:
1. Shampoo- while I will always have a bottle of high quality shampoo on hand, I no longer wash my hair with it. I use it occasionally, for sure, but I now use baking soda & water to wash my hair and apple cider vinegar to rinse it. I feel like my hair looks great and there's really not a lot to fuss about. The best blog I have found about this is from Crunchy Betty.
- For hair products, I always have a little something on hand, but the one product I will never stop using is my Oribe hair spray. It smells AMAZING and has the perfect amount of hold. It's very expensive by my standards, but I don't use it everyday and I get it 1/2 off from my SIL who works at an upscale salon; she shares the wealth. My last bottle lasted about 2 years, so I don't feel bad buying this.
3. Moisturizer- I do not own one single thing of moisturizer. I've been using straight coconut oil for at least a year and I love it. I recently discovered that I can really cut back on the amount, so I've been doing that with fine results. I've read that coconut oil can clog pores, but I have not experienced that. I've also noticed using the Oil Cleansing Method that my skin isn't as dry, so I don't even always need a moisturizer. As with all of this stuff it's an experiment on what works for you!
4. Deodorant- This one has taken some real experimentation for me. I was using straight baking soda, but I didn't feel like it really did the job. I really don't tend to have stinky pits, but that could have something to do with my aversion to exercise? However, as I try different home made deodorants, I find that I do end up stinking. Sometimes I just don't care, after all, it's just three little kids hanging around those armpits. What do they care? But then I get a whiff and I think, maybe this home made deodorant isn't working. I've tried this recipe with mixed results, but come summer, I can assure you, it won't do. I recently added some tea tree to my current batch to see if that helps, but if not, I'll have to try a new combination. But as with all of this home made stuff, sometimes it's trial and error and the cost for most of my ingredients is so low, I really don't worry about it.
5. Hand soap- We're using the last of our store bought soap up now and replacing all the soap dispensers in our house with foaming pumps. I had done this before just buying some foaming soap from Bath & Body Works on sale and then reusing the container, but the containers only lasted a few refills and then broke. This time I bought pumps off Amazon and we're using good ol' Dr. Bronners. Here's the 'recipe' I'm using. It works fine and the pumps are really nice!
Household:
1. Laundry soap- One of my favorite things in this household product downsize plan has been our homemade laundry soap. It is ridiculously easy, cheap and kind of fun to make. It's also customizable with essential oils. It's a cup of borax, a cup of washing soda, a cup of baking soda, and a bar of grated Castile soap. Throw it all in the food processor and you've got laundry soap. Super easy and super cheap. With all of my homemade stuff, I try to put ingredients on the label as well as what it is, that way I don't have to look up the recipe next time and so everyone in the house knows what is inside.
2. General purpose cleaner- We have a stash of Mrs. Meyers cleaner still, but I will just be using Dr. Bronners for this.
3. Windex- Again, Crunchy Betty to the rescue. I use this Alvin Corn recipe or else my Norwex window cleaning cloth. Please don't look at our windows in the sun, though, you will find lots of hand prints and other identifiable marks. I hate cleaning windows.
4. Norwex cloths- these are seriously my go-to cleaning product for everything. All you need is water and a cloth and you can clean just about anything. I keep one in the bathroom to quickly wipedown the toothpaste avalanche and the mirror and I end up feeling like the bathroom is clean. I keep one in the kitchen for our counter tops and for the computer and the floor when I've used the cloth for a week or so. Clean the floor with the Norwex cloth and some water and throw the cloth down to the laundry.
5. Stain remover- we still have some Shout on hand but for lots of things, I use lemon juice and a few days of sunshine. For grease I use dawn soap and boiling water. Just put a liberal amount of dawn on the stain, let it sit for a minute and pour boiling water over it. Wash as directed. It's worked several times for me! (This would probably not be god for delicate fabrics, but we all know I'm talking about getting grease out of the sweats I wore all week.)
6. Floor cleaner- We have wood and tile floors which I clean almost daily. I have found that for the most part I really don't need a cleaning product. We have a Bona mop and I usually don't even sweep, just moisten the mop and use water for a good wipe down. When I do use a product, it's either Mrs. Meyers or else Murphy's. When those run out I'll use DB.
7. Oven cleaner- there is a super easy method for keeping your oven clean. Baking soda and vinegar (which both have a million uses around the house!) Here's a link to Clean your oven naturally!
Baby:
1. Cloth diapers! Our cloth diapers have paid for themselves twice and Avett isn't even a year old. We use (and LOVE) our BumGenuis diapers.
2. Diaper detergent- because some of the value of cloth diapers is that you resell them later, I use a special detergent formulated for diapers. I don't want to ruin them with some home made something or other. We love Rockin' Green. We tried Charlie's, but Avett had a bad diaper rash from it, so we switched back.
3. Wipes- I make my own wipes. Again, I love this job and I know it saves us tons of money. My friend gave me a 'recipe' for this, but this one online is basically the same thing.
4. Baby Wash- We bought our Dr. B's in the baby mild scent so once the wash we have is gone, that is what we will use to wash him.
Things I can't part with:
1. Bleach. Sorry, sometimes you just really need to know something is actually clean and free of germs!
2. My hairspray. See above.
3. Make up- though I don't ever wear much, I don't think I plan to go the natural route
4. Dawn soap. We don't have a dishwasher, so we really need a soap that cuts grease. It's also useful for getting out grease stains in clothing and for stripping cloth diapers.
5. Hair color. My mom is considering going gray (and I think she should!) but I am a little too young to rock the gray.
So there you have it. I have no estimate of how much I have saved by doing this, but as a Household Affairs Manager I feel like I am doing my part to save us money and cut down on clutter. And like I said, I like doing most of this (I know, I'm weird...). When I find that something doesn't work, I just try again or else go back to a commercial product. Remember, I'm not making a religion about any of these things, I just like to do stuff like this and it works for us. I'm meeting a New Year's resolution, saving money and having fun. What else could you ask for?
Have any great recipes for household products to share? Or do you do everything with Norwex?
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