laundry detergent

I try my hardest to ball on a budget. Some things I do to cut out the chemicals, somethings I do to cut out the middle man. Sometimes I just like being frugal. I wanted to share some things I did for my family to save money, just little tricks, and if someone can use it out there somewhere, then I guess that would make me feel better.

I started making my own laundry detergent. I have been reading about all the harmful chemicals that are added to most laundry soap on the market. Its amazing what additives companies can put in. I did my research and most of the stuff added, causes cancer. Well, so they say. I also found out you can make yours for half the cost and half the chemicals.

I made my first batch in the beginning of February. It cost about 24 dollars to make. I had to buy containers at the dollar store to store it, which took three dollars. two to hold the bulk because the dollar tree around me didn't have huge ones, so I bought two of the biggest ones, and then one that I could put on my laundry shelf.

1 box Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 box Borax

1 bigger ( I say this because its not the small sizes you're used to getting to put in the fridge) box of baking soda

1 bottle of smell good scent blasters, I used purex, there are downy and tide, and gain ones out now, whatever you chose is  up to you. 

3 bars Fels-Naptha

2 dollar tree containers of oxyclean or one regular oxyclean

these are the items you will need.

Everything I found at walmart and dollar tree. I chose to use the dollar tree brand of "oxyclean". but you can use the regular kind, it will make your 24 dollar total go up. I find that the dollar tree brand works just the same.

The next thing you're going to do is grate the cheese! I mean the Fels-Naptha. My kid wanted to help do it, its not a chore apparently when youre young! 

What I did was put a new bag in the trash can and just used that as my container for the time being. I grated, I mean Ethan grated the soap. We also tried using the food processor, but it took FOREVER and kind of almost ruined it. This soap is super soft and takes about 15 minutes for all three bars of soap, so I just bought my own grater for laundry from the dollar store.

After that is done, mix everything into the bag. Just open it up and pour it in!

The best part about it being in a bag, is then you can lift the bag and shake it and turn it around to really mix  up the contents.

next put it in the containers you want to store it in.

ALSO IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE!!! Keep the oxy clean scoop, because that's about how much you will use per load!

and PRESTO! there is laundry soap that will last you up to 9 months

I did about three loads on average per week, if not more and I had three boys in the house, So it lasted me a long time. I also havent had any issues with it like some people think it runs your washer.

I have a top loading washer. I have no idea if that makes a difference.

I was worried about it leaving residue on my clothes, but I just simply put the little scoop in (if you dont have a scoop its two tablespoons per load, I would add more if they were really dirty) then turned on the water, let it fill up a little bit, then I stuck my hand in and mixed it up to make all the soap dissolve. 

I have not had an issue with anything with this method.

If you try it let me know how it goes and how you like it! 

Things Any Girl Needs for the Summer!

Summer is here whether you like it or not! I dont know about you, but it creeped up really fast! I live in the midwest and one week its spring and 70 degrees and the next its 98 degree and humid!
Thats how it was for me last week.

Here are my picks for the top 10, absolutely necessary, MUST HAVE OR WILL DIE summer items. Some of them might be a little expected (I know, I know: Sandals and sunglasses, Courtney? Really?) No better way to get ready for the sun and fun then to get Summer Essential items that any girl really cant live without.

I have partnered up with ShopAtHome.com ( an online coupon and Cash Back site that partners with thousands of online retailers and more than 60 million members to deliver savings and rewards!) to bring you even more savings! All you have to do is click on the link and it will figure out the coupon codes for you and automatically show you how much cash back you will receive! 

Swimming Suit

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I am loving the crochet and lace this season and this is a perfect swim suit top! Not only does it over up any insecurities that you may have about showing so much skin, its black aka SLIMMING, and while still being crochet, you can feel the air through it. The best part about this piece is that since it is solid black (there is other colors and patterns as well) you can pair with just about any bottom! There is also a removable string to hold it up in case youre worried about that as well.

Cover Up

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I just love this cover-up. It adds a bit of flare when you have a solid colored swimming suit, but still elegant enough to walk around with after you leave the area. I love how its low cut and you can pair it with fun long necklaces that are in right now, but its still flowy enough to look cute! The empire waist is awesome to but it can hide any troubled areas!

Sunglasses

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I have always loved a good pair of aviator glasses! I think they flatter just about every face shape. Plus, this may sound odd but the bigger the sunglasses, the less your skin is not protected from the sun! I love these because they aren't your average black and silver, and they really compliment red undertones in your skin! 

Sandals

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These neutral shoes are gorgeous! With the little bling and heel you can spice it up an average flip flop. The reviews have stated that this is one of the most comfortable shoes they have ever worn! 

Hat

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Keep yourself protected from the sun in this awesome hat! Its a neutral shade and can go with anything! I love being outside and getting my vitamin D but as a red head, we are so prone to sunburns, that I will do anything to not get them. Oh the joys of being a ginger! I love burning and not even getting a tan out of it! Save yourself the trouble and get a hat that can cover other areas sunblock cant go, i.e your scalp. It also is great whenever you have wet hair and it looks a hot mess after a day of swimming, throw it under there!

Ipad

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Everyone needs good reading material this summer! It can't be all fun in the sun, you need to exercise your brain! I love my ipad mini. You can take it to the beach, read on it, play games, take pictures, and listen to music or watch a movie! I was an android person for years and now I finally have an ipad air, and I dont know how I ever survived without it!

Summer Scent

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If I had to put summer in a bottle, this would be it! Its coconut and heaven in a perfume. After getting out of the sun, being sweaty, or the pool smelling like chlorine, spray this on and it will make a world of difference! Everyone needs a signature summer scent and this new one from Bath & Body Works so amazing!

Nail Polish

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I am not a pink girl, I hardly ever wear it, but in the summer, on my feet, I love a hot pink neon color! The pink really goes with the red undertones in my skin, since I do not tan, the pink still looks good. I am so jealous of the girls that can be tan and pull off the neon greens and yellows! O.P.I is one of the best brands and they even have gel polish in this color!

Beach Bag

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Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day, all of these holidays in the summer that just scream red, white, and blue. This bag is perfect for lugging around all your summer essentials with a pop of flair!

Sunscreen

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I cannot stress how IMPORTANT  a great screen screen is! I am extremely pale and I use sunscreen like LIQUID GOLD! You could never cover up more from the sun in my opinion. Think of your health even if its all fun and games this summer.

Weekender Bag

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Use this bag to pack up everything plus everyday items and then go

TO THE BEACH! 

Go pick out a nice hotel and get out of the swimming pool and feel the sand between your toes! 

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coconut oil for EVERYTHING

Recently I have been researching all things organic to use for my body. I feel as though when I look at products, I cant even tell what it is some of them, I am not going fully organic, and although I still put things that are harmful inside my body when I am eating, I can only change one thing at a time!

So I came across coconut oil, I am so shocked more of my friends don't use this for everything. It is fairly cheap, I even found some cheaper at Walmart than Trader Joe's, with Trader only being about 5 bucks for 16 fl oz. So far I have used coconut oil for lotion, ( I have extremely dry skin, especially on my forehead and prone to break outs on my chin and nose) I have used it for cooking (I have two jars one for bathroom, one for cooking), makeup remover, it also has a natural spf of 4! There is also oil pulling, for your teeth, that I dont know much about but on my list of things to research soon. It apparently is really good for your teeth.

You can look at the huge list of use for coconut oil here.

But, my all time favorite use for coconut oil is conditioner! I only use it about once a week, but I have noticed a huge difference, and my friends who I have pressured into using it, have noticed a big difference!

I have frizzy wavy hair with tons of spilt ends from the heating styling tools I use, plus I am trying not to get my montly trims and letting my hair grow out, but using coconut oil, I have even noticed my hair growing faster!

I wait til its a little warm, the colder it gets, the more of a 'solid' it will take, the cooking one in my fridge is a solid, but the one in my bathroom, since it gets warmer in there with the shower, its liquid.

After it is a liquid (you could microwave it if needed) I put it al over my hair. i start from tip to root, because I feel like my tips need it the most.

Just warning you its going to feel like your havent washed your hair in about three years, its extremely heavy and will weigh your hair down.

I let it saturate my entire head 

waiting 30 mins, looking like a 50s greaser!

After waiting 30 mins, I take a shower, rinse it out, then shampoo my head, I DO NOT use other conditioner, as this is to much and will weigh your hair down and be hard to style it once out of the shower.

Afterwards I style my hair as usual!

If you have any other uses for coconut oil, please let me know, I am dying to try anything with it.

If you got the poison I got the remedy.

Ouchie

With the summer coming up, and the sun already making us ginger kids with no souls go into a tizzy when we can feel our skin baking in the suns mighty heat deathly glow. As someone who has been burnt, quite a few  times in my past ( my mom never informed me really about how deadly the sun can be to my precious skin and didnt contest when for my first bikini I chose a black one! Thanks mom!) I know a thing or two about making yourself feel better after being badly burnt. This however wont make your sunburn go away, this is only to make yourself feel better and hopefully get some sleep.

This might look a little odd, and no were not doing any science projects of making volcanoes, but you can still see a little scientific stuff going on. The first step is to make a luke warm bath, not to hot because your skin is already burnt, but not to cold, and put throw in some baking soda and vinegar. (if you watch closely you can see them interacting with each other in the water) Soak in the bath for 15 mins, on each side, or all parts that are sunburnt. Do not use any soap, most soaps have stuff in them that dry your skin out even more which defeats the purpose of this bath. The reason I bathe in vinegar and baking soda is that it takes out the sting of the sunburn. 

Soaking my cares away, I mean the sting away.

If you have blisters I would advise to pop the blisters with a STERILE needle and let them drain, keeping the skin on it, not peeling it off. I recommend doing this after the bath so the bath doesn't get into the area and your skin will hurt less after the bath.

After the bath, pat yourself dry, try not to rub, I always have to remind myself because I dry off any which way just to not get cold after bathing. Next I take some allergy medication (this is incase you are allergic to the sun or swell) and some ibuprofen ( this is also an anti inflamatory which will help if you start to swell and well as a pain reliever. I then definetely remember to take my multivitamin, because I feel like the sun took out some of my vitamins, and hey, it cant hurt. Lastly make sure you drink a lot of water, you can become really dehydrated, as well as your skin being dehydrated now that it is burnt.

I dont even understand how only this part got burnt?!

The next process is ALOE VERA AND LOTS OF IT! Apply it whenever you want, keep it in the fridge so its cold for you to put on your skin, if you have an aloe vera plant, even better, cut off a leaf, slice it open, and rub directly onto your skin.

Make sure you get plenty of rest, and drink water, and keep your skin hydrated. 

I know this might be gross, but keep some anti diarrhea medicine around. Sometimes I get some issues with that when I get burnt.

One more thing, If your face is really badly burnt, instead of submerging it into the bath for 15 mins, make a baking soda paste with just baking soda and water, and put it on your skin, leave on for 3-5 mins depending on how burnt you are. I would not leave it on longer because baking soda can drastically dry out your face, causing it to be even worse while it burnt. This part also kind of aches/hurts so be careful.

I hope this helped, I ALWAYS do this every time I get burnt and the next day, my skin might be a little tender but it makes a world of difference.

If you have any other advice or tips for sunburns, please leave them in the comments~!

My Everyday and Cheap makeup look!

Today I wanted to share with everyone my everyday makeup look, Its all pretty easy and fairly cheap. I like to splurge on mac and estee lauder for those special occasions, but running errands, going to work, just trying to look girly, I go through it more often and just because it doesn't have a huge price tag on it, doesn't mean its not good makeup. So here is my everyday makeup look:

This is me bright eyed and bushy tailed with nothing on what so ever.

I started off with L'Oreal BB cream. I know there is a lot of mixed reviews, but I love that it has primer and spf right in there, and as someone who wears spf like its going out of style, it love that I can do multiple things at once. Its also only about 8 bucks at Target.

Bye bye freckles! This is after BB cream

I love this little N.Y.C face polish. I got it from Dollar Tree, and for a dollar, you cant beat that. I love this cause It contours and highlights right in one little pot. Its easily spreadable with my fingers and it has a little sparkle.

Side view after contouring and highlighting.

Next I use E.L.F blush in Twinkle Pink which retails for about three dollars.

Since I already contoured and I want that to stand out, I only put on blush on the apples of my cheeks. I also use the E.L.F powder brush to put it on, which is a flat head, and retails for three dollars.

Face complete.

Next I used E.L.F eyebrow kit, which also retails for 3 bucks. It has a gel and a power to fill them in. 

I then set my eyebrows with the E.L.F Essential Wet Gloss Lash and Brow Clear Mascara.

Eyebrows totally done.

As you can tell I have had this awhile, ha, but I use the bottom three colors mixed together to go on my crease. then I take the lighter purple for my crease, the darker purple for the outer edge, then take the top middle and line my inner creases. This is my urban decay ultimate palette, which sadly they no longer make, so I will have to find a newer one shortly, maybe I'll give in and get the naked palette. I then use the E.L.F essential liquid eyeliner which is a dollar, and line my eyes with it. Finally I use Sephora's They're Real sample mascara I got for my birthday, and L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara which is about 7 bucks.  

My eyes completely done.

I use N.Y.X Butter Gloss which is about 6 dollars, depending on what store you buy it from. It is five dollars on the website.

Makeup final look. If I'm hurrying, I will leave off the blush or the contouring, it all depends on where I'm going as well.

After hair is done.

Ask me for any colors or any other questions, feel free to leave a comment!