Things I Don't Buy (Part 2): Shower Cleaner

Anyone who has ever cleaned a bathroom tub knows that one of the most dreaded things to try to remove is soap scum. It's that icky film in the bottom of the tub that makes it look dirty and dull. And it's also that coating on your faucet that makes OCD people like me a little stressed.

I NEED SHINY FAUCETS.

There are a million cleaners in the store that can remove soap scum for whatever price they deem their "miracle product" to be worth. But what's in these that makes them work? Chemicals. Loads and loads of chemicals. Personally, I'm not a fan of fearing chemical residue when I'm trying to get clean. I'm also not a fan of letting my niece, nephews and fur baby bathe in a tub that could be laced with who knows what. 

SO, I ventured onto Pinterest to solve my housecleaning problem (like I do with most household problems). And I found a solution that works! Plus, it's free of any crazy chemicals that warn you to avoid skin contact. 

Here is what you'll need:

• an empty spray bottle

• Dawn dish soap (I like the Apple scented kind)

• white (or apple cider) vinegar

• water (optional)

Instructions: 

1. Combine ingredients- 2 parts vinegar, 2 parts Dawn and 1 part water (the water is optional)
2. Shake until mixed well
3. Spray on tub, tile and door/curtain 
4. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and then rinse off (for hard soap scum, wipe over with a scratchy sponge before rinsing)

Variations:

• I have heard of people adding some lemon juice to the mixture to help cut through the soap scum and give the bathroom a fresh scent (the vinegar smell is offensive to some).
• Several pins I saw recommended heating the vinegar in the microwave before mixing it together with the other ingredients. Not sure what this will do, but maybe it helps!
• Baking soda is also in several recipes, but be sure to carefully and slowly mix it with the vinegar first to avoid a nasty explosion.
• If you don't like the smell of vinegar or lemon, you can add some drops of your favorite essential oil to the cleaner to make your bathroom smell the way you like!

Living on Tulsa Time

We have been living in Tulsa for almost 6 months now (crazy!) and I am finally starting to feel like this is home. And for someone who has lived in Norman her entire life, that's a big step. We are part of a church and community group that we love, we have regular games of spades with the in-laws (I know, we're nerds) and we are starting to find new places to hang out and socialize in Tulsa. Daisy even made a whole new group of friends on our first trip to the dog park today. It was a proud dog mom moment!

As most of you know from my Facebook post, I also landed my first big girl job this past week! On March 18, I'll be rejoining the OU family as the Associate Director of Recruitment for NE Oklahoma. I'll be teaming up with the awesome people from Prospective Student Services and bringing the OU experience to all the high school kids in my area. Talk about a fun job! It combines the marketing aspect of my degree with talking about my favorite university. What could be better?!

The other great thing about this job is that Seth and I will now be able to buy a house this year! If you've gone through Dave Ramsey's course, you know renting is a drain on your income that you can never get back (although it is necessary sometimes). Thankfully we will soon be able to plug that drain and finally have a place to call our own.

Like any overeager, first-time home buyers, we have been prowling the Internet listings of homes for sale in the Tulsa area. At this stage in the process, house hunting is pure fun. We ooh and aah over all the new floors and kitchen cabinets and imagine what it would be like to live in the $3MM mansion we found on Craigslist. Soon enough we will have to start the not-so-fun part of loan approval, inspections and all the things we are currently pretending don't exist. But until then, it's happy hunting and happy times for these Tulsans!

Things I Don't Buy: Laundry Soap

You've probably seen all the pins about homemade laundry soap on Pinterest. Genius. Talk about saving money. The problem? All the recipes I tried were for liquid laundry soap, which involves boiling, mixing and cooling. Altogether, a good forty-five minute process at least. Ain't nobody got time for that.

So I started on a mission to find a homemade laundry soap recipe without all the hassle. I found this one on Pinterest, and with a slight modification, it was perfect.  

Here are just a few of the pros about this recipe:

It's powder instead of liquid, so it goes A LOT further.

The whole process of making it took about 15 minutes.

There is no measuring, boiling, etc.

It can easily be made into an all-natural laundry soap just by using some type of organic bar soap.

It is CHEAP to make (perfect for poor newlyweds!)

Ingredients: 

• 1 large box (4.75lbs) of Borax - $3.38
• 1 large box (4lbs) of Baking Soda - $2.24
• 1 large box (3lbs 7oz) Arm & Hammer Washing Soda - $3.24
• 3 bars of your favorite soap
• a big container for your detergent (there's another picture of the one I used at the end!)

Instructions:

1. Add all the ingredients except the soap to a large container and mix well. 
2. Grate the soap and then add it into the mixture.* 

*This is where I changed the recipe up a little. If you have ever grated soap, it is a terrible process that takes forever and usually results in more missing skin on my hands than grated soap in the bucket. So, I decided to try a little experiment. 

First, I chopped up the soap into small(ish) pieces with a kitchen knife (don't worry, soap is surprisingly easy to chop up). 

Then I stuck it in my Black & Decker Handy Chopper and let it do the grating for me! Talk about a life and time saver. 

Once the soap is chopped up into fine pieces, add it to your mixture and you're done! I used Zest soap, which made the mixture (and my clothes after washing them in it) smell AMAZING. 

It only takes about 4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) per load, so the batch of detergent last a LONG time. Not to mention it was so much cheaper than store-bought detergent! 

Here is the finished product as well as my sweet Daisy peeking in the backdoor. 

She hates anything that doesn't involve her getting all the attention :)