Eliminating The Unnecessary……..2000 Things In 38 Weeks

Decluttering my life is something important to me.  Over the last few months I’ve been working on myself a lot and other things like decluttering my house for example have been pushed aside.  Yes, I’m admitting I’m not super woman & cant do a hundred things at once.  But this weekend while I was cleaning, I began really looking at my house and  realized that I really need to do a deep cleaning of our home.  That there are numerous things throughout my home (inside & out) that we don’t use, add no value, & just simply take up space.   It’s time I get back on the decluttering wagon.
Of course, this isn’t going to happen overnight but from now till the end of 2016 I’m making it my mission to get rid of 2000 things in our home.  If you think about it, it’s kinda of interesting that I would have 2000 things clogging up our lives, taking up space & adding no value,  which in the end will take up my time that could have been spent doing something enjoyable, doing something that added value to my life, & or spending it with the important people in my life.  It’s kinda of embarrassing.   But I’m not even close to being a hoarder.  I can’t imagine so people’s home & how many things that are taking over their lives.  It’s crazy when you think about it.  Now think about your home & your situation?  How many things (big or small) could you live without?

Now 2000 may sound like a lot but if you break it down, it really isn’t.  2000 things @ 38 weeks equals 52.63 items per each week.  If you divide that by 7 it’s only 7.51 things a day I need to get rid of.  Piece of cake, right?!
And because I’m all about sharing, I’m going to share my progress with all of you.  I’ll even break it down to let you know what I’m doing with the things for example: where  I’m getting rid of my things like selling it, donating, or simply throwing it away.  That way I can honestly share what I do with my things, which I hope inspires others to join in with me. And I want to show people how easy or hard it is to make money from what we have in our house.  Any money I make from decluttering, I’ve decided to put towards my credit card, hoping to have it paid off by the end of the year with only using the money I make from this endeavor.

Week #1-
1. bag of stuffed animals the girlies no longer love– put in yard sale pile (April 30th we are doing a school wide yard sale that we can rent spaces from.  I’m doing it with my daughter so it’ll only be $7.50 for a space)
2. two shirts that no longer fit my boys- put in yard sale pile 
3. 5 brand new texture paints I’ve been holding on to for a yr now- put in yard sale pile
4. 3 pairs of skinny jeans that I’ve been saving for when I lose all my weight- put in yard sale pile ( if I ever get to my goal, I’ll just buy myself some new jeans.  Holding on to my skinny clothes hurts my weight loss journey more than it motivates me)
5. 5 pairs of shoes- donated to goodwill
6. 2 cake pans I haven’t used in 2 yrs-put in yard sale pile
7. 2 Furby booms- Sold super quick on Craigslist….made $10
8. rug remnants- trying to sell on Craigslist

This week’s breakdown is:
*3 items on Craigslist (2 sold & 1 waiting to be sold) making me $10 so far
*5 items donated to Goodwill
*12 items + bag of stuffed animals (about 20 in bag) for our yard sale on April 30th
totaling: 20 items & $10 in cash for 30 mins of work

FYI-If you look at my list, each item has numerous items in it.  I didn’t see the need to count things individually like doing 8 stuffed animals as my week’s goal.  If I did that to begin with, I’d take even longer than I am to declutter my house, & I’d lose steam.  But you can do whatever suits you.  It’s all about our own unique goal, perspective, & how fast or slow you want the process to go.  For me, by the end of the year I’m hoping to have more than 2000 items gone.

How about you?  What have you gotten rid of lately?  How’s the decluttering going?  Have you pushed it aside like I did?  If so why don’t you join me & share your progress each week with me.  I would love to hear your thoughts, see your progress, &/or ways you can make money from it.  

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Sew Crafty Angel,

Living A Happier Life: Make A Commitment To Ourselves

On one of my favorite blogs, I came across something that really I really just loved.  It was making a commitment to ourselves in order to live a happier amazing life.  Check more of the post out here.
Today I’m sharing a part of the post that I felt was the most important.  Being more mindful, let go of things that don’t add value, & being more aware of our daily actions is the 1st step to living a happier life.  Not only does it eliminate the unnecessary but it adds room for the important people, places, & things.

I (name),

Make a commitment to myself,

To spend so much time improving myself and my life that I have no time for worry,  judgement, criticism, whining and complaining;

To forgive, release and let go of my attachment to any past struggles and allow every challenge life sends my way to make me better not bitter.

what’s in front of me;

To let go of all the pointless drama, all the toxic relationships, thoughts and behaviors that are present in my life and to constantly shift my focus from the bad on to the good;

To make room in my heart for love, happiness, peace and tranquility and to create my life from a place of infinite choices and possibilities – the present moment, and no longer from a place of limitations – the past.

I commit to staying true to myself at all times and to never betray myself just so I can please other people.

I commit myself to give up on toxic thought, behaviors and relationships but never on myself and my dreams.

Starting now and starting today, I will  begin rebuilding my life and to make it ridiculously amazing.

Sincerely,
(name)

Are you going to join me & make a commitment to yourself,
to live a happier life?
I would love to hear your thoughts.

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Sew Crafty Angel,

 

Saving Money With Soap Nuts & 10 Recipes To Get You Started

I have been wanting to try soap nuts for a long long time.  The other day I finally was able to do so and I’m so glad I did.  It not only worked much better than I thought, but after doing some research, I realized how versatile these little berries are.  After sharing with I found with some friends, very few of them knew what they were.  Have you heard about them before?  If not, read below.  If so skip to the recipe part.

For those of you who haven’t soap nuts are actually berries found that when combined with water, produces a natural soap called saponin that helps clean, deodorizes, & lift stains.
I’ve always been allergic to all the laundry & body soaps out there.  They make me itch insanely, which makes me very uncomfortable.  When I stumbled upon soap nuts, I knew it was something I had to try.  And boy am I glad I did.
So far my laundry has been super clean & actually smells clean.  It’s great.  Since they don’t leave a scent, I did a few drops of grapefruit & lavender essential oils.  If you have sensitive skin like me, soap nuts are the way to go.  But don’t just stop at laundry soap, they can be used for so much more.  Plus, using them can save your family a lot of money.  Here’ s how:

*you put 5-6 nuts into a small bag for your laundry
*these nuts can be used up to 5 times (if using cold water) or 3 times (if using hot water)
*once you used them up, you can boil them in water to create a liquid soap nuts
*This liquid then can be used to make household cleaner, facial cleansers, shampoo, soap etc.

By using soap nuts for all these different things around the house, you can save a lot of money by simply using soap nuts as much as possible.  You won’t have to buy any of products that contain harmful chemicals, instead you can clean the house, yourself, & your clothes naturally.
There are 4 different forms of soap nuts that you can use:

• The whole nut/shell, which is good for laundry.
• Liquid, which you can learn how to make in this post. It’s this form that’s handiest for most soap nut uses.
• Paste, which is basically running the boiled soap nuts through a food processor. This is good for shaving cream and heavy-duty cleaning jobs.
• Powder, which you can buy in powder form, or make yourself by grinding the shells VERY finely (in a coffee or spice grinder – the good news is, it cleans out really easily). This is good for laundry or adding to a homemade dishwasher detergent, which I’ll talk more about right now (taken from Crunchy Betty)

To get you started, I searched the web & come across 10 great recipes for you to try.  All recipes taken from Crunchy Betty.

Soap Nut Power Dishwasher Detergent

• 1 c. Borax
• 1 c. Washing Soda
• 1/8 c. Finely Grated Castille Soap
• 1/8 c. Finely Ground Soap Nut Shells

Stir everything together well, and use as you would a dry dishwasher detergent. (Don’t forget to put white vinegar in the rinse well, too!)

Soap Nut Glass Cleaner

• 1 Tbsp Soap Nut Liquid
• 2 Tbsp White Vinegar
• 1/2 c. Water
• 2 Tbsp c. Isopropyl Alcohol (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well. Use as you would any glass cleaner. This doesn’t streak, and it’s also really great for windows/glass that are particularly messy (like toothpaste splatters or mud on the outside of windows).

General Household Soap Nut Cleaner

• Straight Soap Nut Liquid

or

• 1/2 c. Soap Nut Liquid
• 2 Tbsp White Vinegar
• 1/8 c. Water

Combine everything in a small bowl or spray bottle, and use as you would a kitchen or bathroom cleaner.

Soap Nut Bathroom Cleaner

• 1/8 c. Baking soda
• 1/8 c. Borax
• 1/2 c. Soap Nut Liquid
• 10 drops Eucalyptus Oil or Peppermint Oil (optional)

Stir everything together well, breaking up any clumps. You should have a thickish paste, which you can add more liquid to, if you’d like it thinner. Scoop out a bit of the paste with your sponge and clean your bathroom counters/tub/toilet with it. If you have any remaining, drop it in the toilet and use the toilet brush to clean the bowl well.

Soap Nut Hand Wash

• 1/2 c. Liquid Castille Soap
• 1/8 c. Soap Nut Liquid
• 5 drops Essential Oil (Lavender, Tea Tree, or Rosemary would add extra antibacterial power)

Mix everything together in a small pump bottle and use as you would any hand soap. Alternatively, you could just wash your hands with a little bit of soap nut liquid, but adding this all together will give more cleansing power, and mixing the essential oils and castille soap in with the soap nut liquid will prolong the life of the liquid.

Soap Nut Jewelry Cleaner

• 3 Tbsp Soap Nut Liquid
• 1/4 c. Distilled Water

Mix the two ingredients together and place jewelry into the liquid. Allow the jewelry to sit for 15-20 minutes. With a small toothbrush, gently scrub your jewelry clean. Sparkly!

Soap Nut Dandruff Treatment

• Pre-Wash: Mix together 1 Tbsp soap nuts liquid with 3 Tbsp coconut oil. Massage into scalp for a few minutes. Let sit for 15-20 minutes.

Then wash with:

• 3 Tbsp soap nuts liquid
• 3 drops tea tree essential oil
• 1 Tbsp Liquid Castille Soap

Mix the above ingredients together, and use as you would shampoo. If you do the coconut oil scalp treatment beforehand, there should be no reason to use conditioner after shampooing. Repeat three times a week until dandruff is gone.

Soap Nut Facial Cleanser

• Soap Nut Liquid

Rinse your face with warm water. On a clean, damp washcloth, pour a tablespoon or so of soap nuts liquid. Gently scrub your face with the washcloth and rinse well.

Alternatively: And this is the way I’m really enjoying the soap nuts liquid at the moment.

• 1 Tbsp Gentle Homemade Face Scrub (like this recipe here)
• 1 Tbsp Soap Nuts Liquid

Mix the two things together in a small bowl. Rinse your face well with warm water, and then gently scrub the mixture onto your face for 2-3 minutes. Rinse well with warm water and finish up with moisturizer.

Soap Nuts for Athlete’s Foot

• 3 Tbsp Soap Nut Liquid or 1 tsp Soap Nut Powder
• 3 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• 3 drops Tea Tree Oil

Stir everything together well and massage into freshly washed feet, concentrating on the effective area. Apply socks. Do not rinse off.

Soap Nut Shaving Cream

• Flesh from 15 Soap Nuts, leftover after boiling them for liquid
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 3 tsp Soap Nuts Liquid

After pitting and removing the hulls around the pits (as well as any “harder” chunks of the boiled soap nuts flesh), put the flesh into your food processor and turn it on. After the flesh has become a paste, dribble in the olive oil and liquid. Watch out! The paste starts to foam A LOT. Shave immediately after making.

Some other ways to use soap nuts are:

• Kitchen counter tops
• Powdered laundry soap
• Floor cleaner
• Fresh fruit and vegetable wash
• Carpet cleaner
• Non-toxic spray to deter pest from garden plants
• Car wash
• Body wash & bar soap
• Pet shampoo

As you can read, there is so much you can do with these little berries, which is how you can save lots of money.  You can do so much with so little, it’s definitely worth your money & time.
Have you tried them before or is this a new product for you?
Would you try them, now knowing about an alternative to what’s out there?

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Denise Designed, Moms Small Victory, My Soulful Home, Create With Joy, Strangers & Pilgrim On Earth, Sew Crafty Angel, Creative Home Keeper,