Category: 4. Live

homemade laundry powder

January 30th, 2012 · Bambino Steps (Kimberly) ·

About a year ago I discovered this homemade laundry powder recipe from Soule Mama, and I’ve been using it ever since…mostly. When I first started making it, I grated the soap by hand, which I loathed. I began dreading the process whenever my batch ran out, and eventually went back to my favorite laundry soap, only occasionally making the powder. For Christmas this year, I gave away several dryer balls along with a jar of laundry powder to friends and family, and during the hand-grating process, I wised up and streamlined the process.

I only purchase Dr. Bronner’s soap when it’s on super sale, which is quite rare, so my preferred castile soap is Kirk’s, which I get for 99 cents a bar. I have also used Fels Naptha, but stopped after reading it contains icky petroleum.

First I cut each bar into more manageable chunks using the blade on our cheese board.

Then using the grating attachment on my food processor, I run each chunk through the machine. It easily fits 10 bars at a time.

Finally, I transfer the gratings to a large bowl, change to the standard “S” blade, and run the gratings through the machine again. In my experience, this is a must to ensure the soap fully dissolves in the wash.

Following the recipe, I mix the other ingredients in a large bowl (my sinuses prefer this done outside), and transfer to large jars, adding up to 50 drops of essential oil to each batch. So far, these are my favorite combinations:

  • Clove, Sweet Orange and Peppermint
  • Lemon & Lavender
  • Peppermint
  • Rose & Grapefruit

I use anywhere from 1/16 to a 1/4 cup per load, depending on load size, stains, etc.

Again, a quart jar of the laundry powder along with several wool dryer balls makes a fantastic gift.

Happy Laundering!

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wool dryer balls, two ways

January 16th, 2012 · Bambino Steps (Kimberly) ·

One of the items that I sold at the craft fair this year was wool dryer balls. They were a huge hit, and for good reason.

  • Wool dryer balls are non-toxic, making them a wonderful replacement to using dryer sheets, which contain all sorts of nasty chemicals and have a tendency to gum up the dryer screen over time, which may pose a fire hazard.
  • Not only that, but they also replace the need for fabric softener (which I’ve never actually used), and depending on how much and what brand you use, by replacing both conventional dryer sheets and fabric softener,
  • it can save you over $100 per year.
  • And because dryer balls can last for over seven years, it can save your family nearly a grand. That doesn’t even factor in the energy savings, which I assume is pretty huge.

I’ve been using six balls in my dryer lately I’ve noticed that it has cut down drying time significantly, kept the clothes wrinkle and static-free, and imparts a very light scent thanks to adding a few drops of essential oil to each ball. My favorite is a combo of rose, grapefruit and tea tree. To make these balls, I used this tutorial from The Sleepytime Gal which uses 100% wool yarn, which I made sure to get with 40-50% off coupons. Wool yarn is spendy.

For Christmas presents I gave away what dryer balls I had leftover from the craft fair along with homemade laundry powder, which was very well received. After Christmas I started working on wool dryer balls using an old wool cardigan and vest (a gift from Kendra), and one of my husbands old hats that I accidentally put in the dryer. I used this tutorial from Eco-Friendly Homemaking, but used the felting methods from the previous tutorial by first creating a “core,” felting it, wrapping strips of wool fabric around the ball and hand-stitching it as I went, until it reached the desired size. Then I felted the balls twice in a pair of old pantyhose.

I won’t lie. It required a lot of hand-stitching. I used 100% cotton thread because I wanted something that would shrink up with the wool, but I switched to regular thread when my spool ran out. I’ve had no issues so far.

I made eleven balls using this method, and it took me about three weeks of working on it in little bits here and there. It was actually really nice having an ongoing project, something to keep my hands busy, mostly during nap times. I allowed myself to watch movies while I stitched (something I never do during the day), and really enjoyed watching New York in the 50’s and Magic Trip on Netflix. Totally interesting watching those two films back-to-back. I can’t really recommend using one method over the other, but I will say that re-purposing old woolen items is not only eco-friendly, but free.

Happy Stitching!

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17 easy ways to preserve mother earth

April 22nd, 2011 · Bambino Steps (Kimberly) ·

Happy Earth Day 2011!

I thought it fitting to take a look back at some of the small ways in which I incorporate eco-friendly activities into our day-to-day life.

Give handmade, non-toxic gifts,

packaged in re-purposed and recyclable materials.

Grow your own food.

Re-purpose toilet paper tubes, yogurt cups and chopsticks to start seedlings. Eradicate slugs the non-toxic way.

Craft with re-purposed materials.

Clean your home with reusable cloth towels,

and natural, sustainable fibers.

Experience non-toxic art.

Eat local.

Appreciate and support nature.

Support local business and near-to-your-heart charities.

Preserve your own food.

And reuse those containers year after year.

Eat seasonal foods.

In more ways

than one.

I am not perfect, though every day I strive to make more informed choices, learn new skills, and help protect Mother Earth in a new way. I am so excited to continue sharing with you what I have learned and hope to challenge myself to make even larger strides. Because that’s what our planet truly needs, from every one of us. For more earth friendly ideas, please visit Mother Earth News and Earth 911.

And please do share all of the ways in which YOU respect this planet, or commit to change in the coming year. We all want to know your ideas!

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how to store tincture and essential oil bottles

August 1st, 2010 · Bambino Steps (Kimberly) ·

Over the past year I have sought out more natural remedies for our family and as such, I have accumulated dozens of tinctures and essential oils. The bottles take up residence in our bathroom and even kitchen shelves, placed randomly throughout the house as they’re used. It’s totally annoying trying to find what I need, when I need it. The other day as I was cleaning out a kitchen cupboard I came across a few silicone ice cube trays that I had stopped using (the ice cubes tasted like plastic…ick). I had a stroke of brilliance and gathered up as many bottles as I could find and felt as if I had struck gold!

Not only did the essential oil bottles fit perfectly, but so did the tinctures.

The trays are at the perfect height where the tincture labels are still easily visible. It would be super easy to organize them in alphabetical order for easy retrieval. I picked up some garage sale labels and was happy to find that they also fit the tops of the essential oil bottles perfectly and went to work labeling away.

An easy way to re-purpose unused ice cube trays and store your precious elixirs. Now whipping up a batch of wipes and cleaning spray is even easier!

P.S. – I cannot thank you enough for all of the kind, understanding and humorous notes that were left on my last post. I have thoroughly enjoyed my little blogging break, but am happy to be back in this space as well. Happy organizing!

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diy hemp dish scrubbie

June 9th, 2010 · Bambino Steps (Kimberly) ·

We do not own a dishwasher. It’s not as if this is by choice either; a dishwasher simply will not fit in our tiny kitchen. So, we do a lot of dishes by hand and I know a thing or two about dish scrubbies. Up until this point, I have always used a Tuffy. I abhor sponges, aka germ mongers, and the Tuffy has just enough abrasion to get the job done. Lately I’ve seen more natural cleaning supplies in the stores, but nothing to wash dishes with. Having a desire to replace as much plastic in my life as possible, I was thrilled when I saw 3191’s knitting post awhile back. It was that post that prompted me to learn how to knit. Working with hemp is not exactly an easy material to work with, and having this be my first project was not at all easy. The beautiful hemp scrubbie you see above was actually completed by my mom. This is how mine (unfinished) turned out:

I somehow picked up a few too many stitches, and ended up dropping them quite quickly, which resulted in the holes you see above. (Also seen above is a chubby little baby hand – baby love) My mom has since taken mine and swears she easily fixed it and it looks just like hers. So in other words, if you’d like to try this project, it doesn’t have to be perfect and it’s easy to fix any mishaps. For 3191’s instruction, you can view the original post here. My mom did a bit differently, which I think looks better overall and I think will make the scrubbie last longer. Here’s what we/she did:

  1. Cast on about 12 stiches using size 7 (or thereabout) needles. Knit with whatever basic stitch you want, for however long you want. Fold the knitting over every so often to check your length.
  2. When you have achieved the desired length, cast off, but don’t cut the hemp just yet. Leave a long tail.
  3. Cut a piece of washed wool (or use wool batting like Stephanie (half of 3191) did) the length and width of the hemp.
  4. Fold everything over and stitch up the sides with the remaining strand of hemp. My mom used a really large embroidery needle for this.
  5. Wash those dishes!

I’d like to try my hand at this again and am going to whip some more up and am hoping my mom will do the same. I’d like to unofficially make these for sale, so if you don’t want to make your own but want one, let me know!

Oh, and speaking of knitting and stitching and all that, here’s more progress on my Seven-Day Forecast tea towel series (designed by Maggie of Tiger Pup) to wish you a happy Wednesday:

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