Homemade Dish Washing Soap

While we were staying home and not leaving our house, even for groceries, we started to look at other options we could try when we ran out of items.  Early on, we ran out of dish soap.  Here is an easy, natural, dishwashing recipe that we tried and are still currently using!

                                                              HOMEMADE DISH SOAP

1 1/3 cups boiling water.
1/4 cup grated castile bar soap.  I didn't have this on hand so I used Fels Naptha bar soap.
1 Tablespoon washing soda.  You can use a little more if you want a thicker soap.
1/4 cup liquid castile soap.
15-25 drops of essential oil.  This is optional.

Directions:

Add grated soap to boiling water.  Stir in washing soda and castile soap.  Let mixture cool, stirring occasionally.  Add essential oils if desired.  You can transfer this to a soap dispenser or container of your choice.  If soap is too thick, you can always add a little warm water to thin.  We added ours to a mason jar and just keep it next to our sink.  

Mondays Weekly Menu Plan

Here is what is on the menu for this week.

Monday- Pulled pork nachos, corn.

Tuesday- Breaded chicken legs, beans, mashed potatoes.

Wednesday- Lo Mein and peas

Thursday- Chili and corn bread

Friday- Homemade Pizza

Saturday- Steak, shrimp, green beans

Sunday- Spaghetti, sausage, salad

Anything exciting on your menu this week?

New Month - Time to Review Your Budget!

(Photo Credit)

It's the beginning of a new month which means it's time to review our budget. Can you believe it is June?  Summer is here! We try and review our budget monthly.  Check out all your categories. Make sure you are staying within your budgeted amounts. Are you spending more in any areas?  Has your income changed? Maybe you need to do some adjusting.

Don't have enough money to take a vacation this summer?  You may want to add that category to your budget.  It makes it easier if you start setting a certain amount of money aside each month, especially if you have a goal you'd like to reach.

Take the time to sit down and go over your budget, it's there to help you know where your money is going and keep you on track.

Homemade Sidewalk Paint

We are always looking for fun new crafts or projects, especially right now while most of our social interactions is with each other.  The weather has been beautiful here in Iowa and we are loving getting outside daily.  E and I made some sidewalk pain the other day.  Our chalk is down to the bare bones so we needed something else to decorate our driveway.

Mix equal parts cornstarch and water.  Add food coloring.  That's it!  We placed ours in a muffin pan to make it easier to move around.  

Menu Plan Monday or Tuesday?!?

Memorial Day weekend has me all messed up!  I forgot to post this yesterday!  Here is what is on our menu for the week.

Monday:  Hamburgers, cheese sticks, tots, salad.

Tuesday:  Indoor picnic!!  This is one of our favorites.  We have cheese, crackers, salami, bread and vinegar and oil.  We eat downstairs on a blanket and watch a movie!

Wednesday:  Chicken Breast, rice and peas.

Thursday:  Baked Ziti and salad

Friday:  Homemade pizza

Saturday:  BBQ pork, brussels sprouts.

Sunday:  Chicken legs, roasted or mashed potatoes, salad. 

What's on your menu this week?

We went to the Grocery Store!

After 36 days the hubs and I finally broke down and went to the grocery store!!  We were really needing some fresh fruits and veggies and we were starting to run out of some staple items like flour, butter, eggs and toilet paper!

We tried not to go hog wild, but as you can see from our receipt, we did a little.  We spent almost $600!  After reviewing all our items when we got home, we were a little disappointed that we spent so much on splurges.  We certainly could have spent less.  Things like beer, pop, cookies and shrimp, we didn't really need, but overall I'm not too upset.  If we can make this round of groceries last for a month like we did before than that is pretty awesome.  I think we were spending an upwards of $1000 a month on groceries before.  Now we are trying to be more mindful of not only our spending but also trying to use what we have on hand and get creative with meals before just running to the grocery store to buy something last minutes or if something just sounded good. 

I'm always curious as to what other people spend on groceries each month.  We have a family of 5, with 2 teenage boys that never seem to get full.  For now, our pantry and freezer are full.  We will see how long we can last! 

Mondays Weekly Menu Plan

Here is what's on the menu this week.

Monday:  Chicken hindquarters, peas, fries.

Tuesday:  Chicken tacos, salad.

Wednesday:  Pork loin, green beans, rice.

Thursday:  Brats, chips, corn.

Friday:  Pad Thai, peas.

Saturday:  Homemade Pizza

Sunday:  Steak, roasted potatoes, brussels sprouts.