Making your own Dishwasher Detergent...can you say save money?

Well.....I have been busy concocting aqnd I think I might have this as perfect as it is gonna get...Many trials have put a nasty film on my glasses, food did not come off, and well.....5o trys later (that is an exaggeration!) I am so close...I think this is a keeper :)

so without further adieu...here is the recipe....

Dishwasher Detergent

In a plastic container with a firmly fitting lid, mix:
1 cup borax (20-Mule-Team Borax, available in any supermarket)
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup pickling salt (don't use regular, it does not work the same, use pickling or kosher)
1/2 cup lemishine( I found this at Publix, there is a picture for you to see what it is below. If you cannot find it, citric acid will work also...but this works better..... )
1 cup cascade (I will add 1 1/2 cups maybe next time) (I used Cascade regular, may try Cascade Complete when this box runs out)

put all of it in the container, shake it up.

To use, put 2 tablespoons into one of the cups of your dishwasher. I use the regular or water saver cycle thus saving even more money.


On average, it looks like this is about 11 cents a load compared with Cascade (regular) at 28 cents a load. Or Cascade complete at 40 cents a load!

enjoy! let me know how it works for you!

Homemade Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener...can you say..ahhhhh...that smells good.......

The past few days I have tried my hand at some home- making skills and I must say, I am very happy how they turned out! My kitchen and garage have smelled so good...like a field of lavender.....soooo nice!


I was very pleased with the results and actually really enjoyed doing laundry today! I would scoop at the gloppy mess and just smile with glee :)

The process was fun and didn't take long at all, especially with some help with the grating and stirring ~smile~ the recipes are below and pictures to give you an idea of what is involved..
The recipes were a combination of friends, internet and my own tweaking (Thanks lena and Kim!) so, feel free to change it if you need to....





















Homemade Laundry Detergent


Just an fyi...I wanted laundry detergent that smells good and works....I was given a few recipes and found some online....I combined them to make the one that I did...so if you would like fragrance, do it the way I did, if you like less, use less essential oil...the scent is still very light though......but I like smell...~smile~


Homemade Laundry Detergent

2 Bars soap or other soap(I added 3, 2 lavendar, 1 dove, next time I will add 3 yardley of london lavendar-you can get this at walgreens)

2 cup washing soda-NOT BAKING SODA(I added 3 cups)This was bought at publix

2 cup borax(I added 3 cups)this was cheaper at Walmart

5 gallon bucket (you might have one laying around, but I bought one form Lowes..they have them at Walmart also)

essential oil (I used 1/4 a bottle of lavendar)


Directions:

Grate the soap in a saucepan(we used a vegetable peeler)

Add 8 cups water and heat til it melts.This will be a low boil...or a simmer....

Add the Washing Soda and the Borax and stir til dissolved. Remove from heat

Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket

Add soap mixture and stir

Add 3 gallons water

Let sit for 24 hours....It will start to gel, and be a runny gel texture when done.


I use 2 scoops per large/xlarge load. You can use 1/2 that, but I like to use more.


Notes....I found essential oil online for 3.98 for .5 oz shipping would be 3.99, I believe if you buy more, the shipping will be less. In the Health food store, lavender oil is about $10.00 to $12.00 a bottle. This place has many scents, they have downy scents too, like lavendar vanilla :) here is the link-

Smoky Mountain Fragrances


Cost to make 5 gallons of Laundry soap

1/4 bottle of lavendar essential oil 2.50
3 cups borax 1.00
washing soda 2.00
3 bars soap 4.00

total 9.50

640 oz. (8 cents an oz.) loads price
3 scoops(24 oz.) 26 37 cents a load
2 scoop (16 oz) 40 24 cents a load
1 scoop (8 oz.) 80 16 cents a load

________________________________

Liquid Tide 12.99 (26 cents an oz.) 50 ounces in a bottle
One load is usually 3-4 oz. .78-1.04 a load
I use 6-8 oz. 1.50 to 2.00 a load yikes!!!


I think it will save quite a bit of money for us!!

Homemade Fabric Softener

Ingredients
1 cup baking soda (very large box at walmart with the laundry stuff (NOT WASHING SODA)
6 cups distilled white vinegar (also got at Walmart)
8 cups water
1/4 bottle of lavendar essential oil, or any kind you like (optional) I will use a 1/2 next time)
1 Gallon Container

Directions

First add the baking soda to the plastic container

Next add 1 cup of water to start with, shake several times to try and mix together

Slowly add the vinegar, 2 cups at a time, to the bottle as the vinegar and baking soda will start to fizz

Shake after each addition of water, venting the top a few times

Last add the essential oil, let sit about 10 minutes and shake every so often for the next couple hours to get the baking soda mixed in

Add 1 cup in your final rinse cycle for each load but give the bottle a good shake to stir up the essential oil if using

***IT SAYS USE 1 CUP BUT IF USING A DOWNY BALL YOU ONLY USE 1/2 CUP***

Notes.....This smells so good and made my clothes really soft. I did not do a price comparison, but the vinegar was 2.00 for a gallon, and this did 3 batches, Baking soda, 2.79 I think, it has 4 lbs, so oyu will get a lot of softener out of that! Your greatest expense will be the essential oil, please see my other post for a link to get it cheaper online......)

Have fun and let me know how you like it!!

Some creative evenings....uber wierd stuff happens....and then it somehow becomes a decoration....making it the hard way? priceless.......

The Neu girls and guy have been uber creative lately and we thought a peek into some of that creativity might inspire you to do some "hard way" projects! This is creativity as we know it...and a little birthday stuff in there too :)

This collage is my birthday collage: birthday appetizer at one place...dinner at another, shopping in a boutique with wierd books and sunglasses, stealing ideas oops borrowing ideas from Pier One....This picture hanger will be up on my wall in no time! It was too cute!...then having coffee and cheesecake somewhere else....We also hung out in bed, bath and beyond...where some of us had massages, others found a great stainless steel utensil holder for 3.00... why was it 3.00? It simply stated "dirty", so I save 17.00 because someone did not want to clean! All in all it was a fun night and great memories were built and bad books were browsed through...ideas were formed... and....I still had so much fun! :)

Next up is the Chalkboard!

This became a family project when I could not get the paint to co-operate and Joe had to come out and save me by sanding it all down..I had painted the frame and glazed it, and he did the rest...I called it my project, but that is so not true....Joe really helped the most..He did an outstanding job and it is just what I wanted!. The back was an old piece of beadboard flipped over. The sides were molding strips form Lowes cut into a frame, chalkboard paint was brushed on, then sanded, then brushed on, then sanded again, then put together and hung by mr. wonderful himself! It came out so much nicer than I thought! Now I need some ideas for quotes to write because I want to change it everyday!

Well..there you have it....creativity is abounding over here..we will have to show you our bathroom next..working on that right now and our copycat spare bedroom from a catalog with all used furniture and trashy junk pieces we pulled out of the garbage....my what some spray paint will do....... Thats up next!

until then....The junk mother signing off...... :)

Boutique for a Week is back and you DONT want to miss it!!!!

Do you have children's clothing that is in good condition that you want to get better than yardsale prices for? Then Boutique for a week is for you! I did this sale in October and I was so excited! I cannot tell you what a blessing it was and how many things I sold and neat things I bought! You're missing out if you let this one slip by!!!

here is the info...... check it out!!!

Upcoming Sale:February 23-27

Wintergarden, FL (about an hour for those going from Titusville)

check them out here:

http://www.boutiqueforaweek.net/

Registration is now open if you want to sell items...

Visit them today so you can:

• Register....




• Volunteer...(so fun!)




• Get the latest info on the upcoming sale....

**If you are pregnant, adopting or a foster mom, register online to shop early!

A 16th Birthday Ball for a Princess......

It was a beautiful night, twinkling lights, pretty girls were all dressed up dancing, dancing, dancing.....It was Libby's birthday wish...a ball in our backyard....They braved the cold, one and all, family and friends and came ready for a night of food, dancing, fun and a country ball!
Kricket and Lara came and played live music...it was beautiful...oh if everyone could have heard....and Lisa came to call the dances to make our girl's night so special...which it did...Thank-you ladies!.....Their servant hearts touched ours as we now relive the night through our pictures and memory....as Mrs. Bennet says "God has been very good indeed....

We started off the night with food and some dancing...then let the musicians and caller get a break away form the cold and their numb fingers and faces..... we played a pride and prejudice "do you know that line game"...and "how well do you know Libby" game...We had a ton of laughs and I could scarcely take it all in....It was so beautiful...exactly what we would want for our beautiful girl turning 16......a step back in time for a simplistic way of life...even if for just one night, we stepped back in time...it was well worth all the effort, all the nights stringing lights, all the days making food, all the trips ot the store to buy another thing forgotten. The thought of the 16th birthday gift...Grandma's wedding ring restored, an heirloom....the prayers made for that night and every day of her life...the tears of grateful parents, the well wishes of family and friends, the joy of the Lord evident in every day we have her....yes, God has been very good to us.....indeed.....~smile~


The festivities are over and the next year is coming, but we have the memory of time well spent...you only turn 16 once and thoughts filled our minds......Are we preparing her for life away from home...have we prayed enough? taught enough? cared enough? loved enough? said it enough? will she leave with what she needs to brave this world?....well..that we don't know..but we do know that God is faithful to finish what he starts and Libby, God isn't finished with you yet and I for one love the process! Your daddy and I have enjoyed every minute of your growth...Thank-you God for the tremendous blessing of allowing us to raise Elizabeth Faith Neu..Thank-you for allowing her to be a young woman that follows after you...We are the ones that got the best gift that night...you!!...Happy Birthday Libby...we love you!!!

stepping out of my box into a frame?

I had some creative juices flowing and I saw this picture in Pottery Barn that I had cut out years ago....I thought...hey, I can do that, so several trips to the thrift store and Lowes for molding and spray paint..I saw my wall come to life.... and I felt a little framey....and well...it was fun and it's different... and I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried something new for the new year...

School is back in swing, resolutions are being made and broke and made again...and it is wonderful that our comfort comes from knowing that God is for us and when are in our weakest state, He is strong..... What comfort to know that I can put my hope and trust in CHRIST ALONE!!

I am looking forward to a year of falling in love with my savior! Happiest of years to you dear friends and may God meet us at every turn and keep our hearts and minds focused on Him....

Have a wonderful week :)

Happy Sweet 16 Libs! Your mom loves you!!

My Dearest sweetest Libby,

One of the greatest honors of my lifetime is being your mom. Who would have known that 22 years ago, the doctors would have told me that I had a 2% chance of ever having a baby.... 6 years before you born, your daddy and I tried and tried, prayed and prayed, but no answer came from God.... not for 6 long years....But we had faith...we believed that God would answer our prayers...and He did....Elizabeth Faith Neu was born to 2 of the happiest people on this earth 16 years ago.... I think of all the days in my life, giving birth to you was one of the most memorable. I remember asking your daddy if you really came out of me! I could not believe that God had really answered our prayers! Tears still come to my eyes when I remember God's kindness to us on that day and every day since then ......

Your name means consecrated to God and I can attest as your mother that I have seen this walked out in your life. Libby, you are the greatest example I know of a godly woman. I don't think I will ever stop learning from you. I want to take some time to honor you tonite....

You excel at all these areas: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,goodness, gentleness and self control. All of these areas are walked out in your daily life. You are so kind, quick to forgive, always believing the best about others, quick to bring your sin to light...seek God every morning, you take great joy in your relationships, you are very self controlled, always striving to be more godly....You honor your father and mother...you are such an encouragement....always telling us things that we do right....I often think - I wish I could be more like you! You Libby, are my hero!

I love it when you seek me out to share a struggle that you are having. You so want to please God in your thoughts and actions....You will never know how much I admire you and am so humbled to be your mother...I know that there is no credit to be had...You are a true gift from God....One that I know I could never deserve...but that I am extremely grateful for.....

Thank-you for your diligence to be a godly young woman, for your desire to be a blessing to your parents, for your sweet spirit to be a peacemaker, for your humility to share your sin and confess it quickly, for your humility in all areas of yor life...for denying your flesh when, at your age, self wants to rule...Thank-you for fighting for righteousness..

I love you and am soooooo grateful that God blessed me and your daddy 16 years ago and gave us you! Happy Birthday sweet Libby Lu!

love,

your mommy.....

Happy 16th Birthday Libby!!!! A message from your dad....

A tribute to my little girl who is growing up so fast.
It seemed like just yesterday when you first learned to walk and talk and ride a bike and now you are learning to drive a car. Yikes.
Where have all the years gone? It has been my utter pleasure and priviledge to watch you grow into one of the most godly people I know. It makes my heart glad every time I walk past your room and you are listening to a book on cd like the Elsie Dinsmore series, or the Narnia series, or the Bible on cd, or a teaching message by men like CJ, Mike Bulmore, John Piper, etc. God has been so gracious to us to allow us the opportunity to pour into your life early on and now you encourage me and bless me and humble me with your love for your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. You have been blessed with such a creative imagination. Such a passion for the Lord. Such a willingness to serve in any way you can.
some of my most memorable times with you have been playing games with you throughout the years...
pretty pretty princess, herd your horses, battleship, chess, backgammon, and endless card games...
its been great watching you grow into a fine young lady learning english country dancing, singing lessons,
guitar lessons, now driving lessons. We've had a blast playing soccer together, wrestling around the house,
and geo-caching together.
It doesn't really matter what we do together, I just thoroughly enjoy every minute with my wonderful precious
daughter. I never thought that after trying for 6 years to have children that God would bless us with such a
one as Libby. I couldn't have asked for anyone better. She is so much like her mother in so many ways. Thats a wonderful thing.
I just want to end by saying that Libby, I am so proud of you and the godly young woman you are. You are light years ahead of me when I was 16. I can't imagine what my life would have been like without you being a part of it.
Thank you for loving God ahead of everything. You are truly an inspiration to me.
I Love You!!!
Your Daddy

A blog award :)

Thanks Heidi! I have never had a blog award before! Heidi is a gifted writer and I love checking our her blog. She is definately the one who deserves this award that was graciously bestowed upon her!

Heidi you are a sweet friend, one that I would love to get to know more!

Thanks for this award and I would like to pass it on to Alyssa at Resolved2Worship....She also is a very gifted writer and a great photographer! I enjoy reading her blog regularly as well.... and I could give this to many more....but lots of you have got an award too which is so neat!


5 things I am addicted to are what I am to add....oh geesh! ok, well....let's see...

1. Growing in Godliness-I want to grow and change and I seem to be always working on something to do that. I think about it constantly and although in somethings change has not happened, by pursuing it regularly, I am at peace that God's timing is different than mine :)

2. Lists....I am constantly making lists and checking things off. I don't know what I would do without lists! I will never be without one and usually have 3 or 4 going at the same time...

3.Calendering...I have to have things wrote on the calendar. Buying a new calendar gives me immense pleasure! I actually get giddy! I love seeing my life in the days ahead and wonder what God has in store....yes....I am a dork.... but I love it!

4. Caffeine Free Diet Coke....I love it and sometimes drink a few in one day! I have had to cut so much out since I found out I am allergic to wheat and gluten, that this is a treat when many other things are off limits!

5. Recipes....I love them..I must have thousands...I have not cooked them all, but I love having them. This is an area that I plan on addressing in the new year...I am seeking to be paper-clutter free and my mission will be to reduce our paper load! but if you saw my recipe collection...look out!! It is scary!

ok, that's my sinful vices in a nutshell...... More blogging to come this week as my baby girl is turning 16 and I want to pay a tribute to her! I cant believe I will be a mom to a 16 year old!!! oh my gosh!!

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!

Every year we try to do something special as a family around Christmas time. This year Ms. Dianne got to come with us! (since she is my adopted Aunt- smile with glee-).

Magic Kingdom was so beautifull! One of my highlights is they handed out complimentry hot chocolate and cookies, and they gave me and my Mom gluten free cookies! We were so excited and they tasted better then the sugar cookies! So every time we passed a place that we could get some, we asked for "four gluten free cookies please", so we came home with a lot of cookies that we could eat!

The Castle was so beautiful with all the lights on it changing colors. It was neat to see Tinkerbell zip down the line and she was real person! We got right on the rides and barely had to wait. It was a wonderful night to remember!

We will definately be doing this again as my whole family said what a great time it was!

Thank-you-Mom and Dad!

Care Group Christmas...Stir Crazy Style.....

Well...we had our Care Group Christmas Party last Sunday and it was a blast! We did a Stir Crazy Party where we had 3 teams and they competed against each other by cooking an appetizer, a side dish and a main dish...all without recipes! The dishes were all judged by everyone there and the winning team won a Prize. Team 1 won this competition by a very creative dish-filling bread with a rice and egg stir fry! It was so much fun and everyone participated and enjoyed eating all the creations for dinner! We ended with a white elephant and full tummies! What a wonderful evening! Next year, maybe we will try mexican crazy..... ~smile~

Thanks groupies for being team players and making the evening a night to remember! We love you guys!!

Can you say...Can?

And can is just what we did! some yummy stuff! Krista, Praise and I ventured into the domestic world and canned the old fashioned way! We had a blast and I must say, many hands made very light work.....
Our feet were tired, our backs were sore....but what a harvest we produced! Thanks girls for hanging out! Us younger women have to stick together you know!....Take a peek for yourselves......Next time though, I will peel 20 more cloves of garlic just to be safe ~wink~

Tag

I was tagged by Praise....Here is the 5th picture from the 5th folder in my picture file:

Kaylee girl!! I think you were in my class for co-op :)

I tag - Heidi Lorenzi, Meaghan Robertson, Lea Lockhart, Rhonda Reilly and Krista Vaughan.

The Rules: go to Your Pictures file go to the 5th folder open up the 5th picture and post it then tag 5 people when you are done.

Have fun!

Crafting at the Neus.....

Libby, who is uber creative wanted to make these really cool boxes from shoe boxes.... We went to thrift stores looking for leftover wallpaper rolls and asked friends for shoe boxes...we also found knobs at the thrift store, a whole bag for 50 cents! We went to Lowes and found this really cool leather looking wallpaper for $5.00 a roll. So, with our $7.00 investment, we took the challenge and made these really cool storage boxes for her closet! They turned out so cute! We had a lot of fun and the whole family got involved!



Here is the finished product:

Our Annual Christmas Shopping Trip.......

We went on our Mother-Daughter Shopping trip and invited another mother and daughter along! We started out at 9:30 and headed to the Mall of Millenia and then around 3:00,made our way to Ikea. We met up with the other girls.....and spent several hours there... and then made our way to HuHot by the Florida Mall...

We had a great dinner and then headed out to a few more stores and then back to the Hotel. We unloaded all our stuff and then headed out to the Pool deck for some munchies! We brought them back to the room and pigged out! The onion rings made me sick, but that was my fault, because I knew I shouldn't eat them and after my Libby's please of mercy to not eat them..I did it anyway! They looked sooo good!

and it was so not worth it..... but I took it in stride and plowed my way through Orlando the next day!

We had wonderful fellowship, and good memories were made....and Libby and I stayed up til 2:00 wrapping! Our cohorts were fast asleep while we worked late into the night!

We got up, had breakfast and headed to Old Time Pottery, The Florida Mall and then World Market, Michaels and at last...Whole Foods!! oh yeah! Where I bought lots of Gluten free snacks and Gluten free cupcakes! They were so good!

We got home about 5:30 and passed out! It was so much fun and we are 95% done Christmas shopping!

Starting to save in November of last year, for Christmas this year, was such a blessing to our family.... We have done that for many years and I encourage you to try it if you haven't!..... well...the holidays are upon us and now we get to slow down and enjoy them.... We invite you to come along with us as we share what we do for our Holidays...blog style...
keep checking in and we will keep posting.....

Happiest of Holidays to you....

Whats been going on...

Not a whole lot has been going on around the Neu house..Just the same old things that we do day in and day out.....

here is an update on the members of our fam:

Joe has been working hard at work...He has even had some overtime.He has been taking Libby driving and rescreened some screens so we could open the windows. Joe and Libby have enjoyed Geo-caching.... He has cut the grass, taken the trash out, surfed the web, considered playing soccer (oh no!) and I am sure alot more things have been happening too.....He celebrated his 44th birthday last month and Libby reminds him regularly that he is getting alot more gray....
Tammy (me) I have been cleaning the spare bedroom, got to work at Boutique for a week (how fun!) had a game night with some friends, Christmas shopped online, grocery shopped, got my hair done, went to Aldis which just opened, made phone calls, made appointments, did some reading, changed our diet, eating better....and because I went to my hair dresser today, I have no more gray showing (oh yeah!)

Just a friendly neighborhood reminder that if you missed the November sale, you're in luck, because they will be holding their next sale in February! The week of the 22nd! You don't want to miss it!

Libby-Libby's life is so much about school...she does school almost everyday, cleaned her room, groomed Emmy, did her chores, played guitar, made phone calls for Resolved, helped Praise with the twins, sewed lots of cushions, went yard saleing and got a wonderful mannequin that is wire...you unsnap it, put it on and it fits to your shape so that whatever you make will be the right size..sooooo cooool!

so there you have it...all the boring facts about what really goes on in the lives of normal boring people....

wish there was more to tell you...but theres not! Hey, atleast I remembered what we have done..although, I did have to think alot about it! Life is good, all is well, and we are blessed...

what more could we possibly need ;) God has been very good to us......