Revisiting My Favorites

I've been so busy lately doing my projects (and eating watermelon!) that I have fallen behind on writing posts for this blog. I have some great ideas that I want to share on here in the near future. But today, I thought I'd revisit some of my favorite natural living posts that I have written in the past. Keep reading to the bottom, because there is a surprise!

Soap Nuts

I wrote about soap nuts about a month ago, when I first started using them. These little dried berries have made a huge difference in my wash. My clothes come out smelling fresh--not chemically "fresh", but clothesline fresh. And the clothes are all really soft--even things like jeans or towels that usually are a bit "crunchy" with no fabric softener. They are quite cost effective--out to about $.09 per load if you buy them in bulk. The commercial detergent we were using was about $.12 per load, and then you have to add the price of fabric softener to that, too! Frankly, I'd pay more for them just because it's nice to know that I've gotten rid of the harsh, nasty chemicals from my laundry room. But since they're pretty cheap, it's a great deal! I mentioned in my last post about Soap Nuts that I liked the added bonus that my kids can do their own wash now, since there are no chemicals to measure or pour. This has been very nice, and since my kids are fascinated with the little "berries in a bag," they have actually wanted to do their laundry. Yay!!

Homemade Cloth Pads

(these are my latest batch of pads--made out of old plaid PJ pants, and an old baby blanket)

If you are new to my blog, you may not remember this past post. But, needless to say, I got many comments from people intrigued by the fact that I make my own cloth sanitary pads. You can read the original post here (it's on my old blog). I go into the reasons why I use cloth pads, as well as how to make them. It's been almost 2 years now since I switched to cloth from the commercial paper/plastic variety. While it seemed a bit awkward at first, storing them, washing them, etc. has just become routine to me (and to my family). I'll interject a funny story right here: Recently, I was folding laundry, and I had my clean pads on the couch. I went out to an appointment and my mother in law watched the kids. When I got home, my mother in law told me that my daughter had held up one of the pads and said, "Grammy, Momma told me what these were for, and trust me you do not want to know!" Of course she knew what they were, and we all had a great laugh. But the point of the story is that cloth pads are just a normal, everyday part of life around here.

I've found that the one thing that makes life so much easier with cloth pads is having a bottle of BacOut on hand to add to the storage water. It elimates odors and the pads come out really clean in the wash. So, that's the one thing that I would add to my previous post.

Since my previous discussion of cloth pads, I have had conversations with several women from my church about them. The women usually start by saying "Eww...isn't that gross?" But I'm happy to say that several women have "converted" to cloth pads. The yuck factor does go away as it becomes routine, and if you have chemical sensitivities like I do, you may find great relief from cramping by switching. I surely did!

And Now The Surprise!

To celebrate my favorite two favorite things, I am holding my first ever giveaway!! If you win, you will receive your choice of either a starter pack of soap nuts, or 3 homemade pads/inserts. The winner will be drawn at random next Wednesday, July 15th. To enter, please do the following:

1. Leave a comment telling me which item you would like to receive, and why.
2. Make sure you fill in the blank with your email address so I can contact you!
3. You can receive two additional entries by signing up to be a follower on my blog.

Good luck!