Unclogging A Drain Naturally

Unclogging a drain ranks as high on my list of things to do as does, cleaning out the cat box, changing baby dippers, removing a stick from the back end of a puppy, cleaning out a small child's nose...... yuck!! These are the little gag me moments in life and someone's gotta do it! Mike Rowe!! I don't know how you do it buddy, you can make anything gross look almost fun!

Photo by  Southern Dream Photography

Getting back to drains and becoming more environmentally friendly... We are a household of four women, guessing right about now that I can spare the details about what has fallen into and gotten stuck in our drains. So.... normally one would go for the bottle of store purchased liquid miracle that works fast. But! I didn't want to dump chemicals into the drain and for what seemed like years of living with clogging issues, nothing was done. If it couldn't be pulled or plunged out of the drain it didn't get totally unclogged and slow moving drains were a way of life for us.

When I started researching natural cleaning methods I came across different inexpensive options and here is what I found that works. Vinegar (white distilled) and Baking Soda, natural products with amazing cleaning abilities.

First start off running hot water down the drain and follow with, 1/2 to 1 cup of baking soda and enough white vinegar for bubbling action. The bubbling will bring items to the surface like lost tooth paste caps or other lost items that young adults might thank you for. Once bubbling has stopped pour a little more vinegar to see if you get more bubbling action. After bubbling ceases, run hot water until the sink fills with enough water to use a small plunger. This will bring more of the clogged material up where it can be removed. If the one treatment doesn't take care of the problem repeat the steps.

We no longer live life with slow moving drains or the guilt felt when using chemicals. What I've been finding is that the wheel has been reinvented so many times a lot of us have forgotten what the wheel actually looks like.

Save money, live healthier!! 

For more natural ideas please check out this link about Clearing Clogged Drains

Living The Clean Life - Laundry Detergent

Southern Dream Photography

Getting back to basics, is it just a nostalgic sales pitch or due to the economic downturn are people really getting back to basics? For our family I can say getting back to basics is just that. My daughter makes handmade soap, we no longer use our  dishwasher,  we hang our clothes out on the line to dry and now I’ve found recipes for making your own laundry detergent, which  is not that difficult and will save you  money, is not loaded with perfumes, will clean your clothing very well and is easier on the environment. 

Here are two links I found very helpful. The first has a video clip that shows you the process and materials needed Homemade Organic Laundry Soap Video  the second link has several different recipes from powder to liquid, 10 Homemade Laundry Soap Recipes .

 I had chosen the powder recipe #9 cutting it in half since I did not have a container large enough to store the finished product. I found through researching the recipes that there were two bar soaps that could be purchased from the grocery store and since we did not have available handmade soap made specially for this purpose . I chose the Fels-Naptha laundry bar soap which is made by the Dial Corporation. All of the ingredients used were found in the laundry section of the grocery store and I found the Fels-Naptha laundry soap at Publix for .99 cents a bar.  Each 5.5oz bar when grated makes 2 cups per bar and the recipe I chose used 3 bars, had I gone with the full recipe I would have needed 6 total bars. I grated the bars by hand while watching TV and should we ever make larger batches would look into using a food processor to do the grating process. The Fels-Naptha did have a strong perfume scent and had I been sensitive to odors probably would have wanted to grate it outside. After washing the clothing in the detergent there was very little scent left in the clothing and after hanging them outside to dry they were left with that amazing outside fresh scent.

Southern Dream Photography

Purchase an extra bar of the Fels-Naptha soap to keep on hand for spot treating for more of the stubborn stains. All in all my impression is one of amazement! I have never enjoyed doing laundry that much before and will never go back to purchasing commercially manufactured laundry detergent.  I did use white vinegar in the washing machine placing it in the bleach cup as well as the fabric softener cup and the clothes did not have a hint of the vinegar smell left in them. The vinegar does act as a fabric softener.

Have a happy laundry day!

A Journy Of A Thousand Miles Must Begin With A Single Step

A thousand miles it seems as if I've already walked yet I know my journey is just beginning.

photo by Southern Dream Photography

Raised a city kid, I spent many days on relatives farms, leaving a kids heart yearning for wide open spaces. It wasn't that I longed for a life of chores or tending a garden, it was the freedom of life lived with a purpose.

My story isn't unique and many people have lived the holistic, green life I have only dreamed about. For years I've been overwhelmed by cost of purchasing organic food and products, doing the responsible things like recycling and always remembering to bring your cloth bags to the grocery store to reduce the use of plastic bags. Time and time again I seemed to fail. It even got to the point of not throwing anything out and not knowing where to go to recycle it, which totally ended up being bad since I had amassed large amounts of items that ended up clogging up my life.

Without the poor economy I might not have ever been forced to change. But, it has become not only an awakening but a challenge to become creative to see where we can save money. It has been a challenge to roll with the punches because change is not always easy yet we are searching to find a new normal and this is how we've come to a point of learning how to live a sustainable life.

Mike Rowe in someway has to be blamed since after watching the episode where he milked goats for a soap maker, I fell in love with the idea of goat farming. My daughter at that time had been talking about making soap and I thought how cool would that be to have your own fresh supply. Years later we are finally doing the research of goat breeds and care. This coming weekend we are attending a first annual "Goat Clinic" Presentations on Goat feed nutrition, Proper Goat care and maintenance, and the benefits of having a Goat. There will be Goat milking, cheese making, and Goat milk soap demos. A week ago I attended the Hernando County Fairgrounds for the Milking Goat Show. There is so much to learn and plan for. So far one of the amazing contacts I've had the pleasure of meeting supplied me with this link about everything milking goats,  Fias Co Farm  totally amazing website for anyone wanting to learn how to keep milking goats.

Southern Dream Photography

So this is our start to Southern Dream Farm, six chicks lorded over by a beautiful but nasty tempered goose, five dogs, two teen aged girls and a lot of research :)