Challenging Femininity 09-10

I am super-thrilled to announce that the latest issue of Challenging Femininity has been published and is available online!

This is an excellent resource for women, young ladies and men as well. The staff of writers always present challenging articles about issues such as natural care, faith, fun, femininity, feminism, relationships, parenting, health, and more!

Please be sure to take some time to relax and read up on this month’s issue.

Shalom,

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DIY Cleaning Products – Helping Cut Corners

As a single mom, one of the ways I’ve cut back on expenses is to make my own cleaning products. I do this partly because it is cheaper and partly because it is healthier. Less trips to the doctors for allergy/asthma related issues is as good for the budget as spending out less on consumable cleaning products. I believe God calls us to be good stewards of all that we have, not just our finances. This change is one of the ways I’ve chosen to be a good steward, and I believe the Lord, Yahweh, has rewarded us for it.
I have a few tried and true recipes that I use for literally all our cleaning needs.

Laundry/Liquid Soap
I found this recipe on a website a number of years ago. Unfortunately, I’ve lost the original source. I’ve also made some adaptations to suit my family. The specific brands listed here are not required, they are the only brands I have access to in my area. You may be able to find the same products by other manufacturers.

You will need:
a large heavy sauce pan or dutch oven
5 gallon pail
long handled wooden spoon
2 – 1 gallon milk jugs
1/3 bar Fels Naptha laundry soap/soap of your choice
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (don’t confuse this with baking soda, it is different)
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
10 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil or other scent of your choice – this is optional.
hot water

Place 6 cups water in heavy pan to heat.
Add 1/3 bar soap, stir until dissolved.
Add borax and washing soda stir until dissolved.
Remove from heat.
Put 4 cups of hot water in the 5 gallon pail.
Add soap mixture.
Add 1 gallon (16 cups) plus 6 cups hot water.
Stir.
Let stand over night – the soap will gel and be hard to pour.
Stir again – add essential oil – and store in milk containers.
Use 1/2 cup per load of laundry.

All Purpose Disinfectant Spray Cleaner

Originally in Mother Earth News October/November 2007 – I’ve adapted it for my family.
I use this to clean mirrors, counter tops, toilet seats, telephones, door knobs and to wash small floor areas, especially the bathroom around the toilet. If I had little ones I would also use it to wipe down toys.

2 teaspoons borax
1/4 cup vinegar (I prefer white, but cider works well, too)
3 cups warm water
5 drops tea tree essential oil
I add all the ingredients into a spray bottle and mix by shaking.

All Purpose Cleaning Scrub

Originally in Mother Earth News October/November 2007 – I’ve adapted it for my family.
I use this to clean the tub, shower walls, sticky spots on the kitchen floor, permanent marker that has bled through paper onto the table, toilet bowls, etc.

1 – 16 oz box of baking soda
1/2 cup liquid soap (I use my laundry/liquid soap for this.)
I don’t recommend highly concentrated liquid dish soap for this, it makes it too thick and hard to shake up for future uses.

1/2 cup water

Mix the first three ingredients together and then add:
2 Tablespoons of white vinager
5 drops of tea tree essential oil – optional

Store in a squeeze bottle (the new organic ketchup bottles are great for this). It will separate and need to be shaken or stirred before each use.

Apply to surface and rinse.

In Lieu of Shampoo

While I never spent much on shampoo, I was noticing an amazing amount of hair loss and thinning as I started to hit middle age. I read that it could be caused by shampoo so I decided to kick the habit.
This has been the hardest so far, but it is working. Several months ago, I quit shampooing – sounds gross, I know. Now instead I use baking soda and vinegar.

Mix 1/4 cup baking soda (I have long hair) with 1/2 cup water and work the paste through my hair.
Rinse with warm water.
Mix 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar with 2 cups warm water and rinse that through my hair and then rinse again with warm water.

I need to do my hair about 1/2 as often as I use to. My hair feels fuller, shinier and stays cleaner longer. If I feel the need to lather up, I grab a bar of castile soap, work it into a lather and then work that into my hair and then rinse with vinegar.

MaggieRaye

RELATED ARTICLES: Making the Home: Vinegar Disinfectant

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Home School Freebies and Curriculum Swap

We are introducing this site to you as a part of Gleaning the Harvest’s Home School Curriculum-Supplies Swap. Please check out our page and see how you can participate in it. I personally have stacks of books that I can give to families who will use it – how about you!? I also know families who are in need of curriculum that may be sitting in boxes in closets, under beds, hidden on bookshelves…

Where are yours?

Home schooling is a very important aspect of Gleaning the Harvest. We are proud to be able to encourage parents to walk in the Word and teach their children apart from the ungodliness of the public school system.

An Old-Fashioned Education

An Old-Fashioned Education is a site that offers links to free curriculum resources as well as a curriculum that Maggie set up herself. Her Old Fashioned Education Curriculum was created using free texts which are available on the Internet. Most of the books were published
before 1923, so they are now in the public domain. Most of the original copyrights have expired, and these books may be used by anyone, any way they like. Most of those whose copyrights are still held allow you to download, print or copy their books free for personal use.

Most of what is listed on her site is free to you. The exceptions are: a few math and science books.

Her stipulation for using her curriculum is this:  “curriculum is free to use and share with others. It may not be bought or sold and no money may be charged for sharing it, not even shipping and handling. If you send it to your sister in Peru, then you must pay for the shipping yourself. This is to ensure that no one profits from my work.”

Here are the education subjects, from the sidebar:

• American History
• Anthologies
• Arithmetic
• Art Appreciation
• Bible & Religion
• Biography
• Canadian Interest
• Canadian Teacher’s Manuals
• Character & Etiquette
• Christian Classics
• Civics & Government
• Classic Literature
• Composition
• Creationism
• Drama & Public Speaking
• Economics
• Emergency Preparedness
• Fables, Fairy Tales & Nursery Rhymes
• Fiction for Boys
• Fiction for Girls
• Folk Songs & Hymns
• Geography & Social Studies
• Grammar & Spelling
• Greece & Rome
• Health
• Helps for Mom & Dad
• Historical Documents
• Historical Fiction
• Holidays
• Home Economics
• Latin & Foreign Languages
• Medicine & Nursing
• Music Appreciation
• Penmanship
• Philosophy
• Poetry
• Printing Tips
• Reading Basics
• Recreation
• Reference Books
• Science & Nature
• SciFi & Ghost Stories
• Shakespeare & Plutarch
• Spelling & Grammar
• Social Studies & Geography
• Virginia
• World History
• Women’s Studies

She also has a page defining her Full Curriculum.

Be sure to take a look at this site and its resources for your home school!

Be sure to see our page: Homeschooling for FREE, which has a list of sites where you will find FREE homeschooling resources.

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