Who knows where this post will go............

I'm just going to start typing.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! I've been an on-task kind of woman and I love it.

Nesting is in full swing. Pray for Jason. I have a list of things that I obviously can't lift or do for him to take care of.

I don't know why it happens this way, but once you find out what your next baby is going to be it's almost like you kick into "the baby is coming" mode. I guess its because usually (for those of us who so dare find out the sexes of our babies) we find out the gender about mid-way through our pregnancy. This means we are halfway there to meeting our precious new one.

We are super thrilled about having a third girl. We haven't officially decided on a name, but we've gotten it narrowed down considerably- well actually to just two. Well, three if you throw in the name that I really love, but Jason isn't crazy about. I actually kind of like that he has an opinion about the name of this little girl. He didn't really have one with the other two. But, then again we sort of knew their names before we even found out what we were having.

So back to nesting......

I cornered two older women at church this weekend and begged them to give me insight into organizing girl clothes. One of these women had FIVE girls and the other had FOUR. I guess I feel like that could eventually be my life. I already feel like girl clothes are overtaking my life. And I don't even have sizes 6-12 months in my house right now. My precious niece Ava has those.

I have them arranged right now according to size. But, Laney Rae and KK are both so shady (did I just call my girls shady???) in their sizes that one outfit of one size may work and another not fit at all. So, this is why the clothes that we have out right now range from 24 months to 5T. Laney Rae has been known to wear even a size 3T these days......and so has Kaylyn.

So, as you can see, the dilemma presents itself.

On top of that, I think of adding baby clothes, socks, blankets, burp cloths, towels, and all of the extras. Its sort of caused me to lay in bed at night a draw a diagram of the girls' closet in my head.

It may seem easy to you from the outside looking in, but I can assure its rocket science so don't be a hater.

Any tips out there from mom's who have more than one child of the same gender?

The bonus to all of this clothes non-sense and brainstorming is that it has caused me to become extremely AWESOME at laundry. I'm loving this.

Laundry has always been an area of mine that has need lots of improvement. My house could be completely spotless, but if you decided to wander into the laundry room, you'd see the tornado scene out of The Wizard of Oz.

Along with cornering these moms, I asked them in my questioning process,"How did you keep up with all of the laundry?"

Both of them responded the words I'd dreaded hearing,"I did a load a day."

Deep down inside I've always known this was the answer. I've heard others even say it. But, I didn't really practice it until these past few weeks.

It has changed my laundry life. I just do a load of whatever is the biggest load for that day- whites, jeans, colors, towels. If I don't really have a load that's big enough to wash, I wash the linens......I love saying linens. It makes me feel fancy!

Another thing that I slacked off doing during the beginning of my pregnancy, was making my own detergent. And to be honest with you, I wasn't really digging my old recipe very much. Our clothes over time began to look dingy and the stains weren't coming off.

But, I think the problem was the baking soda in the recipe. The new recipe that I am using doesn't have baking soda in it. I got it off of a friend's blog and I love it! I've been usually it consistently for a while now and I'm happy to report that its cleaning great! I was a little afraid to recommend it without trying it out for a while.

I will say that I add 1/2 cup of OxyClean to mostly every load too. I love that stuff and would be sad if I had to part ways with it. Farm life brings lots of messy clothes! Its really not all that bad. So, I will continue to use it.

Another thing I'm loving are DRYER BALLS!
I picked some up randomly at Wal-Mart. I love them because since I don't add any fabric softener to our clothes, these tend to do the trick. They're amazing!

Just give them a try!

If you end up hating them, they can become an instant toy for you kiddos to play with.

I love my Shark!

If you've been reading this blog long, you know that I'm always looking for ways to simplify cleaning. More importantly, a clean floor is top priority to me in the home cleaning department. I can deal with other things being out of order for a while, but if my floor is dirty and grit finds its way between my toes, I cannot stand it.

Living out on a farm opens the door to lots of "things" making their way into your home and onto your floor. This is a battle that I will continue to fight the good fight.

I won the Shark VX3 at my family's White Elephant gift exchange over Christmas. When I saw this thing, I knew I had to give it a try.

I'm happy to report nothing but wonderful things about the Shark VX3!

Its rechargeable- so its cordless when you are using it.

It vacuums under things that normal vacuums cannot.

Its bag-less.

It doesn't require a dust pan- for this pregnant lady, not bending over every time I want to sweep my floor is a major plus!

You can vacuum both carpet and hard surfaces with the flick of a button.

The suction appears to be pretty good- mainly because you can see all the junk in your trunk when you are done.

Children can use it and enjoy doing so! I didn't get mad when KK spilled her snack bag all over the floor yesterday. I told her to go the Shark and clean it up. She happily obliged.

Did I mention to you that I love the Shark VX3??? Yesterday I counted how many times I used it and the grand total came in at 4 times. With a baby eating in a highchair, the Shark makes for easy floor clean-up after Laney Rae eats. But, you must not forget to empty it regularly if you are vacuuming up food. You don't want a science project growing in your Shark.

There is a Shark Floor steamer that disinfects your floor with steam and doesn't require harsh chemicals or soap. My sister got this for Christmas and LOVES hers. So, this is next on my list if I find a good deal on one.

I just wanted to throwout a review to you guys in case you are in the market for a new vacuum, mop, or broom. Just buy the Shark VX3. You won't regret it!

Top 10

My quest to natural cleaning products in my home has caused me to take notice of some things.

The average home has somewhere between 20-30 cleansers lurking in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, and garage. That is A LOT!

It seems as though there is a product for every little thing that needs to be cleaned. If anything, going to natural homemade cleaners has eliminated my home's need for several different types of cleaners made up of several different types of chemicals. The homemade cleansers repeat many of the same ingredients.

I also believe that it is a lot cheaper to make your own cleansers too. I started off doing this for reasons other than financial, but I've loved the added bonus of being cost effective too! On average, a bottle of cleaner from the store costs anywhere between $3 and $4. I bought a box of Borax for that price and I've used borax in my detergent, sink scrubbers, and toilet cleaners. I'm still not done with the box.

When I first started looking into this, I thought that I was going to have to sacrifice in being a perfectionist because my thought was that the homemade cleaners were not going to be near as efficient as the store bought ones. I have actually had the opposite results. I feel like I've had to scrub less to get the grit and grease off, spray less to clean a surface off, and 'Biff' less to achieve a clean floor. Jason even noticed how sparkling our sink was last night- that my friends is proof!

This literally has not taken any time! I've avoided going down the long aisle of cleansers and reading every label. So, I figure that it has taken me about the same time to create something in a bottle.

Another thing I've loved is being creative with how my products end up smelling. I'm a huge sniffer. The sense of smell is a powerful thing for me. I haven't even built up a huge collection of essential oils either.

If you are wondering where to even begin with all of this stuff, I've made a list and condensed it down to 10 things that anyone can go to the store and purchase to get started making their very own homemade cleaners.

TOP 10 List of Get R Done Ingredients

1. Baking Soda- by the BIG box

2. White Vinegar- gallon size jug

3. Borax

4. Murphy's Oil Soap

5. Liquid Castile Soap (I use Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps)

6. Bar of Ivory Soap or Bar of Pure Castile Soap (I bought Kirk's at the Health food store in Bryan for 1.49)

7. Essential Oils- the most common used are eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, sweet orange oil, mint, rosemary, tea tree

8. Containers- get creative and have fun with this, you can also recycle lots of containers you have finished using

9. Citrus Seed Extract- I use Grapefruit Seed Extract as a disinfectant in a lot of my cleaners. GSE is an antimicrobial. If you read a little bit about this stuff you will soon discover that its uses are amazing and endless. I've even used this when Kaylyn had thrush as a baby. It is good stuff. I did have to order mine online. But, health food stores should have this. I've had my bottle a little over 2 years. Since it is has preserving agents in it as well, it doesn't go bad for 10 years or something crazy like that.

10. A creative nose and mind! If you like to homemake anything, this will be fun for you! You will enjoy using these products everyday knowing that you came up with the smells and they are also non-toxic to your home.

As you can see by this simple list, we've taken something complicated that requires a whole entire aisle at the store and have made it simple and fun. With these ingredients on hand in your home, you can clean virtually anything from your clothes to your bathrooms.

I will posting some of the recipes that I've found or created in the upcoming days ahead. Stay tuned!

Swiffer gets a makeover!

I don't know about you, but I *heart* my Swiffer Wet Jet.

I've loved it since the day I purchased that thing. We've been through a lot- 7 moves, 1 hubby, 2 kiddos, farm life (equals lots of poop), among many other things.

But, my Swiffer has been there with me through it all. I still own the same one. I think I'm going to name him 'Biff'.

'Biff the Swiff'. I like that. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

I think an inanimate object deserves a name after it has been with you that long.

My interest in Swiffer all started when my dis-interest in mop water and buckets increased. I hate mop water. I don't know what to do with it. It grosses me out. And I get so grossed out the darker and darker the water becomes, that I end up making 3 batches of mop water just to finish mopping my house. And the idea of mopping something to get it clean when the water is clearly not clean is a contradiction of ideals.

Since I mop my kitchen 3 times a day, I wanted my system for mopping to be easy and toxin free. I'm not joking about mopping that much. This is the price I pay having an 11 month old who loves food and lives in her high chair. You saw the spaghetti pictures. It isn't pretty.

In comes 'Biff'.

I've been happy with 'Biff' up until now. I recently had a Swiffer epiphany after making a trip to Wal-mart just to buy the Swiffer goods. This is the only time I even go there nowadays.

The refill pads cost roughly $5 to $6 for a box of 12. The cleaning solution costs roughly $3 to $4. I know that the pads aren't the most environmentally friendly things because they aren't a reusable source and the solution isn't as non-toxic as I would like for it to be having a bouncing baby crawling around everywhere. Over time, this really adds up especially if you use yours as much as I do.

I decided to take this epiphany and give 'Biff' a makeover.

I bought some of those Gerber cloth diaper packages. I got mine at Wal-mart. They cost around $11 for a 12 pack. And the beauty of it all, is I get to use these and then throw them in the wash together at the end of the week. They will, of course, be washed in a small load all by themselves and in extremely hot water.

Here is what I did:

I cut up the cloth diapers. I cut off the sides of the diaper to where the thick part in the middle was the only thing left.

Before..............................................After

The thick part sticks to the bottom of the Swiffer just fine for me. And I like that it has great absorption and I can flip it over and use the other side also (a feature not offered in Swifferland).

****Tip: Instead of throwing away the side of the diaper, I will use these as my dryer sheet that I talked about in the detergent review. Just dab a few drops of essential oil to them, and you have instant dryer sheets.****

Dryer Sheets

Another thing I did was have my incredibly strong hubby twist the top off of the Swiffer cleaning solution so that I can make my own. Don't throw the bottle away! Re-use it.

You have to have a strong human being do this for you. I have the arm strength of a small mouse, so it is NOT possible for me to get dreaded white cap off the top. I've got all kinds of mad over this in the past. I know my limits.

If you can't get yours off or find someone to do it for you, we can hook a sista up and you can borrow my man's arms to help you. He is a pro!

Also, once the cap is removed initially, it can be removed from that point forward easily without the assistance of a human with super human strength.

Here is the cleaning solution I use. It smells incredible and has antibacterial qualities in it as well.

Floor Cleaning Solution

Fill the bottle 3/4 full of warm water. Add 3 tablespoons of Peppermint scented Dr. Bronner's. Add 10 drops of Sweet Orange Essential Oil. Add 4 tablespoons of white vinegar. Shake it around a little. Attach it to your Swiffer and enjoy!

****Tip: Go out and get some Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap. It is Concentrated Liquid Castille Soap that can be used for making all sorts of products to clean your home with. I detailed my car the other day using this stuff diluted in a small spray bottle. It is great and smells wonderful. I use the Peppermint scent a lot when I'm cleaning. And Jason and I use the Almond scent to bathe. It smells YUMMY! The writing on the bottle is a bit wacky. I don't even know what half of it even means really. I think they might have been inhaling hemp when they were coming up with label ideas for the bottles. I was able to find it at Kroger in College Station in the organic section. I think the big bottles are roughly $8 to $9. Which is pretty good considering you can dilute this stuff and it will last a while.****

You could also experiment with Murphy's oil soap for those of you out their who have wood floors. I happen to LOVE Murphy's as well and use this often when cleaning. It is also a safe non-toxic cleaner and smells wonderful!

....Biff....

I love my new and improved 'Biff' even more. I loved it before, but now that it is cost effective and I can make my own floor cleaner, it's perfect! I love that IT has a name now.

What are some things in your home that you have revamped in order to make them more cost effective and environmentally friendly? I'd love to hear what you have done. I KNOW we have some creative readers out there.