Easy Five-Minute Layered Haircut

I am so excited to share with you an ultra-simple, super-quick way to cut your hair in beautiful layers! You can easily cut your daughter's or even your own hair in only 5 minutes!  You may never go to the salon again!

Easy Five-Minute Layered Haircut

This is what my daughter's hair looked like before  and after the haircut:

If you want to learn how to do this easy 5-minute layered haircut on yourself or your daughters, click the image below to download your FREE guide!

Linked up at: 
A Heart for Home
A Mama's Story 
Deep Roots at Home
Far Above Rubies 
Frugally Sustainable
Get Outta My Head Please
Homestead Blog Hop
Homestead Revival
Little Natural Cottage
Living Water 
Living Well, Spending Less
Raising Arrows 
Raising Homemakers
The Deliberate Mom
The Modest Mom 
Time-Warp Wife 
True Aim Education 
Wholehearted Home
Women Living Well

How to Make Easy, Homemade, Natural Deodorant

Easy, Natural, Homemade Deodorant

 For a long time, I'd tried to get away from using commercial antiperspirants and deodorants, because for one, they are full of aluminum, which may cause cancer, Alzheimer's, and other health problems; and two, recent studies have shown the presence of  parabens in 99% of breast cancer patients. That's enough to scare anyone off of using toxic substances in such a sensitive area!

In my quest for a natural alternative, I tried numerous natural, store-bought products, such as Tom's of Maine, The Body Shoppe, Trader Joe's, and crystal deodorant stones. None worked great, and two of them gave me bad rashes! 

Then I tried a homemade version using coconut oil, but it tended to stain my shirts (although admittedly I may have used too much oil.) I had read that Dr. Mercola simply used baking soda, but I dismissed that idea, thinking surely that would not be strong enough for me!  Well, when  a friend mentioned that she, too, used baking soda with no problems, I decided to try it for myself! Lo and behold, it worked! Amazing! Whoever would have thought that something so simple and easy (not to mention cheap!) could work so well! 

Easy, Homemade, Natural Deodorant

 All you need is baking soda, a dish, and a makeup brush (a flat mineral foundation brush works great.) The one-ingredient version is simply baking soda! For a nicely scented version, you can add the essential oil of your choice. My favorite happens to be orange, so that is the one I use. Just shake several drops into the bowl of baking soda, and stir.  

That's it! It couldn't be simpler or more frugal! If you have sensitive skin, you may want to wait a while after shaving to apply. Also, some people may be more sensitive to baking soda, and might want to try arrowroot powder instead, as a gentler substitute. Enjoy!

Linked up at:

Deep Roots at Home

Far Above Rubies 

Frugally Sustainable

Growing Home

Homestead Revival

Raising Arrows

The Better Mom

Time-Warp Wife 

Women Living Well

How to Make Easy, Homemade Brown Sugar Scrub

Have you ever tried  brown sugar scrub on your skin? If not, you absolutely must! It is an excellent exfoliator and a luxurious moisturizer...not to mention, it smells simply delicious! And if you make it yourself with a few simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, it is frugal as well!

Vanilla Brown Sugar Scrub

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Vitamin E capsules

Simply mix all ingredients together, and put into the lovely container of your choice!

For those who love the scent of fall, here is a nice variation:

Pumpkin Pie Brown Sugar Scrub

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/8 cup honey

1 Vitamin E capsule

3 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 TBS cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Linked up at:
Ask Anna 
Deep Roots at Home

Far Above Rubies
Free Pretty Things for You
Frugally Sustainable

Growing Home 
Raising Homemakers

Time-Warp Wife
Women Living Well 

How to Make Easy, Homemade, Natural Face and Body Wash

I love, love, love, my new homemade face and body wash! I've been using this for several months now, and love it! It is gentle, effective, and all-natural, with no harmful parabens. It is also oh-so-easy to make!

First, use up a bottle of store-bought foaming hand soap.

Next, pour Dr. Bronner's Pure Castille Soap into the empty bottle, filling it about one-fifth to one-fourth full. I use Dr. Bronner's Unscented Mild Baby Soap. It is wonderful for baby wash, as well as for family members with sensitive skin. You can buy this at Target or Trader Joe's.

Then fill up the rest of the bottle with water, leaving room for the large foaming pump.

Finally, pour in several drops of your favorite essential oil. My favorite is orange. I get mine at a great price from A Scents Worth. 

Shake it all up, and you are done! This one simple recipe can be used for natural hand soap, baby bath, face wash, and body wash. 

Linked up at:
Deep Roots at Home

Far Above Rubies
Frugally Sustainable

Growing Home
Homestead Blog Hop
Homestead Revival

I Choose Joy

Living Well, Spending Less

Our Simple Country Life 

Our Simple Farm

Raising Mighty Arrows 

The Finer Things in Life

The Humbled Homemaker 

These Five of Mine Plus Two 

Thrifty Thursday

Time-Warp Wife
Women Living Well 
Working Kansas Homemaker

How to Make Easy, Homemade, Natural, Powdered Laundry Detergent

Do you know what is lurking in your laundry detergent? 

Do you realize that the toxic chemicals found in cleaners and detergents find their way into your body, wreaking havoc as they go? 

 

Maybe it is time to learn how to make your own natural laundry detergent! It is quick, easy, and inexpensive! I had heard about families such as the Duggars making economical liquid homemade detergent, but it looked difficult, messy, and hard to store! No thanks!  But then I learned that it is so easy to make your own POWDERED laundry detergent!  Well, THAT I could try, and you can, too!

 

To prepare, take a trip to your local Walmart, and pick up three simple ingredients: Borax, Fels-Naptha Bar Soap, and Washing Soda...that's all! This recipe must be catching on, because Walmart had all three ingredients located all together on a shelf in the cleaning aisle!  And they were CHEAP! 

 First, use the grating attachment on your food processor to grate the bar of Fels-Naptha soap. Some people substitute Ivory soap for the Fels-Naptha. The kids love this step, because it's really fun to push the soap down, and watch the soap grate up into long orange slivers. (If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the soap by hand, but it takes a bit longer, and is just not quite as fun.)

 

 

Did I mention that this was fun for the kids???

Next, dump the grated soap into a bowl so that you can change the grating attachment to the blending attachment.

Then dump the grated soap back into the food processor. 

    Add one cup of Borax and one cup of Washing Soda (this is NOT baking soda!)

                                    

Blend this lovely mixture into a lovely, sweet-smelling powder.

                                     

Finally, pour your beautiful natural laundry detergent into the container of your choice. 

This even makes a lovely gift for a friend! Find a beautiful glass jar, attach a coffee scoop and gift label with some twine, and you have a practical, unique gift that everyone will appreciate!

Instructions for using your easy, homemade, natural laundry detergent:  For regular washing machines, dissolve 2 TBS in the bottom of the washer before adding clothes. For high-efficiency washers, place 1 TBS in the bottom of the washer with your clothes. Do not use the powder dispenser, as it could clog....trust me...  ;)
Your clothes will come out smelling simply and refreshingly clean!

Linked up at:

These Five of Mine Plus Two 
Little Natural Cottage 
Heavenly Homemakers
Growing Home
Time-Warp Wife
Frugally Sustainable 
The Humbled Homemaker
Raising Homemakers
Women Living Well
Deep Roots at Home
Day 2 Day Joys 
Our Simple Country Life
Raising Mighty Arrows
Consider the Lilies
The Finer Things in Life
The Peaceful Mom