Homemade dishwashing powder

Last week I made my own dishwashing powder.

I got my inspiration from crafty little gnome and one good thing by Jillee. 

I'm enjoying making my own products. 

Not only is it much cheaper but also much greener.

 I like removing one more lot of chemicals from my home.

The dishwashing powder:

1/2 cup washing soda (also called soda ash)

1/2 cup baking soda

1 cup borax

1/4 cup unionised salt

1/4 cup citric acid

Mix all the ingredients together in a sealable jar and shake.

Add about 1-2 T to your dishwasher.

(I use an old scoop I found I use half a scoop so about 15g).

For clean glasses add vinegar to the liquid compartment.

The first time I used this powder I was not impressed with it as my glasses came out spotty.

But after that the powder was great now I don't use anything else.

I have no idea why it was funny the first time maybe it was cleaning my dishwasher?

Though I cleaned it not long ago so I don't think that's it. So who knows.

It's great now and well worth making. 

I love that I have no more horrible chemicals in my dishwasher.  

Does anyone else make their own dishwashing powder?
 Madeleine  x
Linked to nourishing treasures, our delightful home, homestead barn hop, your green resource, frugal Tuesday tip,

Cinnamon and ants

I read somewher that ants dont like cinnamon.

Well I don't like ants:

I don't like the way they smell. 

I don't like their little legs on me! Eww.

I don't like how they get into every tiny little crack!

Last week there were some ants inthe fruit bowl so I put some cinnamon around the bowl an they ran in all different directions and didn't come back!

I did it again today and so had to share!

Ants don't like cinnamon!

So get shaking!!!
Madeleine  x
Linked to frugal Tuesday tip, wildcrafting Wednesday,

New slippers and an owl!

Last night we had a family birthday party for little John.

He'll be 2 next week!!!

We had a wonderful evening with family. John got so spoilt!

I'll post some photos soon of the amazing home made gifts he was given 

not to mention the amazing cake. 

My MIL made me some wonderful new colourful slippers.

I love my new slippers they are so warm and colourful.

I LOVE the colours they made my hooves so super happy!

She also made John an amazing owl.

I love this owl so so so much.

You can make him a long owl by squeezing him 

or he can be a cute fat owl by squashing him.

He is currently living on my night stand as I can't part with him yet 

(even though he's John's toy! ha ha).

Stay tuned for baby birthday photos and amazing home made gifts. 

Madeleine  x

New bathroom

I'm FINALLY ready to show our bathroom!!!

It's been mostly finished for a while now but it is now totally TOTALLY finished!!

I love my fancy new bathroom.

I love that so much in my bathroom has been reused, recycled 

or bought second hand. 

 Our bathroom used to be a tiny bathroom and an even smaller toilet.

Here are some pictures of what our bathroom used to look it.

 The bathroom from the hall.

It was lovely and retro.

Not to mention dark and dingy.

It had lovely brown tiles and a clam shell plastic basin!

Also a mirrored wall!

Haha so sexy!

 Our bathroom also had a super sexy shub in it.

The shub and mirror and other goods all went to good homes on freecycle. 

Wow look how little John was a year ago!!!

 This is the tiny toilet in all it's glory.

Not big enough to swing a cat in.

 It all started with this hole I made in the wall!!

 We knocked a wall out between the bathroom and toilet.

Put in all new walls, ceiling and floors.

We insulated all the walls to make it all nice and warm.

We stripped back all the rimu which now looks so amazing.

Why people paint rimu I don't know?!
This bathroom could not have happened without the amazing help
from my parent's and brother. 
My wonderful dad and Mr Ecochick took 3 weeks off work to work on this epic project.
Thanks so very VERY much guys. Love you heaps.

So are you ready for the new and improved bathroom?

 Here is the view from the door.

Sexy rimu in all it's glory.

A super efficient toilet (3 and 4L flush!).

We have 2 heated towel rails;

one we got on sale with vouchers

and the other one came from my MIL house when she was renovating.

We put in a timer so the heaters are only on when they're needed.

 The wall where the mirror used to be is my wonderful solid rimu vanity.

 I bought this amazing vanity off trade me. It came with basins and taps!

Above are my lovely medicine cabinets also off trade me.

 Where the shub used it be is now a lovely enamel bath.

The bath and tiles were all bought on sale.

 We have a highly efficient 5LPM shower head kindly sent to me by Methven.

We chose a glass shower door for longevity. 

John and I love taking baths together.

It's not unusual for Mr Ecochick to come home 

and find John and me in the bath together.

So much fun bathing with a baby.

We added some lovely coving to match the rest of the house.

I just love the feel of our bathroom.

It's such a beautiful happy place. 

The only thing I would change is put in a bigger bath 

so we could all bath together!
Madeleine  x
Linked to thrifty decor chick bathroom link, thrifty decor chick, delightful order, handy man crafty woman, earning my cape, pin-ed it made it, one project closer, home stories a to z, claiming our space, cherished bliss, pinteresting party, everything under the moon, natural nester, tip junkie, our delightful home, sugar bee crafts, homestead barn hop, being frugal by choice, diy home sweet home, cherished handmade treasures, romance on a dime, toot your horn Tuesday, Liz Marie blog, the frugal girls, house of Hepworths,

Greek-style lentil and kale soup

This soup is one of my favourite winter foods.

The original recipe comes from a mindfood daily recipe email I received

and uses silverbeet but I make it with kale.

Ingredients:

2T olive oil

1 large onion

2 carrots

2 garlic cloves

2 cans of lentils

4 cups vegetable stock

1 lemon

1 large bunch of kale (or silverbeet)

1/2 cup of mint

 100g feta

Method:

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat.

Add the chopped onion and carrot. Cook, stir occasionally until tender.

Add crushed garlic and cook for 1 minute.

 Add the lentils, kale, stock and lemon juice.

Stir well until combined and bring to the boil.

Bring to a shimmer until the vegetables are tender.

Turn off the heat and add the mint.

 Pour the soup into bowls and sprinkle feta into each bowl.

This soup is fantastic with cheesy bread.

Yum I think I'll make this for tea tonight!
Madeleine  x
Linked to house of Hepworths, pinteresting party, being frugal by choice, the Grant life, nourishing treasures, wildcrafting Wednesday, earning my cape,

Paint and clean up as green as posible

I love painting; well I love how quickly you can change a room or item with a little bit of paint. So I guess I love paint rather than painting.  

Painting and clean up can be very unenvironmentaly friendly. 

Here are some tips to green your painting;

Choose volatile organic compounds (VOC) free or low VOC paints or milk paint.

Choose water based paints over oil based paints 

and paint with the windows open.

When your paint can is empty let the paint dry completely

then take the can to your paint shop for recycling
(ie Resene paint to the Resene shop).

When painting use old tins and line with cling film 

(this I the only reason I have this in the house 

actually I don't think it's ever used for anything else).

Pour the paint into the cling film in the tin.
In between coats stick the cling film together
or cover with a plate then you can reuse the paint for the next coat. 
when you're finished let the paint dry then simply throw the cling film in the bin and recycle or reuse the can.

Better than throwing the whole tin out. 

When using a roller and tray line the tray with a plastic bag.

When finished throw the plastic bag away. 

Do not try to reuse the plastic bag as you'll get dry paint flakes on your painted surface (so not cool). 

In between coats wrap your roller/ brushes in a bag so you don't need to clean your brushes every time. 

You can keep these in bags for about 24 hours but no more as it'll ruin your brushes.

If you use oil based paints you'll need solvents to clean the brushes/ rollers

 (all paints have their places)

Pour your solvent into a glass jar/can then clean your brushes.

When your brush is clean leave the solvent in the jar with the lid off.

  The paint will sink to the bottom of the jar.

Pour the clear liquid on top into a larger jar with a lid.

The liquid from the top can be reused over and over again;

just let the paint sink to the bottom first each time.

This prolongs the life of the solvents and makes it a little greener.

 

I love paint and hope these tips help green your painting a little.

Do you have any tips to share?
Madeleine  x
Linked to house of Hepworths, handy man crafty woman, 

Plastic organisation

 Look at all that horrible plastic mess!

I'm almost ashamed to show how much plastic I still have.

I know I'm always talking about deplasticing my house and 

I try really hard to remove as much plastic from our home as possible. 

However I do still have some plastic containers.

Ok so my excuses;

 Mr Ecochick sometimes takes lunch to work and so it's easier for him to take plastic containers to work in case they get broken or left at work.

Little John still drops things and so it's easier to give him food/ treats in plastic containers so I don't constantly have to pick up broken glass. 

So when we made the new pantry I was able to clean this drawer out 

and now I have a plastics drawer.

I went through the plastic containers and got rid of the containers without lids.

{actually I gave the containers to dad to use when he's working on his car}

I matched all the lids and containers together 

and stored them so they are easy to get to and use.

I also added all John's cups and bowls in here.

I like it all nice and tidy and out of sight.

 I look forward to the day when I can get rid of all my plastic containers.

But for now they are organised.   
Madeleine  x
Linked to delightful order,

Easy pikelets

John loves helping in the kitchen. 

As soon as he sees the cute apron my SIL made he gets so excited 

as he knows it's cooking time.

 We've made pikelets a few times over the past week; 

they're so quick and easy.

They are even easier when you use a sandwich press instead of a frying pan.

 This recipe comes form the Edmonds cookbook.

 What you'll need:

1 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 free range egg

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup milk

 Beat the eggs and sugar in a mixer until thick and creamy.

Add flour, baking powder, salt and milk. 

Mix together until just combined.

Drop a tablespoon onto the sandwich press. I can make 6 at once.  

When the pickets are completely bubbly close the top of the sandwich press.

Keep the lids closed until the pickles are completely cooked.

If you don't cook them long enough they are doughy in the middle.    

 Today I cooked some of the batch in a frying pan but it is too much work keeping the temperature constant. So I gave up on the frying pan and I don't think I'll go back.

There are so many other things we make in the sandwich press; 

toast and sandwiches (obviously), hashbrowns, quesadillas, grilled cheese to name a few.

I love the sandwich press it makes life so much faster and easier.

Madeleine  x

 

How we save money on our shopping

When shopping I always look for the best deals as I HATE wasting money.

There are only a few products that I buy brand specific

and everything else I just buy whatever is cheapest or on sale. 

When the brands I do buy are on sale I stock up so I don't have to pay full price.

We shop about every two or three weeks, we also go to Moore Wilsons and Davis Trading to buy items in bulk saving even more money.  

 We also have a garden and grow a lot of our own food.

There is nothing better than fresh herbs and veggies.

Buying items in bulk doesn't always work out a lot cheaper 

but it is way more convenient.

 Buying in bulk is also better for the environment.

Don't under estimate your local Asian/ Indian supermarkets these places have a great range of very reasonably priced items. 

Spices are much cheaper at these types of stores. 

Of course don't forget to take a shopping list with you so you don't over stock.

I like to cherrypick supermarkets as well.

I get emails from a few different stores so I know what is cheaper where each week and so go specially to that supermarket to collect the cheaper item(s). 

While I'm there I'll have a quick look around 

and buy whatever else I might need that they have on sale.   

When buying larger or bulk items these obviously need to be stored correctly 

otherwise it's just a waste.

Tip: buying larger tins of food is normally cheaper than buying smaller tins.

Divide the leftovers into ice cube trays for easy storage and ease of use.

  This works well for tomato pastes, gravies, stocks, etc.

The biggest thing we do to save money is not eating any meat.
Being a vegetarian household saves us truck loads of money
{and of course is way better for the environment}.
What do you do to help save your family money?
Madeleine  x
Linked to frugal Tuesday tip, homestead barn hop, natural mothers network,  

Stop water boiling over

A while ago I saw a great tip on pinterest but I cant find the source now. 

Basically when cooking anything with water; ie rice, potatoes, pasta, etc

put two chops sticks (or a wooden spoon) on the pot,

This will stop the water from boiling over.

No more mess to clean up.

I have no idea how or why this works but it does.  

Anyone tried this?

Madeleine  x

Pantry shelves

 Now that I have my amazing new pantry I'll share how we made the shelves.

We decided to make the shelves out of plywood as it is cheap and strong.

We made 6 shelves in total;

2 full depth, 4 shelves with wings and 1 shallow shelf for storage.

The wonderful man at mitre10 cut our shelves to size for us.

We replaced the walls in the cupboard 

but the house is old so the walls are still slightly warped.  

Mr Ecochick had to plane the back of the shelves to make them fit snugly.

Mr Ecochick cut out the wings from the shelves off cuts.

We borrowed a biscuit machine from a friend to attach 

the shelves and wings together.

 The machine was easy to use and has made the shelves so super strong.

I have so many other projects I want to make using the biscuit machine!

Mr Ecochick cut biscuit holes in the wings and the shelves.

He added glue to both edges also inside the biscuit holes.

Then add the biscuits and push both edges together.

We clamped the shelves for the night and let them dry.

We only had one large clamp so this took a few days to complete.

Once all the shelves were finished I sanded them.

Looking hot there in my working clothes! 

It took about 4 hours to sand all the shelves 

(I think I got some nerve damage so maybe 

take turns doing this or do it over a few days).

Once sanded I painted 1 coat of sealant and 2 coats of white paint.

 

To attach the shelves to the walls we made timber frames; 

1 long piece for the back wall and 2 short ones for the sides. 

All the shelves and framed only fitted in one spot.

Mr Ecochick stamped all frame's positions using our metal punch. 

He also stamped all the shelves in a few different places 

in case it was hard to read once sanded and painted. 

We sanded these including the edges to soften them.

I like the soft corner look.

 I painted the frames by lining them up 

and using a roller to paint one side at a time.

The paint dried so super quickly I could do 3 sides at once 

and then basically paint over top straight away.

Once everything was painted it was time to assemble the pantry.

This was a mission as we had to build the pantry from the bottom shelf up.

We attached the shelves with the wrapping of the plywood upward to preload the shelves so that they wont bend and break over time.

Tip: attach the shelves from under the frames not from the top.

This means no holes in my beautiful new shelves. 

 

We added 2 brackets to the top 4 shelves for added strength.

The bottom 2 shelves are full sheets so we added brackets to the centre door frame.

 The shelves are so strong that Mr Ecochick could stand on them to fit the top shelf. 

 

 John made himself a bed in the pantry.

Madeleine  x

Linked to claiming our space, home stories a to z, tip junkie, toot your horn Tuesday, romance on a dime, sugar bee crafts, everything under the moon, our delightful home, diy home sweet home, cherished bliss, pinteresting party,