just checking in

the weather has been wonderful and warm (ok-hot, really hot, with lots of sweat, and splashing in the water, and hiding in the shade). Tonight we are having taco salad made with greens and cilantro from our garden. Our mosquito bites are almost gone, and our landscaping is getting close to complete.
The herbs for my vinegar blend just arrived, so I am in need of some apple cider vinegar and will get to brewing my new, improved, all natural bug spray so it can be ready in time for our next outing. This week I also made shower gel for the girls out of ivory bar soap-yet another product replacement test to help s t r e t c h the budget, every little thing helps, and after a bit, things really add up. Again, thanks to boogiemum (http://boogiemum.com/) for the recipe and inspiration. (this can also be hand soap, but not dishwasher soap, or laundry soap, that's different)
Here's what you do:
Shower Gel/Hand Soap
*get a microwave safe covered casserole dish
*use a knife and shave about 1/4 to 1/3 of a bar of ivory soap into it-this is cinchy
*add 2 cups of water, or enough to fill up your currently empty soap dispenser
*microwave it and whisk it until soap is pretty much all dissolved (took me about 6 minutes)
*let it set there for a bit until it cools and turns into shower gel-taadaa!
ok, I had to add a little more water and whisk it some more to get it the texture I wanted once it was gooey, and I also added some essential oils, they wanted it to smell like "sweet orange". I had some left over that wouldn't fit, so I put it in an empty plastic water bottle, labeled it and saved it as a refill. Ivory soap comes in multi-packs for a really good price and from each bar I can make 3 or 4 bottles of shower gel. Compared to our usual brand this will be a substantial savings, especially considering last week Maggie squeezed an entire new bottle of shampoo right down the drain, just because. 3 Year olds are fun-really.
**just so you know, you can use any kind of soap you want for this project, but it has to be soap. Beauty bars like Oil of Olay or Dove won't gel, you will just get a big pot of soapy water. (I know this to be true--twice) You can also use the left over sliver bits from your bar soap, for an even greater savings--make your hubby Irish Spring, cool mountain mist shower gel from leftovers. (and then you have a few extra bucks to get the special yummy Mom's only shower gel for yourself--at least, that's my plan! Shhhhhhh.....)