Two housekeeping tips!

castile soap, fractionated coconut oil and essential oil

I recently discovered two new-to-me housekeeping tips that I thought I'd share with you!

Tip #1: Foaming Hand Soap

I may be the last person to know this, but recently I discovered that I can be making my own foaming hand soap.  (!)  And since we go through about a bottle every week or two, I'm super thrilled about this latest little housekeeping development.  Did you all already know this and not tell me?  A friend of mine passed along this recipe to me recently and I've been itching to make it ever since. Last night I finally did!

Here's the recipe:

Fill a foaming soap dispenser with warm water, leaving 1-2 inches of room at the top.

Add:
2 T Castile soap
1 tsp fractionated coconut oil
essential oil drops (I used about 5 drops)

Shake.

How easy is that?  I found the castile soap at Target (there were several varieties but I was thrilled to spot the citrus-orange because that's the very scent of soap I was hoping for!!!) It was a little pricey.  They just had the big bottles so I think it was about $17, but just think of how much soap I'll be able to make from it!  I'd never in my life heard of fractionated coconut oil, but found it at our local co-op.  And the essential oil- I bought sweet orange- I purchased at the co-op, too, for a few dollars. 

It's the little things that make me happy.  It smells so good.  The kids love it.  (After trying it, my girls declared that I should "go into business".  They're so funny:  when I bake something yummy they tell me I should start a bakery, or if I make something especially good for dinner they tell me I should open a restaurant.  I keep telling them that I already have a restaurant, with six very regular customers.  ;))

Tip #2: Hydrogen Peroxide as stain remover

Little story to go with this one: A couple of weeks ago I bought a cute stripey tunic-y tank at the consignment store.  It was so warm the other day that I wore it under a cardigan.  And then promptly stained it when I made smoothies for the kids for breakfast.  Blueberry stains.  :(.   I was super sad.  I tried right away to put cold water on the spots and one sort of faded to look like a blue pen mark, but it was still visible.  But I kept wearing it because after all, I did have a cardi over it. 

That evening I went to visit my sister-in-law and my cutest new nephew, and she said she liked my tank top, so I had to tell her about how it was new and I'd already stained it.  She told me I should try hydrogen peroxide. 

?!

She said she's seen it work to get blood out of clothes, so I ought to try it.  I asked her how -- soak it?  get a q-tip and dab some on?  She said just to pour it over the spot.  I was skeptical, truly.  And I didn't want to have it bleach my tank top or anything.  But my other option was spray-n-wash and soak it overnight, which doesn't always entirely get berry stains out.  So I was curious enough to try it.  I got a q-tip and put some hydrogen peroxide on it and then dabbed at the spots when I got home, and nothing happened.  Those stains were as plain as day.  So I sort of shrugged it off and thought, "Guess that only works to get blood out." And went to tuck the girls into bed...  Ten minutes later I was telling Ella about how it hadn't worked on my spots, and went to find my spots, and there WERE NO SPOTS. (!!!!)  No more stains.  Super excited about this.  I have tossed shirts before because I couldn't get stains out.  Hydrogen peroxide is my new friend.  I am so pleased to know this.  :)