Frugal Friday -Homemade Body Scrub Recipes

Summer is here, at least it was for a week before it got cold again. That meant a full 4 days of sun and swimming. Both dried my skin out like crazy. Plus since it was my first time in the sun, I got my annual burn. So now I have that yucky dried out peeled skin. I searched the web for a good body scrub I could make with items I had on hand.

My favorite out of the bunch, Cinnamin Vanilla Coffee Scrub. It worked out perfectly because I had just made a huge pitcher of cold brew coffee and had exactly two cups of ground coffee left over.

You need
2. Cups ground coffee (save your leftovers from your morning brew)
1/2 Cup Raw Sugar or Salt (I used salt cause we only have splenda in the house)
3 Tablespoons Massage Oil (any oil would work, the lighter the better)

Mix it all together allowing the mixture to blend well with the oil so it's a nice gouppy paste . I stored mine in a mason jar and it's lasted about 5 showers so far. Each shower I do a different body part.

Another few I found online but haven't gotten the chance to try out yet

Lavendar Peppermint Foot scrub (my feet are in dire need)
1 Cup Salt ( sea salt, epsom salt, regular salt )
1/3 Cup Oil
10 Drops Peppermint oil
10 drops lavender oil

Plain Jane Salt Scrub
1 Cup Salt (again any kind you have on hand)
1/3 cup oil
10 drops essential oil of your choice

Sugar Scrub
1 Cup Brown Sugar
20 Drops Vanilla Essential Oil
1/3 cup almond oil
((I can only imagine how yummy this will smell))


Adios Mis Amigos,

Wordless Wednesday- what a difference a day makes

Today is Wednesday, hump day. And I've been spending it doing a little rearranging, both in our home and on the blog. I don't know what it is about summer, but it always makes me want to simplify my life. I cleaned out cabinets, closets, and drawers, getting rid of anything that hasn't been used since last summer.

I consider this blog a home a place were I can sit and sip coffee and share whats on my heart. . .  I want both my "homes" to reflect summer and nothing says summer like flip flops and hibiscus (at least to me anyway).


 Now onto wordless Wednesday.. not so wordless huh? But it does revolve around a picture :o)

I found this idea on Pinterest and just had to make it :o) 

I had a hard time choosing colors

 but decided to go with the most summery (most like summer)

and my Kitchen dining room is accented in yellow

It was super easy, print up in word and then used one of my Dollar Store Picture frames to hang it. Total cost $1.00 (cause I had ink and paper) and best of all I LOVE IT. A little reminder that each and every day has the possibility of greatness!

Adios Mis Amigos,

Frugal Friday . . . Duggar Detergeant 1 gallon at a time

 Make your own Laundry Detergeant . . . 

Duggar Recipe 

( 1 gallon at a time instead of 10 Gallons)

This project was started out of sheer necessity. . . I ran out of detergent.. like not even a drop left in the container. . . . now seemed like as good a time as any to start making our own detergent.... after doing some research on recipes I realized that it's kind of CRAZY that it's taken me this long to do. 

Do you need some reasons to start making your own . . . .

Super Economical!!!! The initial cost to get started will be more ($10.00)  but once you get all of your supplies it costs about $2.00 per gallon to make. You use 1/4 cup per load; that gives you 64 loads of laundry per gallon, making each load costing only $.03. . . yes 3 cents! 

You know what's going into it , I like knowing what's in things.  After reading the label to our store bought detergent I was kind of shocked at some of it. 

Now I know what it is . . .  a lot less chemicals . . . both the borax and washing soda are great for sensitive skins . . .and depending on which type of laundry soap you use, you can cut out even more unnecessary chemicals 

You can customize the recipe to fit your family . . . have a rowdy bunch of sports playing boys . . . add 1/2 cup Oxy Clean to the Mixture . . . have someone with super sensitive skin, you can use Nels Naptha soap, or even super sensitive Ivory..... have a favorite scent, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the softener compartment and your clothes come out smelling fantastic!!! 

best yet, if you hate it . . . you've only made 1 gallon instead of 10 :o) But I am sure you'll love it!!!! 

Convinced ???? great lets get started 

You'll need 

 Borax (20 mule team, found it in K-Mart, Acme, ShopRite and Walmart in the Laundry Department) 

         Best price was Walmart $4.97 for 76 ounces 

Washing Soda (this was harder to track down, only Walmart had it in their laundry department) 

         Best and only price, Walmart for $3.47 for 55 ounces

((side note it has to be washing soda not baking soda))(((you can convert baking soda to washing soda, I tried but it didn't work after 3 hours of messing around with it, I gave up and headed to walmart where I was able to find the Washing Soda)))

1 Bar Laundry soap (I used Zote, many use Fels Naptha, Ivory) 

          All prices were about $1.50-$2.00 for 5-15 ounces (zote is 15oz Fels Naptha only 5.5oz)

Stainless steel grater or cut soap into itty bitty tiny pieces 

Funnel 

Gallon Container 

Big Stock Pot 

Recipe: 

4 Tablespoons Washing Soda

2 Tablespoons Borax

1/5 bar of soap

Water :o)

1. Cut soap into 5 equal parts . . . doesn't matter what kind of soap your using, you only need 1/5 the bar ... store the other 4/5ths in a sandwich bag for next time 

2. Grate/shred/dice the soap into tiny pieces. I don't have a grater so I diced it but a grater would make this go much more quickly. 

3. Start 4 cups water on medium low heat and add the diced/grated soap to the pot 

4. Stir continuously until all the soap is melted and dissolved

5. Remove from heat and add  in your Washing Soda and Borax

6. Stir until all the powder is dissolved.

7. Now fill your gallon container about 1/2 full with luke-warm water and using your funnel add your detergent to the gallon container. 

8. Top off the container with water and allow to sit over night. 

9. Your mixture will seperate (the soap will rise and water will sink)

 Just give it a good shake before each use. 

10. Use 1/4 cup per load (for front washer) 1/2 cup ( for top loading)

That's it . . . for about 30 minutes of time you've saved your self some major $$$$$ .... GOOD JOB!!!!

Adios Mis Amigos,

Make It Monday . . . Stovetop airfreshener

 Stove Top Air Freshener . . . .deliciousness in a pot

Have you ever walked into one of the home stores (pottery barn, william and sonoma) and just felt so relaxed and calmed by the smell of the store. Hmmm maybe it's just me. But I love the feeling of a fresh, yummy air freshener. Now that we are all settled into our home I've noticed it had a musty smell from sitting vacant for two months. Not bad, just like . . . stuffy. And kind of weird like band-aids (sorry if that grosses you out) but it's the closest smell I could come up with.

Even after putting baking soda bombs (two Tablespoons baking soda and 3 drops of lavender essential oil) in each room, It still was not fresh smelling.

So. . .. I hopped onto my new obsession (pinterest) and searched for DIY air fresheners. All of the ones I found required things I didn't have on hand . ..  so I started thinking what does "fresh" smell like to me. . . .

Citrus is fresh, clean, and invigorating and I happened to have some oranges and limes that were a day or two past their prime.... I cut them into wedges and got the stove bubbling... Added 4 cups of water . . . .deliciously fresh like fresh squeezed orange lime-aid.... but it needed something else . . . .Lavender is a longtime favorite and adds a sense of calm. . . So I dropped in 5 drops... realized it wasn't as strong as I liked ... So I added another 5 an VOILA . . ..

The result. . . exactly what I needed and now the house smells devine!!!!  I left it on the stove on a low simmer. .. . (my stove is old and required Medium) . . .DO NOT LEAVE IT ON unless you are near by monitoring . It also required adding more water throughout the day . . . .

I used the mixture for two days before I felt like I got my moneys worth and threw it all down the garbage disposal. . . .(really freshens up the disposal too... double bonus)


Some other recipes that I found online, but didn't have the ingredients.

Grandmom's Apple Pie
(love the smell of my grandmom's pie baking away)

• 2 cups water
• 1 apple, cut into pieces
• 2 tablespoons nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons cloves
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange peel

Do you have a favorite smell???

Extracts used for cooking and baking that smell as yummy as they taste! Here is a list of some of them: Almond, Banana, Cherry, Coconut, Maple, Rum, Strawberry and Vanilla.

• Fresh sliced Lemon, Lime or Orange or their dried peels
• Spices such as Allspice, Cinnamon Sticks, Cloves, Ginger and Nutmeg
• Combination One: 2 whole lemons, sliced, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Combination Two: 2 whole oranges, sliced, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 2 cinnamon sticks

Have you ever made your own air fresheners??? tell me !!




Adios Mis Amigos,