Love, Peace and Cleaning Hair Grease (organically!)

February may be the second month in our calendar but it marked a lot of firsts for me this year:

I finally was able to go sans wig! I have been told I look a bit like Jamie Lee Curtis (not bad, but showing my age I guess.) I was once even stopped by a complete stranger who wanted to know who my stylist was, because she just loved my hair. I laughed and said it is just growing back. Undaunted by my response she continued telling me how she was looking for a new person because…finally I said softly as not to embarrass her in the dollar section of Target that I had chemo, and this was the growth so far. She gasps then stops and says but you look so healthy. I thought later I would never recommend my stylist.

I started going back to the office (only three days a week.) I almost feel like a grown-up again!

I went on a date with my hubby to a winery. It was our first date since my mastectomy. I loved it, he hates wine (but loves me tipsy!)

I had a girl’s-night out for the first time in I can’t remember when.

I finished radiation! Yippee!

I met with my lawyer to start the legal process to set-up my non-profit foundation! I will have more on that by the next blog.

Another interesting first time was meeting some ladies (3 to be exact) going through the same crap. We were all around the same age with slightly different scenarios and at different stages. We shared, we laughed, we brunched and I realized since being diagnosed with cancer I had never tried to find anyone with a similar journey. It was in its own sense, healing.

And this is the first time I almost let a month slip past me for my blog. For a short month, my February has been quite full.

Now to confide some tips on going organic over the next few months. For February I thought I would start with cleaning products.

I am mindful of my budget so some of what I suggest is costly in the beginning but the products I use can be stretched and end up being cheaper and of course healthier. I am not paid for my endorsement of these products (I wish!) It is just what I have found that works best for our household.

The best stuff is Dr. Bronner’s Magic Pure-Castile Soap. It cast about $6-8 for a 16oz. bottle. Exhale your gasps…this size bottle will last me for about eight months. Here is how I break it down:

I take about 20 drops (around 2tsp I guess) and put in a 20oz spray bottle and fill the rest with water. I have one of these bottles for the kitchen and one for the bathrooms. What do I use it for? The question is: What don’t I use it for?

Floors: I have hardwood floors and I just spray the stuff on the floor (note: I dilute it a bit more when moping because it can get foamy.) I still use my wet-jet. I only employ the removable pads the refill-bottle part and batteries have been removed. Granted this may not be very “green” of me but as a mother of three small kids and a timeline this is the simplest for me right now.

Kitchen: I keep the 20oz. dilution mentioned earlier on hand for the counter tops (mine are Corian and it works great) if you have something like granite you may want to check before using it. But I use the Seventh Generation brand of dish-washing detergent and dishwasher detergent. I try to buy these in bigger sizes at markets where they buy in larger quantities and it is not so expensive. I have to replace them about every 4 to 5 months.

Clothes: I spray it on stains in the laundry and have used a few drops in the washer (mostly for fragrance) because the ECOS laundry detergent I prefer is wonderful (and reasonably priced) but scentless. I add Borax for extra boost sometimes and white distilled vinegar for odor (mostly for sheets that my 21-month-old marks his territory on.)

Hand Soap: Now this endeavor is a bit more expensive up-front, but once you have done it the eureka factor kicks in. My small kids love playing with the pump bottle at the sink. This is great in encouraging them to wash their hands but really hurt my wallet when they empty a container in 2 days (or in two hours of barbie-hair washing!) I bought the dispensers that pump out the foamy bubbles. Buying them with the organic soap was the expensive part. But I keep the bottles and put around 10 drops of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Pure-Castile Soap and filled the rest with water, shake well and lasts for quite a while (if you make sure Barbie finds another salon.) It still gives me that foamy cleaner at a fraction of the cost. Sometimes I have to play with the amount according to the size of the dispenser. I like the Clean Well brand pump dispensers but have found the 365 brand at a better price.

Shampoo/Conditioner: I use Nature’s Gate. I try to buy the larger bottles and use sparingly. Of course, I personally have not had to use it since September 2010. Now, it is nice to only have to use a pea-size amount on my elfin locks.

Body Soap: I make our own bars now. I have opaque glycerin blocks (which keeps for awhile, it just turns a yellowish color but works well all the same.) The blocks can be found in craft stores or bought in bulk online. I got mine from sweetcakes.com, 40lbs is $110. I suggest finding someone who may want to split the case with you.

Oddly, soap-making was introduced to me in college by a wonderful friend. She wanted to try it as a group effort to make more personal Christmas presents and save us some money. I carried this on for many holidays, becoming more adventurous and creative in their appearance and textures. I would run across the recipes for more utile proposes but never tired them on a regular basis until…about a year ago.

I like to use a woodsmen soap because I live in the south and near the ocean (both of which attract a wide variety of bugs and tourists.) But I use this recipe to keep the bugs away not the tourists. I take about half a block of the glycerin that is sectioned in 1” x 1” cubes, I just cut it up in smaller parts so it will melt faster in the sauce pot. I melt it over a low to medium heat, stirring gently. After it is melted I add 5 drops the following essential oils: lavender, citronella, lemon, cedarwood and camphor. I bought my oils at www.essentialoil.com. Now the oils can be pricey but this one of the things that will hurt to buy in the beginning but will last for quite awhile. I bought mine a few years ago so the oils have a good shelf life.

Bathrooms: I put a bit more of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Pure-Castile Soap in these 20-oz. spray bottles. And I don’t measure any of this to a science but I estimate about 2 Tbsps and fill the rest with water. I spray in on the surfaces and let stand a couple of minutes (or however long in takes for me to make my rounds to all the bathrooms for their coatings of my mixture.) Then I wipe down with a rag. For the toilets, I sometimes squeeze directly from Dr. Bronner’s Magic Pure-Castile Soap bottle around the inner rim and let it sit.

And since we are in the bathroom…I recently found a replacement for the one thing I had removed and had not been able to replace in my kids life until I ran across this recipe for BUBBLE BATH! I read it in Parents magazine so I will give you exact measurements on this one.

• 4 cups distilled water

• 4 oz. liquid lavender castile soap (They give the web site for Dr. Bronner’s Magic Pure-Castile Soap at drbronner.com but I buy the stuff at Lowe’s Foods or Whole Foods. And use your preferred flavor, Dr. Bonners has good selection.)

• 4oz. vegetable glycerin (their suggestion is to use Nature’s Answer Pure Vegetable Glycerin, $6; vitacost.com)

• 10 drops of neroli essential oil (which I had to look up because I had no clue what it was.) It is orange blossom oil and it cost $15.95 for 1 gram at www.essentialoil.com. But I think it is apart of the composition for fragrance not necessity.

• Mix the water and castile soap. Then add the glycerin and the drops. Put it all into a bottle (glass would be best), add 1 cup to your bath.

I have not indulged in the recipe yet so if anyone out there tries it out before me, please, give me some feedback.

I will note my preferences on the Dr. Bonner’s varieties: for the bathrooms I like the Citrus Orange. It freshens without overwhelming since I use a stronger dilution for the bathroom cleaning. I use Peppermint for the kitchen and hardwood floors because I adore the smell. The Peppermint is refreshing and breathing it in makes feel like it opens my sinuses. I have tired the Tea tree oil which is minty-piney (I may try it instead of the lavender in the bubble bath because Tea tree oil is great for the skin.)

I hope my suggestions work for you. I can answer questions and would welcome other tips. Until next blog, may you have lots of love and astounding peace and enjoy an organic way to get rid of hair grease (or cleaning any other areas in need a good washing.)