In honor of Earth Month I have been trying to go more natural.  As you have seen from my previous post I've made my own homemade laundry detergent. 

I have been searching and searching for a really good shampoo alternative.  I have relatively thin hair and I find that by the end of winter my ends look like a frayed mess.  I've tried several different shampoos and conditioners that work for a little while and soon I'm back to the same old problem.  Searching the inter net I found several post called No-Poo, meaning no shampoo.  Well I thought that could be interesting.  This method calls for using baking soda and water.  That's it!  Wow that's pretty simple.  I figured I could handle that.  So a week and a half ago I tried it for the 1st time.  WOW, I am amazed.  Not nly was my hair clean but I was able to comb through it with no conditioner. It was soft and I found that I had less hair loss during the washing/conditioning process.  I have continued to use this method 3 times a week, with rinses only in between.  I'm going to give it at least a good month.

The thing about shampoos is they are made to strip all the natural oil from your hair.  This is bad because your body produces those oils for a reason.  So if you take all the oils out, you could end up with overly dry hair or hair that is too oily because your body will over produce oil to compensate.

So far I have been happy with the results. However, my cousin tried this method and she didn't like it.  She said her hair she said her hair seemed oily.  I have read that this can happen. Give it a little time for your body to re-adjust itself.  I say give it at least two weeks minimum.

In honor of Earth Month, I want to share my homemade laundry detergent recipe with you.  I use 3 simple ingredients and my clothes have never been cleaner, softer and fresh.  After looking at the ingredients of most of the store brands, I've decided that my family is much better off with this simple eco-friendly recipe. Here are the 3 things I use.

• No suds, so safe for top, front and High Efficiency washers
• Safe for delicate items
• Safe for sensitive skin (I have sensitive skin, eczema, and if works great)
• Great price..if you buy 6 bars of soap and 1 box of borax and 1 box of washing soap you can make enough soap for 365 loads of wash.  One wash a day for approx. $15.00 depending on where you get the ingredients. 

Since I loved my round knitting looms so much, I figured I'd invest in the long loom set.  I contemplated between the Boye set and the new Martha Stewart loom set that just came out.  After a bit of research I decided to go with the Martha Stewart set. It was $39.99 at Michael's.  I bought it with a 50% off coupon. Here is a picture of everything that comes in the set.

When I was younger I my Aunt taught me how to crochet.  I haven't done it in years. I had heard and seen knitting looms and thought it would be interesting to try them.  So I bought the Boye round loom set.  They were $16 at Michael's and I used a 40% off coupon.  Yarn was also on sale so I bought two skeins of yarn.  Total investment less than $15.

My work, AAA Milwaukee, this year has come up with a community ambassador project that anyone can participate in. We are going to be collecting hats, scarves, booties and plush stuffed animals for cancer patients. I bet that if you ask anyone, they can think of someone who has been affected by cancer. We are going to donate these items to our local area hospitals where cancer patients will be able to pick out an item of their choice. If you would like to participate we are looking for items for all ages and both male and female. Items must be new if bought, please keep the tag on when you send it. Also we welcome handmade items. In both cases, new and handmade, try to choose soft materials, no wool please. We will be collecting items all year. Spread the word and tell your friends. Items can be sent to AAA Wisconsin, 4433 S. 27th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53221. Attn: Caps for Cancer. We appreciate anything you can donate. I will be making some hats myself and welcome any left over yarn you may have have.

Update:  I am so proud of my co-workers and the community I live and work in.  At years end we were able to donate over 768 items to our local cancer center.  The hospital has been so appreciative of our donations.  Everytime we dropped off a box they were so excited because they said they were almost out.  I think there is a bit of a misconception that people think these cancer centers get this kind of stuff all the time when if fact they never have enough.  My workplace has decided to continue to collect itmes this year as well.  Every little bit we can give helps.  Thank you again to everyone who has sent donations. 

I've been very busy making these earrings.  I'm going to be participating in a art/craft fair at my local botanical gardens in December and need to get some inventory up for that show.  I've been very pleased with the results.  One can actually produced 6 completely different looking earrings.  Plus its they are fun to make.