Going Natural

    Over the past couple weeks I have been researching natural, non-chemical substances to replace my cleaning supplies, shampoo, hand soap, dish soap, toothpaste, ect.. After hours of scouring the internet for natural ways to replace these everyday products I came upon Dr. Bronners 18-in-one liquid castile soap. Most of the review I found for this product were great and I found lots of wonderful ways to use it.
    Having tried the product in the shower once before (and loving it), I decided to go all in and buy the gallon jug of the stuff off amazon. I must add that I searched everywhere for a place I could just walk to and buy it at a decent price, but alas I had order it....and wait for it. You are probably thinking that I have some serious issues if I can't wait for soap, and I probably do. It was like waiting for Christmas! I asked Steven everyday if it had arrived in the mail yet and when it finally had I ran to it and grabbed it up in a loving embrace. Ok, I've said too much.
    Upon receiving this wonderful soap I began dumping all of my chemical ridden soaps down the drain. Here are some of the ways I have used the soap already (btw I bought the peppermint soap):

Hand Soap: Fill half of your soap container with water and half with Dr. Bronner's soap.

Shampoo: I chose to use a spray bottle because a little of this stuff goes a long way. Use 10 parts water to 1 part Dr. Bronner's soap.

Body Wash: I just use the same spray bottle that I use for shampoo. See above.

Tooth Paste: When I first told Steven that we could use it to brush our teeth, his response was a crinkled up nose. He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the idea of brushing his teeth with the same substance he just washed his hair with. When I brush my teeth I brush with baking soda first and then squirt a dab of Dr. Bronner's soap out of the hand soap container and onto my tooth brush. It isn't sweet like normal toothpaste, but it has a pleasant peppermint taste to it.

Dish Soap: It's great for washing dishes too! The measurements are the same as the hand soap. Half water, half soap.

Cleaning Spray: I just cleaned the house with it yesterday and it was a wonderful experience. I love cleaning, but I usually have a small little voice in the back of my mind telling me I am slowly killing myself with all the chemicals. But I am happy to report that I had a guilt free cleaning experience yesterday, and not only that but it smells wonderful and cleans great. The measurements are the same as the shampoo. 10 parts water, 1 part soap.

Deodorant:  My most recent discovery was natural homemade deodorant. I fount this recipe online, but modified it slightly to include Dr. Bronners soap. My modifications:

Ingredients:
5 tbs coconut oil
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn starch
1 tbs Dr. Bronner's soap

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Pour the mixture into old deodorant containers. Store in the fridge (Otherwise it will melt).

    Seriously, if you are tired of chemicals or you want an opportunity to be as excited as me...Go. Buy. This. Stuff. Have a happy Saturday everyone!