Bye bye dryer sheets

The ONLY reason I ever really used dryer sheets was to keep my clothes from being all "staticky."  I seem to have a sensitivity to scents so I usually have a headache if I wear clothes that smell too much like commerical detergents or dryer sheets.  Most of both are scented to mask the odors the deteregents aren't able to clean.  If I had it my way I'd line dry my clothes but the HOA doesn't agree.  With that being said, I was not hesitant in the least to quit using dryer sheets when I found a solution to the static.

Another simple one.  And why not start small?  I recently found a woman, named Lindsay, whose blog I find inspiring.  Her family lives their life as I'd like my family to live ours - frugal, healthy, naturally and most importantly, faithfully. 

Here's the solution I found to throw the dryer sheets away:

• A tablespoon or 2 of white vinegar (no worries, your clothes will not smell like vinegar)

Add this to the softener dispenser of your washing machine at the start of your wash.  If you'd like your clothes to smell nice and pretty you can throw a towel/washcloth in the dryer that has a few drops of essential oil on it.

Our review:  2 thumbs up from me.  John is satisfied with the lack of static but he really wants his clothes to "smell clean."  I'll advise him of the essential oil next time he does laundry (and yes, he does his own laundry).

On we go!

I've decided that I really want our family to live simpler lives. I really believe that God didn't intend for us to stress so much over how much products cost, to worry about where our food came from and what is in it or put so many things into/onto our bodies that aren't natural. I do understand that this process isn't going to be so 'simple' at first and I'm going to have to remind myself that I need to take it one task at a time and that I may have to modify each task for it to fit our lives.

Once I get a better hang of this blogging thing, I will most definitely add links to where I am getting this information and/or recipes so credit can be given.

With that being said I have already simplfied our lives by removing all air freshener sprays from our home. If you read the labels on some of the produts out there you may see that they are banned in CA due to causing cancer (not to mention all the chemicals that they contain). Scary, scary, scary.  There are so many ways to get rid of odors; open a window, get rid of the source, buy some plants, etc. but if you need a quick fix here's how.

This is a "simple" one to do, these are the ingredients I used and this is where I found how. Are you ready for it????

• One cup of distilled water
• Roughly 5 drops of lavendar oil (any essential, antiseptic oil will do)

Wah-lah! That's it. You can put this in any spray bottle but since it's on display in the bathroom I put mine in small, glass, blue spray bottles that I found at a garage sale. I'd say that this cost me roughly less than $1.50 to make a bottle for both bathrooms.

Our review: This is great. Not only is this incredibly inexpensive but I don't have to worry about the kiddos ingesting all those chemicals in the store bought sprays. I really like the way it smells and it seems to have gotten the okay from the hubby.