I Guess I'll Clean the Laundry Room-Week 5 ish

Ok, so I've been behind on everything because of Science Fair, which is over again. And again, it went amazingly well despite all of my stress.

But, with my little one on her way, I've started really working to get stuff cleaned up. I cleaned out the hall closet and my makeup bag again. I'm not that worried about the craft supplies because I just did it this past summer and I don't buy much anymore. The soap room will get done, but it isn't a top priority because I just did that in July too. The garage is on the list, but my plan is to have a garage sale and just pull stuff out starting that morning, then go through stuff after that. {I once learned that even if it isn't a garage sale, if you pull stuff out of your garage to clean, people stop to shop, so why not!} The upstairs is desperate, but I'm waiting on my ex to get stuff packed up and moved out, so I'm being patient.

However, there is one room I really had no plan for. In fact, I have been avoiding it like the plague! The laundry room...dun, dun, duuuuun. This is our catch all room. If it needs to be put away or moved, it goes in there. I hate it. But, I also didn't want to clean it.

That was until our plumbing backed up last Sunday. Oh yeah, coming out of the downstairs shower drain and the hot water heater drain. Luckily, the shower is sunk into the ground, so that was contained. However, the laundry room flooded (and leaked under the wall to soak the carpet on the other side). So, we moved everything out of the laundry room, pulled furniture away from the wall, and set stuff out to dry if needed. Plumbing got fixed and the laundry room got cleaned up. Now, my choice was to shove everything back in and ignore the problem some more or clean up.

I cleaned up. I put the laundry stuff back (for obvious reasons). I also put our fans and coolers back because that is the logical place to store them until we need them in the summer. I put the vacuum back because it goes there too. That's it! I went through all of the boxes and cleaning stuff on the shelves and organized everything. I didn't have anything to get rid of there though. Amazing! However, I did have lots of boxes in the living room to go through. I went through and got everything that is going to a new home packed up. My things that need to go out to the garage for sale or storage (I don't know what to do with the PlayStation) are boxed up and waiting to be carried out. Plus, I have a box for drop off at the electronics recycling place.

My laundry room looks awesome! You can walk in without tripping over anything. You can get to the tools and cleaning stuff without stubbing a toe. I'm just so excited. I really think this should count for two weeks. Anyone with me?

Has your Spring Cleaning started yet?

Crazy Week

We all have those weeks when we are so busy, we don't even realize just how crazy it actually is. Yeah, that was last week for me.

Saturday was going to be pretty low key because Hayden was with his dad. I went up to school to get a few things done. Then, I came home did a quick inventory of everything I needed to order and got my orders placed. I went back to make some soap and guess what! My scale quit on me. My trusty scale served me well for many years, but it was done. Luckily, it decided it was done when I was measuring out water, so nothing major was lost! So, I came back up to order a new one. From there, the plan was to get some cleaning and organizing done. The only thing that got finished was...all the photos from my computer transferred to my new one! Needed to be done, but not was I was hoping for.

Sunday, the weather was bad, so Hayden and I hung out inside. Cleaning, playing, and grading. Not bad right.

Then, Monday hit. Science Fair boards were due on Monday because of our snow day last week and I stayed late for those finishing up. It was insane! I think everyone was having a last minute panic attack trying to get one last letter or something added to their boards. Then, I talked my brother into taking care of Hayden and I went back up to school to grade boards. I was there until a little after 9, but they got graded and I was able to give the students feedback on Tuesday!

Tuesday, I helped the kids practice their presentations, plus I was trying to get a few last minute judges and get everything ready, so everyone knew what to do Friday morning AND I was still trying to keep up with the usual teachery things I have to do. Tuesday night meant more grading, but I also put together all the Excel spreadsheets I would need Friday.

Wednesday was when it really started getting crazy. I actually started going to each student to grade how they were presenting! I had more judges start rolling in (woo hoo!), so I had to get emails out to all of them about what to expect and when to be at school. It doesn't seem like much, but my brain was rattling when I left for home. That night, I got the schedule done! That was huge, last year I did the schedule the night before and it took forever.

Thursday, more of the same for grading, but students were starting to get nervous, so a lot of them had questions about what to say, do, or not say. I didn't get near enough graded (guess what I'm doing on Monday)! Plus, I had about 15 more judges volunteer! So much for my schedule :) Thursday night, I got together with two of the other teachers again and we got busy with last minute details. Setting up the gym with tables and numbering the tables. I fixed the schedule, so we start inputting data for judging sheets, printing and organizing judging sheets, and getting all the sheets attached to clipboards. We got everything set out and ready for the next morning. Computers were ready to go to the gym for scoring, the projector was set up and ready for my presentation, and we were exhausted because it was midnight!

Friday morning, I woke up early to get ready. Tried getting Hayden ready early (ha ha) and then went to the store to get stuff for coffee. I had intended to be at school and working by 7; instead, it was 7:30. Luckily, I work with amazing teachers, so they helped me get all the last minute things taken care of and I was actually ready to start at 8 like I'm supposed to. I had 5 judges that didn't show up, but I had scheduled alternates this year! We were all down in the gym to start on time, I had parent volunteers to help be runners and answer questions, I had people to total scores and enter them, and I had a great sound system so everyone could hear me! Once Science Fair actually started, I really had very little to do, which felt weird and wrong. It went so smoothly and the kids did such a great job.

I know I complain about it every year and I dread putting it together, but I can honestly say, in the end, everything was worth it. I could not be more proud of my kiddos for the work they did!

Friday night...I crashed :)

I've Been Missing...

I know I last week was a slow week. To be honest, next week and the week after will probably be slow as well. Science Fair is March 1st! I am crazy, crazy right now trying to get everything graded, planned, put together, and whatever else I am forgetting. Plus, I still have to keep up with my other mothering, business ownering, and teachering duties. I figured if I was going to fall behind on anything, this would be the best one to let slip for a bit. I promise it won't be permanent or long.

Thank you for you understanding.

Cleaning Out the Closet-Week 4

Last weekend was a little too hectic and involved a very needy toddler. So, I didn't get any major cleaning project done. I did get the house cleaned, he loves helping with dishes and pushing the button on the Swiffer, so as long as it could involved him, it was great. Unfortunately, really deep cleaning something should not involved a toddler.

One of the projects I've needed to do was to rearrange the closets in my room. There is a lot up in the air right now as far as the living situation. My lease is up in June and I don't know if I will stay, move, or maybe buy. I do know that as the house is currently arranged, baby girl will not have her own room in April. That's really okay because I was planning on putting her bassinet next to the bed for a couple of months anyway! However, there isn't enough room for a changing table.

So, what I wanted to do was put a changing table and all the things I'd need for her (except clothes) in one of the closets and since I now have two, it works out. However, the best closet for this plan was my closet because there is an outlet for a small lamp. I cleared everything that was still in the spare closet out!

Before organizing, pull everything out!

Then, I started going through stuff in the other closet. I had quite a few clothes on the side shelves, so I pulled those out and I pulled everything I can't currently wear off the hangers. I went through all the clothes, pants and skirts first, anything that did fit (or almost fit) before I got pregnant was neatly folded and placed on the bottom shelf in the closet. Anything else went into a pile for garage sale. Then, I did the same with shirts and put them on the middle shelf. Last, I went through my long-sleeve shirts and sweaters and put those on the top shelf. It will be a while before I don't need them, so I left them in the closet.

Next, I moved the plastic storage/drawer thingy over, but I didn't go through that because I did that during my declutter mission. Since I haven't bought new clothes (pregnancy, what's the point) since and I've been good about throwing out holey socks, there wasn't a reason too. Last, I pulled out all of the shoes from my closet and separated into three piles: "will wear once swelling in feet goes down/can currently wear" {place neatly in the new closet}, "don't fit since the first pregnancy, but are in great shape" {place in garage sale pile}, and "don't make Goodwill throw them out for you" {place in trash}.

I even went through the things on the upper shelves and reorganized all of that to be neat. Now, I have one very organized closet with just the things I need and one {almost} empty closet that has only baby things!

Yes, I have very few clothes that currently fit, though some are in the laundry!

I am also checking off clearing out the bedroom dressers because I cleaned out Hayden's and my own over Christmas break. So, when I opened them to look, there really wasn't anything to do!

I'm finding breaking this up into small projects is making me feel accomplished, yet not overwhelmed. Do you have tips that help you get a lot done in a small amount of time?

Soap Packaging Revisited

Is there a soap maker out there that hasn't gone back and forth about soap packaging? If so, please explain how you made this decision and was it easy?

For me, this has been the hardest part of soapmaking!

Here is my original packaging:

The cigar bands were easy, cheap, and created minimal packaging. Plus, the consumer could smell AND see the soaps before buying. However, they didn't protect the soaps well and I had problems with them slipping off or getting torn with moving them so much.

Next I tried shrink wrap bags:

The label was printed on cardstock, cut, then placed on the soap before it was shrink wrapped. The wrap is still cheap. The soaps were very protected and you could see what they looked like. But, you couldn't smell the soap and the shrink wrap was hard to get off. Plus, the bags were too large. So, you could get the end and have one end open (I'll tell you this didn't always work out so well if you weren't careful cutting) or tape the end down before shrinking (this didn't look great).

I've recently found soap bands for shrink wrap. They are open on both ends and already sized for most soaps, so you just center your soap and shrink wrap. They also have a perforated tab for easy opening. It also sounds like it is easy to make them smaller for smaller bars. So, that would solve the size problem, smelling problem, and the hard-to-get-open problem.

I decided to try using paper wrapping and really pretty paper bands:

I printed a label and stuck it to the paper. I won't lie, I LOVE the way these look. I used different handmade papers for different scents and simple colored paper underneath. The soaps are protected and you can smell them through the paper. It is also nice because I can make it fit any bar. But, I have to leave on unwrapped for people to see. Plus, the cutting and wrapping is a little labor intensive. With the number of bands I can get out of a sheet of handmade paper, it isn't too much more than shrink wrap, but then you add your time to that! Plus, buying different sheets of handmade paper for the soaps and making sure I don't run out is harder to keep up with.

 Last option, soap boxes (never tried):

Pic from Elements Bath & Body

I've thought about boxes, but they are the more expensive option. On the plus side, your soap is well protected. It is easy to remove the soap to see and smell, but easy to put back as well. They are really easy to pop open, stuff your soap in and slap a label on. They are most commonly sold as white or kraft color and come with a variety of cut-outs. I even found a site that does colored boxes (expensive unless ordering A LOT!). My biggest concern with this option has been the cost and the fact that it would only be one size, so I'd have to figure out something else for smaller bars. However, the time I'd save compared to wrapping in paper may be worth it! I could also offer the option for no box online to save people money or maybe do a box recycling program (I haven't thought that one through much).

So, what do you think? I'm looking for an attractive, easy, cost-effective, consumer-friendly method for packaging my soaps. My options are shrink wrap bands (cheap, quick, see-through, multi-sizes), paper (BEAUTIFUL, labor-intensive, not too expensive, not see through, mulit-sizes), or boxes (more costly, quick, easy open, one-size).

Which option would you like to see or think would be the best for me?

Scented Laundry Booster

I quit using fabric softener or scented detergent a while back. The fabric softener was originally an economic decision. A cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle left my clothes just as soft and static free and cost a heck of a lot less. However, I quit using scented detergent because my skin was just giving me too many problems. It was one of the first steps I took towards my soapmaking adventure! My skin is great, but I just never went back.

I won't lie though, I have missed having clothes that come out of the dryer smelling delicious. I tried a few tricks with putting drops of essential oils on a wash cloth in the dryer, but I wasn't impressed.

I have also been adding a laundry booster to my washes for a while. I made a jar of baking soda and borax and I've been adding that to the laundry. I've seen the DIY laundry soaps and even made my own for a while. However, I've found that toddler clothes and baby diapers needed a little more cleaning power! I mean, you should see the messes that kid can make. If you have your own, you know what I mean.

The last time I was ordering supplies {I promise this all comes together with a purpose} I found a section of odor neutralizing fragrance oils. That piqued my interest, so I headed over to check it out. I found a few that sounded okay, but the orange guava just sounded so wonderful that I had to get it. It was totally worth it too! I love the way it smells. I made it into some tarts for myself :)

{This is where is all comes together} As I was doing a load of laundry, I had an epiphany! I could add that wonderful fragrance to my laundry booster...so I put the load I was starting on hold and ran up stairs to do just that. It definitely made my laundry room smell good, but it didn't really make the clothes smell. Or so I thought! After putting away the clean laundry, I opened my closet and caught the light scent of orange and guava. It doesn't leave my clothes smelling strongly of the fragrance like a fabric softener does, but there is a lingering hint that freshens my closet and the linen closet.

This has opened up so many possibilities! I could do this with any fragrance or essential oil that I want to. It so cheap to make the laundry booster itself, that I could make multiple jars (I keep mine in mason jars) and scent them all differently!

To make it, all I did was fill a jar half full of baking soda, added the fragrance (I did about 5% fo), then added the borax, put the lid on and shook the heck out of it! It probably would have made more sense to put it in a bowl and whisk it together to get rid of clumps, but the shaking was effective, if inefficient!

Do you have any fun ways to add scents to your home?

CP/MP (Magma) Soap

I have been playing with the idea of incorporating MP soap into my cold process soap. I've seen some cute ideas using embedded shapes and such. I also found a tutorial on the Soap Queen blog about magma soap.

In magma soap, you don't create shaped embeds made from MP soap, but you pour it in the soap with your CP soap, just like you would for normal CP swirls. Hmmm...sounds interesting!

I decided to give this a try with a Valentine's Day inspired soap. {Side note: I love making holiday soaps because I can experiment with whatever I want and people know they won't be back until next year. Usually, they don't even mind if it isn't the same soap next year! Now, back to the point...} I love making soap using pinks and reds. There is something about those colors that I just adore. I will probably never decorate my house with them, but I love them anyway. Well, this year, I decided to throw in a little purple too!

The fragrance I chose has a higher vanilin content, so it will discolor. I used a color stablilizer (actually made for MP, but it usually works well enough in CP) to keep it from turning brown. I used clear MP soap colored with a pink mica that looked so lovely that I thought of another project from it. I separated my CP soap into 4 containers; one I left uncolored (I probably should have added titanium dioxide to make it white, but I didn't), one was red oxide, another fired up fuchsia, and last was violet ultramarine with a little blue added (all from BB!).

I poured the white in first. I poured it in lines lengthwise down the mold. Then, I did each of the CP colors and the MP pink came last. I repeated with the rest of the white, red, and MP, but I didn't use all of the pink or violet. I tried doing a quick swirl like the tutorial, but I think I just drug huge chunks of MP around (oops, I took too long). Then, I used the left over pink and violet to do widthwise lines along the mold. I used a skewer to swirl just that very top layer, which was really easy because the MP had cooled, making it impossible for the skewer to go through that :) I added little MP hearts I had made using white soap and red oxide. I put the whole thing in the fridge. Since it has MP soap in it, the high temps during the gel phase would probably not work in my favor!

Here are the finished bars. You can see that my hearts on the top didn't quite work out right. I should have figured out a way to get them to stand up or lined up with my cut lines. I have also decided that I should not have tried to drag a skewer through to swirl it, I'm pretty sure it would have looked better. My pink and violet are not as vibrant as they were, but that could be due to the fact that the soap didn't gel OR the fo contains vanilla and will be changing my colors over time. Overall, I'm happy though!

These are already up on the website, but they won't ship until February 6th.