Stickin' it to the Man!

When talking about decluttering/organizing/simplifying one's life, one doesn't think about their finances. I strongly urge you to get your finances under control. I am not a big credit card spender, at all, and only use it for reasonable big purchases that I can pay off in a year or less.

Credit card companies are in the business to make money, and in that, they are not looking out for your best interests. I had a few credit cards that I had great fixed interest rates on, but because of the "financial crisis" the credit card companies decided to change their end of the deal and increase my rate to a "variable rate". This means if they want to charge you 50% in the future, by golly they can.

What really ticks me off is that I've been a responsible customer, paid everything off, and kept my end of the contract, so why can't they keep their end of theirs (the fixed low rate)?

Because its their money and they can make the rules. Honestly, I am not an ideal credit card customer. I pay off stuff before I get charged interest, and if I do get charged interest its not for a long time. They like the faithful minimum payment people who max out credit cards and spend friviously. So they could care less if they get my business. The reasoning behind why I spend the way I do, is that I am afraid of commitment. That is the same reason why I don't have any tattoos as well. Even cutting my hair too short is too big of a commitment for me. (Its a shocker that I am even married in the first place!) But really, is that purchase in the "now" worth paying off for the next several years? Whatever you choose to buy will go out of style within the next 6-12 months tops, so you are stuck paying interest and principle for an item that isn't even cool anyways.

I value my time and living my life within my own standards. I don't want to be a slave to a credit card, working nonstop trying to keep my head above water so I can have a new coach purse to impress my fair weather friends. I want my time spent with my loved ones, enjoying life and being happy. And being seriously in debt is not a "happy" place to be.

What sent me into this rant was researching home equity loans for some energy saving home repairs. Even now, trying to get a home equity loan is ridiculous. They are charging 10% fixed with a penalty for paying off your loans before 5 years (the lowest time frame). So, being that I am a stubborn person and refuse to be a slave to the credit card companies, I have decided to "thin out" my wallet. I closed all my credit card accounts and left one department card open because I get great deals from them anyways (and never charge more than what I can pay off in 1-2 months time).

Thank GOD I have no outstanding balances. It's liberating. I could not imagine what it would be like if I did have balances and had to pay their effed up interest rates.

So the whole point of this post is to say "Screw them, and their effed up interest rates". Close your accounts. Live within your means. And if you are surrounded by materialistic people who judge you on your clothes, car, etc, they are not worth being in your life. I am sorry, but I enjoy my freedom and refuse to be a voluntary slave to a credit card companies just because of the materialistic society we live in. Don't let the banks be your "pimp" any longer.

Maybe I used some harsh language in the paragraph above. But this is not a joking matter. They took our tax money for bailouts and turned around and raised our interest rates, charging penalties for early pay offs, and annual fees (amongst other charges). So they are finding creative ways to nickle and dime us. Well I am not playing their game anymore, and I hope all the other responsible people do the same.

We are their bread and butter. We are their customers and they need to cater to us. Maybe if enough of us say "We quit. We're not playing your stupid game anymore" that they will start giving us decent rates and quit taking advantage of us.

In the meantime, don't give them your business and practice delayed gratification.

My Dishwasher Woes: Problem Solved!

I had some problems with my dishwasher. The little cap for the compartment that stores the Jetdry solution melted. So my dishes were coming out covered in a film of dishwasher detergent solution (as the water from the wash would leak into the compartment). After going to the store I bought the dishwasher at years ago, I found it would be unlikely to get that part fixed. So I settled on just handwashing my dishes.

Well I came across a website called "Tipnut" that had recipes for homemade dishwasher soaps. Since I have well water, I figured that I would give the borax/washing soda recipe a try. Turns out it worked like a charm, except for the spots on the dishes. The spots (were barely noticeable, we had to hold the glass up to light to see them) are actually a whole lot better to deal with than a cloudy film of toxic chemicals that my traditional storebought dishwasher soap left behind. When I used the storebought stuff, I ended up washing my dishes 3 times....once before I put them in the dishwasher, once in the dishwasher, and then rinse them after they were in the dishwasher. That was just too much of an effort for me.

So the recipe I used was:

2 TBS of Borax
2 TBS of Washing Soda

Put them in your soap compartment and run your typical cycle.

To rid your dishes of spots, just put vinegar in the Jetdry compartment.

Since my cap is melted off, I am going to do this recipe, in which I won't need the jetdry compartment. Submitted by "MK Whittenburg" in the comments section of the Tipnut website page listed above.

1-55 oz. box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
1-76 oz box of 20 Mule Team Borax
1- 48 oz box of Kosher Salt
1-2 oz container of food grade Citric Acid (if you cannot find citric acid you can use 10-15 packets of unsweetened Kool-aid Lemonade as a substitute)

Store in an airtight plastic container.

I am excited about this for four reasons:

1. I don't have to replace my dishwasher.
2. I have a nontoxic soap replacement.
3. It's cheaper than the store bought stuff, and works better.
4. Since I start grad school in the fall, I won't have time to handwash all my dishes. Seems like I am handwashing dishes at least 3 times a day (if not more). I doubt I will have that kind of time when school starts again.

Good luck with the recipe, and the link I gave above has different recipes that you can try out. I suggest making them in small batches and see which one works for your water type. I have hard water so the borax/washing soda one worked well for me!

Update August 12, 2010:

After a while of using the borax/washing soda recipe, my dishes began getting a film on them. I added citric acid/kosher salt in the above recipe and it didn't seem to help either. So I went back to store bought brands. However, I decided to go with Seventh Generation dish soap, and added 1/4 cup borax/washing soda mix on the bottom of the dishwasher. Works like a charm. Seventh Generation is a tad bit more pricier than the other brands, but it is chlorine and phosphate free. Also adding the borax/washing soda mix helps stretch it out longer as well. I also tried another chlorine/phosphate free dishwashing detergent by EverydayLiving. It's actually cheaper than the name brand stuff and is safer for your family too. I add the 1/4 cup borax/washing soda mix when I tried that as well and it works fine. No need for harsh chemicals to have sparkling dishes. You can also use baking soda instead of washing soda in the mix.

Living the Simple Life

You know, I have been thinking a lot lately. I am considering simplifying my life. I mean, like a total overhaul. Okay, maybe not that far, but pretty darn close.

The thing is, the past few years I have been so busy with school, kids and household responsibilities, that I haven't had a chance to slow down and enjoy life. I am moving from one task to the next, and managing multiple tasks at once can be overwhelming.

Being so overwhelmed has stressed me out. Dealing with chronic stress has taken its toll on me. I am not as energetic as I use to be, my sleep pattern is messed up, and I am catching more colds and flus than I used to. I remember I would get the flu every couple of years or so. The past year it seemed like I was sick every couple of months. Those late nights of studying and cramming for tests have caught up with me.

So now its summer vacation and I am trying to reorganize my life. Start fresh, get a kick start on living a healthy life, destress and start a new routine before fall quarter begins.

So how am I going to do it? By decluttering my life!

Possessions/things: The less in your way, the better. When my husband and I first got married we had barely anything. Things have piled up in the past 8 years that I just need to get rid of. Now I wish for the days when I had less stuff. Cleaning was a lot simpler and I had more living space.

Spiritual: Lately my spiritual life has been set aside. I need to get back on track with my faith and integrate it in my life again. Seems like the stronger my faith is, the lower my stress levels are.

Relationships: These need "decluttered" too. Anyone who brings any type of negativity into your life needs to be dealt with. My biggest one are the gossipers. I cannot stand when people bad mouth others behind their backs. It stresses me out. They have a poor self esteem, are not happy in life, and feel they have to bad mouth people to feel better about themselves. Try to avoid it at all costs, because even as an innocent bystander, you wouldn't want someone entertaining that type of behavior about you.

Media: Yes, media can have an effect on you as well. Television, texting, radio, etc. Seems like when its present, you lose a sense of control over your thoughts. Since my television has been broken, I enjoy the peace and quiet that I have in my house. I can think about things I choose to think about, not about an ad that is telling me why I have to buy their product every 30 seconds. Not only that, but watching reality tv, I have noticed that people are setting aside their morals and starting to replicate the cut-throat drama (in reality tv) in the real world. Lying, backstabbing, and malicious behavior is occuring now more frequently and is the norm in many places. Maybe watching reality tv desensitizes people to that. I saw a preview on Mtv once for Real World where a man threw another man off the balcony in a rage, onto a concrete ground below. Seeing that stressed me out immensely, wondering what that person's family must feel seeing their loved one treated like that, and played over and over again on television. Texting is another issue I have. It is so time consuming and as an impatient person, I cannot express everything I feel in an jacked up alpha-numeric code. OK C U L8R. TTYS. <3 U I've been in arguments with my sister, who is a huge texter, and she'll have 3 pages of text sent before I even finish my first sentence. I am such a slow texter that even texting stresses me out!

Exercise: When dealing with chronic low grade stress, your body builds up hormones to deal with the stress. But long ago, our stress may have been from predatorial, territorial, or environmental causes. Which meant that people had to "flee" whatever threat they encountered. Well now we have a "sedentary" type of stress to deal with. When people stress over the next upcoming test or paper due, you can't really "flee" it. What your body needs is physical exercise to release those hormones, so they do not build up in your body and cause other health issues. So its important to work up a sweat everyday.


Food: Yes, food can pollute your life. Eating too much processed and junk food can make you sluggish and unhealthy. Food is fuel for your body... and what goes into your body can impact your health greatly in a positive or negative way. Now why wouldn't you want to use clean and efficient fuel for your body? I am pretty much eating a whole food diet, with as little processed food as possible. If its processed it has to be good choices, like high fiber bread, all natural tomato sauce, etc.

Emotions: Often times we can dwell on things that have happened in the past and harp on it for an eternity. But I think the whole idea of "forgiveness" can help the forgiver greater than it can for the person being forgiven. Negative thoughts and emotions can take over your life and become toxic to you and your health. Bitterness, self pity, unhappiness, jealousy, and greed are just some examples of the negative emotions that can take over your life. Obsessing over these emotions, events and everything is a waste of time. Why spend your youngest, active and most vibrant years in misery that you can avoid? Save it for the nursing home, where you have a good excuse to be miserable!! Just kidding! But really eventually people around you will get tired of it and will try to avoid being around you.

Sleep: Make sure you get at least 7 hours of solid sleep a night. Also, make sure your sleeping space is not too "busy" or cluttered. Meaning, keep the colors of your room in calming tones. Have less clutter in your room, keep it neat. Make sure there isn't a bunch of dust and the air is clean and fresh. If you use AC, it wouldn't hurt to open your windows to allow some fresh air in. Clean your bed linen at least once a week. A fresh clean room is always inviting for a good rest!

Nature: I love nature. There is something about being outdoors that is so relaxing for me. Fresh air, the smell of vegetation, and the sounds of the wild life is like therapy for me. If you live in a city like environment, it may not be easy to come by, so parks are your best bet for a natural setting. A side note, there is something about sitting around a bonfire that is relaxing and entertaining for us. I don't care who you are or where you come from, I am sure it will be relaxing for you as well. Round up some friends around a fire pit and enjoy some good old fashioned conversation and entertainment.

Well, that's it for now. I know I wrote a long post here, but I hope the info is useful and thank you for reading!

Ciao!

Homemade Cleaning Supplies

Well, I decided to throw out all my store bought cleaning supplies and will be making them from scratch at home. Why you ask? Because I am crazy. Actually, my mother-in-law introduced me to using homemade cleaning solutions with her "vinegar, dish soap and hot water" solution. This woman swears by it, not only that, but vinegar is her "solution" for every cleaning problem that exists. I've been using it for a while around the house and it is actually quite effective. Justin and I have allergies, and my allergy symptoms get worse when I use store bought cleaning products. I don't know if its the perfumes or chemicals, but I am just tired of being sensitive to my cleaning products and feeling like crap after I use them. Also, my two boys are always wanting to help me clean, but I refuse to let them handle the harmful chemicals. I want to encourage them to help me in my housecleaning efforts, but giving them spray bottles filled with harmful chemicals just seems like a disaster waiting to happen.

So I found this product that helps me get the job done, is safe, and I still get to have that "clean scent" after I use it (without the allergic reactions). What is it you ask?

Castile Liquid Soap. Actually named after the Spanish region it originated from, it is a soap made from plant sources.

I use Dr. Bronner's, but any kind will do for you. They come in a variety of scents, like almond, citrus orange, tea tree oil, eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender, and more. I use a spray bottle, and I mix 3 parts water and one part soap. Use it where you would use any kind of all purpose cleaner. I've already cleaned my whole house with it, and it worked out just fine. It didn't leave an over-powering artificial scent and it got the job done.

I also found a cool recipe for another all purpose cleaner. It is:

1 tsp of lemon juice

1 tsp of borax

1 tsp of baking soda

2 tsp of vinegar

1/2 tsp of mild soap (dish detergent, castile)

2 cups of hot water

You can use it straight from a bucket with a wash cloth, or you can store it in a spray bottle for continued use. I just recommend that you wait until the water cools down before you put it in a spray bottle. I have tested this one out and found it worked well too. If I find any other cool homemade house cleaning recipes I will be sure to pass them on to you.

Have fun in your future cleaning efforts!

Summer Cleaning

Okay... so people typically do the whole "spring cleaning" in the spring... Out with the old, in with the new. I like to do mine in the summer. Summer time is a great time to reorganize and declutter your life. Its a great time to have garage sales to make a little extra money for summertime fun (personally I prefer to donate my stuff to local charities). Plus, if you have your summers off, you can work at a slower pace and not have time constraints on getting things done.

Alot of times we have a hard time time letting go of things we just simply don't need. I used to be guilty of that. But I noticed the more I held on to, the more stuff I had to manage. With the busy life style I have, the less I can manage, the better. So, ask yourself, "Can this item benefit someone else instead of sitting in my closet collecting dust?" Or you can consider it "recycling" by donating or selling it in a garage sale. Plus, if you clear out all of the old stuff, you can have room for newer and updated things. Not only can you buy new things, but you can make more space for living. Less items to move or clean around, and less items to stub your toe on or get in your way.

Alot of times people think of organization in terms of possessions, or "things". But time also should be organized so that it is not wasted. One way that helps me to organize my time is to have a dry erase calendar board up in my kitchen. Second is my family planner (a binder with dayrunner pages in it) in my kitchen. Third, and most importantly is my Cozi online calendar.

My Cozi calendar is a must-have in my household. I am able to set up appointments for each member in the family, in which each person is color coded. I can also set up reminders, in which either text messages or emails are sent to the person I designate. This is a nifty tool when you have important appointments and sitters who need reminded. It does it automatically within the time frame you set up. It can be 30 minutes or a week in advance, and you don't have to worry about whether or not you have reminded someone of their appointments.

I've used it for over a year now and I sing its praises.

Now off to take my own advice..and finish decluttering!

Long time no see!

Sorry folks its been a while since I have last posted on here. I have been so busy with school and life I had little time for extracurricular activities (aka posting on this blog). Since last August I have lost 30 pounds and have gained a bachelor's degree. It was great to achieve both goals, but I hope to lose more weight and get my master's in less than two years.

I have not done anything special to lose weight, other than I made a promise to myself that I would reduce stress in my life. For me, stress makes me gain weight so easily. I eat more, I am too tired to work out, and I crave convenient foods which tend to be less than healthy. So, ways that helped me destress was to make adequate sleep a priority, stay organized, and to not "do it all." Also, even though I occassionally worked out, I did make healthier choices and controlled my portions and such. I don't like counting, measuring or keeping track of things, because its too time consuming. I try to take a natural approach to eating by listening to my body's cues and to stop eating after I am full. I want to have a healthy relationship with food, and to enjoy it while not obsessing over it.

Since its been nice out I have been walking more. I like to take in the fresh air and to process my thoughts while walking. Its my "me" time. I like to be alone sometimes and to just think and reflect. I hope to get back into running long distances again, but I don't want to put too much stress on my joints to I am easing my way back into it.

That's pretty much it for now. Later on I will post some nifty ideas that will help make moms' lives out there just a little easier.

Psst....I'll let you in on a little secret....

Just thought I would fill you in on a little secret....Cacao Mint Black Tea by Teavana. Wow, if you are a tea lover like I am, and have a chocolate craving you just can't satisfy...this is the tea for you. It has a TRUE chocolate flavor with an equally powerful yet satisfying mint flavor to match. Just mix in some milk, sugar, and a square of milk chocolate....and voila! Instant chocolate mint magic that tastes better than chocolate mint icecream...without the calories!! Yum...You can't beat that!!

Also, its a looseleaf tea, so you better have a diffuser or you will be sipping on tea leaf chunks...

But, there is a downside....I know, it is too good to be true...

Well, its pretty expensive. $6.80 for 2 oz. I purchased it at the Easton Town Center Mall in Columbus, Ohio, and the sales lady tried to compare it to a cup of Starbucks...but come on lady...at least Starbucks makes it for me, and hands it to me through my car window!! I have to do all this myself and still pay the Starbucks price!!!

But, if you want to feel like a special lady, and let yourself have a little splurge here and there, well this is the treat for you...

Cin Cin, and enjoy!!