Hydrogen Peroxide

I love cleaning with vinegar or hydrogen peroxide. H2O2 is great for so many things including getting rid of armpit stains on shirts (pretreat before washing).

I found a great list of more uses from naturalsafeweightloss. Enjoy!

Wash vegetables and fruits with hydrogen peroxide to remove dirt and pesticides. Add 1/4 cup of H2O2 to a sink of cold water. After washing, rinse thoroughly with cool water.

In the dishwasher, add 2 oz. to your regular detergent for a sanitizing boost. Also, beef up your regular dish soap by adding roughly 2 ounces of 3% H2O2 to the bottle.

Use hydrogen peroxide as a mouthwash to freshen breath. It kills the bacteria that causes halitosis. Use a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water.

Use baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to make a paste for brushing teeth. Helps with early stages of gingivitis as it kills bacteria. Mixed with salt and baking soda, hydrogen peroxide works as a whitening toothpaste.

Soak your toothbrush in hydrogen peroxide between uses to keep it clean and prevent the transfer of germs. This is particularly helpful when you or someone in your family has a cold or the flu.

Clean your cutting board and countertop. Let everything bubble for a few minutes, then scrub and rinse clean. (I’ve been using it for this a LOT lately!)

Wipe out your refrigerator and dishwasher. Because it’s non-toxic, it’s great for cleaning places that store food and dishes.

Clean your sponges. Soak them for 10 minutes in a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and warm water in a shallow dish. Rinse the sponges thoroughly afterward.

Remove baked-on crud from pots and pans. Combine hydrogen peroxide with enough baking soda to make a paste, then rub onto the dirty pan and let it sit for a while. Come back later with a scrubby sponge and some warm water, and the baked-on stains will lift right off.

Whiten bathtub grout. First dry the tub thoroughly, then spray it liberally with hydrogen peroxide. Let it sit — it may bubble slightly — for a little while, then come back and scrub the grout with an old toothbrush. You may have to repeat the process a few times.

Clean the toilet bowl. Pour half a cup of hydrogen peroxide into the toilet bowl, let stand for 20 minutes, then scrub clean.

Remove stains from clothing, curtains, and tablecloths. Hydrogen peroxide can be used as a pre-treater for stains — just soak the stain for a little while in 3% hydrogen peroxide before tossing into the laundry. You can also add a cup of peroxide to a regular load of whites to boost brightness. It’s a green alternative to bleach, and works just as well.

Brighten dingy floors. Combine half a cup of hydrogen peroxide with one gallon of hot water, then go to town on your flooring. Because it’s so mild, it’s safe for any floor type, and there’s no need to rinse.

Clean kids’ toys and play areas. Hydrogen peroxide is a safe cleaner to use around kids, or anyone with respiratory problems, because it’s not a lung irritant. Spray toys, toy boxes, doorknobs, and anything else your kids touch on a regular basis.

Help out your plants. To ward off fungus, add a little hydrogen peroxide to your spray bottle the next time you’re spritzing plants.

Add natural highlights to your hair. Dilute the hydrogen peroxide so the solution is 50% peroxide and 50% water. Spray the solution on wet hair to create subtle, natural highlights.

According to alternative therapy practitioners, adding half a bottle of hydrogen peroxide to a warm bath can help detoxify the body. Some are skeptical of this claim, but a bath is always a nice way to relax and the addition of hydrogen peroxide will leave you – and the tub – squeaky clean!

Spray a solution of 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide on leftover salad, drain, cover and refrigerate. This will prevent wilting and better preserve your salad.

Sanitize your kids’ lunch boxes/bags.

Dab hydrogen peroxide on pimples or acne to help clear skin.

Hydrogen peroxide helps to sprout seeds for new plantings. Use a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution once a day and spritz the seed every time you re-moisten. You can also use a mixture of 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 32 parts water to improve your plants’ root system.

Remove yellowing from lace curtains or tablecloths. Fill a sink with cold water and a 2 cups of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Soak for at least an hour, rinse in cold water and air dry.

Use it to remove ear wax. Use a solution of 3% with olive or almond oil. Add a couple drops of oil first then H2O2. After a few minutes, tilt head to remove solution and wax.

Helps with foot fungus. Spray a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry. Or try soaking your feet in a peroxide solution to help soften calluses and corns, and disinfect minor cuts.

Spray down the shower with hydrogen peroxide to kill bacteria and viruses.

Use 1 pint of 3% hydrogen peroxide to a gallon of water to clean humidifiers and steamers.

Wash shower curtains with hydrogen peroxide to remove mildew and soap scum. Place curtains in machine with a bath towel and your regular detergent. Add 1 cup full strength 3% hydrogen peroxide to the rinse cycle.

Use for towels that have become musty smelling. 1/2 cup Peroxide and 1/2 cup vinegar let stand for 15 minutes wash as normal. Gets rid of the smell.

Use hydrogen peroxide to control fungi present in aquariums. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt your fish. Use sparingly for this purpose.

De-skunking solution. Combine 1 quart 3% H2O2, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 teaspoon Dawn dish detergent, 2 quarts warm water. 

Gardens

It is finally warm enough here to get a garden in. The snow is finally all gone and the grass is turning green. The children and I planted beans today. They had a lot of fun.

Some people really enjoy gardening.  They find it relaxing and an enjoyable hobby. My mother-in-law is a wealth of knowledge about all plants. I often can't tell between the plant and the weed. I garden to get organic foods to eat fresh and can/freeze for winter. I'm hoping my children develop a love of gardening. Something we can do together. Maybe I'll learn to love gardening...

Omma Bars - Dairy and Gluten Free Version

Say hello to "Omma Bars."

My son loves these. He eats them every day for breakfast. Sometimes for snacks too. And he nicknamed them "Omma Bars" when he was 2 so that's what they're known as now.

I have tweaked the recipe many times over the years to make them as healthy as possible while still being desired by my children. Something that is important when you have a child who only eats 6 things!

So here is the current version in case you have a promblem feeder or picky eater in your house!

Dairy and Gluten Free Omma Bars
(I doubled what's listed below.)
1/4 c olive oil butter (I used Earth's Best non dairy butter substitute, thus dairy free)
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c rice flour (use 1 1/2 wheat flour for non-GF)

1/4 c chia seeds (or flaxseeds)
3 c GF oats
1 Tbl sweet potato (start with 1 tsp and increase as tolerated)
3/4 olive oil (or 1 c grapeseed oil)

Mix - should be moist but not runny
Add 1/2 c of any fill ins such as craisins, raisins, chocolate chips, dates, etc.

Bake 350 for 25 min or until golden brown.

Little at a time

You're a busy person right? You don't have time to set aside a whole day to clean any more than I do. So take a little at a time. At the beginning of the week I write on my calendar the things I'd like to get done that week. Maybe it is dusting on Monday, vacuum on Tuesday, bathrooms on Wednesday, laundry on Thursday, etc.

Breaking up the housekeeping task is manageable when there's just one each day.

Being Omma

I know I haven't blogged for a long time and I'm sorry that this post isn't "frugal" related, but I needed a spot to put down some thoughts.

I recently started a part time job. The ironic thing is that even though I love being Omma (toughest job I'll ever love) I somehow feel like "oh good, now I'm "doing" something." As if being Omma wasn't enough. Mostly this part time job gives me a break, and yes I do feel guilty about that. We're supposed to be perfect all the time right? Have all the right answers, patience beyond measure, reveling in the messes our littles make, etc. But I'm human and I sometimes am sleep deprived, impatient, and cringe at the thought of glitter going everywhere.

And I get jealous. Jealous over the children and Omma's that can do things like go to Sunday School without their child organizing the push pins in the pin-up board and then fall apart when someone tries to stop them, because they just can't listen to the lesson with other distractions present. Because they notice every.thing. Jealous that a child half the age of mine can do things like put on a shirt, catch a ball, or say "I love you" instead of "Happy Birthday" to show their affection.

And then I have to realize that perhaps I need to cut myself some slack and accept the fact that life looks different for us. That when I do get something fun organized like a craft, it might have to stop before we finish because it's caused a sensory overload. That my day might only consist of managing meltdowns instead of doing dishes, supper, bills, or playing with my other children. (And that I might need a loving break every now and then because I'm exhausted and emotionally tapped out.) That we have been uniquely blessed with the challenge of helping a uniquely made child reach their full potential. And that other things that I used to think were important or a measure of an Omma aren't realistic.

I'm not complaining about my children. I love them to pieces. But sometimes life as Omma is just tough.

Gifts now and Gifts Later

For each child for birthday and Christmas we give them some small toys and clothes to open AND put some money into their college fund. Compound interest over 15+ years adds up (hopefully more than college tuition inflation!). So they get some gifts to open now and some fund for the gift of college later!

Stretch the Clothing Life

This tip I think really only works for the last child in the family because otherwise you can pack them away for the next child. You can make clothes last longer by making some "alterations" to them.

If your child's feet are too big for the footie jammies, cut the fabric feet off. The rest of the jammies still fit and they can wear socks in stead.

If their pants waist still fits by summer but the legs are too short, cut and hem for shorts.