Organizing folded clothes.

Hey Loves!
Rissa here with another great tip!

Today's tip is all about organizing those folded clothes. I have battled with the dresser drawers for a long time now and I think I have finally won this dreaded battle...well lets give it a few weeks and several loads of laundry before I can say that for sure...you know how it goes, you get a new system going then all of sudden you go to look for that particular item and the drawer looks like a 2 year old has been involved with the folding of things. I know I'm not the only one.

Well after looking around on the very addicting Pinterest I found some ideas and this is what I came up with for our things. Remember this is just what I like to do so take this info and use it the way that suits you.  So the big tip of the day is a folding method called the 5 Second Japanese Fold. Here's a video demonstration of what I did.

 

Here is another video with more details that should be helpful as well.

So of course you guys know I had to take it step further and organize all of my drawers after seeing this easy folding method. SO everything has been refolded and moved around in our dresser drawers and I couldn't be happier! I even free'd up 2 extra drawers, how about that! Now I can make some more space in my closet by folding some of those items...but that is a whole 'nother post y'all!

So how do you organize your folded clothes? Feel free to share in the comment section below.

Happy Organizing!
~Rissa

Hey! What's cooking?

Hey Loves!
Rissa here with another great tip!

Today's tip is about freezer cooking and meal planning. What exactly is freezer cooking and meal planning you ask? Well they kind of go hand in hand with each other and as I mentioned in a previous post on organizing recipes, these things were a must in our household while I was in Cosmetology school.

Freezer cooking is when you prepare 4-10 meals at one time and freeze them for use throughout the week/month. This method helps with planning your meals as well as saves you money. I have found that I spend less money in the grocery store because I shop from the grocery store sales ad along with clipping coupons for those on-sale items (if you live in the southeast region of the U.S. check out www.southernsavers.com). Freezer cooking also saves time because you don't have to cook on a day to day basis. I try to do my cooking twice a month so, I choose a day every 2 weeks and block out 2-4 hours to cook and freeze my meals. This makes dinner time a breeze! Just pull the meal out of the freezer, reheat, cook a side dish or two and Voila!

Meal planning is when you make a menu for a week/month based on your freezer cooking or based on your grocery list. Even if you don't freezer cook, meal planning is also a great way to save some cash at the grocery store and it also helps you more efficiently use the food you buy. There is nothing worse than spending time doing all of that shopping and spending all of that money on food just for it to go to waste.

So here are the steps to freezer cooking:

1. Make a list of items you have at home
2. Make a grocery list of items needed (I base my list on the sales)
3. Go grocery shopping
4. Plan meals you want to cook
5. Make a "master plan" to breakdown what needs to be done
• Items to prep (i.e. how many onions to chop)  
• What order to cook each meal (i.e. ground beef, bake chicken, etc.) 
6. Prep and cook meals
7. Separate foods accordingly and pop em in the freezer

Here are some printouts as well as tips on freezer cooking/meal planning from www.moneysavingmom.com

Some of my favorite things to freezer cook are:

• Soups
• Casseroles
• Crockpot meals
• Ground beef (I brown the beef with onions so it's ready for any recipe that calls for ground beef)
• Hamburger patties (I just season and roll the patties and freeze them uncooked)
• Any type of baked chicken recipe
• Breakfast burritos
• French toast
• Biscuits (I make the dough, cut the biscuits out and freeze uncooked)

Do you freezer cook or plan your meals? What is your method?    

Happy cooking! 

How I organize my Cleaning and Beauty Products.

Hey Loves!
Rissa here with another great tip!
With all of the recent post on homemade cleaning and beauty products, I couldn't help but notice how unorganized my recipes are! As well as how tattered and torn they had become from using them over and over again.

This is what happened to the recipes I use often...not a good look.

I did a recent post on a recipe binder that I use to organize my food recipes. Well originally I was going to include cleaning and beauty recipes in that binder but I felt that they needed their own space.

After contemplating several options I finally decided to try a tool that we used in Cosmetology school. This tool is what we at Regency Beauty Institute  called "Procedure Cards" which is basically using a photo album (with divided pages) along with index cards to write down cosmetology procedures. So I pretty much did the same thing and replaced the "procedures" with my recipes!

Here's what you need:

• Index cards (I used 4x6)
• Photo album with divided pages
• Your favorite pen / computer & printer 
• Your cleaning and beauty recipes

My 4x6 index cards

My little photo album. Got this from Tarjay (Target) for about 4 bucks!

What to do:

Just jot down your recipes on separate index cards and slide them into the photo album.

You can type and print them if you prefer but I like to hand write mine just to get it all done in one step.

*Tip: organize them by recipe type i.e. hair, skin, face, cleaners, etc. to locate them better.

My finished binder I ♥ organized recipes!

How do you organize your homemade cleaning and beauty recipes? Share in the comment section!
Happy organizing
~Rissa

Homemade Liquid Fabric Softener

Hey Loves!
Rissa here with another great tip!
So now that you all have made your very own Powder Laundry Detergent  you guys could use a recipe for homemade Fabric Softener!

Here's what you'll need: 

• 1-2 Qts. Distilled White Vinegar
• 1 tsp. Vegetable Glycerin
• 1 tsp. Essential Oil of your choice (lavender, lemongrass, orange)
• 1 Empty bottle (I used an empty fabric softener bottle)

 

Distilled White Vinegar

Vegetable Glycerin (Available here )

Lavender E.O. (Available here)

An empty bottle

Here's what to do: 

1. Combine all the ingredients in the bottle.
2. Shake the bottle to mix well.

Adding the Glycerin

Shake, shake, shake...shake, shake, shake...shake your bottle!

How to use:

• Use 1/4-1/2 Cup per load (* I use The Downy Ball)

We have been using this homemade fabric softener for a few months now and I am pleased with how it works. Now if you like the way that store bought softeners make your clothes smell then this may not be for you. I particularly don't care for the fragrance of store bought softeners so it works for me.

Here are some interesting facts about the Homemade Fabric Softener:
-The vinegar helps to remove residue from store bought detergents/fabric softener
-Makes clothes soft and wrinkle free
-Safe for sensitive skin and babies


Do you make your own Fabric Softener? Share your recipe in the comment section.

Happy Laundry Doing!
~Rissa 

My "Theme" for 2013

Hey Loves!

With the New Year kicking off I thought that I would share with you all my "Theme" for 2013! No resolutions for this girly I'm focusing on a better me all the time! So my "Theme" this year is simply

To Be The Best Me I Can Be!

 I even created couple of printouts that I have framed and put on my vanity and nightstand! I thought it would be nice to share them with y'all and if you would like your own feel free to print one out for ya self!
What is your 2013 "Theme"? Share them in the comment section! 

Happy New Year!

♥Rissa

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Hey Loves!

Rissa here with another great tip!

So for over a year now I have been making my own powder laundry detergent and I have to say it's been working pretty good for us! Now I will be completely honest though and say that I do have sort of a love/hate relationship with making my own detergent, mainly because I just don't care for grating the soap (you'll see what I mean when you read the steps).  Now as far as the reasons why I decided to start making my own laundry detergent....well for starters I know what's in it, there are no hidden ingredients and harsh chemicals that are not only bad for our skin but are also bad for the environment. The next reason is because it saves money. In my opinion I feel this recipe is less expensive than store bought natural/organic laundry detergents especially with the amount of laundry we do around here, having two toddlers in the house means LOTS of laundry. Matter of fact it's something that I have to do DAILY yes I said daily!

So enough blabbering lets get into this recipe! (recipe adapted from www.savvybrown.com)

What you'll need:

• 2 Cup Borax
• 2 Cup Washing Soda
• 1 Bar Laundry Soap i.e. Fels Naptha Laundry Soap *Dr. Bronners Castille Bar soap and Ivory soap good options too
• 10-15 drops Lavender Essential Oil
• Cheese Grater and Bowl
• Wide Mouth Container and 1 Tbsp. Scoop

Borax $4-$5 at Ace Hardware or Target

Washing Soda $4-$5 at Ace Hardware

Laundry Soap $3-$4 at Ace Hardware

Lavender EO $5-$15 at Vitacost

Box grater I think I got this from Target but here's one on Amazon for $12

 My container of choice is an old Similac Formula container it's perfect because it has an attached lid as well as an attached 1 Tbsp scoop that conveniently fastens to the inside of the lid! *Tip: Write the instructions on the front of the container and the ingredients needed on the back for quick referencing when it is time to do laundry and replenish your stash*

What to do:

1. Grate the bar of soap (uggh I'm getting annoyed just thinking about it LOL) *I normally do this tedious step while watching t.v. and sipping on a glass of Merlot yes it is that serious.
2. Combine Borax and Washing Soda in your container and shake to mix well
3. Add grated soap and shake again to mix it all up
4. Add Lavender EO and shake well again

How to use:

• 1 Tbsp - small load
• 2 Tbsp - medium load
• 3 Tbsp - large load

Price Breakdown:

• Borax $5
• Washing Soda $5
• Laundry Soap $5
• Lavender EO $5

Total Cost= $20
So that's about  17 cents per load after using the entire box of both the Borax and Washing Soda.
*Ecover Laundry Detergent averages about 45cents per load

This recipe makes 4 Cups of detergent that's an average of about 22 large loads of laundry and you will have tons of Borax and Washing Soda left over to replenish your stash!

So there ya have it! I hope this helps you.
Happy laundry doing!

Do you make your own laundry detergent?