Lemon Water and Baking Soda: My Dish Soap!

Since I am allergic to all commercial dish soaps and recently moved to a place without a dishwasher, I was in a bit of a pickle. I tried making my own dish soap previously and failed miserably, but I finally figured out what works!

Lemon water and baking soda!

Does It Work?

Yes! Lemon is naturally disinfecting, and baking soda is abrasive.

How To Use Baking Soda and Lemon Water to Wash Dishes

1. Squeeze some lemons and use the lemon juice in some tasty recipe.
2. Place about 4 large lemons, or the equivalent in smaller lemons, in a large pot and cover with water.
3. Boil gently for about an hour.
4. Let set overnight.
5. Strain into glass jars.
6. Refrigerate.
7. Pour a small amount (approx. 1/4 cup) of baking soda into a bowl.
8. Add lemon water (approx. 1/3 cup).
9. Watch it sizzle!
10. Wash dishes with paste. 
11. Rinse in hot water.

Tips:

• Starting with generally rinsed dishes is easiest.
• For stubborn messes, apply the paste to the dish and let dry. Use water and a little elbow grease to rinse off and remove rust, stains, or stuck-on food.
• Bubbles don't equal clean. It can be a bit unnerving initially, but you'll settle in.
• If you need more baking soda or lemon water, this is not an exact science. As long as you are getting the lemon water at least on the surface, you are disinfecting. The baking soda is simply to serve as a mild abrasive.

Pantry Moths: Prevention and How to Deal with Them

Have you ever had pantry moths? Consider yourself lucky if you haven't. Those little suckers will not only leave you with less food, but you'll also end up losing a day in cleaning up after them.

Speaking from experience, prevention is the key to maintaining your sanity and your food supply. Now that I'm a few months older and wiser, I've learned how incredibly easy it is to prevent them! These are especially an issue for anyone avoiding highly processed food. So, if you eat real food, you need to take note.

Preventing Pantry Moths

There are a few easy steps to take in preventing pantry moths:

Pantry moths: the offenders

• Every time you bring new dry food into the house, pop it in the freezer overnight. This will kill any moths regardless of life stage.
• Always freeze nuts or other bulk items overnight.
• The next day, or whenever you get around to it, pour the food into glass containers. I keep all of my dry food in either glass jars or canning jars.
• Clean your cabinets from top to bottom, in every nook and cranny as soon as possible. Pay close attention to the upper inside of the cabinet. Soap and water works just fine.

It seems rather simple, and it is!

Getting Rid of Pantry Moths

Already seeing these pests? Be prepared to spend some time cleaning up.

• Completely empty all cupboards in which food is stored.
• Clean every nook and cranny inside the cupboards. Again, play very close attention to the upper inside of the cabinet. Soap and water is your friend.
• Spray with vinegar. You want every part of the surface of the cabinet wet with vinegar.
• Let the vinegar dry, but close the cabinet while the vinegar is drying. While it may take longer to dry, this way you know a wayward moth won't fly back into the cabinet while your eyes are elsewhere.
• Go through all the food you removed from the cabinet. Throw away anything that may be suspicious. Personally, I thought I was doing a good thing putting things into glass jars when I brought them home. But, I made the mistake of not freezing one bag of nuts, and (of course) the jar wasn't sealed perfectly and I hadn't made the transition to placing everything in sealed jars.
• Note: Do not open any containers or bags that look suspicious inside your home! Take them outside and dump the contents out then. 
• Transfer any salvageable food into glass containers.
• Wash the outside of any containers and freeze overnight. 
• Restock your pantry.
• Add a few Pantry Moth Traps for good measure. The traps I am linking to are reasonably priced (less than $9 for a set of two) and are non-toxic. You don't want anything potentially toxic around your food.

As you can see, a little prevention goes a long way with these pests, but you can deal with them in a way the keeps your household free of toxic chemicals. I've had to deal with them once, and certainly don't plan to ever again! 

Daily Schedule

Gotta start somewhere, and a daily schedule makes the most sense for me. I'm sure there will be some modifications as I go along, and some days I have to run errands and such, but everyone benefits from a routine, especially anyone with weird medical disorders!

So here's my initial schedule:

6:30-7:30: Get up (One my cats is my alarm clock, so no worries there.)

7:30-8:15: Stretch, Check garden (summer), Clean litterboxes, Shower

8:15-8:30: Breakfast

8:30-9:00: Get ready for the day, Check e-mail

9:00-11:00: Work

11:00-11:30: Load dishes and laundry, Filter water

11:30-1:00: Work

1:00-1:30: Lunch

1:30-2:00: Finish laundry and dishes

2:00-5:00: Work

5:00-6:00: Cook, Wipe counters and stove

6:00- 9:00: Free, Specific tasks, etc.

9:00-9:15: Shower/Bath

9:15-10:00: Take meds, wind down

10:00- Bedtime!

Since I used to have a strict bedtime routine, I decided to include that in my daily schedule. Not sure how I got out of the habit, but I definitely need to get back to it!

Notice that I'm not working more than a few hours at a time. Anyone with fibro needs to ensure they get up and move around on a regular basis or face stiff or numb legs.

Confession #1: Messy House

While I'm at it, I figured I might as well begin my first confession. My house is a wreck. For seven years I worked outside the house, and pretty much all I did was sleep, eat, work, and go doctors. Really. So.... it's taken a toll on my house.

I've always believed honesty is the best policy and lived by that rule. I am who I am, circumstances are what they are, and despite my embarrassment, I have decided to share pictures with you of my unruly home, room by room. It's messy. It's dirty. It's embarrassing. But it's the truth.

It's not bad enough to be on Hoarders, but bad enough that I can't remember the last time we had company. Time for a plan of action- and if I can do it, you can too!

I've tried a number of different people's ideas, calendars, lists, and schedules, including the Fly Lady's. I really like her ideas, but it simply doesn't WORK for someone like me. If I'm in pain, I could care less if the kitchen sink is shined. In fact, I don't really care if it ever shines, as long as it's not full of dishes all the time. Priorities need to be everything....

Here's the plan:

1. Establish a few things that simply must be done on a daily basis. Do them!
2. Figure out a plan to declutter, organize, and clean one small area per day. Baby steps!
3. Follow the plan, maintaining completed areas on a regular basis that shall be determined.
4. Share pictures throughout- the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Since I'm working from home for a reason, a missed day is NOT the end of the world. I'll just pick it back up the next day and proceed as if nothing happened.

Try it along with me. We'll stumble, but we'll get back up and move on.

Priorities

Generally I'm not one to be easily overwhelmed, but in considering what needs to be a priority in my journey to a neat, clean house I keep thinking I want EVERYTHING done- NOW! Time for a change of perspective and to ask myself some questions....

What do I really NEED? Food. Shelter. Clothing. Sleep. Medicine. Water.

From which I derived this list of daily tasks:

1. Load and empty one load of dishes.
2. Wash, dry, and PUT AWAY one load of laundry- one day per week being the bedding.
3. Filter two pitchers of water.
4. Cook something.
5. Wipe off kitchen counters/stove.

What do I need but is not necessary to my survival? Clean food prep. Money (later). Clean litterboxes. Medicine.

So my next priority would be:

1. Organize medicine.
2. Clean litterboxes.
3. Clean kitchen.

What would make me feel better? Baths. Decreased allergens. Healthy meals.

1. Declutter- less to dust.
2. Brush cats.
3. Bathe cats.
4. Dust regularly.
5. Wash linens regularly.
6. Clean bathtub and jets.
7. Organize food.
8. Plan menus.

What would help me work more efficiently?

1. Organize all my craft/upcycling items.
2. Organized desk.
3. Clean couch.
4. Organized computer work area. (Need to get that big old desk of my Mom's so I'm not limited to the couch!)
5. Meals ready to go at lunch time.
6. Work schedule.

Phew! It's only a start, but every little crossed-off task will get me that much closer to my goal of a simpler, cleaner, more organized life!

And so it begins

Whether or not you suffer from fibromyalgia, the purpose of this blog is to share, motivate, and maybe even provide a few chuckles every now and then. What's it going to be about?

MEEEEE!!!

You know you want to....

Here are some topics that are relevant to yours truly that you can expect in future posts:

• Fibromyalgia and associated conditions, and how I deal with it all.
• Recipes for food allergies.
• Organization for people with no time/energy/money.
• Organic gardening.
• Non-toxic cleaning.
• Upcycling.
• Faith.
• My three cats, cause it's all about them!
• Self-employment/working from home.

And so it shall be....