Viking Revival

Spring Break has always been a challenge for me, how do I fill the time with fun without having to spend an arm and a leg? One of the benefits of living on a strict budget is the brain power you put into  dredging up the imagination. I've come up with a principle for fun in the Brown house that has become a tenet for successful, happy living. In technical terms the principle would read like this; The ratio of imagination to monetary investment should show that more effort was put into the imagination part, making the monetary investment give residual returns that achieve pure satisfaction which should lead to hours of merriment when reflecting upon the event.

The Brown girls achieved this ratio with mathematical precision the other day and we thought we'd share our success, it just keeps within the tenets of our happy living lifestyle by passing along our merriment through story form.

Photo By: stpierre 

A dear friend called to see if we wanted to spend a day exploring nature during Spring Break, it involved canoeing The Colorado River (we call it Town Lake). The weather was going to be perfect and a couple of hours on the water sounded more adventurous than sitting at home. At first, I envisioned paddling the canoe a little, kicking back and relaxing, watching the birds and other people. A picture of Huckleberry Finn with his fishing pole and raft came to mind. I mentioned to our friend that we would join them but to be forewarned that we were out of shape and if they wanted to explore without us we wouldn't be offended. We didn't want to be anchors to their fun due to our weak muscles causing us to rest more than we should.

Alex and I were a little hesitant at first as we fiddled with life jackets, oars and a wobbly boat as we left the shore. It was Alex's first time paddling, I was giving her basic tips while re-orienting myself with steering the beast. We inched down the passageway to the river entrance and were happy we didn't run anyone aground or get in the way of other experienced river goers.

Our friends were patient and stayed near giving us quiet support as we maneuvered by countless Turtles, Swans, Ducks, American Coots, Grebes, Loons, Egrets and Herons. Alex was learning a rhythm for her strokes and the wind was behind our backs pushing us along. We were quickly becoming accustomed to the feel of the cool water, the pace of the river. We looked up from the horizon to see hawks, kites and airplanes. We overcame the short learning curve and began to really enjoy ourselves when a thought from deep in the recesses of my imagination flooded the forefront of my brain. My usual docile self took a backseat to the overwhelming desire to conquer.

The spirit of competition rose up as I looked at our unknowing rowing mates across the river. I said, "Alex we are going to win the race, hone your Viking skills because we are going to own this river." She looked at me quizzically. I gave her a crash course in long ago family history, we have Danish blood which means we most likely have Vikings in the branches of our family tree and today we we're going to honor them by kicking butt even if our competitors were clueless to the game we were involving them in.

I gave her our first objective, we were going to row hard and make it to the island that just lay before the damn before our rowing mates did. If we made it there first we could claim the island for our own.  We deployed our oars in the water with well-timed precision as Alex giggled and counted the rowing measure methodically. Our canoe gained speed, I looked behind us and saw the gap widening between canoes. We made it to the spindly trunk branches of a cypress tree at the tip of the island, as we were getting ready to claim victory a huge copperhead snake came in to view draping itself over the spindly branches. Yikes, we back paddled as fast as we could, the snake could have the island.

Our second objective was to make it back to the docking port before our rowing mates. This was our toughest challenge by far. Now that we were on the return voyage, the wind was working against us. We literally were blown sideways and pushed into low hanging branches near the shore a few times. Nevertheless, we righted the boat and rowed with 'Ben Hur' vigor.

Our competitors were gaining on us as we turned to enter the inlet that led to the docking port. Obstacles in the form of kayaks, boats and animal life blocked a straight path to our victory. We were maneuvering our canoe like pros, total victory insight when a greenhorn mother and son team obstructed our path not once but numerous times as they zigzagged their canoe dauntingly in front of us. The erratic handling of their vessel caused them to collide with the side of our canoe, I shoved them off with my oar undeterred from the goal of beating our rowing mates.

Alex rowed like a machine, I dug my oar in the water, the canoe turned sharply but smoothly as it glided into the port and grounded ever so gently. We unloaded the canoe and had our life vests off before our rowing mates parked their vessel. I beamed at Alex with motherly Viking pride, our eyes glanced at each other, we both giggled and knew the old conquering adage rang true, "We came, we saw and we conquered!"


Note: Our mathematical ratio for fun worked well in our favor. Somehow our bill for 3 hours on the river was only $12. We were honest Vikings but we think the fee taker smelled our distinct Viking essence and made the decision to have us move along quickly in the best interest of business and her nose. HE HE!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Photo By: Chandra Brown
Ingredients for Dry Laundry Detergent
 

Who knew laundry detergent could be so cheap?

Borax                    64 oz. (approximately 9 cups)     $2.99
Ivory Soap            10 count   (3.1 oz.)                       $4.25
Washing Soda      55 oz. (approximately 7 Cups)     $7.35

*Baking Soda       64 oz. (approximately 9 Cups)     $4.67

Ingredients: Makes approximately 36 loads (1/4 cup per load)
3 cups Borax
3 cups finely grated soap  (1 bar) (Ivory, or other natural soap)
3 cups washing soda

Mix together, Voila!

I spent about $3.03 for 36 load homemade, allergy-free detergent. Compare that to All Free and Clear 36 load detergent for $7.25.

When I first started the ingredients seemed out of reach at local chain stores but with some gumption I was able to find everything needed.  Washing soda seems to be the hardest ingredient to find locally but there's a trade secret with a simple chemistry twist that makes this task simple as pie.

*How to Make Washing Soda:
Pour 3 cups Baking Soda into a large glass dish. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake, stirring frequently until powder turns to crystal form. Three cups takes approximately 1 hour baking time. Store in a tightly sealed jar. Label it. Baking the soda changes the chemical composition; for explanation of how this change happens, click here.

Tips:
Many users of homemade detergent say they achieve best results with warm water.

You MUST finely grate the soap. Larger flakes tend to clump in the washer. Fine grating assures dissolution.

It is also recommended to start your washer, let it fill with some water then add detergent and give
the water a swirl before adding clothes, this helps the soap flakes dissolve better. Or for those with more modern machines that add the detergent in the cycle; do not overload the bin with clothes for best results.

If you have hard water, add more washing soda. This will help soften the water. (1/2- 1 cup extra washing soda, you may have to adjust amount higher or lower)

If you want to have a scent, you can add a few drops essential oils of your choice to the soap flakes before mixing with powders.

Make sure you click on the highlighted words throughout the post. They give you other uses for these ingredients as well as what the ingredients are made of. One of the uses I was drawn to and plan to try is the dishwashing detergent. The recipe is simple 50/50 of borax and baking soda. Can you imagine the savings on this product?

Let me know how you end up using Borax and Baking Soda. I think we'll be surprised at the simple brilliance of these natural products.

Happy wash day! I have never been so excited to do a load of wash.

If you want some inspiration and motivation for making household changes. Watch Chemerical, a documentary about your average families journey to rid toxic products from their house.