Of Foam and Finance

Foaming hand soap; what is that all about? Admittedly, I am one of those skeptical people when it comes to certain products. I don't like to buy something, and feel like I am not getting my money's worth - I have a budget, and I like to put my money to good use. 

Foaming hand soap has always been one of those things that I didn't think was worth the money - hello, how much soap is actually in there, and how much is just water? Well, I have finally found a way to save ridiculoso amounts of money on hand soap, reuse the foamy soap pumps, and mix in a little DIY fun. That is what I call a worthwhile project, people! 

So, here's what you'll need:

- Leftover empty foaming hand soap pump (free!)

- Castile soap (I found it on amazon for .44/oz average, but you can get cheaper)

- Essential oil of choice (optional .015-.03/drop)

- tap water (we'll just add .01)

To make it:

Take the top off of your soap pump (taking note of how far into the bottle it sits), and fill to the bottom lip with Castile soap (about 1-2 squirts, I would guess less than one ounce total!). 

Next, add in your drops of essential oil if you are using, to whatever level of scent you'd like. I believe I used about 7 drops of lemon. 

Finally, fill with water to just below where the pump was, screw the pump back on, and shake well. 

 

That's it! You just made foaming hand soap! Don't you feel crafty? And thrifty? And amazing? ;)

And lest we forget, how much money did we just save? 

Total cost to make refill: 0.63 (including essential oils)

Cost to buy at Bath & Body Works: $3.43 (buying 7 for $24 deal)

Cost to buy Method: 2.99 (full price on Amazon)

Cost to buy Method refill pack: $2.14 per bottle refilled (based on amazon prices - $5.99 for a 2.8 refill pack)

Our savings: between $1.51 and $2.80 each! Did I mention that your resulting hand soap is all natural and triclosan free? So, with a clean conscience (pardon my pun), you may go forth and foam away. :)

Note: all prices in calculations rounded to the nearest penny. 

Triclosan, a dirty little secret...

Triclosan is now labeled on all products in the US

You are done doing your "business" so you go to the sink to wash your hands... if you are like me you have a foamy, sweet smelling pump soap to wash those germs away... but what if the soap contained something that was actually making you sick?!?! 

The chemical I'm talking about is triclosan.  This antibacterial chemical used to be confined to the medical field, where it was used to kill germs and dangerous bacteria.  In the hospital setting it is a great tool. I want the tools used to perform my surgery to be beyond sterile! 

The problem with triclosan comes when it is used multiple times daily, in multiple products, in our homes. When you wash your hands with soap that contains triclosan, it is absorbed through your skin and enters your blood stream; there it can cause skin irritation and endocrine disruption. It has been shown to lower thyroid hormone & testosterone; it mimics estrogen in your body & encourages the growth of tumors. It affects your immune system, and has been linked to increased allergies in children.  

Have you heard of "superbugs?" Drug resistant germs & bacteria? Antibacterial soaps are making these germs WORSE!! The germs are actually mutating to be resistant to triclosan and antibiotics... YIKES!  

If that wasn't enough, it is really bad for the environment! It gets washed down the drain, and "cleaned up" at the water treatment plants. Some of it still gets into our water, about 2-3%, and that is enough to disrupt the fragile ecosystems in our oceans & rivers! It is killing a very important algae. 

The last thing, and the most aggravating thing to me, is that even the FDA says that antimicrobial soaps are NO MORE EFFECTIVE at cleaning your hands than PLAIN soap and water!!!!! We are told by manufacturers that we NEED to KILL those germs, we NEED there antibacterial soaps and products... but you don't! Washing your hands for 30 seconds with soap and water rids your hands of 99% of germs and bacteria. Soap and water can even kill mold! 

So, check your soap... ditch the triclosan and just wash your hands! 
(Save those pump bottles!! Kristen is going to be telling you how to make your own SAFE and frugal pump soap very soon...)

Love and bubbles, 
Robin 



Further reading on Triclosan
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Health_Letter/2007/January/The_handiwork_of_good_health

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=117985

http://environmentaldefence.ca/time-ban-triclosan-household-use


http://www.beyondpesticides.org/antibacterial/triclosan.php

Product list

Soap scent list:  

       $5 lg- 5 for $20 - 4+ oz each

       $4 med- 6 for $20 - 3+ oz each

       $1 minis- 6 for $5 - .75+ oz each

     *not all soaps are available in all sizes

-Stop & smell the freakin' roses 

-You know what I mint, sugar! 

-Half baked (cookie scent) 

-Zit zapper 

-Cabana boy (coconut lime) 

-True American (cinnamon, orange, vanilla) 

-Shut up and drink your coffee 

-Rest in peace (lavender) 

-None of your beeswax (beeswax, honey)

-Smooth as a baby's butt (oat, honey) 

-The "F" bar (Florida, citrus) 

-Have your cake, but don't eat it 

-Unicorn poop (light vanilla, cocoa butter) 

-Starry night (patchouli, sage, cypress) 

-When life gives you lemons (Lemon poppyseed)

-The salty surfer (lime salt bar)

-Wyatt's soap (calming blend of baby safe oils) 

Sugar scrubs: 

-Cabana boy (coconut lime) ($6.50)

-Orange scrubsicle (vanilla orange) ($6.50) 

-Clean hippie ($7) (patchouli, lavender, tea tree, chamomile) 

Bath salts: ($6)

-Clean hippie (same oil blend as above with chamomile flowers) 

-Lotusberry relax (lavender, peace & calming blend, chamomile flowers) 

Lip balm: 

-Plain, in tubes ($3)

-Tinted, grapefruit scent, in tubes ($3)

-Tinted, in a tin ($3.50)

Bug off, bug repellent spray ($3) 

Pillow Talk, linen spray ($3)

My #1 tip for a healthier you...

One thing I am super careful about lately is marketing. I am convinced that people want to be healthy! No one wants to be sick, overweight, or get a disease... That is why companies market their products as sugar free, fat free, heart healthy, gluten free, or my absolute favorite "ALL NATURAL!" 

Take a look at this hilarious video to see what I mean... 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AftZshnP8fs&feature=kp 

I'm going to repeat myself and tell you the number one thing you can do for your health... Turn over that package, bottle, product, or container and READ all the ingredients!! Find out what you are putting in and on your body! 

Your skin is the largest organ you have and many people don't even give a second thought to what goes on it. Everything you lather on is absorbed into your body. Good or bad. If you rub essential oils on your feet (like I do) they are absorbed through your skin and enter your blood stream. There they can boost your immune system, calm your nerves, or even improve your breathing. On the other hand if you wash your hands with a toxic chemical, because you have been marketed to and told it will make you "healthier"- those chemicals enter your blood stream and affect your body chemistry! Next week I'm going to tell you what chemical I avoid in hand soap! 😁 oh the anticipation... 

So there you have it... My #1 tip for a healthier you: READ!! Don't believe anything that is written on the front of a package, that is marketing!! They know you want to be healthy so they are using marketing buzz words to make you believe that there product is good for you. Instead of telling you the truth that it is packed with chemicals, preservatives, artificial colors, fillers, and other things that are iffy at best. You are the only one who can safe guard your health... 

Lots of love, 

Robin 

It's Friday!

Well folks, it's that time again. We've laughed, we've cried, and we've showered at least a few times since last week... but, it's frugal Friday again! I was so excited to see everyone's responses to our first Facebook post last time, and I hope you will enjoy this one just as much!

So, I know you're wondering... how will we be frugal masterminds this week? You guys have the best questions! This week, our project is tasty as well as frugal: Bone Broth! Now, before you get all grossed out, bone broth is seriously an amazing food, and it's basically free when you make it this way. It uses food that would have otherwise been thrown out, which gives you a practically free ingredient to add nutrition and flavor to TONS of recipes.

So, how do you make it for free? Well, it's pretty simple:

• Save all of your bones (the better quality the bones, the more natural benefit you'll get from the broth; think grass fed, local, organic, etc)
• Save all your raw veggie scraps
• Toss them in a pot
• Add plenty of water (to cover, and then really as much as will fit in your pot without boiling over)
• Add 2 Tablespoons of vinegar
• Simmer for 24-48 hours in a covered pot on the stove, or in a crock pot set on low
• Check periodically that the liquid level is still good, and you aren't getting too dry or close to boiling over and adjust accordingly - safety is important in the kitchen!

When you are done, the bones in your pot should crumble if poked with a fork (small fish bones may have dissolved entirely). Once you've reached this point, you can strain all of the bones and veggie scraps out and store your broth in the fridge or freezer!

This broth is best when made with a combination of bones; big, small and in-between, as well as a variety of vegetables. You can add a whole head of garlic if you're so inclined, toss in a bay leaf for flavor, and season however you like. I would suggest NOT salting too heavily, so that you can salt to taste for each dish as needed.

Now, I know some of you have made broth before, and this probably sounds different. That's for a good reason - we are intentionally adding an acid (vinegar) and long, slow cooking the broth to get all of the good minerals and vitamins out of the veggies and bones. This allows you to pack all of that broth goodness into all sorts of dishes. What dishes? I'm so glad you asked. :) You can use broth to replace water 1:1 in almost any dish; but some specific ideas would be rice, homemade soups, and cooking veggies. One of my all time favorite ways to use it is in "Italian Wonderpot"... You'll have to wait for next week for that, though! ;)

Happy Soaping (and saving!),
Kristen

For even more "brothy" goodness, read on! http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/broth-is-beautiful.

Frugal Friday!

It's Friday! I love Friday; so much to do on the weekend... Relax... Get things done around the house.... Cook some yummy things. Oh, speaking of cooking, our frugal topic today is pasta! 

Wait, what? Pasta? Frugal? You heard me. I dig carbs, preferably when coated in cheesy goodness. But, I also live on a budget, and want to be healthy. How do I combine those? Very simply! The recipe below is my adaptation of the original found on Budget Bytes (link at the end!). Basically, you take any awesome ingredients you have on hand, toss them into a pot, and cook together. The trick to  keeping it healthy AND frugal is to use fresh, simple, high quality ingredients. There is no canned, pre-made sauce or white pasta, and yet I've tried this out on some very picky eaters with success. One of the beautiful things about this recipe is that I've outlined some basic ingredients below, but it is extremely flexible and you can really use whatever ingredients you have on hand. Some other nice additions if you have them on hand would be a splash of balsamic vinegar, crushed red pepper, or even a swirl of cream. 

The Recipe:

4-6 large fresh tomatoes

3/4 lb. ground beef

1 med. onion, diced

2 medium carrots, grated

Broth (amount varies)

1 small jar of organic tomato paste

1 lb box whole wheat linguine

1 bay leaf

4-ish hearty dashes Italian seasoning blend (herbs only!)

Salt to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

Shredded cheese (optional, but not if you want to stay friends - I recommend mozzarella or some Colby)

Brown ground beef in a large pot. Dice onions and brown with ground beef. Once beef is almost done, add grated carrot. 

While all of that is cooking, roughly dice your tomatoes (this is a good time to get out any pent up aggression. Not that you have any ;)). The size of your tomato dice can vary, as you want some to cook down but some bigger pieces to give the sauce good body. 

Toss your diced tomatoes into the same pot, and add in your seasonings. Use more salt than you think, because your pasta will absorb a lot and if you don't, you could end up with a bland dish. Let this cook for up to 5 minutes, and now it's time to add your pasta - drop the linguine in, breaking up if so desired. Add your seasonings to the pot, and then barely cover with broth. If it isn't enough, we can add more while it's cooking - it is harder to take it out than put more in!

Bring everything in the pot up to a nice boil, reduce to simmer and cover. Cook according to package directions for pasta doneness, stirring periodically. This is a good time to grate your cheese, toast up some garlic bread, etc. 

Once the pasta is done, or nearly so, it's time to add some tomato paste. I prefer to use the kind that is packaged in a glass jar, to avoid BPA. You can stir it in gradually until the sauce reaches the thickness you desire; any that's left can be stored in the freezer!

Once it's done, most of the liquid should be absorbed and you should have a nice, made-in-the-pot sauce; if not, cool a little longer with the lid off. 

Now, you're finally ready to dish it up, cover it in cheese, and enjoy with a massive slice of fresh sourdough or some garlic bread. Well, if you're me. Seriously people, try this recipe!

Link to the budget bytes recipe: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/05/italian-wonderpot/

Better late than never: Teaching Tuesday

As you can see, thanks to the wonderful workings of one Kristen Gandy... We have a BLOG!! It has finally happened.  This way you can look back at our posts, and / or share them with friends easier. (at least I think you can... I'm new to this!)

Life happens, so this week you get Teaching Wednesday!

Today's topic: PARABENS

Parabens are used in cosmetics to preserve the product.  Especially things that contain water, so that they wont grow mold.  It sounds like a good idea, I don't really want moldy shampoo... but the problem is that parabens are absorbed through your skin and reek havoc on your body!

- Parabens have been found in some 98% of breast cancer tumors
- They mimic estrogen in your body, disrupting the natural production of hormones and estrogen regulation. Your body knows what to make and how to regulate it - it doesn't need any help or anything to confuse it!
- Parabens can activate the genes that cause breast cancer cells to grow!

Parabens are normally found in: make up, shampoo, lotion, shaving cream, toothpaste, mouthwash, some processed foods and in many over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceutical drugs. 

The "official" jury is still out on wether or not parabens are dangerous to our heath, but I for one choose NOT to be part of the experiment!  They are "approved for safe use" by the FDA in all types of products and are still being tested to see if they have long term damaging effects... No thank you! I am not your science experiment! Something is very wrong with our food and heath system when young people, babies even, are getting cancer... dying... suffering... It's just not right! 

SO what can you do? Turn over your shampoo (and EVERY product you put in or on your body) and read that long list of ingredients! Look at what is in it. If you don't recognize an ingredient, google it! Check it out! Don't trust that the FDA is looking out for you or your health! I'm sorry to say that, but these days everything is about money. Do your own research and be your own health advocate!

When you are looking on the back of your products look for (and I avoid) any of these listings:

Methyl paraben	Propyl paraben	Isobutyl paraben
Ethyl paraben	Butyl paraben	E216

-Robin Thigpen

Wife, Mother, Soap Maker, Health Advocate... and now BLOGGER :)

Some links for further reading...

http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/radiation-chemicals-and-breast-cancer/parabens.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/beauty/skin-and-lifestyle/parabens1.htm 

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/04/02/toxic-parabens-on-breast-cancer-patients.aspx 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nalini-chilkov/parabens-breast-cancer_b_1230018.html

P.S. I'm no doctor! I don't have a degree... I'm just giving you my honest opinion and trying to help you get a little bit healthier!