Happy New Year!

Today's project is to fix the chaos that comes in a new box of crayons.

Now that it is done the year can start fresh.

May it be a fabulous 2011 for all of you!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

What's In A Name

I made a new banner with a phonetic spelling of my blog name (one for my Etsy too) I also made a picture for the link on my side bar that takes you to the definition for the word Sidereal, there is even a neat little speaker to click for the pronunciation. I have been meaning to do this for some time but just kept putting it off until a dear blog friend, Jaime sent me an e-mail telling me she had looked it up in the dictionary, and it reminded me to get it done. She also had a good tip to remember the how it's pronounced, it sounds like ethereal. Thanks Jaime =)
I had a hard time choosing a name, second guessing, finding one I like, having it be taken bla bla bla, anyway I found the word Sidereal in the dictionary and liked it. I realized at the time it might not be the most memorable, and that most people (unless your a astronomy buff) wouldn't know what it meant but I went with it anyway, I've thought about changing it but I'm over a year in so I'm gonna keep it plus dang it I like it. I've always had a thing for stars...the kind in the sky, not the screen.

Also, I made a pillow out of a t-shirt my little one grew out of.

Homemade Laundry Soap

I've been making my own powdered laundry soap for almost a year now. I happened across a blog (I don't remember which one at this point) that had a recipe for homemade liquid laundry soap. It sounded like a good idea to me because my son has very sensitive skin, I like the idea of knowing the ingredients in the products I use and gosh dang it, it's really cheap and I'm super frugal. The recipe for the liquid version was a little too involved for me so I searched around and found a recipe for powdered laundry soap. It's very simple and quick to make.

UPDATE: I have switched to a new, easier recipe that I found on Pinterest (oh how I love Pinterest)
You can find the new recipe here:
http://amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com/2013/02/no-grate-no-cook-liquid-laundry.html
I have been using it for about a year now, it's fabulous!

Here is how I ~used~ to make it:

2 4.5oz bars Ivory Soap

1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (Not baking soda)

1 Cup 20 Mule Team Borax

First Grate the 2 bars of Ivory into a bowl, the smaller side of the grater works best since we are trying to make a powder. Some people use Ivory flakes but I haven't tried it.

Break up the grated soap a little more squishing it through your fingers, we want it to be as small as possible.

Then add in the Borax and Washing soda and stir stir stir.

For a normal size load add 1 tablespoon of soap, more for larger loads less for smaller. This amount does about 45 normal size loads.

Thats it, easy peasy.

Side notes:

~You can use other soaps, but from what I've read you need to be careful of the oil content, you don't want to add a bunch of oils to your laundry soap.

~I usually wear some kind of face cover when I'm making a batch because it makes me sneezy and it cant be good to be inhaling a bunch of it.

~This is where I found my recipe---> http://diynatural.com, they also did the math on the price difference. $$$

~When I buy my bars of Ivory I open them up before I store them, so when I get around to grating them they are a bit more dry and that makes it easier.

~This does not suds up in your washer, suds do not = clean.

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