As I write this blog post, January is waving goodbye and I can feel the promise of early Spring. A few days ago, I woke to a brighter light, making me strip layers of winter warmth off my body. I felt more invigorated and buoyant saying goodbye to my school bound kids which normally, is a bittersweet moment as a large part of me wants to keep them close. Using some quick child psychology on the little girls, suggesting with my head nodding vigorously and a huge smile on my face, that it would be the perfect day to play hookie from their preschool program, (playing hookie is good for the soul too) of which thankfully, they happily agreed to. I started planning my day.
The advantages of having twins as our youngest children is I never feel a need to set up social engagements for them. They are each others best friend and so I quickly perused the|”Activity Village” web site for inspiration to keep them busy for the morning. I often use it to generate some structured project/craft and again, I was not disappointed. Gathering the supplies I needed and also the homemade play doh we had cooked a few days earlier, I arranged a few stations around the kitchen. First a colouring, cutting and pasting project and then colouring a large heart, cutting it out and then using a paper punch, sewing the edges with a shoelace. Finally, the play doh station to really round things out. They are off to kindergarten next September and as sad as that makes me, learning to work independently is part of that preparation.
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| The little girls and I had made play doh and also used some SAJE (Yoga) essential oil…not only does it smell great but it works as an anti-bacterial product as well…and let’s just say….play doh needs that! |
I figured I had a good hour or so to dig into a few projects.
Over the years, as each child has arrived and our family has grown, I’ve let a bit more of my, A type personality go with regards to a clean house. Just keeping us in groceries, everyone fed, in neat and tidy clothes and having a some what orderly house was my main objective. For instance, I used to change our sheets every Monday like clockwork, but currently with seven beds to change, that chore is now performed twice a month. And even then, I stagger laundering everyone’s bedding over several days. It’s just not practical, nor is it environmentally friendly. The kid’s go to bed, often freshly bathed each night and so that is one weekly duty that is superfluous.
As the little girls got down to their crafts, I put on their Kindermusik music CD and as I whipped around the house, I could hear them chatting and singing in their high pitched voices.
Cleaning house is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle to me. You pick up a piece and recognize where it might go and while doing so, you identify another piece that you are looking for….it can be rather thrilling as more and more pieces come together forming a beautiful picture. I know, call me weird but I like doing what the Persian people call, “khounch tekouni,” which literally means, “shaking the house.” In late spring households there under take cleaning every space in their homes in anticipation of their spring festival called, “Nowruz.” By the time the 12 day festival starts, the homes are clean and the people feel lighter and happier as they feast and visit family.
My mother’s birthday was on March 20th, which is the first day of spring. My goal each year has always been to have our whole house cleaned, de-cluttered and organized, not just so I could have the family over and throw a little party for her, but it was to welcome a new season. To shake things up, move things that are longer serving us out, and refresh our home in anticipation of a new chapter in our lives. Although my mother is no longer on earth, I am going to do some khounch tekouni again this year to prepare for spring.
Also, last week, I started seriously writing, using my Tuesday morning, “Oak Table Group” at the local Caetani house, as a catalyst for coming clean with my past. Pulling stuff that has been laying under the carpet for years is not an easy task. As I move around, room by room, clearing clutter, emptying garbage, cleaning deeply, the emotions pour out of me and with it, words, phrases, thoughts. Nothing works better for moving chi energy and the creative process, than cleaning house.
After a morning of cleaning, since the little girls were still in their jammies, I asked them if they wanted to have a warm bath and try some of the new lavender/peppermint shampoo we had made together the day before. Katie looked down at her sticky hands, still covered in paste and play doh and gave me a big smile…..she likes nothing better than being really clean– probably knowing intrinsically there is something restorative about cleaning our bodies.Kids are so good at listening inside and knowing what they need.
I’ve been wanting to make shampoo for awhile now but often my consumer choices come down to time or money. In the past, it’s just been easier to pick up the Kirkland shampoo (no sulfates etc) when we are in the Costco warehouse but during our last visit, I resisted and instead took the time to purchase the items I needed to make homemade shampoo….namely Castile soap, jojoba oil, which I found at my local Super Store. Since one of my favourite essential oils is lavender and I use it in many of my homemade cleaning products, I already had it in the house. Peppermint grows like crazy, next to my compost bin in my herb garden and I always have bunches of it drying in the laundry room.
I planted it years ago directly in my garden, before I knew how invasive it was (I recommend putting it in pots when I sell it at the garden centre) but I actually don’t mind finding it popping up all through my herb garden…so hence I have an abundant supply for tea and now to make shampoo. I love lavender and peppermint together, calming and restorative, yet uplifting as well. I also put a sprig of dried rosemary from my garden when I was steeping the peppermint and it’s known to stimulate your energy level. Such a lovely scent rosemary!
Here’s the lowdown on the wonders of these scents on our well being.
Lavender. This essential oil has calming properties that help control emotional stress. Lavender has a soothing effect on nerves and can relieve nervous tension and depression as well as treat headaches and migraines.
Peppermint. Try peppermint when brainstorming. An energy booster, this scent invigorates the mind, promotes concentration and stimulates clear thinking.
Rosemary. This is the perfect Monday morning pick-me-up. In addition to improving memory retention, rosemary has stimulating properties that fight physical exhaustion, headaches and mental fatigue.
As the girl’s bath was filling, I quickly organized a few of our bathroom drawers. The best way I know to tackle doing spring cleaning, is take advantage of every spare moment and look for opportunities to tackle the little projects in those moments. Also, since I’m working on my writing, I find it’s easy to keep a small voice recorder nearby so when the perfect phrase or idea comes to me, I quickly record my thoughts…….otherwise they are gone forever. Some people write whole books on their voice recorders and then transcribe them.
Maybe the peppermint and rosemary are stimulating my brain too.
If you have been wanting to rid your bathroom cupboards of shampoos loaded with sulfates, parabens and DEA, to name a few, I hope you will consider trying to make your own shampoo…it’s easy, cheaper in the long run, but more importantly than all that, it’s better for our bodies and our earth. I’ve really been thinking about how valuable our water is lately and since I wouldn’t put grey water with residue from store bought shampoo directly on my vegetables growing in our backyard, why would I put them down the drain and into our water system.
Here’s what I dug up on some of the additives in our shampoo….. and if you want to read more about the dirty dozen check out this link to David Suzuki’s newsletter.
Sodium laureth sulfate
Used in foaming cosmetics, such as shampoos, cleansers and bubble bath. Can be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane, which may cause cancer. Look also for related chemical sodium lauryl sulfate and other ingredients with the letters “eth” (e.g., sodium laureth sulfate)
Parabens
Used in a variety of cosmetics as preservatives. Suspected endocrine disrupters and may interfere with male reproductive functions.
DEA-related ingredients
Used in creamy and foaming products, such as moisturizers and shampoos. Can react to form nitrosamines, which may cause cancer. Harmful to fish and other wildlife. Look also for related chemicals MEA and TEA.
Yuck! Toxins we don’t need on our heads, in our water system, or on the earth. Enough said about coming clean.
Here’s my recipe for homemade Lavender/Peppermint Shampoo.
Hope’s Lavender and Peppermint Shampoo
Ingredients
31/2 cups of water
1 cup of dried peppermint/…I also used a sprig of dried rosemary
1 cup of Dr. Bronner’s pure castile soap…lavender scented…but you can use plain as well
1 tsp of pure jojoba oil….this makes the shampoo lather
30 -35 drops of pure lavender essential oil….since I used a lavender Bronner’s Castile soap this was just another layer of scent added
Directions
1. Bring water to boil in a small pot, add the dried peppermint/rosemary and let it steep for 15 minutes….cool well.
2. Strain the peppermint and rosemary tea and using a funnel, add it to a clean container of your
choice.
3. Add 1 cup of pure castile soap, 1 tsp of pure jojoba oil and finally the lavender drops.
4. Put on label…either write with marker or you can make a few cute Lavender Shampoo labels and cut out a piece of clear report divider and glue it on top of the label to keep it waterproofed.
When you are using, shake the bottle really well and pour out a tiny bit into a little cup, as it is quite watery compared to store bought shampoo. It lathers beautifully, as you can see from our little one’s first bath time using it and is wonderfully fragrant…..my bathroom smelled amazing afterwards.
After their bath, I set up a hair salon appointment for each of them. One thing, I learned to do YEARS ago, was to cut hair and of course style it as well. I can remember feeling so scared,taking a pair of scissors to my children’s hair, worrying I would give them a terrible cut, but ya know, cutting hair isn’t rocket science, AND, hair grows. If you make a mistake, you learn from it and you can always fix it in no time on the next cut. This has not only saved us thousands of dollars in hair dressing fees/tips, but time making appointments and going back and forth, oh then there is the gas and energy getting to and from the salon. When you start cutting your kids hair, it just makes sense to also start thinking about their hair care products as well…..now that’s being sustainable in my books.
Here’s a picture of the girls, AFTER washing with our new shampoo and their Mommy Salon visit.
The little girls have very different hair. Kathryn’s hair is fine and straight and Victoria’s hair is curly and has more body. This homemade shampoo worked well with both of their hair types. There is nothing I like better than kissing the tops of my kid’s head….no matter their age.
Tomorrow brings a new month and more shaking up the house, shaking up my soul, and cleaning up our act towards becoming more earth friendly and sustainable. Each step we take is freeing and makes me feel so light. Joy can’t help but follow and what better way to greet spring than with pure joy, oh and delightful anticipation for what is coming next. For me personally, CHICKENS…I’m reading everything I can on raising chickens and who knew it would be so interesting. What is your spring dream?
And since I’ve been talking about INSPIRATION lately, I thought I would include a wonderful You tube video of one of Oprah’s life classes. This one on inspiration and our belief system. I miss my time with Oprah at 4 pm every afternoon, but I’m glad I can still spend moments with her whenever my heart needs her wisdom. If you have some time and want to be INSPIRED in following your dreams, to come cleaner with your life and how you are living it, check out this video. Here is the link, if you can’t see it below click on this hyper link….Oprah’s life class on believing in your best life.
Visualize your life daily, believe you can manifest your biggest dreams and then be open, allowing them to come.
Be still….and be inspired.
And dearest blog friends and family….
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Blessings from Hope