I'm Mad As Hell, And I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore!

I'm fed up.  I've had it.  I can't stand it any longer. I.  Am.  Addicted.

The shame of addiction

What I'm addicted to, friends, is processed food.  It's not because I like it, particularly (some of it I can't really stand), but I'm addicted to the convenience and price of processed foods.  Whether it comes in a box, jar, bag, or can from the grocery store, or whether McDonalds' McRib is back, processed foods are a weakness.

The McRib

In the case of the aforementioned McRib, yes, I do love the delicious over-processed pork-rib-shaped product that probably falls from some press in Malaysia, but I don't care.  It's greasy, porky, and bbq-y, comes topped with raw onions, and generously portioned.  Then again, I have become porky and generally portioned myself over the last, oh, I don't know, 30 years.  I know the McRib is bad for me, so it's just as well that it will soon go away, and I won't have to see the signs proclaiming it's messy return. Unlike the McRib though, processed foods at the grocery store are ever prevalent throughout the aisles of local super-makets. 

I made a deal with myself last year, after completely overhauling my budget, that I would get ahold of my food-spending month by month.  I set a strict $500/month budget, which I'm happy to say, I stuck to rather well.  My average food spending for 2011 was $538/month.  That encompasses ALL food expenditures, including eating out, groceries, and entertaining for both me and my son. I feel like I've done well, until I step on the scale and find myself up 10 lbs from last year, and feeling worse for wear.  That's no good.

I've always read that processed foods are bad for you, which is painstakingly obvious when you find the War and Peace version of the ingredient list on just about any packaged food, filled with words that are unpronounceable to most people.  It feels wrong to find that SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE would make me hungry, but it's an ingredient in one of my favorite packaged foods, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.  It's also an ingredient in laundry detergent, soap, tanning agents for leather, makes old fish look fresher, and can generally be bad for you. Doing the research on that particular ingredient may have just squelched my hunger for the old blue and yellow box.  Yuck. 

No More

My new deal for 2012 and beyond (it still feels futuristic to think we live in the 21st century, weird), is to attempt to forgo as many processed foods as possible. There are many things I will not be able to avoid.  For instance, I can't make my own oils, such as Vegetable Oil, Olive Oil, or my new favorite, Coconut Oil.  But I can make the following:
- Butter
- Ketchup
- Mayo (Aoli)
- Tater Tots
- Pizza Pockets
- Fish Sticks
- Mac & Cheese
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Pasta
- Bread
- Cheese
- Cookies
- Pizza
- Chips
- Cereal
- Biscuits
- And More!

These things, along with more stuff I can't think of right now, end up on my grocery list almost every week.  It makes one wonder, if Sodium Tripolyphosphate is in half of what I buy every week, and it's bad for me and my son, what's the lethal dose, and how close am I to that?  If it's still minimal, what else is in there that can harm us? 

Beyond making items that I would normally buy pre-packaged, I wonder, still, about the Organic Debate.  Is organic ALWAYS worth the cost?  Is it ALWAYS better?  How is the word "Organic" used on processed foods, and what does it really mean?  I don't want to get into that now, but I do wonder about it.  It will take research, and I will report my findings later.  Until then, I think I will take baby steps. 

Interspersed with my Pinterest projects, and sometimes intersecting, I will document my adventures (and assured misadventures) here, and share what I find. 

My Goals:

Maintain $500/month budget
Eliminate as much processed food from my diet (and the kiddo's)
Find out more about "Organic"
Feel better
Lose weight
Continue to LOVE food and cooking
Etc.

I Make and Sell Soap

So here is my first “official” weekly Pinterest projet:

I made Laundry soap.

You can find the original inspiration at THIS address, and she makes it look super easy, and, IT IS!

Being a single mother, I have to pick and choose how and where I spend my money.  I’m paying for a house (posts to come), saving for a car, saving for his future, saving for my retirement, paying bills, feeding myself and my offspring, getting an occasional Redbox flick, and general spending.  For us, and for TONS of other people across the country, money is tight. 

When I learned I could make my OWN laundry soap that was a bare-bones minimum of what I bought in the store, had a stain fighter, AND is said to cost approximately $20 for 9 months (give or take) to make myself, I thought “Why not?” 

The premise is simple.  Buy basic ingredients: Borax, Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, Baking Soda, Generic Oxy-something detergent, Zote Soap, Fels-Naptha, and a large container. Mix everything but the large container in a garbage bag, and funnel into said large container, DONE! Sounds easy enough, let’s see how I can screw this up.  Turns out, even I can’t mess it up too badly.

All the ingredients, except regular baking soda.

Of all times to buy the supplies, I chose the night of Thanksgiving during the big WalMart pre-Black Friday sale.  While my sister was waiting in line for a bike for the wee-one, I set off to find DVDs, Blu-Rays, books, sheets, a Shark Steamer, and various stocking stuffers.  I found myself in the (deserted) cleaning aisle by the dairy section.  I looked around, and found ALL of my ingredients (except the large container) within steps of one another.  I was elated.  I grabbed everything I needed, and took off to find more bargains.

Once home, I realized I had forgotten the large container.  I wasn’t crazy enough to go back on ACTUAL Black Friday, so I thought I could do it Saturday, and did.  But, once I got home with all the goods, my mom decided she wanted in on the money-saving idea, and asked if we could split the cost of the project, and she could try it too?  SURE! According to the original post, it was going to give me 9 months of detergent, so 4 ½  months for $10 was still very reasonable….and if Mom decided she wanted to go back to the expensive stuff, I would STILL get a great deal.  So, Saturday I bought two medium sized containers, two phone cord wristlet things, and 2 coffee scoops.  (Complete price breakdown below)



Mom grated the Zote soap and Fels-Naptha soap with an old cheese grater while I opened and dumped all the other ingredients into a 13 gallon trash bag.  (This was my own variation on the original recipe.  It called for 3 bars of Fels-Naptha, but I had also read good things about Zote, so I used one of each) I then dumped the grated soaps into the powder mixture, spun the bag around a few times, and started shaking. 

Everything has been mixed

It’s kinda heavy, so this option may not be for everyone.  I just felt like it was easier than trying to find something to stir with, that 1. I wouldn’t mind getting laundry detergent all over, and 2. Wouldn’t cause a detergent “cloud” all around me.  (on a side-note I used the Force Flex bags because I thought they would be better with being handled more…seemed to work for me)



Spillage

After everything had been thoroughly mixed, I cut a corner of the trash bag and started to fill each container.  Obviously this would be a much simpler project for someone filling just ONE large container.  You probably could just stuff the top of the garbage bag into the container, flip and let it all funnel in.  I, on the other hand, made a bit of a mess.  I doubt I wasted too much, and it all looked even and pretty once it’s done.  I especially like the mix of pink and yellow bits that run through it.

 

Pretty

What I learned from this project:

This one looked a little scary, but it was totally easy and took about 20 minutes to finish once I had all the items gathered.

Doing things like this in the back-yard have an advantage.  I would have been PISSED to spill all of this in the house, even though it probably would have made the house smell lovely.

Zote Soap smells a bit like citronella, which I’m hoping will have an effect on mosquitos.  Of course, I won’t be able to tell until next summer, but we shall see.

Cost Breakdown:

Borax: $3.77

Baking Soda: $2.98

Washing Soda: $3.68

Sun Oxygen Cleaner: $2.99

Zote Soap: $0.98

Fels-Naptha: $0.98

2 Medium containers: $4.97/each

2 wristlets: $1.99/each

2 coffee scoops: $1.00/each

Total cost: $33.22 (I added tax in, which may vary for you)

The finished product

This seems like a bit more than what the original poster had mentioned…however, I did add an extra container, 2 wristlets, and 2 coffee scoops. But all of those things are reusable, and will be cut from the cost of the detergent in round two. Plus, the original poster did say that the Oxy cleaner is optional.  So, in summary, this will cost as little or as much as you want it to.  I’m happy with what I spent, and I’m happy with the first load of towels I did with it.  For now, I will keep y’all posted on how I like it in the future.

*UPDATE: Okay, so this stuff is legit-awesome.  It lasted just short of a year (and that's only half a batch, since I split it with my sister).  I made a second batch, added more grated soap, and I like it even more.  Awesome.  It's CHEAP!!!! F*ckin-a c.h.e.a.p.  I love the smug feeling I get when I waltz past the detergent aisle at the store.  Mental middle finger flyin.  Love it.

So, I highly recommend it.  

Also, if you have a front-loader.  It's easy to convert this to liquid.  Get a couple of those big buckets from the Home Depot, and mix the detergent with boiling water until it hits the consistency you like.  

Awesome.

LL

My Love/Hate Relationship with Pinterest

I love Pinterest....most days.  I love looking at all the interesting things my friends and random strangers have pinned to their boards.  I love seeing genius ideas and saying to myself, often outloud, "Why didn't I think of that?" I love getting excited about future projects, and finding tutorials on things I've wanted to do for years.  It's amazing, and then it's daunting.

It becomes daunting when I start making shopping lists of all the things I will need to complete the projects, that I feel like, I.Can't.Live.Without. Suddenly I have shopping list as long as my arm, and it looks like I could buy a small island for the price of my "Save money, do it yourself" projects.  Then I get frustrated, then I get mad, then I quit Pinterest for about 48 hours, then something else catches my eye, and I'm back at it again. I hate Pinterest.

I honestly felt guilty writing that last line, because I love Pinterest. I can't make up my mind. Like a boyfriend I know is bad for me, it's exciting, it's kinda dangerous*, it's maddening, it seems unattainable, and I need it every day. Unlike some emotionally detatched motorcycle hottie with a six-pack and a bad attitude, I can find a way to concquer Pinterest.

Here's the plan. It was hatched in the wee hours of the morning, and sounded absolutely brilliant to my coffee deprived brain.  I will try ONE project from ONE board ONCE a week.  I'm not going to combine crafts, buy books, and attempt art all at the same time.  I'm going to try ONE. 
*update:  I've tried some pins.  The thing is...I hate taking pictures.  I get in a zone, and I forget.  Ever forget? Happened to me.

So, new plan: Do what I can, when I can, and post when I remember.  In the meantime, I want to put my Google Guru skills to the test.  My new mission is to find those "so easy," "too-good-to-be-true" (because they are) pins, and tell you if they will or won't work.

*There really are dangerous posts on Pinterest....making your own cleansers, pressure cooking, canning.  Trust me, we'll get to those ;)