I'm not a big fan of chemicals and because of this we make *almost* all of our own cleaners. I only say almost because I make cleaners as we use up the ones we had previously bought. And some of those can last a loooooooong time. We initially started this to save money but the more I did my research and the more we talked about starting a family, I really liked the idea of being chemical free. In my eyes - if it saves money AND it is better for you, than why not do it?? Sure, it isn't always convenient. Yeah, it takes a little bit more time. But for us, it is worth it. I'm hoping to share some of my favorite home made cleaners with you in the near future!
The first room we decided to tackle (after a little bit of *ahem* discussion) when we moved in to our home was the larger bathroom.
Here is a before shot:
Wall border and carpet had to go. Taking out the carpet will be in another post. This post is all about the wall paper. :) Speaking of, we also ended up having to redo our small bathroom at the same time (discovered a leak) where there was also wall paper:
So, trying to be as chemical free as we can, and with us trying to have a baby - I really did not want to use a chemical-ridden wall paper remover. So I turned to the internet. I came across a blog post with a recipe that I have since lost (thought I pinned it, even checked my browser history...no where to be found - sorry I can't give credit where credit is due). And I just knew we had to give her recipe a try. And I'm SO glad we did because it turns out the couple days spent removing wall paper would have been part of my first few weeks of pregnancy. :)
Here is the recipe:
1/2 cup of Vinegar
3 cups of Hot Water
After a little bit of trial and error, we found this to be the best process:
1. Score the paper/border with a knife or paint scraper
2. Spray down a small area with the vinegar solution
3. Let it soak for a couple of minutes (but don't let it dry)
4. Spray a little more
5. Scrape away!
Look at Hubby hard at work! :)
But the real question is, how did it work?
For the large bathroom, the border was water resistant. This presented a little bit of difficulty. The areas that were sprayed and resprayed and sprayed again because we were trying to keep everything moist, came off rather easily. Unfortunately for us, it also pulled off about 4 layers of textured paint (which led to DIY task 2 - mudding and retexturing...all Hubby). Look at all of the pretty colors:
So, that being said, I'm not sure it was any easier with our homemade solution than without it. And a chemical remover might have actually made it easier. For this job, I give our home recipe a D.
HOWEVER, the smaller bathroom is a MUCH different story! The wall paper border in that room was not water resistant. And the vinegar solution was amazing! It almost wiped right off! Check out the mess my mom and I made:
I honestly think it worked just as well as any store-bought remover would have.
So, for regular old wall paper, I give this home recipe an A+!
And just for fun, here is a pic of the large bathroom wall sans wall paper but before any other improvements. Pretty isn't it? ;)
I have taken pictures for almost every step of our remodel. So stay tuned for more! And once we actually finish this large bathroom, even though we've slowly been at it for 4 months, I will post a final before and after. I think you will love it!
Sometimes Pinterest doesn't give me one single idea or one project, instead, it sparks my creativity and inspires me to be creative! And that is exactly how this original masterpiece came to be:
I adore it. Mostly because I didn't steal the idea from someone else. Hubby wants me to sell it because he doesn't particularly care for it...but I don't know if I can part with it...
Here is a close up of the main piece that took me eternity:
In case you can't read that, the passage is Matthew 6:25-34 - one of my favorites! It talks about how if God takes care of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, than how much more so will He take care of us? Stop worrying. That is a reminder I need every day! :) Check out the paper flower tutorial over at "Dozi".
The other two pieces took much less time to complete but I think they turned out pretty well:
The following three blogs provided me with most of my inspiration:
Creating While Waiting
Blue Cricket Design
Tatertots & Jello
Hoping my inspiration inspires you! Happy Crafting!
On a side-note, I officially made my own laundry detergent yesterday!
Really excited about this! Should last me longer than store-bought, be a lot healthier, it was cheaper, and it wasn't very difficult!
There were two blogs I referred to:
Sew Much Ado and Being Creative
I technically used the recipe from Sew Much Ado - it is a small recipe (perfect for someone that just wants to try the homemade thing) so I quadrupled it.
Being Creative includes Oxi-Clean in her recipe, but other than that, the recipe is basically the same...just bigger, much bigger. And since I didn't have a 5-gallon bucket laying around, I decided to use the recipe from Sew Much Ado. However, I did buy a big container of oxi-clean (I got off-brand) and I add a scoop of that to each wash as well. I simply combined the best of both worlds...or blogs...
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Let's make the world a better place, one washing machine at a time!
