June | 2012 | Zim on a Whim

I’m sure you’ve had moments when you learn how to do something so easy and you wonder, “Now why didn’t I think of that?” Learning this trick was one of those moments for me. I love foaming hand soap, especially with kids who like to use a little bit too much. We seem to go through it like water! The gel soap is too gloppy and goopey (I don’t care if that’s not a word, spell check!)…and actually can clog up your drain. Sometimes you can find large refill bottles of the foaming soap, but all it really is is just watered down soap! So, save one of those soap dispensers and save this post for when you run out. Note: It has to be a foaming soap dispenser. A regular liquid/gel dispenser will not work. It’s the dispenser that does the foaming.

All you need is an empty foaming soap dispenser and some type of gel/liquid soap – preferably a large bottle to save even more money. I started out using the largest store brand baby wash they had. (Not the shampoo – but the baby wash) It’s really inexpensive and I got many, many refills out of it. Recently I found a gel hand soap refill from when I used to buy the gel hand soap and have been using that. They both seem to work the same! It’s your choice.

Pour about 1/2″ to 3/4″ of the liquid soap of your choice into the empty soap dispenser.

Add water slowly until you get to just below the line on the back of the dispenser that says “Don’t fill past this line!” If you fill past that line, it messes up your dispenser.

Put the pump back on and slowly SWIRL the dispenser around. Just go in circles or move it back and forth. DO NOT SHAKE! If you shake it, it will get too bubbly and ruin the foaming pump mechanism. Do this for a minute or two until it looks well blended.

Done.

I’ve been doing this for about a year now and while I don’t know how much money I’ve saved, I’m sure it’s been quite a bit. This costs pennies to make. Plus, I’m being green by continuing to reuse the same soap dispenser. Win Win!

Another homemade solution: If you haven’t tried it already, give homemade laundry detergent a shot. It is so inexpensive to make and works just as well! See my post on it here…

Have a good weekend!

I am so late in thanking the bloggers who nominated me for some awards recently, but my gratitude remains the same as the day they chose me. I’ve been a little busy lately so I hope they can forgive me! The reason I started my blog was to share with others all sorts of good stuff that I find or make, so to be recognized for that means a lot. So thank you!

Miki from Miki’s Kitchen nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award!

According to Miki, “The Liebster Award takes its name from the German word, meaning beloved, dearest or favorite. It’s given to a fairly new or up and coming blog with a relatively small following, less than 200 followers.”

The rules are:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.
2. Copy and paste the award onto your blog.
3. Present the award to 3-5 blogs with less than 200 followers who you feel deserve to be noticed.
4. Let those nominees know you chose them via comment on their blog or an email.

I’m not sure of the follower count on these blogs, but I want to give them a shout out. For the Liebster Blog Award, I nominate:
Ode to Inspiration
Bumbleberry Lane
Danny’s Kitchen

And once again, thanks to Miki for nominating me. I love to see what she is making. I wish I was her co-worker because she’s always baking cupcakes and bringing them into work!

The adorable and talented Choc Chip Uru from Go Bake Yourself nominated me for my first Sunshine Award! Not only does she bake and share recipes, but she also includes great stories with her posts.

The rules are:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.
2. Copy and paste the award onto your post/blog.
3. Answer 10 questions about yourself.
4. Present the award to other bloggers (10-12) and let them know via a comment on their blog or an email that you nominated them.

Questions: (I’ve seen many different questions for this award, but I will use the ones CCU did in her post…)
1. Favorite Color: Red or pink
2. Favorite Animal: Dog
3. Favorite Number: 13
4. Favorite Non-Alcoholic Drink: Coca-Cola (I try not to drink it at home, but I do love a good fountain soda when I’m out!)
5. Facebook or Twitter: Honestly, I wish Google+ took off better than it did! 😦
6. My Passion: Making sure my kids are happy and feel loved.
7. Giving or Getting Presents: I like making and giving gifts from the heart…
8. Favorite Pattern: Tiny polka dots or gingham
9. Favorite Day of the Week: Monday (Believe it or not, it’s my day to unwind!)
10. Favorite Flower: Gerber/Gerbera Daisy (just like the one in the award!)

Now this may be cheating, but I haven’t been around these parts long enough to have another list of blogs I enjoy aside from the ones I’ve mentioned in my Kreativ Blogger Award post and the One Lovely Blog Award post. You can see the ones I chose here and here. I’m sure there will be a bunch more in the coming months as I get more familiar with you all.

I received another Kreativ Blogger Award from Choc Chip Uru at Go Bake Yourself and couldn’t be more pleased! She just posted her 100th Chocolate Post! That’s a lot of chocolate talk, but is there anything better to talk about? I think not.