A few more natural solutions to add...

1. While I still use coconut oil for EVERYTHING, I found that it wasn't quite enough to moisturize my dry skin during the winter. So I came up with my own home-made lotion. Now I use it for my face, to keep stretch marks off my humongous preggo belly, and everywhere else. And I can't wait for Abbi Grace to get here because I'm going to smear it all over her tiny body as well. I love it because the ingredients are natural enough to eat. (And I did (by mistake); I licked the spoon out of habit after stirring it in my pot :)

There are a number of oils you can choose from in making your own lotion; these just happened to be the ones I had on hand: coconut oil, almond oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter. You definitely want to use coconut oil because of all the antibacterial, healing properties, and the shea butter is very important as well, because it makes the lotion more thick, rather than just a thin coating of oil. Cocoa butter is a pain because it is so hard, but I wanted to use it since I had it and I do think it helped the consistency of the lotion.

I have no recipe; I just dropped spoonfuls of each of them into my pot on the stove and left it on low for a while till I could stir it up together. (You definitely want to keep the temperature on low so that you don't destroy all the healing and nourishing qualities of the ingredients!) Then I set it out on the counter to cool and finished by putting it in the fridge for a while to solidify. I've done it a several times now without measuring and it always turns out a little differently, but it always works. And my skin has never been happier! I clean my face with olive oil and then put this concoction on it and it just feels so good!

*If you are one who likes to measure and prefers a more precise recipe, you could try out THIS one or THIS one.

2. I started making home-made deodorant. This is probably one of my biggest money-savers because I made just a small amount about 6 months ago and I still have a ton!! I used Lindsay's recipe and it works fine for me. I do believe your body goes through a little change as it gets used to not having the chemicals of store-bought deodorant because I needed a lot when I first started but now only a tiny bit will work just fine.

Ingredients:

6-8 Tbsp Coconut oil (solid state)
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder or cornstarch (arrowroot is preferred)

Directions:

1. Combine equal portions of baking soda & arrowroot powder.
2. Slowly add coconut oil and work it in with a spoon or hand blender until it maintains a firm but pliable texture. It should be about the same texture as commercial deodorant, solid but able to be applied easily. If it is too wet, add further arrowroot powder/cornstarch to thicken.
3. You can either scoop this recipe into your old deodorant dispensers or place in a small container with lid and apply with fingers with each use. Makes about 1 cup. This recipe lasts about 3 months for two people with regular daily use.

For a picture tutorial placing this recipe in an old deodorant container, visit here.

Lastly, I invested in a Norwex enviro cloth and window cloth to simplify my cleaning. I still use my tea tree oil or vinegar solutions for some things, but I am loving the simplicity of these two cloths for everything else! I chose it because it is made out of microfiber cloth with an innovative design that uses anti-bacterial silver particles integrated into the synthetic microfiber, ensure (according to their website):

• Single-celled micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi, yeast, and viruses cannot survive or adapt in silver exposure

• Surface-to-surface cross-contamination is eliminated

• Rapidly drying cloths prevent bacteria growth in the cloth itself

(Read THIS review to learn more about it)

Practically , it has worked really well for me! I have seriously never had such clean, streak-free windows before and I love the fact that I didn't have to use any chemicals at all! I love wiping my sinks down with it and knowing that there will be no gross mold or bacteria growing in my towel. I simply rinse it out and hang it out to dry after each use.