Have you looked at the ingredients on your make-up remover lately?  I cringe at the number of chemicals listed as the thing I’m supposed to use to swipe my face “clean”.

I stopped using my make-up remover for something much less expensive and much more natural:  coconut oil.  I read about it on a forum some time ago, and when I ran out of my usual make-up remover, I tried it.  I was pleasantly suprised by how tiny, tiny an amount I needed, and how effectively it cleaned my skin.  My skin felt more moisturized, and I was happy about it being a natural alternative.

I put about 3 tablespoons of coconut oil (which isn’t liquid-y but has a consistency of peanut butter or Crisco) into a small glass bowl about 2 months ago, and it’s still about 3 tablespoons!  I simply glide my finger across the top of the surface twice, just enough to get my finger greasy (no clumps!) and it’s enough to clean my eyes of the shadow, liner, and mascara.  Then I take a cloth or a square of toilet paper and wipe if off.  Any residue is just moisturizer!

I’m all for going natural when I can, and this is one of those happy times that it’s much cheaper, too!  I am compelled to make choices by what is the least expensive, but my topmost motto for purchases is this:  What God has made beats what man has made, hands down.

Try this out!  Coconut oil can be found along with other oils in the cooking aisle at the grocery store.

This is Clean-Out-the-Fridge-N-Pantry Week!  When searching my cupboards I keep finding bits and pieces of full meals, so it’s time to clean them all out and make a few hodge-podge suppers out of all the various items.  My family never seems to notice weeks like this; just some of the meals are a little different than our norm.  

Not only do our cupboards get cleaned out, but I save a lot of money.  All I’ll need to get for groceries this week is milk; I’m even going to skip getting fresh fruit because we’ve got a bunch of canned fruit to clear out.  Here we go:

•  Sunday–   Our Small Group had breakfast foods, so I took apples and hard-boiled eggs.  The leftover eggs will be a couple of breakfasts this week!
• Monday–   Supper at my parents’ house (big bro visisting) so I’ll take the chips and chili we’ve got left from Saturday’s party.  Normally I’d freeze the chili, but as it’s getting warmer I think we’ll eat it up now.
• Tuesday–   Chicken Pot Pie
• Wednesday–   Steak (mix-n-match of various cuts,) baked sweet potatoes
• Thursday–   Various pastas that are dwindling, meat sauce, green beans
• Friday–   Hot dogs and seasoned fries, corn
• Saturday–   Nachos

 I might have another week’s worth of meals in this house, so we might do this again next week! 

What do you do with your ‘extras’?  Do you have a trick or recipe you use?

I buy the off-brand dryer sheets, which are so much cheaper than the name brands.  But I also have found that an entire sheet is unnecessary.  Think about it, you don’t use the ’suggested’ amount of laundry detergent or dishwasher detergent, do you?  Manufacturers recommend a larger amount than needed… so that you use more… so that you buy more… so that they make more money!

I cut up our dryer sheets into thirds– it’s plenty of ’sheet’ for a load of laundry, and we do not have static cling or ‘hard’ clothes.  And as far as the cutting, I actually only did it one time– once my kids saw me do it, they wanted the job!  For some reason they think it’s cool…