A T T H E P A R K ' S

Last Spring, I bought an all-natural, all-purpose cleaner from my doctor's office. The ingredients were listed on a hand-written label, but it didn't give the specific measurements. After inquiring with the Dr.'s office, they sent me two options for an all-purpose cleaner as well as a natural window cleaner. So today, I'd like to share with you these recipes as well as the products I use to clean my home. Why do I make my own natural cleaning spray? Great question. The quick answer is this: I am making changes to eliminate my exposure to as many toxins as I can. Of course, there is a lot I cannot control (outdoor air pollution), but I want to do my best to take care of everything I can control. According to the Environmental Working Group , the average household contains a minimum of 62 known toxic chemicals. Yikes! You guys, more than almost anything, I want my home to be healthy and I want my family to be healthy. For me, it starts with making conscious choi...

Hi friends, for those of you who don't know or are new to the blog, my husband and I (and our golden retriever) live in a 39-foot 5th wheel/toy hauler on some family property just outside of Bend, Oregon. As a minimalist living in an RV, I thought you might be interested in seeing how I spend my mornings with intention, before heading off to work. For as long as I can remember, I've always been a morning person. A few years ago, I was getting up as early as 4am to go to my CrossFit class before heading off to work. While I don't rise quite that early now, I still enjoy waking up before the rest of the world. And really, I feel my very best and am the most productive between 5-10am. If you are the same way and you'd like to know what I do to have a more joyful and productive morning, just keep reading. And, here are a few tips to help you get started. Tip #1: Get up early You must allow yourself time to accomplish the things you want to accomplish. If y...

As some of you may know, I wrote a review on The Simply Co. laundry powder detergent (you can read that here ) last year. We've been using it for a year and a half now and have loved it. It's a great natural detergent, smells amazing, and works as advertised. As much as I have loved this detergent though, we've been trying to find ways we can spend less money each month and this was one area I thought I could save. Since the ingredients of The Simply Co. detergent are labeled on the glass jar, I thought I'd just give it a try. Since I didn't know the exact amount of each ingredient, I went to Pinterest and found a recipe here . HOMEMADE LAUNDRY POWDER DETERGENT INGREDIENTS 1 Bar Castile Soap  - update, I use this kind now (recommended) 1 Cup  Baking Soda 1 Cup  Washing Soda Organic Essential oil (optional, I use Lavender) INSTRUCTIONS Finely grate your bar of castile soap. Mix in all ingredients together. Add 2-3 drops of your fa...

So this is one of those topics that I've shied away from sharing, at least here on the blog, in large detail. However, over the last few months, I've felt like I've needed to share my story. Not because I want sympathy. Not because I want pity. If anything, because I'd like to share how God is working in my life and in our lives as a couple and as a family. In case you're new to this blog, here is the quick backstory. After our first year of trying to expand our family, getting pregnant , our loss , and eight tumors later, we had to wait about five months after the second surgery  before we could start trying again. After another year of negative pregnancy tests, in January of 2016, we decided to go in for infertility testing. Here we are a year and a half later (almost five years since we first started trying) and our journey continues. Before I share what's going on currently, let's go back to January of 2016 when the infertility testing beg...

The further down the path of natural health I go in dealing with my autoimmune disease and the repercussions of it, I'm finding more and more ways to take control of my health. My goal has been to slowly eliminate chemicals as best as I can in my personal care products. So today I'm excited to share with you my zero waste, all natural, three ingredient DIY toothpaste. Not only is this toothpaste super quick to whip up, it will save you money from buying drugstore toothpaste and will be much better for your oral health. OK, let's get into it! Ready? Go! INGREDIENTS 3 TABLESPOONS OF COCONUT OIL 1.5 TABLESPOONS OF BAKING SODA (OPTIONAL) 10-15 DROPS OF PEPPERMINT ESSENTIAL OIL The original recipe I found here , though I've decreased the amount of essential oils. Measure your coconut oil and baking soda, then mix together in a glass dish. I didn't need to warm up the coconut oil because our apartment was about eighty degrees when I made the f...

As we're nearing the RV move-in date, I am preparing and planning where we will store our belongings and what we'll need on a regular basis. Once we get settled into the RV, we'll need everything, but mainly the kitchen, to be incredibly streamlined. Since we won't have a dishwasher in the RV, we'll be hand washing everything and we'll need quick access to soap. So of course I headed to Pinterest to get some inspiration and as usual, was not disappointed. I found this little DIY from Almost Makes Perfect and wanted to replicate it. In all of the DIY projects I've done, this is my favorite. And the easiest. Sometimes the simple ones make the biggest impact! Let's get into it! BOTTLES STICKERS Make sure your bottles are clean before adhering the stickers. Just like Molly (from Almost Makes Perfect ), I used D for dish soap and H for hand soap. One thing I will say is that I found glass bottles to use rather than ...