Homemade Toothpaste

You may be asking yourself "Why make homemade toothpaste when you can buy it for such a low price or even get it free with coupons?"  Well making your own toothpaste, for me, is not about the price.  At least not entirely.  It's really about avoiding the yucky chemicals that are added to toothpaste.  For instance, Titanium Dioxide has recently been classified as a carcinogen (cancer causer).  AWESOME, RIGHT?  NOT!!   (And don't get me started on fluoride.)  Check out this article on Toxic Toothpaste.

We don't need no stinking Crest anyway!  Let's all make our own fabulous toothpaste!  It's so easy.

I put my toothpaste in a glass baby food jar.  (Since I don't have a baby, I bought bananas in the jar and made muffins out of them.)  I had the kids help me so they could choose their own flavor.  Some chose lemon, some chose a citrus blend and one chose wintergreen.   I personally prefer a strong peppermint for my oral scouring.

Let's talk texture…  There are a couple of options you could choose from.  One is to use vegetable glycerin as your base and one is to use organic virgin coconut oil as your base.  I found a random article somewhere that stated that while vegetable glycerin doesn't harm your teeth, it can cause a barrier between your teeth and the healthy stuff in your toothpaste (like xylitol) so you don't get the full benefits. Vegetable glycerin does aid in a creamy consistency so if you're a consistency person, use vegetable glycerin (found at your local health food store.)  I prefer organic virgin coconut oil.  It's healthy all the way around.  It's just a little stiffer in texture causing you to rake your tooth brush across your paste rather than dipping your toothpaste in the jar.  For me, it's no big deal but do what you think would be best for you.  All of the listed ingredients can be found at your local health food store (or on-line.)

Here's my recipe…


Homemade Toothpaste

3 T. baking soda (if you can find it without aluminum, it's the best.)
1-2 T. xylitol (a natural sweetener and some have even reported HEALING cavities with its use.  It's very strengthening for your teeth.)
2 T. organic virgin coconut oil
1/2 t. fractionated coconut oil (helps TREMENDOUSLY with the texture but it's not, ultimately, required.)
20-ish drops peppermint essential oil (I prefer 35-40 drops in mine.  You can also choose any flavoring you like. Vanilla, lemon, orange, cinnamon, clove, etc.)

Adult options:  (In my opinion, my kids don't need peroxide and they did not like the salt added)
1/4 t. hydrogen peroxide (as a whitener)
1/4 t. sea salt (as an abrasive.  I don't add this ingredient because I don't think my teeth need to be scratched, but it's an option none the less.)

Mix well before deciding to add more Coconut oil as the ingredients merge more and more as you mix.  It just takes a couple of minutes to incorporate the coconut oil.  Place in an airtight container and WHA LAH!  Toothpaste!!

Just to fancy up my jars a bit, I decoupaged the lids and put names on the front.

I hope you love your homemade toothpaste as much as I love mine!!

One last note.  My kids were a little stand-offish for a day or two but adjusted to the new flavor quickly.  Letting them pick their own flavor helped.  Don't give up.  They will adapt in no time even if they are a little squeamish at first and the health benefits are totally worth it.

Trend Spy: Handheld Desserts

In:

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Macarons

(pronounced like "macaroni" without the i)

Five Minutes Ago:

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Whoopie Pies

Out:

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Cupcakes

Chore Sticks

I am a simple person requiring simple procedures to run my life.  Anything requiring too much of a time investment will flop at my house.  So after searching and searching for the perfect chore record, I found the perfect thing… Chore Sticks!

These sticks are awesome.  They are simple, fast and I can see from my kitchen which of my children still have chores to complete for the day.  With 5 kids to monitor, simplicity is the key.

The basic explanation is this…  Each stick has a chore that needs to be completed each day.   When the chore has been completed, the stick is flipped showing a different colored tip representing a finished job. The singular stick with the big flag on the top is attached with velcro and represents a weekly chore.  We call it "The Big Chore".  I exchange "the big chore" each week so nobody gets stuck taking out the trash or cleaning out the car for more than a week.

I wanted something cute and trendy since this would be in a public area in our home.  I first dyed the tongue depressor sticks with the colors from a discounted easter egg dying kit (it was cheap AND had all of the colors I needed), and then decoupaged matching scrapbook paper on both sides of the sticks leaving about an inch at each end for the telling "all done" color change.

Next, after observing my kids and walking through the disaster areas in my home, I printed out the most critical chores on a label with my label maker and applied them to the sticks.  These chores can include anything you want or need your "littles" to do.   Mine are pretty simple.  "Pick up room."  " Make Bed."  "Hang up coat and backpack."  "Brush Teeth."  See, super basic.  Then I created the weekly chores for each child.  They only have one weekly chore at a time.  My kids are pretty little so our chores needed to be manageable for one person or they were given a partner for harder tasks like "take out trash".  (One to hold the bag and one to dump the trash.)  Apply velcro and Wah Lah!  Chore sticks.

Motivation… A chore plan without a motivation is like a cookie without milk.  (Or dinner without dessert!)  So after much pondering, I came up with "moolah".  "What?"  You ask?  Money as a reward?!  What a novel concept.  Okay, I didn't get too creative.  Money just motivates, especially my kids.  So money it is.  The kids earn 2 moolah a day.   They earn one moolah for partial completion and they earn two for full completion.    If one or more of my children don't do ANY chores, that child/children won't get a dime (or a moolah)!   They start off the pay period (their pay period mirrors my husbands) with all their moolah for the two weeks. They can see it and count it since it stays in the accompanying "money" jar.  I take a moolah out when chores don't get done.  That way, they feel very motivated to keep ALL the moolah they have.  They hate seeing me take a moolah out.

I'm afraid we have some seriously basic moolah.  Construction paper and contact paper.  But hey, it works.  My 5 year old earns .50 cents a day (so .25 cents a moolah).  My 7 year old triplets earn .70 cents a day (.35 cents a moolah) and my 11 year old earns $1.00 a day (.50 cents a moola).

My favorite part of the chore sticks is "MOM'S CHOICE."  I use that one to my complete advantage and  it's use depends on what's going on at that exact moment.  Sometimes it's "clean a toilet" and sometimes it's "help a sibling with homework".  And sometimes it's even "give mom a kiss and hug!"  That one is everybody's favorite!  (Well, for me, it rivals toilet cleaning.)  8-)

Linking up to Tatertots & Jello

Girl Cups

My mother, sisters, and I loved opportunities to do special things together when we were growing up. Whenever the boys would go away for a camping trip, we’d get out our girl cups—fancy tea cups that were all unique and reflected our own personalities. Mine was pretty white china with a delicate pansy print that I’d received for my birthday one year. Usually we’d drink something non-tea-ish, such as punch, and celebrate our special bond as girls.

Do you have a girl cup tradition? Here are some more updated girl cups you might like if you’re thinking of starting this fun idea the next time your boys are away.

Cadiz mug from Anthropologie

Pretty modern butterfly design

Retro Scandinavian pattern cup

Hilarious whale cup and saucer on Etsy

New Beginnings

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Spring is a good time for new beginnings, and with that said, this blog is going to be a fun new beginning. We, Emily and I, look forward to sharing some nifty things with you.  We've got a stack of material just waiting to be shared.

Welcome to Martha and Lucille.   Follow us.  It'll be fun!