Teacher Survival Kit

My little sister starts her first year as a fourth grade teacher on Monday! I'm going to see her soon, so I decided I would put together a survival kit for her. I browsed pinterest for ideas, but didn't see anything I liked, so then I shopped my house for ideas and below is the final product! 

First and foremost, I put in some first-aid items. As a nurse, I think this is the most important! I tried to include things that would help her stay healthy throughout the year. As a student teacher last year, she contracted several colds, the flu, and pink eye! So she will definitely need to use the anti-bacterial wipe I included (I would have also included some hand sanitizer, but didn't have any that was new!). Also included is some "Emergen-C" (Vitamin C), band-aids, neosporin, cough drops, tylenol, motrin,and tissues!

 

Next I included some self maintenance items, such as brush-ups, a stain remover wipe, nivea lotion, and nail polish remover. I put in a glade candle that was called "serenity" as well as a pocket mirror which says "smile". 

Next up were school supplies (which sissy probably will deem most important!). I included scissors, note cards, a monogrammed notebook, index cards, stickers, sticky notes, highlighter, pens, paper clips, push pins, safety pins, and a rubber-band.

And lastly, I included something good to eat! I included some popcorn, almonds, and apple cider drink mix. I don't think she will drink this, but I also included some 5 hour energy, for those long days with 10 year olds! I would have added some chocolate but was afraid it would melt in this heat! I might add a granola bar too.

And there you have it! A teacher survival kit! At the end, I also added a water bottle, red pen, and sewing thread with needle. Best part was that this was all free! Everything in it I already had in my house. Even the monogrammed notebook, which I had ordered a week earlier from vistaprint (for free!) before I even had this idea. Anything else you can think of that needs to be included? I hope she is going to like it! 

Homemade Washing Powder

I decided to join the revolution and make my own laundry detergent (or as someone at the store called it - "washing powder"). I tried it because I was sick of adding "extras" to my laundry detergent to make it work, such as baking soda or downy unstopables. I received my inspiration from here (via pinterest.com, of course!). 

Below are the ingredients I used. It was super easy! 

• 1 Box of Borax (4 lb 12oz)
• 1 Box of Super Washing Soda (3 lb 7 oz.)
• 1 Bottle of Purex Crystals - Tropical Splash (28 oz)
• 2 Boxes of Baking Soda (2 lb) 
• 3 Bars of Fels-Naptha (5.5 oz)
• 1 Box of Oxi-Clean (3 lb)

 First I grated the three bars of soap using a cheese grater:

Then I poured the rest of the ingredients into my blue bucket and stirred it with a giant spoon. My inspiration suggested layering the ingredients into a five gallon bucket, which I wish I had done, because it took A LOT of stirring to combine the ingredients. But all that stirring paid off and this is the result: 

I put it into a 2 gallon glass container from Wal-Mart for only $9.97! And I put dryer sheets in a 1 gallon container, also from Wal-Mart.

The total cost for the detergent was $24.29. Each load only requires 2 tablespoons, which means that this batch will clean 256 loads, meaning that each wash only cost $0.09! Compare this to Tide Powder Detergent from Amazon which is $0.34 per load, for a cost savings of over $60!  (That was a lot of math, y'all!) 

Not only is the powder cheaper and prettier, it works very well! My husband is a commercial fisherman and just returned home from a 3 week trip on a boat, so he had some super smelly clothes! I tested the detergent on them, and within one wash they were fresh and clean! I think I'm going to add some more Purex, because the clothes smell clean, but not perfumed. If you give it a try, let me know what you think! 

The beginning

After creating this blog over a year ago, I have finally decided to resurrect it. I've been busy the past month and have lots of updates to share. So hopefully in the next few weeks I will be able to share the kitchen updates I've completed thus far along with some pinterest inspired projects. I'll also review the makeovers I've made over the past three years. Hopefully this blog will also inspire me to get more done! Check back soon for an update!