Maybe you love trying new hand soaps like I do. The different scents. The foam and non-foam versions. Their varying containers. But maybe you’re also like me and prefer a cleaner alternative. Perhaps making your own homemade hand soap has remained just a thought. An attractive dispenser sounds appealing to merge with home decor that you can use and reuse – and without those less flattering store-packaged stickers. I’m here to share a simple blend proving a DIY creation can be that easy, moving your thought into motion. I’ll include some reasons for making your own and benefits of the ingredients. For me, similarly to my homemade laundry soap, finding a creative outlet is huge. Making modifications to what I use within my home and developing a cleaner environment is empowering. Creating a cost-effective alternative is appealing. Store hand soap can be pretty expensive, especially the natural ones. Why not make your own and be in control of the scent? Using household staples already on standby, such as castile soap and essential oils, makes sense and is fun. Doing my part to make a non-toxic version is rewarding and a…
"Everyone deals with hard stuff. God knows the hard we will encounter. Through it, He creates the us He desires and brings about His best for us."
It doesn’t take long to find detox suggestions for health reasons. Restoring and resetting our health makes sense and is a good thing. Why not extend the detox or reset to other areas of life like a social media detox or a digital detox? What do we have to lose? Or better yet, what can we possibly gain? What if those very things about social media that are important to us need less of us or a different us in order to get the best of us? Detoxes and resets both take and give things in return. They can apply to numerous areas of life. They can test things out, improve our well being, and bring perspective on what’s working or not working allowing us to live and function better. The removal or limitation of something can often wake up perspectives, shake up conditions and habits, and mix up various inputs and influences. The truth is I’ve struggled with social media. Lots of times I’ve not liked who I was or what was stirring within me while using it. It didn’t contribute to the change I was desiring…
I invited you to share in this blog journey, which involves sharing real, blog-life experiences, revealing there’s much more to it than just words on a page. It’s what I’m living and breathing. The frequency of my posts, obstacles, and learning to merge this new blog layer with all other layers are some examples. Perhaps you can relate, substituting yourself and your details as you read along. I’ve not been incredibly frequent with posting and there’s been gaps of delay. There’s much backend work with various topics to learn, personal things to pause to attend do, other life layers and a full-time job, responsibilities, life events, and unexpected curveballs all of which are just as much part of the process as is creating actual content. With any endeavor, it’s so easy to not keep going. Or to not start. It doesn’t take long to detect via my home page and “Finally Live” post that this process and goal has been a significant challenge. Ever demanding effort and growth is just as much part of the equation as ever present excitement…
I thoroughly enjoy cleaning – except for putting away laundry. I’d rather mop or clean the toilet. So sometimes, admittedly, a clean pile sits patiently and travels to the bed and then back in the basket, so I can sleep, and then back on the bed before it gets put away. My cat has no complaints about ‘his’ fun and happy pile. Guess that’s a perk. While I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy putting away laundry, I’ve found it helpful to tackle a least exciting task first to get it out of the way before things get compounded or, in this case, more laundry accumulates. Despite my battle in the laundry world, there’s an enjoyable part to the process that lightens the load: Making homemade laundry soap. If you’re like me, you’re swamped with ideas and recipes. Maybe you save loads of them and they pile up on your Pinterest board. We have good intention, goals, and interests, but it’s so easy to get lost in information overload staying stuck in the mere thought of things. We need…
As with animals, it’s hard to choose the pick-of-the-seedling. I love and want them all. One special plant in particular means a little extra to me. Plants are one of those simple things in our midst that not only contribute to beauty and health in our home, but also love and joy that can easily go unnoticed or become forgotten. It’s a health decision to improve indoor air quality; promote a welcoming and relaxing atmosphere; de-stress our home; help reduce background noise; and remove toxins from our home. They become part of our family. God’s hand in creation is not only all around me outside, but also within reach and intimately in my home. I don’t have the greenest thumb. A growing area for me. My success tends to be with indoor plants at this point. I’m glad low-maintenance ones exist. I adore all my greenery, but one fella stands out: My Pothos. Middle stages. He’s special because I’ve had him for about seven years. He’s one I’ve been able to keep alive. He’…
"When I stare at failure, I'll fear it. I'll convince myself it's the worst thing that could happen. And I'll stay stuck. But when I stare at all the possible ways God can use this whether I succeed or fail, I'll face my decision. I'll convince myself that it's better to step out and find out than to stay stuck."
I’ve been asked about the logo design, so here’s a bit about its birth. I’m very proud of it as it reflects the vision of Layered Living perfectly. My aim was for the logo to be inviting and relatable and not only reflect me – but my readers, too. The Roots I wanted the emphasis to be on the roots. Who we are stems from our root system, those things unseen that contribute to the growth we all see. Our roots and foundations function to keep what is seen nourished and alive. This could be people, experiences, mistakes, successes, hobbies, passions, vocations, traditions, faith, and the intangibles. Highlighting the roots emphasizes the beauty and necessity of different stages of development. It represents decay and rebirth. All of it matters. Without it, we may not have today’s wisdom or have taken action. We may not have depended on our network in our lives a little more deeply or have had our faith strengthened as a result. We never stop needing our roots. It seems there’s an overemphasis on the flashiness of what is seen and an underemphasis on what is unseen…
Here I am – finally live and active! Definitely an appropriate first blog post.
Tears flooded my eyes when I turned the website “on” and was no longer behind “under construction”. More tears fill my eyes now as I type this first post.
This process was years in the making. What I mean by that is I’ve had a life-long dream to write. I dreamed about writing a book, but didn’t feel that was the direction I needed to go yet nor did I think I was ready for the task. Things got rerouted to contemplating a blog. A thought and dream in motion for the last 5 years or so…