Get Kamfortable

Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds Review – Making Cleaner Cleaning Choices

02.25.18

One of my biggest goals of this year is to start eliminating toxic things from my life that I use on an everyday basis. This means I want to start eating whole foods (ie. not too many processed foods), use all natural skin care/hygiene products and use no chemicals whatsoever when I clean! So in todays post I will share with you my favourite all natural, chemical free cleaner that I absolutely love and is perfect for cleaning a wide variety of things! Let’s get started with the absolutely magical Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds Review!

It’s no secret that I love Dr. Bronner’s! I’ve done a previous post on Castile Soap and how much we love using it as a body wash (check out that post here). So, when I was researching Dr. Bronner’s, I came across their Sal Suds and how it is supposed to be this amazing biodegradable cleaner that is made from plants and fir and spruce essential oils. That was the extent of my research and I left it at that.

Then, just a few months ago, I heard about Sal Suds again on one of my favourite gardening podcasts! They were talking about different all natural cleaning products and how Sal Suds was the core ingredient. They even gave recipes on different ways to use it to clean different things. That was it, I was beyond excited and went ahead and bought it on Amazon! And there has been no turning back since! I’ve used it a variety of ways that I’ll share with you all!

1. Use it as an All Purpose Cleaner:

Before I started using the Sal Suds as my all purpose cleaner, I was using Vinegar mixed with Dawn Soap and some essential oils (to hide the strong vinegar smell). But because the Sal Suds already include some essential oils, the smell is very neutral and no essential oils are necessary. To make the all purpose cleaner, I add 1 tablespoon of the Sal Suds to 1 cup of water! That’s it! Now this is one large bottle, and 1 tbsp is nothing! The bottle will last you a super long time! Use this All Purpose Cleaner to clean bathroom and kitchen sinks and counters as well as toilets and wood surfaces!

2. Use it as a Laundry Detergent:

Yupp, you can also use it to wash clothes. Just use 2 tbsp of undiluted Sal Suds per load and it will wash your clothes perfectly! This is perfect if you are moving towards using biodegradable/all natural detergents!

3. Use it to mop your floors:

I like mopping my floors using a rag and a bucket of hot water with soap. So to use the Sal Suds to mop your floors, add 1 tbsp of Sal Suds per bucket of hot water! Quick and easy and does an amazing job!

These are the three ways I have used Sal Suds so far but there are many other recipes out there for different purposes! I am not the biggest fan of cleaning (I love organizing way more), but now when I clean using the Sad Suds and my other all natural cleaning products (check this post for a DIY Natural Window Cleaner), I actually don’t feel like I’m ingesting chemicals! I’m hoping to post more cleaning recipes on the blog that actually work and are great substitutes to the common cleaning products out there (like Vim – it works but has the worst smell!). So stay tuned!

Also, I’m loving these glass Amber spray bottles from Amazon to make my cleaning products! I just get so excited to clean! And this cute funnel and white sharpie pen are absolute essentials!! I really hope you enjoyed this Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds Review and are excited to give it a try yourself!

For more DIY project ideas, check out the Kamfy Living section of the blog 🙂

What are your favourite ways to clean your home without using chemicals? Comment below!

Kamfort Food

Berry Banana Smoothie Bowl Recipe

02.18.18

When I went to Vancouver this past winter, I had the most amazing Acai bowl and I have been on the hunt to find places in Toronto that offer it. Last weekend, we went to this amazing vegan cafe called Sorelle and Co. in Vaughan and they had some smoothie bowls. Again I was so impressed and now I want to see if this is something I can make at home myself! Smoothie bowls are so delicious and healthy and so fun to eat with the beautiful toppings and I think you will love this berry banana smoothie bowl recipe!

The key to an amazing smoothie bowl is to make sure most of your ingredients are frozen so that the smoothie is thick. So you will not need any liquid in the recipe. The one I am sharing with you all today is just 3 ingredients: frozen berries, frozen bananas and yogurt. It’s basically a nice cream! But if you are looking for a smoothie recipe (try my favourite one here) and not into eating a smoothie, just add a half cup of milk and you have yourself a smoothie instead of a berry banana smoothie bowl!

The thing that makes the smoothie bowl so much more impressive is the toppings! That is why your smoothie needs to be thick so that the toppings don’t just sink into the bowl! Another tip I learned is to layer on your least heaviest toppings first, and then add your heavier ones like the bananas!

Okay, now on to the recipe!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup frozen berries

1/2 cup vegan yogurt (try the yoso brand)

1 cup frozen bananas

TOPPINGS

Nature’s Path Love Crunch granola (thanks to my sister for introducing me to this)

Sliced bananas

Sliced strawberries

Almonds

Shredded coconut

DIRECTIONS

Place your frozen bananas, frozen berries and yogurt into a high powered blender and blend until smooth. I love my copper Vitamix!

Pour the smoothie into a bowl and use a spoon to even it out.

Now add in your toppings, starting with the lightest one first.

Make whatever design you like!

Now add in a spoon and enjoy!

This recipe is so quick and easy and probably the funnest one on the blog!

Kamfy Living

Beet Dyed Silk Ribbons – DIY Dyed Silk Ribbons

02.13.18

I love the look of a gift wrapped in a silk ribbon. It just adds the best special touch to any gift! There are a bunch of Etsy shops that sell silk dyed ribbon (this one is my favourite) but I thought I would take the challenge and make some beet dyed silk ribbons myself, just in time for Valentine’s Day!

Since I have never done this before and couldn’t really find much on the internet in terms of dying silk, I tested a couple different fabrics. From what I understand, cotton and linen will dye the best and take up colour easily from natural dyes, compared to silk. However, I really wanted to use silk (not cotton or linen) so I tried two different materials. I just had these two pieces of white silk lying around. Mani gave this to me when I used to learn from her!

The tutorial for these beet dyed silk ribbons is super easy, however, I did learn some things from my first attempt that I will also point out!

First, you need to get some fabric. If you also want to dye silk, as opposed to cotton or linen, buy raw silk! Synthetic silk will not dye well using natural dyes so get the good organic and raw silk for this project. However, if you do not care what fabric you want to use, use cotton or linen! They will dye very well!

Next, decide on the colour of the dye you want to use. There are synthetic dyes that you can purchase online, however, if you want to keep everything natural, then look into plants that give off a strong colour. For example, in this tutorial I will be talking about beets because I wanted a blush pink colour. However, I got more of a light red/rusty colour using beets instead. I think raspberries and strawberries will give you a more pink colour (from what I read on the internet).

And that is all! You need a good quality fabric and good plant dye. And you are set to make these beet dyed silk ribbons.

So, because I dyed silk with beets, I will tell you step by step exactly what I did!

SUPPLIES

3 beets

hot water

DIRECTIONS

Cut your raw silk fabric into strips. I cut mine into 1 inch strips using a pair of good quality fabric scissors. To get the frayed edges on the fabric, cut a little of the fabric on the edge and rip the fabric all the way down. This will give you a straight cut as well as create a frayed look!
Next in a large pot, fill it up with water and allow it to heat up.
As the water is heating up, peel and shop up the beets and place into the pot.
While waiting for the water to come to a boil, fill up the sink with hot water and add your pieces of fabric to pre-warm.
Once the water has come to a boil, take it to the sink and add your pieces of fabric. Allow them to absorb the colour from the beets for 2 minutes.
Then remove and let the water drain using a pair of tongs.
Hang them up to dry in a warm area in your home. I hung mine over the vent in our bathroom!
Once dried, you can either iron out the ribbons if you want a clean look. I wanted them to look a little distressed and wrinkled so I just rolled them onto an old spool.
They are ready to be used to wrap your gift!

Since this was my first attempt, there are a couple things I would change if I tried this again. I wanted a faded pink look in the end, however, I got more of a rusty red colour, which I actually do love. But I think the reason I didn’t get a pink ribbon is because of the material. You need to use a good quality silk. There cannot be any synthetic material in it or it will not pick up the colour easily.

Another issue I had with my silk was that I cut the strips before I dyed them. When I did this, the material just rolled up onto itself. So when I put the strips into the beet water, they picked up colour easily on the outside, the inside of the strips remained white. I would suggest cutting your strips after you dye them! Then after they dry, roll them onto some spools!

I may even try some of the dyes you can purchase online, this particular one from Amazon has caught my eye and I would love to try it out!

Overall, I had a lot of fun making these beet dyed silk ribbons and I love how distressed they look. I originally wanted the entire ribbon to be one colour, but I love how these ribbons have some parts that picked up more dye than others! And I LOVE the rusty, vintage look! I wrapped up some old Pokemon cards for Gursheel with these ribbons but I can’t wait to use them for upcoming gifts as well!