Each week I try to make a list of things that our family did in our quest to escape from Living in the Land of Excess. Sometimes the list is small with one or two items, and other times, it’s much bigger.  Regardless of the size of my list, it is more about the satisfaction that my family stayed true to our goals for the year (and life in general). 

Here are my goals once again: 1) embrace life, 2) escape excess (this is a catch-all for saving money, living greener, leaner and healthier), 3) become debt free, 4) save for a house, 5) get more organized, 6) discover new income streams, 7) learn how to cook, 8) be a better giver, 9) date night, 10) fun with kids

While some of you might read through my list and say, “duh!”  It has taken me up to this point to realize exactly what our true goals are and that we don’t need all that fluff anymore.  Remember, these are the goals that my family and I wrote out.  I’m not putting my agenda out there on anyone else. That said, stay true to your own goals— you will achieve them some day!

Here are a few things we did this week to escape excess:

1. Made my own floor cleaner.  I used to buy fancy floor cleaners, because it was all about the smell for me.  Amazingly, my homemade solutions smells great, cleans surfaces naturally and was inexpensive to make.  One part water, to one part vinegar, and 2 drops of lemon essential oils. No need for expensive floor cleaners here. See picture for my floors (and my cute model).  
   
2. Used coconut oil to naturally remove makeup.  I ran out of eye makeup remover, so I substituted fractionated coconut oil (FCO) to remove my eye makeup. This is just one of many uses for FCO.  I’ll be posting more uses soon.
   
3. Bought clothes re-sale. We ventured to our local kids clothing consignment store, Children’s Orchard.  They were running a buy $25 get $5 free. I did find a few nice items for my son, but it is getting harder and harder as his sizes get bigger and bigger.  No problem finding little bitty clothes for my 1 1/2 year old daughter though.  (Why are there just so many more girl clothes to choose from?  Sheesh!)
4. Painted an old dresser to put into my daughter’s room using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  More details to come in another post, but I think it turned out beautifully.  I will post pictures soon.
   
5. Went to an essential oils class to learn more about the natural use of the oils. It was an eye-opening experience!
6. Boosted my immunity by using my essential oils.
   
7. Shared essential oils with my sister.
   
8. Enjoyed a date night with hubby.
   

This was a good week for us.  Looking forward to next week and finding new ways to escape excess.  I’m thinking maybe I’ll tackle organizing the garage!