Homemade Laundry Soap

In a time that we all want to save money there are TONS of ideas and ways out there.  My friend, Courtney shared her awesome idea... making laundry soap with all of us!  THANKS Courtney!!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:

Main Ingredients:

Large Box of 20 Mule Team Borax
1-4 Bars of Fels Naptha Laundry Soap

Large Box of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

Add Ins:

4 lb Box of Baking Soda

2 Downy Unstoppables Laundry Crystals

Oxy Clean

So I have tried a few recipes for homemade laundry detergent. 

Basic Liquid Recipe:

The most basic (and cheapest) recipe consists of ½ cup Borax, 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap, and ½ cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Powder.  I normally mix mine in a 5 gallon bucket.  It will make about 2.5 gallons but the extra space makes it easier to mix and pour. 

-First, grate the 1/3 bar of soap with a cheese grater (or cut it into cubes and stick it in your food processor to cut time!) and put in a large saucepan.

-Next, add 6 cups of water and heat on medium heat until the soap is melted.

-Add ½ cup washing soda and borax.  Stir until dissolved.

-Pour 4 cups of hot water into the 5 gallon bucket and add your soap mixture and stir.

-Add 1 gallon plus six cups of water and stir.

-Cover tightly and let sit for 24 hours.  Shake/stir before each use.  For ease, I normally pour the mixture into one of my old laundry detergent containers.  Use ½ to ¾ cup per load.

*Note here that some recipes call for Ivory or Zote bar soaps and that you can increase the amount of soap.

This is definitely the cheapest recipe to use and my clothes were clean but did not SMELL…at all.  Now if one of my job requirements as a homemaker is going to be to put up the mountains of laundry that my 2 year old, husband, and I somehow manage to create every week, I want to at least look forward to bringing those warm clothes up to my nose and inhaling the sweet, clean fragrance that millions of candle makers have tried to duplicate in their “Clean Linens” and “100% Cottons!” 

I decided that my search for the perfect homemade laundry detergent was not over and I pulled up my favorite search engine to start looking for more ideas.  After trying a few of them and tweaking many of the recipes and amounts, I finally found the combination of ingredients that makes me feel like my clothes are clean.  This is what I came up with…this recipe is more expensive to begin with but makes approximately 265 loads (using 2 tbsp per load…and yes, you only need TWO tablespoons!)

Advanced (Powder) Recipe:

-I started with my trusty 5 gallon bucket and lined it with a clean trash bag.

-I grated 4 bars of Fels Naptha soap (found in the laundry aid aisle)

Put the following into your trash bag lined bucket:

Grated Fels Naptha Soap

Large Box of 20 Mule Team Borax

Large Box of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

Large Box of Arm and Hammer Baking Soda

 4 lb container of Oxy Clean

2 containers of Downy Unstoppables

Now these ingredients are not all necessary to clean laundry and the amounts are up to you…this is the amounts that I have used and that I was happiest with.  Play with it!  You may cut out the baking soda or one of the Downy Unstoppables or you may change brands on things.  Try the Ivory Soap or Purex Laundry Crystals instead of Downy Unstoppables.  I liked the scent of the Downy that was available at our store and did not like the particular scent of the Purex.  Totally up to you!  I like to make a large amount at one time (even though it is a larger initial investment) so that I do not have to make it every month.  You can use smaller amounts and make smaller batches.

Mix all ingredients by either stirring or tossing the trash bag around a little.  Whatever works for you!  And I finished by pouring mine into a 32 cup clear heavy duty plastic container that I bought at Walmart.  I added a measuring spoon (1 TBSP) that only stays with the laundry detergent so that I don’ t have to go looking for one every time I do a load of laundry.  Add 1 – 2 tablespoons per load.  I like to fill my washer halfway with water before adding powder.  It works with cold water and with HE machines…make sure your soap is grated finely for HE machines. 

Now, if only I could find a cheap way of hiring someone to put these wonderful smelling clothes up…  =)

HOW AWESOME IS THAT??  Thanks SO much for sharing this Courtney!  Can't wait to try it!!!

Vertical Garden

Y'all... if you're anything like me, surfing Pinterest and finding fun ideas is SO MUCH FUN.  However, if you're even MORE like me, you've pinned a gah-zillion (yeah, I know it's not a real number... but you get the point) things and actually made, eh 10?!  It's a super fun dream world to live in.  I'm NOT knocking it.  In fact, I'll continue on my merry way pinning every NEAT thing I see.

I wanted to share with you a vertical garden that a friend of mine pinned, and... ACTUALLY made!  I saw her pictures on Facebook and immediately asked if I could post her pictures.  She graciously gave me permission.  Now, I bring you... THE vertical garden from Our Washington Life...

"We decided to hang our garden on the brick wall at the back of our patio. We used clay pots we bought last year, some pine boards we picked up from Home Depot, "L" brackets to hold it all together, a little paint to make it pretty, and some thick rope to hang over the ledge of the brick wall, and voila!

 

As you can guess, this project was really pretty simple, especially since it was completely customizable. My husband, being the "builder" of our relationship, drew out the plans, gathered the materials, and put it all together based on what we thought would work best for our yard (aka, cover up the brick wall). All he had to do was cut the pine board into the right lengths and screw it all together. He used the "L" brackets to reinforce the shelves to the back so that it could support the clay pots and plants. The shelves may not be that pretty from the inside, because of all of the brackets and whatnot, but the paint and plants cover them up just fine and at least it won't fall apart!

He also used some thick rope to hang it over the top of the brick wall. We figured this way it'd be easier to take down to store next fall.

If you want to build a vertical garden just like ours, Hubby gave me some pretty detailed notes to share:Vertical Garden Assembly Instructions. The notes might be too detailed... if that's possible  ; ) Oh, and if you are curious about what I did to contribute to this project, besides being inspired by Pinterest, I painted the darn thing! Behr's California Poppy to be exact. It's not the best paint job in the world, but I only used half the quart I bought for it so at least I can touch it up year to year.And, you might think that I created the cute little plant labels on the shelves, but I didn't, Hubby totally did. It was his "idea," so I gave him the supplies (white spray paint and a blue acrylic paint pen) and he went to town with some scrap wood. He even made little label stakes for our herbs in the ground.

Our back "yard" patio definitely looks complete now that we have something fun hanging up on that brick wall. And, in case you are in awe of our awesome Adirondack chairs, Hubby definitely built those, from scratch! 

So, that's our vertical garden. Super simple, but perfect for a second try at our herb garden, even if we don't have a "yard" to plant anything in!"

THANKS SO MUCH CHRIS AND KRISTIN FOR SHARING WITH US!!!

Teacher Book

Here's a SUPER cute Pinterest success that my friend, Meg did with her daughter for her teacher's end of the year gift.

Thanks for sharing Meg!!

This is just a simple soft case photo album.  I've gotten them at Wal-Mart for a $1 before.

FREE SHIPPING @Crocs... TODAY ONLY

Hey y'all!  I just snatched up a deal on these SUPER CUTE Genna Crocs  for my little girl AND got them with FREE SHIPPING (using the code SHIPCROCS- offer ends TODAY 4/30)... grand total $14.99 (+tax)..$16.04...SWEET :-) CLICK HERE AND GRAB YOURS!!

Carpet Playtime

I saw this idea on a friends Facebook post... and it really got my mind going.  She posted this picture...

How AWESOME is this?  She said that it only took her 10 mins.... a little masking tape... and her little man was LOVIN it for HOURS!!!

Fun with Froot Loops

So, this was a fun rainy day activity that I wanted to share with y'all.  I know if you're anything like me, then rainy days are the WORST with little ones.  

My daughter had been working on patterns in school. Which got me thinking....

FROOT LOOP NECKLACES/BRACELETS!  It would be a fun activity and a decent snack.  

Updating Outlets

I have decided to take 'spring cleaning' to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL.  I have decided to do some painting and some small updating as well as the usual organizing and deep cleaning.  It's a task, but man do I feel GREAT afterwards.  

So, this is a small task that I've taken on and I LOVE what it's done for the house.  Just so you know, I've updated the light switches too.  I'll post those pics soon!  Our house was built in the 80s and I'm pretty POSITIVE that the outlets that I took out have been there since day 1!  They were old and crumbly, probably not too safe either, so I feel like I did a really great thing... more than just making it look pretty.

So, here's a step by step, on what I (not an electrician) did to change the outlets.  BIG thanks to my friend, Mary for helping me get started!!

Here's what they looked like in the beginning... YUCK!

Chair Planters

Well, I hope that you and your family enjoyed the Easter weekend and celebrated the REAL reason that we have Easter.

While surfing through Facebook this weekend, I spotted this SUPER cute, inexpensive, and easy springtime project!  Thanks Katie for sharing it with us!!

Fireplace Facelift

So, apparently the folks that built this house were LOVERS of the shiny gold finishes... BLEH.  I, on the other hand, am NOT a fan!  So, my mission was to... GET RID OF IT.

Patio SALE @Target

'Tis the season to be outside!  With daylight lasting longer and the weather warming up (it's down right HOT in the south), then patio furniture is a must!  Check it out at Target while it's on sale!!