I'm not absolutely sure when this happened, but I'm glad it did. I was just sitting here with Emma watching Cailou, listening to Bennie snore beside us(he's taking a nap before going to work tonight), and thinking to myself,, I'm happy. I love this. I love sitting at home with my family not doing anything. Not having to go or be anywhere. I'm content.
There was a time in my life that I felt like we constantly needed somewhere to go or be, even if that ment just going to my moms house. I felt like we were boring or something if we just sat at home. But now I really enjoy just hanging out here.. dont get me wrong I also like doing things outside the house but it doesnt bother me to be here, especially when Ben is home with us.
I was able to get out by myself this morning and go to Walmart. It was so nice to take my time and not worry about chasing after anyone. I got a new drying rack. This one says heavy duty so I hope it holds up for a little while. I like being able to air dry stuff even in the winter time. With as much laundry that goes on around here I'm sure I save on electricity by using the dryer less. I'm still going strong with using my homemade liquid laundry detergent. I think its working great and saving us loads of cash. :) I hope everyone reading this has had a great weekend. Coming up this week I'm planning on writing a post of all the frugal things that I do, to give you some tips and you guys can give me some ideas on things that I could also be doing.
Showing posts with label homemade cleaners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homemade cleaners. Show all posts
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Liquid laundry soap
Someone had asked for the recipe I used to make my laundry soap so it it goes:
Grate the soap and put it in a saucee pan. Add 6 cups of water and heat until the soap dissolves. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for 24 hours and it will gel. Used 1/2 cup per load.
I am really enjoying this liquid soap. I also add a scoop of Sun (generic oxyclean from the Dollar Store) to each load. I feel it gives it a extra boost and our water is a little hard so I think this helps. I am on my second batch now and plan on continuing to use it. Another helpful tip I have is to pour the soap into a old detergent bottle for easy pouring!
Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax powder
You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallons
Grate the soap and put it in a saucee pan. Add 6 cups of water and heat until the soap dissolves. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for 24 hours and it will gel. Used 1/2 cup per load.
I am really enjoying this liquid soap. I also add a scoop of Sun (generic oxyclean from the Dollar Store) to each load. I feel it gives it a extra boost and our water is a little hard so I think this helps. I am on my second batch now and plan on continuing to use it. Another helpful tip I have is to pour the soap into a old detergent bottle for easy pouring!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Laundry soap results
ugh,,,,I'm not feeling very well. I have this nasty head cold and now its moving into my chest. I should have posted earlier about our weekend and thanksgiving cause already it seems like it was so long ago! We did have a great Thanksgiving,, spent some time at mom's house, then went to my dad's. The boys hunted,,big surprise, lol. Shot gun season is officially over and they didn't get anything. But mussel loader season starts on Saturday so Ben will be out again. I really want him to get one,, even 2 would be nice so we can start filling our freezer back up. He gets so crappy when he doesn't get a deer and then is in a grumpy mood so it would be nice if he could get one and lift his spirits also. The two of us have been having a rough time as of lately. Isn't it funny how marriage has so many ups and downs. I know we will get through it, we always do. I just have to let go of my expectations.
I've been using the liquid laundry detergent I made for over a week now and I am really liking it. Seems to be getting all the clothes just as clean as anything else I've used. Of course I still pretreat the stains,, I have been using Tide pretreating spray and it really works pretty well! So I think I have found my new detergent to stick with. I still use fabric softener so our clothes can still have a yummy smell.
I know I was gonna talk about more stuff but my brain is to stuffed up to think so this will be it for now. Have a wonderful day all you people out there in bloggy land.
I've been using the liquid laundry detergent I made for over a week now and I am really liking it. Seems to be getting all the clothes just as clean as anything else I've used. Of course I still pretreat the stains,, I have been using Tide pretreating spray and it really works pretty well! So I think I have found my new detergent to stick with. I still use fabric softener so our clothes can still have a yummy smell.
I know I was gonna talk about more stuff but my brain is to stuffed up to think so this will be it for now. Have a wonderful day all you people out there in bloggy land.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Productivity
Ahhh,, what a lovely weekend we had. Friday night Ben and I got to go out and see a movie....then Saturday the boys spent the day hunting and us girls went and visited my sister and niece. We had a nice time while there and the two little girls got along pretty good!(which always makes everything much more pleasant). Sunday the boys went hunting again....I got a lot accomplished here on the home front,,, sweeping, moping, laundry, dusting,,all that fun stuff. Then went we to mom's for dinner and Uncle Mike cooked us a very yummy meal! I learned how to make mashed cauliflower,,, it was so good and everyone in the family Loved it,, even the ones that don't like cauliflower. .He cooked it in beef broth,, I think that's the secret!
The boys never did see any deer, so the hunt continues. I sure hope they can get at least one this year. It's been 3 years since Ben has got one.
Today I've been plugging along on housework,, the kids have all gotten along great,, making things much easier on me :) They are napping now, and I just put together my first batch of homemade liquid laundry detergent. The powder stuff didn't work for me so I am trying the liquid version. It was still very easy to make,, it has to sit for 24 hours so I wont be able to try it out until tomorrow. After a few weeks of use I'll let you all know what I think.
I feel so good when I am able to be productive and get things accomplished around here! After all, it is my JOB to keep the house clean tidy and organized,, and take care of the kids and my husband. I think as stay at home mothers we need to look at our day just as that... a job. If you were going out to work each day you wouldn't lounge around an watch tv...or surf the net most of the day. I'm not saying we don't need and deserve a break, but the sitting shouldn't take more time than the working and time with our children. Some days it seems that I've accomplished nothing, but when I stop and look at the things I've really done a lot. Its just hard to see it sometimes due to little ones under foot constantly making new messes. I am really concentrating on teaching the kids once they are done with something you need to put it away before moving on to the next thing. It's a lesson that should be learned by all.
The boys never did see any deer, so the hunt continues. I sure hope they can get at least one this year. It's been 3 years since Ben has got one.
Today I've been plugging along on housework,, the kids have all gotten along great,, making things much easier on me :) They are napping now, and I just put together my first batch of homemade liquid laundry detergent. The powder stuff didn't work for me so I am trying the liquid version. It was still very easy to make,, it has to sit for 24 hours so I wont be able to try it out until tomorrow. After a few weeks of use I'll let you all know what I think.
I feel so good when I am able to be productive and get things accomplished around here! After all, it is my JOB to keep the house clean tidy and organized,, and take care of the kids and my husband. I think as stay at home mothers we need to look at our day just as that... a job. If you were going out to work each day you wouldn't lounge around an watch tv...or surf the net most of the day. I'm not saying we don't need and deserve a break, but the sitting shouldn't take more time than the working and time with our children. Some days it seems that I've accomplished nothing, but when I stop and look at the things I've really done a lot. Its just hard to see it sometimes due to little ones under foot constantly making new messes. I am really concentrating on teaching the kids once they are done with something you need to put it away before moving on to the next thing. It's a lesson that should be learned by all.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Homemade Laundry Detergent
For anyone that wants to save money, have clean clothes,, and have a little fun (I think its fun,,maybe I'm weird :)) here is the recipe that I used homemade laundry soap!
Powdered laundry detergent
*1 cup Borax
*1 cup Washing Soda(not baking soda)
*1 bar Fels Napa soap
*1/2 cup oxi-clean(I used generic)
You have to grate up the bar soap into as little pieces as possible. I cut it up into chunks then ran it through my off brand magic bullet(I couldn't put it all in there at once,, do a couple rounds). You can just use the smallest holes on a grater or if you have a food processor that would be even better, but I don't have one. Then you just mix everything all together really well. I stored this in a recycled quart sized yogurt container(make sure you label it). You use 1-2Tablespoons per load(since my water is kinda hard I use 2T. I know that seems like a really small amount but trust me its all you need. Upon reading others adventures in using their homemade soap I read that some people have trouble with the soap dissolving but that's normally just if you don't get your bar soap grated well enough, but just to be safe I run a little hot water first and swish it around with the soap then turn it to warm. Then add your clothes and let it be. This soap does not suds up! That was hard for me to grasp at first, but I guess the manufactures just add ingredients to it to make it suds so we think its working. You don't need the suds,, it still cleans just fine. The other thing you will have to get used to is there wont be any perfumed smell on your clothes like were used to,, just clean fresh clothes. I thought it would bother me but it doesn't, especially knowing that this is not going to irritate my kids sensitive skin.
So there you have it. I am very happy with this so far. If you look around online you will find recipes for liquid det., but it makes a ton and you have to store it in a 5gal. bucket and I didn't want to mess with that. There are some variations to the recipe, but so far this one is easy and working for me! A lot of people have the cost breakdown for this too,,, its super cheap comaired to store bought!
Powdered laundry detergent
*1 cup Borax
*1 cup Washing Soda(not baking soda)
*1 bar Fels Napa soap
*1/2 cup oxi-clean(I used generic)
You have to grate up the bar soap into as little pieces as possible. I cut it up into chunks then ran it through my off brand magic bullet(I couldn't put it all in there at once,, do a couple rounds). You can just use the smallest holes on a grater or if you have a food processor that would be even better, but I don't have one. Then you just mix everything all together really well. I stored this in a recycled quart sized yogurt container(make sure you label it). You use 1-2Tablespoons per load(since my water is kinda hard I use 2T. I know that seems like a really small amount but trust me its all you need. Upon reading others adventures in using their homemade soap I read that some people have trouble with the soap dissolving but that's normally just if you don't get your bar soap grated well enough, but just to be safe I run a little hot water first and swish it around with the soap then turn it to warm. Then add your clothes and let it be. This soap does not suds up! That was hard for me to grasp at first, but I guess the manufactures just add ingredients to it to make it suds so we think its working. You don't need the suds,, it still cleans just fine. The other thing you will have to get used to is there wont be any perfumed smell on your clothes like were used to,, just clean fresh clothes. I thought it would bother me but it doesn't, especially knowing that this is not going to irritate my kids sensitive skin.
So there you have it. I am very happy with this so far. If you look around online you will find recipes for liquid det., but it makes a ton and you have to store it in a 5gal. bucket and I didn't want to mess with that. There are some variations to the recipe, but so far this one is easy and working for me! A lot of people have the cost breakdown for this too,,, its super cheap comaired to store bought!
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