Make your own.

I've jumped on the make your own bandwagon before.  I usually jump right off at some point between buying the supplies and actually making the item. 

No more friends.  No more.

Finally, I have actually followed through.

I've had Borax, Fels Naptha soap and Washing Soda sitting above my washer for almost three years.  You read that right.  Three years.   And while I frequently use and replace the Borax, the remainder of it sits there...mocking me every time I put a load in.  Trust me, that's a lot of mocking.

Here's what I made:

Homemade dishwasher detergent

1/2 box Borax, 1/2 box Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, 1 1/2 cups Epsom salt and 1 bottle citric acid.

Mix it all together.



Store in a container with a tight lid. 
Use 1 TBSP per load.

 Homemade Laundry Detergent:

1/2 box Borax, 1/2 box Baking Soda, 1/2 box Washing Soda, 1 1/2 bars grated Fels Naptha, 1 cup OxiClean.

Use your food processor to grate the soap.

Mix it all together in a bucket.

Store it in a container with a tight fitting lid. 
Use 1 TBSP per load.




I'll probably use 1 TBSP for regular clothes and 2 TBSP for Ronnie's work clothes and towels. 

I have less than $20 total in both recipes.  At 1 TBSP at a time for both the dishwasher and washing machine, I expect it to last anywhere from 4 to 6 months.  I do an average of 3-4 loads of laundry and 1-2 loads of dishes daily. 

I'm sure I could make it for less if I left out the Oxiclean.  I just threw it in because I had it in the laundry room and Ronnie's work clothes are a greasy mess from the aluminum plant.

One final project for today:

My sweet friend Cessna gave me some wonderful smelling foaming soap for my birthday in February.  I just recently ran out and was wanting more.  Luckily, I found a recipe for it too.

Add 3 TBSP clear liquid soap to a foaming soap bottle.
I used the last drops of Avon honeysuckle bubble bath.

Slowly add warm water.  Do not shake.
Gently rotate to mix.
Let sit for 3-5 minutes.

Ta Da!  Foaming soap. 

I think I'm going to have a hard time paying $3 and up for foaming hand soap from now on. 

And for the record, all this homemade stuff took me less than 30 minutes to do, with kids helping.  I think I could pull this all together in 20 minutes on my own.  Not too bad.

OK, now pick a project and just go do it!

Update:  I actually made all of this on Wednesday.  Since then I've done a few loads of both dishes and laundry.  I'm impressed.  Our clothes look and smell clean and no one is itching - the sign of success for us.  And the dishwasher detergent even cleaned my icing bowls from the Angry Birds cupcakes.  Getting Crisco and butter off of plastic is no small feat.  So far, so good.

Eat that Frog

Thanks to Kristy for posting this on FB last week. 

I'm off to eat my frog.  In other words, my filthy closet.

No more procrastination?

Hi, my name is Charli and I'm a procrastinator. I really don't mean to procrastinate. I have the best of intentions. But time after time, I find myself running behind or forgetting to do my Wednesday night Bible study (sorry Esther...I'm sure I'll finish you eventually) or even realizing my thank you cards from my birthday are still sitting without stamps on the microwave and wondering if it's too late to send them out now. Maybe it's not just procrastination, maybe it's an excess of activity and a love of sleeping at least 5 hours a night. Is that too much for a girl to ask? If I'm honest, I'll have to admit it's a combination. Between raising the boys, homeschooling 2 out of 3, keeping the books for our rental business, working as a nurse and trying to be a great wife to my husband - I'm beat! So, although this blog is about our adventures here in our little corner of the world, it's also about keeping me honest....and hopefully a little more timely. Stop back tomorrow to hear about our summer plans...Ronnie is just "buzzing" with excitement about them.


Blessings!


Charli