Mom to the Power of 3

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I've had a few questions about the homemade laundry detergent I pictured in my laundry room re-do. It's really simple, super cheap, and now that I've tested it out for more than a month, I can tell you it does a bang-up job of cleaning our mountains of clothes and towels. We've put it through some tests, too!

Here's the recipe:
1c. Arm and Hammer washing soda
1c. 20 Mule Team Borax
1 bar (shaved) Fels-Naptha

Use 1 tablespoon per load (2 if very large or heavily soiled) - I use 2 on socks and underwear.

I have read that you can use Ivory soap in place of the Fels-Naptha, but Ivory is murder on my son's eczema. I have had no issues with his skin from using these products.

I also read a few recipes online that made liquid detergent. I think it's mostly personal preference, but I didn't feel comfortable keeping a 5 gallon bucket full of liquid around in my house of 3 small children. Didn't seem safe to me. I much prefer my little glass jar of dry detergent.

Here's the breakdown (everything was purchased at Walmart):

Super cheap ingredients. Borax $2.98, Washing Soda $2.77, Fels-Naptha $0.97

Just a few things you will need on hand: a grater (for the bar soap), a 1c. measuring cup or scoop, mixing bowl, spoon, and container to keep detergent in.

It can take a while to grate the soap, but it passes quickly if
you're watching your kids play or catching up on your "soaps".

This is what the Fels-Naptha looks like shaved - and it smells FANTASTIC!

All mixed up!

This is 2 batches worth. Not bad!

I made two batches of this back on June 15th, and I have yet to run out. I still have enough to last me through at least a couple of weeks, and remember - I'm doing laundry for FIVE people! This is an AMAZING savings for us. I haven't quite figured out the cost per load, but considering I've hardly made a dent in my boxes of Borax and washing soda (which together cost me less than $6), and I've used less than $2 worth of Fels-Naptha, I am positive it's much cheaper than the brand name I was buying (and I bought a cheap brand). So... I going to go out on an estimating limb and figure it costs me about a buck and a quarter a month. That's CRAZY cheap!

** For those of you wondering, NO you cannot use this on cloth diapers. Borax and washing soda are both laundry boosters, which means they have brighteners in them that cannot be used on cloth diapers. But for everything else - it's super!

Room 4: The deck plus "Blossom"

This makeover was Jerry's baby. The deck was sad and under-appreciated. We hadn't really done anything to it in the 8 1/2 years since it was built. It's way of fighting back was giving our children splinters. Point taken. Time for some TLC.

It was really this much fun... REALLY!

Rolled on THICK. Looked like BBQ sauce.

Almost done. Jerry's taking a break to talk to our neighbor David while he works hard staining his fence.

Look, Ma! No splinters!

Meanwhile (and I do mean "meanwhile" because my hubby was going back and forth between projects), Jerry got a great deal on a cherry blossom tree from Home Depot. Only $15! It's not the right season for planting, but if we take really good care of her, she'll do just fine. We've been wanting to plant a tree in this spot for a few years since the tree that used to be there met an untimely death.

Laney was a great helper.

She helped Daddy dig the hole.

Laney concentrated so hard on her job. She felt very big and helpful.

So strong!

I love this picture, because it looks like Jerry's holding up a much bigger tree because of
our neighbor's tree in the background.

Bella appropriately named our new addition "Blossom".

It feels good to get these two projects out of the way!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Rooms 2 and 3: MY rooms (master closet and laundry room)

Ok, so the closet isn't just mine (Jerry has a small section), but the laundry room IS. Call us cliché, but in our house, Mom does all the laundry. Honestly, it's easier that way. When all the loads are combined, it's faster for me to do them. I do pass on some folding duties to my hubby and my oldest daughter puts her own clothes away.

The closet "renovation" wasn't much. All we did was purge the closet of anything that didn't belong. We were storing silly things in there.

I forgot to take a pic of the closet before I took everything out, but believe me when I say I could hardly walk in there, let alone find what I was looking for. So refreshing to see it empty!

Clothes all organized! All that is in here now is meant to be here. What a great feeling!

Shoes all in a row. Isn't it a beautiful sight? Mine are all in labeled boxes. Life is good.

The laundry room was a bigger transformation, and I'm thrilled with the results. I may actually enjoy this chore now (maybe)!

The "before" picture. The putty on the wall on the right is covering a hole that had been in the wall for about 2 years. There's stuff being stored on the shelf that just doesn't belong in the laundry room, and I don't have decent storage for the stuff that does.

First things first: I shopped. :) When I found the accessories I wanted, Jerry had some paint custom made to match, and then he got to work. A beautiful, cheery, soft green.

Next, I got out the spray paint! Luckily, I already had two shades of pink on hand. I'm sure some are not surprised in the least by that. Jerry picked up the shelves for $6 each at Hobby Lobby, and the H was just a buck at Michael's. Yay for
great deals!

My new, efficient LAUNDRY ROOM!

Decorated and everything!

I love these that I downloaded and printed from the Better Homes and Gardens site! The frames I bought for $2.50 a pop from good ol' Walmart and spray painted to match.

You know how you always find random socks with no mate? Here's the solution.
They hang out on this line until their mate shows up!

I'm super excited about the shelves. Not only are they adorable, but they are low enough that I can reach! It's the little things that matter. :)

I lined the shelves with shelf liner that I bought at Michael's. It coordinates with the tag labels, clothespins, and shelf liner that I used to cover the switch plates and outlet cover. All super cheap. I think it was 60% off at the time.

I love these glass jar containers for holding all the detergents. It's just so much prettier than the commercial jugs and boxes. And, I can see exactly how much I have left!

Lots of fun, new items in this photo - my homemade detergent (blog on that coming soon), new dryer balls (LOVE THEM - for towels and jeans especially), and decorative clothespins - all on a refurbished tray from the '80's that was my grandma's. More spray paint and shelf liner!

A big clothes pin on the end of one of the canvas organizers ("stole" two from the kids' rooms. They don't use them anymore) holds laundry notes on making detergent and caring for cloth diapers.

The laundry room was a fun make-over and quite motivating. I'm excited to do my first load of laundry tomorrow in the new room!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

12 on the 12th - sort of

Time, once again, for the 12 pictures on the 12th of the month. This month was special, though because we had a get-together to celebrate my dad and give him strength and encouragement as he battles Leukemia. He has a few rough weeks/months ahead of him, and we wanted to get his friends and family together while he's feeling pretty good.

9am - on our way to church

10am - no pics during the sermon! Listening to Pastor Drebes

11am - on our way home for lunch

Noon - Yummy smoothies for lunch! The kids sucked them down quick.

1pm - Poor Angel doesn't get much attention now that he has 3 human siblings.
Thought he deserved a big pic. He looks so sweet in the basket.

2pm - Home Spa Time! The last few
months have been so crazy, that
I had let my color go, and my grey
was overpowering. Time to be
a brunette again!

3pm - toes needed a little TLC, too. Now I have Happy Feet!

4pm - All done and ready to go!

5pm - We're at Brent and Jana's and having a good time. No keeping track of time from here on out. Just enjoying our time together with family and friends.