Laundering For Less Q & A

I have received several questions about the homemade laundry detergent and household cleaners, so I thought I would post some answers to those questions.


Q: Where did you find your ingredients?

A: I found everything (Zote soap bar, baking soda, distilled vinegar, Borax, Hydrogen Peroxide, Ammonia) at Wal-Mart with the exception of Arm & Hammer's Super Washing Soda. I had to go to Harris Teeter to purchase the Washing Soda. Zote is on the laundry aisle (next to the stain treatment) in our store, and Washing Soda is in a large yellow box (almost looks like baking soda) on the laundry aisle in grocery stores as well. My 5 Gallon bucket and lid came from Lowe's. You can get them at Wal-Mart, but ours was out of lids. As I stated in my original post, I re-used spray bottles and laundry detergent jugs, and I even store extra cleaner in milk jugs, etc.

Q: Did you use your 5 Gallons of laundry detergent yet?

A: NO!!!! This is 5 gallons of concentrate. When you scoop it out into the laundry detergent dispenser and add water to fill, you wind up with a normal amount of liquid laundry detergent in the bottle ( in my case 2 qt or 1/2 gallon) this results in 10 gallons of liquid laundry detergent. It will be months before I go through it (and it only totaled about $2.00 to make).

Q: Does it work?

A: Yes, this is how they used to do it. I have found our clothes feel cleaner. I also am enjoying my household cleaners. When you purchase the manufactured cleaners, not only are you paying for packaging and scents, but basically the same thing-- with a few added harmful chemicals.

Q: What do you use for liquid fabric softener?

A: There are a few options, I have been doing the easiest thing, which is adding 1/2 C of distilled vinegar to my rinse cycle (you can use your fabric softener dispenser or downey ball). This has made the clothes nice and soft, and it cleans your washer and cleans out the lines/hoses.

Q: Do you really save money?

A: Yes! Like all ventures, there is some upfront cost. I think I spent about $5.oo on my 5 Gallon bucket and lid, and of course purchased the Zote bar, washing soda, vinegar, Borax, Ammonia, etc. (each item between $0.99 - $3.00), but use a very small amount of each ingredient, so you have them for future batches, stain treatment, and household cleaners. From what I have figured and read, it cost me about $2.00 to make my 5 gallons of laundry detergent concentrate. I would spend $4.oo- $6.oo a month on liquid laundry detergent (and that was generic), $2.00-$4.00 on stain remover, $4.00-$6.00 on color safe bleach-- we are already up to over $10.00 just on laundering alone-- that doesn't account for household cleaners. So, even though I had to purchase some items up front, I will definitely be saving money-- lots of money!!!

Q: Where can I read more?

A: GOOGLE IT!!!! I am a googleholic! Here are a just a few of the sites I have referenced:

• Duggars laundry soap recipe
I use this recipe.
• Homemade Household cleaners: The Family Homestead
  
I use several of these recipes.
• Natural Cleaning Products You Have In Your Pantry
• Homemade stain removers
• Homemade Household cleaners; Green Guide
• Homemade Floor Cleaner; Creative Homemaking
  

Laundering For Less

I'm not crazy . . . just frugal and willing to try things that save us money and help me to stay within our grocery budget (or even come close). I'm also always happy to produce less waste, reuse things, and take care of God's creation. And, you know me and my love for days bygone. So, my most recent adventure in good steward/ earth mama/frontier woman homemaking includes making my own laundry soap, stain treatment, and cleaning supplies. Naturally this involved (to my delight) lots of research and over thinking. But, like cloth diapers . . . this was something Jonathan happily supported, literally only took me about 20 minutes one recent afternoon (to make 5 gallons of laundry soap concentrate, stain treatment, and several cleaning agents), and can be done with items most people already have in their pantry and a few cheap extras.

I first learned about making your own laundry soap from watching an episode of 17 Kids and Counting, a show on The Learning Channel about a large Christian family (The Duggars). One of the reasons I occasionally tune into this television program is for the very purpose of picking up organizational tips and learning some thrifty practices; so, I was very excited when I caught the episode where there family showed how they make their own laundry soap. I immediately began further inquiry into the practice via the internet . . . Oh Google how helpful you are!!!. There are a lot of blogging mommies, savvy consumers, green gurus, and even one chemistry professor out there making their own household cleaners and laundry soap from the very ingredients our Great Grandmas and Great Great Grandmas used.

So here is the basic list of inexpensive multipurpose and easy to find ingredients (keep in mind, you only use a small portion of these things to make large batches-- so you will have the ingredients for future batches, thus saving money):

• Baking Soda

• Washing Soda

• Distilled White Vinegar

• Zote (or Fels Naptha or Ivory) soap Ammonia Borax

• Occasionally Rubbing alcohol and peroxide

Even if you don't drink the Kool-Aid, these items are great to have on hand for tough stains. I have been very pleased with all of my concoctions and have even found them to work more efficiently as surfaces and laundry look cleaner. After researching various recipes for laundry soap, I decided to go with the 5 gallons worth of concentrate (you add water when you put your concentrate into an old detergent bottle-- hello, this means I will have laundry detergent for months . . . all for about $2.00!!!!) For this particular recipe, you will need:

4 Cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar (I used Zote)
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax
Additional tap water

First you grate (or use a food processor) to shred the entire bar of soap.






Then, you add the soap to a saucepan of water and stir continually over med-low heat until the soap is melted. Next, fill a 5 gallon bucket (make sure you purchase one with a lid) half full with hot tap water.




Add melted soap, washing soda, and borax. Stir the mixture well--until all of the powder is dissolved.





Then add more hot tap water to fill the bucket. Lastly stir and cover. Let it sit overnight to thicken. Once the soap has cooled, you can add 10-15 drops of your favorite essential oil, but I preferred to just go with the fresh clean/soap smell. This will yield 5 gallons of concentrate, which equals 10 gallons of liquid soap. You use 1/2 C in a top load machine and 1/4 C in front load machines. Once your laundry soap has thickened it will be like a gel (almost like Jell-o). Scoop some out, stir it up, fill an old empty laundry detergent container half full of concentrate. Fill the rest of the way with water. Shake before use (it will gel when it sits).

Side note, I have also forgone using dryer sheets, which contain nasty chemicals, can be a fire hazard (in regards to the build up on your lent trap) and are costly. I purchased some generic dryer balls, which I had first learned about in a green magazine given to Jonathan by a professor at the local community college, but just today I have come to find out that "real" green people are not to keen on the dryer balls which are supposedly made from PVC. I will have to do more research on this, but they did cut the drying time and fluff up the clothes. As far as static goes-- this is usually caused by over drying, or synthetic clothing.

There are many recipes out there to choose from, and you can even whip up a batch of dry/granular laundry detergent if you prefer. Some of the other homemade cleaners I have made include stain treatment (for clothing), window cleaner, multi-purpose cleaner, and floor cleaner. I have reused spray bottles and store the leftovers in everything from gallon milk jugs to Sunny D jugs. I used a Sharpie to label everything (including ingredients for safety purposes), and I have all the ingredients in stock for when my cleaners run out. I have to say, it was so much fun to skip the cleaning aisle all together at the grocery store the other day!

Happy Homemaking!

Meet Oswald

Well, I have yet to reap the fruits (and veggies) of my labor. When our last batch of strawberries were just about to ripen, a critter stole them (snipped them right off of the stem); and, the banana pepper I watched grow and slowly turn yellow disappeared just before it was ready to eat. With a squash, egg plant, carrot, tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, and strawberry explosion looming on the horizon, I decided that desperate times called for desperate (and surprisingly pricey) measures . . .

Meet Oswald!

On a recent date night, Jonathan and I headed for Lowe's between dinner and coffee and picked up the usual . . . you know, a plastic scarecrow owl (Jonathan made me carry it) and a rather large dowel rod-- total almost $17!!! I don't think my garden is saving me money, but it sure is fun. I just hope that we get to enjoy some of the veggies and strawberries. I have always grown my own herbs, and we are regularly cooking with our thyme, oregano, basil, and rosemary, but I can't wait for some juicy tomatoes, etc. So far, Oswald seems to be doing the trick. I move him around the garden once a week, and I haven't seen any evidence of critters snooping about the flowering veggies or munching on my mixed greens and arugula. Time will tell!

The fearless protector hard at work.

Two Thumbs Way Up For Mom's Milk Boutique

Hooray for Mom's Milk Boutique, a Southern Illinois natural parenting store. I recently enjoyed a very pleasant shopping experience via their web site. They offer a nice selection of cloth diaper products, free shipping, have a lovely web site, great customer service, and I received my diaper covers (unexpectedly) within two days. I look forward to shopping with them in the future!!! I will be adding their link to my sidebar.

Diaper Deals

Thought I would share some cloth diaper deals. This week, the Mom's Milk Boutique is offering Thirstie's Diaper Covers for $10.75, plus free shipping. I just ordered my final batch of diaper covers for Madeline in size L (up to 40 pounds). Also, Niki's Diapers is still offering free shipping and a free insert on all pocket diapers and diaper covers. The Haute Pockets One Size Breathable diaper is also still on sale for $13.95--I've had a lot of success with these.

Thrift Store Numbers

1-Number of stores visited

45 minutes-Time spent searching

8-Number of skirts bought for mommy (technically 9--one is reversible)

4-Number of shirts bought for mommy

2-Number of Sesame Street Puzzles bought for kiddos

$19.17- Grand Total (Woohoo!!!)

I was so excited over my finds! I am in yet another stage where nothing I have fits me right; and I would rather wear a comfortable skirt than shorts, because shorts rarely fit me correctly. Some visits to the thrift store result in zero finds, but I hit the jack pot. It was my first trip to a local thrift store boutique that supports a women's shelter, and I look forward to my next visit. Everything I found was clean, in good shape, and nice (Banana Republic, Izod, Gap, Liz Claiborne, etc.).

Outdoor Projects--Not For The Faint Of Heart

We have been working on several outdoor projects over the past few weeks-- ranging from moving a brick path, cleaning out and planting flower beds, sowing grass seed, and planting a vegetable garden, to simply scrubbing down all of the porch railing, killing weeds, and ridding our yard of poison ivy. The flower beds were about a two week project, as I had to clear them out and start over. I also had to make multiple trips to Home Depot for more mulch (it always takes more than you think it will!). Hannah was a big help-- transporting plants in her little shopping cart, spreading mulch, and helping to install the solar lanterns. Last Saturday, Hannah, Jonathan and I got started on a 16 x 8 foot vegetable garden. I cleared the ground and dug out the space with some help from Jonathan (who was also busy tearing up an existing brick path warped by tree roots)-- and a little "help" from Hannah. We were quite sore the next day! Jonathan laid timbers for the border (2 high), and I filled the area back in with soil and compost--again . . . very sore muscles! Hannah and I had a lot of fun shopping for seeds and veggie plants, and I spent one afternoon (in the rain) planting everything. Jonathan has used "weed and feed" on the yard and sown some grass seed in an effort to undo years of neglect. I used to wonder how my neighbor in Florida spent so much time working in her yard and garden-- now I know! I never really cared about these things before, but we are really enjoying our outdoor living space. I think owning our home has also spurred us on, as it is no longer "money down the drain" (well-- if all of this flops it could be, but you catch my drift-- haha). Now I guess I will spend a portion of my days fending off bugs, checking for flowering plants, and watering our little vegetable patch.

A Wonderfully Thrifty Week

The girls and I enjoyed a delightfully thrifty week. If you know me, you know that I enjoy a good bargain. I would usually (not always) rather find something used and in good condition than purchase it new. I love activities that are free, and I will spend hours clipping coupons, comparison shopping, and traveling to different grocery stores in order to save money. Well, this week made my frugal heart happy! On Wednesday morning, we enjoyed our usual story time at the library (free!), then we headed to the Good Will to drop of a huge bag from my recent closet purging session. After about 40 minutes of combing the racks, I emerged with three button downs for Jonathan, three shirts for mommy, two new skirts for mommy, and a Christmas dress for Hannah (next year). Then we headed to ALDI for some money saving grocery shopping. If you have a local ALDI and are not benefitting from the savings, you are missing out. I get a large majority of my dry goods, some frozen things, and depending on the day, some meat and produce from ALDI-- it amounts to big savings. Friday morning was spent sifting through racks of second hand kids clothes (with Jeanna, Karis, and Noah) at a huge kids consignment sale in Rocky Mount. I found many spring/summer dresses for Hannah, some pajamas for the girls, and a few things for my new nephew Isaac. Jeanna did very well -- coming home with an exersaucer for little Noah. Saturday morning was spent at a new local playground (free!!!) with Daddy. The girls thoroughly enjoyed a mild afternoon running around outside, and most importantly, playing with Daddy. All in all it was a penny-pinching week that made me quite giddy!

A Smoothie

A Smoothie-- could this be the answer to our picky eating problems???? I mentioned in the last post that I am evaluating some of the variables that may be leading to our family's frequent illnesses over the past year. One variable that is currently under the microscope is the way we eat. I personally LOVE all veggies, fruits, water, etc. -- however, over the years, I began to cater to my three picky eaters. I will say that Jonathan's taste buds have evolved since we have been married-- sometimes they have been forced to expand-- nevertheless, he will now eat tomatoes, peppers, spinach and other leafy greens, zucchini, squash, asparagus, and green beans (all unheard of prior to taking our wedding vows). Over the past couple of years, I have done some light reading/studying on holistic diets, raw foods, etc. but I have never really tried to implement any of these principals into our current diets. Well, thanks to my friend Kristi's recent post about the Live Lightly Tour, I spent some time reading up on Sara's blogs and decided to try a few things from the Happy Foody site. My children drank banana-berry-zucchini (didn't have any leafy greens) smoothies (with no sugar added) yesterday! Maybe this is the answer to getting in those raw veggies?!?!!? I must add that my husband has been an incredible sport, as he has cleaned his vegetarian plate two nights in a row. Wednesday I served Tuscan Vegetable Ragout, and last night we experimented with Lentil Dahl on flat bread. While I do not plan on eradicating meat entirely from our diet (we are grilling out steak tonight), or going entirely raw, I definitely want to learn what I can and implement many of these principals into our diets and change our eating habits and hopefully our physical well being. I have struggled with the desire to change my eating habits for reasons of vanity for years; but, God has finally brought me under conviction for how I care for the body He has given me for reasons of stewardship -- it is His temple (1 Cor. 6:19). I think this means eating more of the foods that He created for us to enjoy and less of the foods that a factory processed for us to enjoy. Unfortunately, a healthier menu comes with a loftier price tag-- so if you have any tips for a budget minded shopper please send them my way. I am also looking for some new (tried and true) recipes.