Welcome Home Handsome

Welcome Home Handsome

Followers

Friday, December 30, 2011

I've been a busy bee today...see what I did!!

Oy!  I've been a busy bee, working away at making some fun stuff!  I have more planned for tomorrow =)  No worries though, everything I'm about to share with you was simple as pie!!  I'm AMAZED at how far this stuff stretches.  I haven't added the numbers yet but I'd say that to buy all of the ingredients for the things I'm making/have made/will make, I've spend less than $75.  I will be able to make probably a years worth (if not longer) product with what I have bought as far as ingredients go.

This includes:

Laundry Detergent
Cloth Diaper Detergent
Fabric Softener
Sugar Scrub
Salt Scrub
Dishwasher Detergent
Anti-bacteria Spray
All Purpose Cleaner
Bathroom Cleaner
Wood Polish
Carpet Stain Remover
Shampoo
Body Wash/Hand Soap

And so many more that I can't think of them all right off.  Just for the items I listed above, I'd EASILY spend $100 on a month, if not more.  I am so excited to say that I won't have to make my stuff but ever 3-6 months (I'm guessing) and that I have more than enough to make more batches before ever having to pick up more ingredients.  Holla!!!  So below I am going to share with you my own twist on recipes I have found.  You can cut them in half, double them, or use my recommended amounts.  Whatever you see fit.  In the next few days I will be making more stuff, so keep your eyes peeled!!

Laundry Detergent


What you'll need:
1 bar Fels-Naptha Soap (you can find this in the laundry isle of Walmart, and you can subsitute with whatever bar soap you'd like.  I might try Ivory whenever I run out....WAY down the road haha!)
3 Cups Washing Soda (also found in the laundry isle of Walmart-I use Arm and Hammer)
3 Cups Borax (again found in the laundry isle of Walmart-I use 20 Mule Team)
1 teaspoon essential oil of your choice (this is purely to add scent and it totally optional)

You will need to grate your bar of soap with a cheese grater (I have a 4 sided one and used the finest grater side for smaller pieces).  Pour in the rest of your ingredients and mix well.  I used a 1.5 gallon plastic canister (I found a set of 4 in different sizes at Walmart for around $6) and I just put the lid on it and shook it REALLY well until it was evenly mixed.  *Use 2 tablespoons per wash load* This is safe for HE machines.  I have a front loader and I put the detergent straight into the drum rather than using the soap dispenser (as I'm not sure how well it would work since this is a powder).

(grated soap)

(All mixed together)



Cloth Diaper Detergent

As all cloth diaper parents know, special CD detergent is EXPENSIVE!!!!  Well, fear no longer....you can make your own at home for like...I don't know.....$0.50??  

What you'll need:
1 Cup Washing Soda
1 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Borax

Mix all ingredients WELL into whatever container you choose.  I used the smallest canister that came in the set of 4 I bough.  It's 850ml and plastic.  Perfect size! You use 1-2 tablespoons per load depending on how soiled they are.  This will last you quite a while and costs only pennies!  So stop wasting money and start making your own!  Anything for an excuse to add to your stash...right? =)



Bath, Sink, & Tile Cleaner

This will work wonders in cleaning everything in your bathroom!  This will be thick and almost pasty.  I put it in a spray bottle but I'm thinking I might need to Up-Cycle an old dish soap bottle later for it.  I also double the recipe below so that I had a full bottle.

What you'll need:
2/3 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Castile Soap (liquid and any scent you choose.  I used Rose because that's what I had)
2 Tbsp. Vinegar
1/2 Cup Water
a few drops of Tea TreeOil (TTO is an all natural fungicide, germicide and is an antibacterial)

Mix together in the container of your choice and get to cleaning! 




All Purpose Cleaner

Pretty much self explanatory.  I used a spray bottle to mix it in.

What you'll need:
1 tsp. Borax
2 Tbsp. Vinegar
1/2 tsp. Washing Soda
1/2 tsp. Castile Soap
20 drops Tea Tree Oil
2 Cups Hot Water (to make sure it mixes well at first)

Shake it all up and keep with your household cleaners.



Antibacterial Spray

This is incredibly simple!!  Lavender is a  natural antibacterial.  So while so many of use have spent tons of money on lysol to keep those germs away for years, we can now do it for almost nothing!!

What you'll need:
Water
Lavender Essential Oil

Fill a spray bottle (Up-Cycle one if you can) with water and add 60 drops of lavender essential oil and shake.  I know that sounds like a lot of oil, but it's really not.  I plan to use this to pray the insides of my trash cans, and other hard surfaces to keep germs away.


3 comments:

  1. You can't use borax on cloth diapers. It causes build up and can ruin the diapers. You must be new to CD'ing. The cheapest and easiest cloth diaper detergent is baking soda and white vinegar - everyone knows THAT!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for your input. However, from the resources I have found, they all called for Borax for CD detergent. Just not nearly as much as you would use in your regular laundry detergent. I have heard mixed reviews on using Borax though and I plan to play around with them for a while before I finalize on what mixture seems to fit us best. I've also *heard* that you should not use vinegar on CD's. I've heard that from dozens of CD'ing mama's out there. If anyone is opposed to using Borax, you can simply cut that from the recipe entirely and just use the baking soda and washing soda. =)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I will also add, if you use borax, you may need to strip your diapers more often. =) And be sure to to do an extra rinse (which I always do).

    ReplyDelete