Another productive day!

Today I made body wash and dishwasher detergent!  Let me tell you just how excited I am about this!  For pennies I made enough of both to last me MONTHS!!!!!  How exciting is that?  I can hear my bank account thanking me.  =D

Body Wash/Hand Soap


What you'll need:

1 bar of soap (any kind, I used an all natural oatmeal and almond one and it cost me $0.97 at Walmart)
1/2 gallon distilled water ($1 at Safeway)
2 tablespoons of Vegetable Glycerin (I found this at Whole Foods, but you should be able to find it in the pharmacy are of any store, or ask the pharmacist, it cost just over $3 and I only used a teeny tiny bit.)
Large boiling pot
Container for storing

Grate your bar of soap with a cheese grater and pour into the water in the pot.  Add your glycerin (I used 3 Tbs. to make it a little thicker but it ended up being too thick, so just use 2).  Warm on the stove until all of the soap has melted.  Stirring gently as to not create too many suds.  Once it was done I poured it into a gallon size plastic container with a pour spout lid and Up-cycled an old body wash container that I will use to re-fill.  And that's IT!  It was so simple and fast to make.  Make sure to let it sit and cool off.  Cooling off takes several hours and it will continue to thicken up.  So if it's a little runny at first, don't worry!  This makes TONS of body wash that can also be used as hand soap.  Total cost for me to make it was about $1.60 or so.  It will last me months!

Dishwasher Detergent

This made 1.3 gallons of powdered dishwasher detergent.  Using only 1-2 Tbs. per wash load, it's going to last a lifetime (okay well not a lifetime but it'll sure feel like it!!)

What you'll need:

1 box Borax

1 box Washing Soda

24 packages of unsweetened lemonade (you need this for the citric acid, if you can find regular plain citric acid that works too, but I couldn't.  I used Kool-aid brand)

3 Cups Epsom Salt 

You'll want to mix this all together evenly.  You'll need a very large mixing bowl to do so.  Use 1-2 tablespoons per load.  If you have spots on your dishes you can use vinegar as a rinsing agent.  =)