Cleaning Up: Homemade Baby Wipes

OK you guys…just because The Little Man is not my own doesn’t mean I am going to be treating him like a prince or anything. I am washing his clothes with home-made detergent (ok some of the formula-vomit stuff I used some Tide I had hanging around for a laundry emergency…I felt this qualified as a true “laundry emergency”).

I am using vinegar to soften his towels.

And now, I have made his baby wipes.

Did you honestly think I would spend money on things like baby wipes?

Well, to be fair, I did buy one box of wipes b/c I needed the box. But from here on out: homemade baby wipes city, Baby.

Now, I am sure you are all wondering how I did this.

I know you are not asking “why” b/c you’ve read this blog before.

And because I do not have time to spare (well, I do have a little bit…it’s not as though someone will wake up and demand a feeding or diaper change at the moment; Little Man is at visitation with his mama and daddy as I type…which is a whole weird dynamic I am still wrapping my brain around; it’s rolling around in there, for sure, and may or may not come out one day…we will see where it lands and if I can be diplomatic in my thoughts. Which means that no, it is probably in there to stay, and not fit for human consumption… but I digress), I shall make this as succinct as I possibly can. (See, that’s funny because that entire parenthetical comment was as long as the rest of the blog post…feel free to give a courtesy laugh if nothing else.)

Homemade Baby Wipes

Ingredients:

• ½-1 teaspoon baby shampoo (Dollar Tree)
• 1 teaspoon baby oil (Dollar Tree)
• 1 ½ cups water (my faucet…duh)
• Paper towels (I used Bounty…spared no expense, right? The cheaper ones will shred on you…well, on the baby actually…and ain’t nobody got time for that) 

Instructions:

• Place the shampoo, baby oil, and water in a sealable container (this is simply to make it easy on yourself; I would recommend that you use the one you’ll store the wipes in, but you don’t have to. I’ll let you choose whatever is easiest…I’m nice like that.) and swish it around. No need to shake it; a nice, easy swirling will do the trick.
• Then using a bread knife, cut the roll of paper towels in half, across the center.
• Place one half of the paper towel roll inside the container in the solution. Give it about 10-15 minutes to soak up the liquid; then pull out the cardboard middle from the paper towel.
• You’ll be able to pull the wipes from the middle of the roll.
• One container of these wipes costs approximately $0.60 (or less) to make, and mostly depends on how much you pay for your paper towels.

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Thanks for the Gift…What is It?

Recently, my 11yo brought in the mail…it’s one of his assigned “jobs,” lest you think he’s just that helpful.

Don’t get me wrong…sometimes he IS that helpful. But this wasn’t necessarily one of those times.

But I digress.

He brought in the mail and within it was a package. He wanted me to tear into it right away, but I didn’t. In glancing at the size, I presumed it was Indy’s heartworm/flea & tick preventative.

Yes…in spite of my vet’s stringent warnings, I order from Petcarerx.com.

My vet says that I don’t really know what I am giving my dog, it might not be what I think it is, blah, blah, blah…but if I buy it from the vet, it costs quite a bit more.

And to be honest, Indy’s never had fleas, ticks or heartworms and we’ve been ordering it for him all along.  I will admit that I love him, and I will do what I can to keep him healthy but at the end of the day, he is still a dog.

I’m all big a tough right now, but let’s talk when he gets sick, ok?

Actually…let’s not.

Again, I digress.

So the package sat on the counter for a while…maybe an hour or two. We had just gotten home when he brought in the mail and frankly I had stuff to do. Facebook had not been checked in hours, and I most certainly was writing a witty and charming post for all of you lovely people to enjoy.

By the time I got to opening the package, no one was around. The PBA had scattered outdoors. (You like how I use the word “scattered” as though there’s more than two of them? It only feels like more than two of them…but there’s still just the two.)

I realized as soon as I lifted my scissors to slice open the tape that I had been mistaken. This package had a return address in Paris.

“Well, how nice was this?” I was thinking. My friend Christine (aka “In the Coop” had recently been to London and Paris and I simply assumed that she had gone way above and beyond in speaking my love language: gifts).

I opened the box and inside was this:

Hmmm…I had no idea what this was.

And why on God's green earth would she send this to me.

I looked back at the address. My name and address were typed nicely and neatly on a proper mailing label. Now…I love Christine and all, but I had my doubts that she had the time or the foresight to type up and print a label before she left for her trip, and then schlep it all the way to Paris and mail something to me.

I mean…she TOTALLY would if it had occurred to her, I am quite certain. But being as how she was in Europe visiting some friends, as well as celebrating 20 years of marriage with her hubby, her thoughts were not likely to be on me.

And I’m fine with that. 

Mostly.

So then I looked back inside the box and actually lifted the contents up to take a look. In the bottom of the box was a clue (ok not really a clue, but the whole stinkin’ answer) to my question of why I had received this.

True...this did not show the flag for the US but it was the only paragraph which had English so I went with it...

Recently I had joined a group called Toluna…they send you surveys and you answer questions to earn prizes, and/or they also have promotions in which you can apply to test market an item (for free) and then give them your impressions and input.

Ah…so now it’s crystal clear.

Well, except for the part about having no clue what it is. All of the print on the box was in French.

All of it.

I even took the contents from the box, thinking that they would, perhaps, offer up a clue.

Nope. No help at all.

Now, I took 4 years of high school French. I tested out of 2 semesters of college French (probably not my wisest move because I took at least one more semester and it was rough…fortunately my mother was a French teacher and dragged my behind through that class.)

I’m not too proud to tell you that on more than one occasion I had to call her and say something to the effect of, “So this is what I am trying to say…how would I write that in French?”

And because she’s a fabulous mom, she helped me.

All this to say…I am not fluent in French. Not even remotely close. I throw French phrases at you every now and then because they spontaneously pop in my head, but otherwise…yeah. It’s not fabulous.

Or remotely fluent.

My apologies to my mother, Madame Frampton and Miss Hodges…all of whom gave a valiant effort to teach me French. I appreciate your attempts.

So…before I tell you what I discerned from my bits of French memory, I will share my conversations with the PBA. I called them in, one at a time, so as to not influence one another’s responses.

Me: I got this in the mail. It’s from a company who sends out products to people for them to try and give their opinions.  It’s all in French. Using your etymology from the past couple years, tell me what you think might be in here.

11yo:  A biology kit.

Me: OK, these are things the people who receive them might actually use. Do you think a 40yo woman would have need of a biology kit?

11yo: No, probably not. Is it some sort of medication? I don't know, Mom...I've done all I can do.

And then the 11yo was finished with the entire process.

I did get the 13yo to hang in there a little bit longer and actually look at some of the words.

13yo: Coffee or tea? (He based on picture on the front)

Me: Do you see any words you recognize.

13yo: Himalayas… Nepal…I think it’s coffee or tea.

Me: What about this word?

13yo: Oh…"detergent"…maybe it’s detergent made from coffee or tea.

Then he lost interest.

Please take note that I am quickly skimming over the fact that neither boy truly attempted to utilize their etymology lessons, so that was a good three years of effort wasted. They’ll use it someday, right?

OK, so then I showed it to Mr. AR. He was much more into it…however he has never taken a day of French in his life. He took Spanish. Same etymology root base, so I figured we’d be ok.

With his help, we were able to tell that it does have something to do with laundry, and that it’s from part of a tree. And you put the fruit or seeds or whatever they are “dans le petit sachet de cotton” (in the little cotton bag…you could all read that in the French though, right?)

Here’s the burning questions which remain: WHY would I do this? How often? Will this stain my clothes?

Like any good little French student, I took my box to my favorite professeur de Francais (That's "French teacher"…try to keep up, people).

And I am referring to my mother, lest you be confused.

So…I toted my little box on over to her house and explained the situation. Now she won’t think the blog is quite as funny because I even told her the part about me believing that Christine had sent a package. 

Because I cannot tell a story succinctly. You may have noticed.

This goes for real-life too.

Anyway…she read the box and even though we still don’t know exactly what KIND of seeds these are, they are most-definitely for washing.

Washing your “delicates”…at this house, we don’ t have any “delicates”…so I’m not certain these will be used.

So because I am certain you wanted to know the full details (you’ve hung in there for this long with the post, so you must be fairly interested), I shall share my wealth of knowledge.

Basically you put 4-5 of these seeds “dans le petit sachet de cotton” (we knew that already) and place the sachet in among the clothes.  Run the washer but before the spin cycle, you can stop the washer and scoop out the water. Because these seeds are biodegradable (I mean, they’re seeds for the love…do we need to explain this characteristic about them?), the water is safe to use on your lawn or garden.

Let me just stop right there and say that I am all about biodegradable stuff, etc, but it is highly-unlikely that I’ll be doing this step.

Don’t judge.

One other thing of note, you can reuse each set of seeds for up to 3 washes.

These seeds are non-staining (nice to know…no one wants all their white skivvies to be brown from the detergent...or for any other reason, frankly).

And one kilogram is sufficient for a family of four for one year. (Unfortunately, we only received 500g, so we’re only set for 6 months. Rats...)

So…that’s all I know about this product. I’ll be curious to see if I actually get it used…especially by the time I am requested to answer my survey. BTW I am happy to share with all of you lovely people…you just need to have your own “petit sachet de cotton” because I am not sharing that; something that would come into contact with both my and your "delicates" just would not do...no matter how close our friendship.

Sorry if that bothers you.

One last note: You might be asking yourself “Why didn’t she just Google it?” Because frankly, my dear readership, where’s the blog post in that?!? Would you have wanted to read a post that went like this: “I got this strange package in the mail from France. It was all written in French. I Googled it to find the English translation. The end.”

  

On second thought...maybe you would.

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Cleaning Up Part 5: Homemade Floor Cleaner

Well, you have all most-assuredly been wanting me to share more homemade cleaners with you.

OK…probably not…as you more than likely have not utilized the last ones I gave.

But I have decided to share yet another one with you. I waited until I had tried it twice before I was certain I could give it a thumbs up.

Two thumbs up actually.

It is a floor cleaner. You have already discerned that via the post title. I don't care what people say about you: you're quick.

You may recall that last year, after Mr. AR installed our laminate floors, my grandma let me have her floor steamer. “It’s not steamy enough.” Great…for me that is.

And I even wrote a post, expounding on the beauty of said steamer.

But now…it has bitten the dust. I thought the same thing happened which had just happened a few weeks ago…water got inside some part that it should not have and kind of messed with the sensor which told it to heat the water...it's all very technical. I was a technical writer in my first job out of college...can't you tell? (Just a quick little science lesson for my readers at home and any homeschoolers who might have happened to stumble upon this: when water is heated, it becomes water vapor…one of the 3 forms of water: solid, liquid or gas. When it becomes this hot vapor, we call that “steam”. This is the very basic definition…for more insight, you’d better Google it. I can’t provide you with EVERYTHING you need to know.)

So…it didn’t know that it had water to heat, let alone heat the water. So I am referring to it as defunct.

But…being the cheap one that I am, I didn’t rush right out and buy a new one. No...I actually had the “spray and mop” contraption from my in-laws. When my MIL moved into her apartment, she no longer had laminate flooring and said she didn’t want the mop. Well…who am I to question that judgment?

I didn’t need it at the time, but brought it home anyway. And it has been sitting in my utility room for almost two years now.

Until a couple weeks ago…when my steam cleaner broke.

Well, the chamber for the cleaning solution was already full...residual cleaner from my MIL, apparently. And I tried it. But it left my floors all streaky. My floors were streaky BEFORE I mopped, so you can imagine that was not the look I was going for AFTER they were cleaned.

So I Googled (imagine that) “cheap homemade floor cleaners” and much to my delight, the one below was included in the search. I looked at some others but did not try them…so there very well may be better ones out there. But I liked the first one I tried so I’m planning to stick with it.

Now, because I am certain you are all ready to get those mops out (any kind, actually…I have one like this, but you can use an old fashioned mop. Or a squeegee mop. Or just whatever. Have at it. Be creative…just like I know all of you are! Send me your photos…I’ll post them on my blog!)

OK…I have digressed enough. Here’s the recipe…for real this time:

Homemade Floor Cleaner
Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 cup alcohol
• 2-3 drops dish soap (Palmolive, Dawn, etc.)

Optional Additional Ingredients:

• 5 drops lavender essential oil (I used lavender…so I’m always so relaxed when my cleaning is through…)
• 5 drops orange essential oil
• 3 drops tea tree essential oil
• Fine-mist spray bottle - 24oz (of you don’t have a mop which will do the spraying for you, or if you don’t want to put the solution in a bucket)

Instructions:

• Add all ingredients to spray bottle and shake to combine.
• Sweep/vacuum the floor.
• Spray cleaner on the floor.
• Wipe up with a microfiber cloth (it was very clear that it had to be microfiber...these can be found at the Dollar tree for...you guessed it: one dollar).

Note:

• Do a spot test to make sure this will work on your floors…I make no promises that it will work as well for you.
• For a mop and bucket version, try this: For a gallon of water, you could try 1/2 cup of vinegar, and 1/3 cup of alcohol, plus a few drops of dish soap.

Happy mopping!


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Cleaning Windows and Other Fun Things Moms Do Without Their Kids

So, Spring Break...we meet again.

Spring Break and my parents have once-again taken the PBA for a couple three days. (And no, you math-minded folks, I don't mean six days. I'm fairly certain you understand what I mean. It’s Hoosier speak.)

Every year, I do believe, my mother instructs me to "Do something fun" while the boys are gone.

And every year, I do believe, she is disappointed to find out how I have spent my personal Spring Break.

For the most part, I check things off my to-do list.

And often that list includes super-fun things like Spring Cleaning.

Oh yes...this girl knows how to live it up.

Fur sure (and yes, I meant to spell "for" are "fur" so you would say it in the accent which I intended...it is called writing in dialect. But thanks for your awareness of my affinity for correct spelling and grammar. It's bad enough that I've got the math people jumping all over me; I don't need the grammar nerds getting on the bandwagon too.)

So...I began cleaning as soon as the boys were picked up yesterday morning. And what, pray tell, did I accomplish? (You are certainly asking yourself this very question; allow me to keep you from ruminating on it for too long.)

Well, I washed all the cabinets in the kitchen and 2.5 bathrooms; I washed all the doors (the interior ones and exterior ones as well); I vacuumed the house (carpet and hard surfaces too…I even got out the wand. Shocking, I know.); I steam mopped the hard surface floors (clearly not the carpet…although I have heard rumors of that being possible, I have yet to try it…); and I rearranged some furniture.

You are probably asking “Is that ALL?!?”

No, for your information, that’s not all.

I also took Indy on a much-needed walk.

As an aside, it was a red-letter day on the walk; every time had had to do his business (even you non-dog owning people know what I mean, don’t you? You’re all sharp as tacks, so I’m sure you do), it was in an empty lot.

Now, if you are not a dog-owner, you may be confused, so let me explain. This meant that I didn’t have to pick up his "creation". Which is probably one of the most demeaning things you have to do as a dog owner. There's a cartoon of which I have a vague recollection which points out the fact that if aliens were watching us and saw people picking up after dogs, the aliens would be confused about who is in charge.

But unfortunately I don't remember enough about it to take the time and find it.

Nor do I have the time. If someone else does, feel free to send it to me and I shall happily drop it in. I promise to give you credit and everything. 

But I have digressed.

I also cleaned the windows. Inside and out (and no, I didn’t do the screens yet…hey, there’s only so many hours in a day!).

And it is the window cleaning which prompted this post. Not that it was fun, but I did have an experience I have never had. When I was finished, the windows were actually clean.

Yes, it is a horrible picture to illustrate my point but to be fair, it does have a window in it.
I had to show our fearless "guard dog" trying to chase away those menacing children playing in the court.

And the best part? (Oh, yes, there’s more!): I made the cleaner.

Now…why should you use this recipe? I don’t know why other than I found it to be fabulous. But, I will say that I haven’t tried any others; there very well may be one (or dare I say more) which is/are better than this one.

But I am only familiar with this one…and since it proved to work well, I am sticking with it (until one of you actually takes the time to Google it and finds one that is better and lets me know about it…I didn’t say I was THAT loyal. It is only window and class cleaner).

Now that I have peaked your curiosity, I won’t make you wait any longer:

Mrs. AR’s Fabulous (and Cheap) Glass and Mirror Cleaner

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup white vinegar (according to the info I found, you can also use apple cider vinegar, but I cannot vouch for that information…you are on your own there)
• 1/4 cup isopropyl alcohol (this is also called rubbing alcohol)
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch or a few drops of essential oil (I used lavender…which, as my friend CB asserted, put me right to sleep in the middle of my cleaning…)
• 2 cups water (I used water straight out of the tap)

Instructions:

1. Combine everything in a spray bottle (If you have one, you can reuse a container you already have from your store-bought glass cleaner; otherwise cheap spray bottles can be found at The Dollar Tree…with which I am very familiar. And you can probably get your vinegar and isopropyl alcohol there too…and maybe cornstarch as well).
2. Shake the solution well to mix before using (you actually have to give it a good shake each time before use…I wrote this on the bottle for anyone in the house who may be using it; Mr. Always Random read it and began twitching as though he was having a fit. When I asked him what was wrong, he said well this bottle says “Shake well before using”. See what I am dealing with here, people?).
3. Spray onto glass surface (or mirror) and wipe clean.

Couple Tips:  

• While I used paper towels (I know, I know…can be expensive and wasteful, but that’s what I had on hand; don’t judge), you can also use microfiber cloths or rags, or newspapers instead.  Make sure to label the cleaner so you can remember what it is (not that YOU would ever forget…but I might. Does that make you feel better?)  
• Add some coloring (natural or artificial) to the bottle so kids will know it’s not water.  Beet juice (as in from canned beets…I’m sure you ALL eat lots of those, so this will clearly not be a problem) is an inexpensive natural color (unless, of course, you have to buy the can of beets for the color…then I would just stick with the artificial food coloring. But maybe that’s me: cheap.)

Because I am certain I sold you on making your own cleaners, I have included a few links to others I have tried and liked (these posts were from last spring…you know, also when the PBA were gone. See how I live it up?)

• Fabric softener 
• Laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent (yes in the same post...I don't know what I was thinking)
• Liquid hand soap (and yes, not exactly a cleaner, but it helps make YOU clean...sure it's a stretch but have you come to expect more from me? Be honest...)

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Cleaning Up Part 4: Homemade Fabric Softener

Well, this homemade cleaners business is beginning to get out of control. Even I am aware of that. And yet…I am continuing on. 

I have not yet begun to clean!

No really…I spend too much time making the cleaners that I have no time for cleaning.

(Thanks folks, I’ll be here all week. Try to veal.)

So I got to thinking (it’s dangerous when that happens…Mr. Always Random has learned that something big may be coming his way when I begin a sentence “So, I was thinking…”)

But this isn’t all that big. It could be life-changing, but it’s not B.I.G.

It’s homemade fabric softener. And this stuff…it is so easy, ladies (I say ladies because even though I know  a handful of men read my meandering posts, the majority of my loyal fans are women. No offense to the gentlemen…if you choose to make this fabric softener it would probably be simple for you too.)

When I began Googling homemade fabric softener (as you know, it is my preferred method of research), I found that most of the recipes were very similar if not virtually identical. Ratios might differ slightly, but the ingredient list really does not.

So…since you were so excited to have a go at it (ok, not really but I’m pretending here), I won’t delay it any longer:

• 6 cups water
• 2 cups hair conditioner
• 3 cups white vinegar
• Optional: 20 drops of Essential oil

Simply mix the ingredients together and pour into a container for use. You can either put this solution in your fabric softener dispenser (or a Downy ball), or soak a clean washcloth and throw it in the dryer as you would a dryer sheet.

I chose to mix mine in a spray bottle, and because it is not a large one, I had to divide the ingredients into thirds (and yes, my math skills were tested a bit there; I should have just asked the 10yo who is about to exceed my math skills any day now.).

Also, even though I chose to put my fabric softener in a spray bottle and spray the wash cloth, some recipes I read instructed you to fully immerse the washcloth in the mixture and then ring it out before throwing it in the dryer. Either way is probably fine, but to me it seemed like a little much. Plus a little bit messier; I know I worked in a preschool for 7 years, but truth be told, I don’t make a mess if I can avoid it.

To make the full batch (I went ahead and bought enough to make the recipe as I have it listed) I spent the following:

• $1 for a 24 ounce bottle of conditioner at Dollar Tree
• $1 for a bottle of vinegar
• $1 for the spray bottle
• $1 for a set of three new washcloths

(FYI: I didn’t have enough Essential Oil so I left it out this time…but I find that there is enough fragrance in the conditioner I chose to suit me.)

So this means in the future, assuming the spray bottle and washcloths have any durability, I will only have to spend $2 for 10 cups of fabric softener.

Seems pretty good, right?

If you decide to try this, please let me know what you think! Also, if you alter the recipe, please let me know what you did and if you think it is equally good, better or worse. I want to make the best possible fabric softener my $2 can buy!

Yes, you astute readers...it IS the exact same picture from my hand soap post...why reinvent the wheel, right?

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Cleaning Up Part 3: Liquid Hand Soap

This is actually shaping up to be something of an actual series…look at me go!

Actually, don’t, because then there’s pressure and I don’t always do well under pressure. Sometimes, but not always.

Let’s not increase my stress simply over a blog, shall we?

So, I alluded to my liquid hand soap recipe in my Ten Things of Thankful: Week 11 post. And a few of you actually commented that they were eager to see it.

Well, don’t let me keep it from you any longer! And actually, I believe you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how simple this is. And the best part is that it’s cheap!

Liquid Hand Soap

• 8oz bar of soap, grated (this can be one bar or several small ones…think “hotel soaps,” which equals FREE…well, not exactly, but since you’re paying for them anyway you might as well take them!)
• 2 tablespoons glycerin (you can get this at your local pharmacy, but you might have to ask exactly where it is…and to be honest, I had to go to a couple different pharmacies to get it; but the pharmacies that did not have it on hand did offer to order it. Your eagerness to start can determine if you want to order it or drive around. BTW I did end up getting it from CVS, which had it in stock…so you can obviously tell how I felt about it.) At CVS, the glycerin was just over $5 for a 6 ounce bottle, but I used ExtraBucks I’d earned so it was free to me (this time)…but a 6 ounce bottle will net you at least 6 gallons of soap so I think it’s probably worth it; just for comparison’s sake, the generic hand soap refill at Target is less than a gallon and costs a few dollars.
• 1 gallon of water (according to what I found online, it does not have to be distilled but using distilled will supposedly make it more effective…I chose not to use distilled because I forgot to get it and was all set to make my soap; the soap still seems to work fine for me!)
• OPTIONAL: Essential oils…I had some lavender essential oil so I put a few drops in to make it smell really fabulous. But even without it, it still smells as lovely as the soap you use.

After you grate the soap (or you can put it in a blender or food processor…I chose to grate mine, because I’d already sacrificed a grater when I made my laundry detergent), dissolve it in the water on the stovetop (it does take a little bit of time); then add the glycerin (which is in there, FYI, to help soften your skin) and stir well.

Remove the mixture from heat and let it cool overnight. It will thicken quite a bit (think the word “congeal”…there’s a visual for you, right?) so you’ll need to give it a thorough whisking. (And please note that it will thicken up again if not used right away, which is not a big deal, but it may need to be whisked again.)

Pour into containers for storage or into pumps for immediate use.

NOTE: I stored mine in a milk jug which I had washed out (plus, if it still had some residual soap in it, what would be the worry?); also, you could obviously use the distilled water jug if you opted to use distilled water. Also, I would be sure to label it “Liquid Hand Soap”…lest there be any confusion. I doubt anyone will mistake it for milk (since it’s probably in a cabinet and not the fridge) but mine does look like a gallon of milk because the soap was white.

A post about Fabric Softener is yet to comel I just made it yesterday so it hasn't been adequately assessed as of yet.
I only promote quality products, you know!

Let me know how your soap turns out…because I’m SURE you’re all going to rush right out and try it, right?

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Cleaning Up Part 2: Laundry Detergent and Dishwashing Detergent

So…I have made you wait and wait. 

And wait some more.

You’ve may have/possibly/probably even forgotten that you were waiting on me.

But as I’ve said before, I always finish what I start. And today I will finish my “series” (see that’s funny because a “series” typically entails more than two parts. And this will only have two parts. Well, I suppose I should not declare that…it’s always possible there will be more. But I won’t promise any additional ones, lest I leave you hanging.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you a tiny bit about my homemade laundry detergent. Again, I found a recipe from Bargain Briana to begin with, and made some changes to turn it into my own creation (well, kind of…I am certain someone else out there in this whole great big world is using the same recipe. But since I don’t know to whom I should give credit, I won’t. Not flippantly, mind you…just because I don’t have that kind of time to track down such information.)

So I must ask you, before we begin, do you believe it is worth the time, energy and cost to make your own laundry detergent?

Well, that is a question I will allow you to ask for yourself, but I will present to you the facts as I have experienced them.

Everything I read about making your own detergent read that the ingredients should be available at grocery stores, hardware stores or international groceries (which peaked my interest but I didn’t have time to seek one out to take a look).

Everything I needed was at Meijer. Except the Fels-Naptha.

I must confess that after a few stops and a seemingly-thwarted attempt to find the stinkin' soap (ok, it doesn't really stink; I was just frustrated), I thought that perhaps I was on Candid Camera (or some such show).

Or maybe that it wasn’t worth the time/money/effort.

I ended up buying the Fels-Naptha at Dann Miller’s True Value Hardware store (if you are from my neck of the woods, you’ll know exactly where that is; if you don’t, my advice to you is to find the closest hole-in-the-wall type of hardware store and check with them.

When I went in to Dann Miller’s, I was in no mood to waste any more time so I went straight to the counter and asked the cashier if they carried it. And the angels could not have been any clearer in my ears. She said, “Oh yes, it’s right here. And I always make sure it’s in stock because I use it when I make my own laundry detergent.”

OK…point made. I will try it.

And actually, I was so excited about the prospect of talking to someone who made her own detergent that I whipped out the ingredient list (yes, I was carrying it with me…no reason to write down a list of things when I already have a list printed out!) and forced (ok, probably not really FORCED...it's not like I grabbed her by the arm and shoved the paper in her face...why would I say that?) her to look at it. “Is this the recipe you used?”

She took a look and told me that a couple of the items were not on her list…Oxyclean, which was on my original recipe, she didn’t use because the Borax, Fels-Naptha and Washing soda were all designed to remove stains.

As a little aside for you, the Fels-Naptha is made for the bar itself to be rubbed directly on stains. So there you go...did you already know that? I did not before I began this process.  I’m educational if nothing else.

And my original ingredient list also included fabric softener crystals, which I decided to omit because I figured I can buy dryer sheets for less than they would cost, plus they would be so deluded in the laundry detergent concoction that I figured it would be money wasted.

But I am open to opinions…if you find me to be mistaken on that, PLEASE let me know!

So….the moment you’ve all be waiting for…the “recipe” for Homemade Laundry Detergent:

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Borax ($3.38 at Meijer)
• 3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap ($1.39 each x 3 = $4.46)
• 1 box washing soda ($3.29 at Meijer)
• 2 cups baking soda (approx $.75 at Meijer…I used the rest in another cleaning product)
• Large bucket or bowl (I used a 5 gallon bucket with a lid that I bought at K-Mart for $2.99, but I did not include the cost in my total because it can be reused)

Directions:

• Grate the bars of Fels-Naptha soap (a regular cheese grater worked fine for me…I used my old one from the kitchen and then bought a new one for future kitchen use)
• Combine all the ingredients together
• Use 1-2 Tablespoons/load.

So…my total cost was $11.88 (we’ll round up to $12) for what is estimated to be “enough detergent for one year”. This, however, does not take into account the number of loads per household. But I figure it would probably be enough for us for about 6 months, with about 8-10 loads of laundry/ week.

Seems like it’s worth it to me (not that you asked but you have been reading the blog this far so you must KIND of want to know what I think.

A couple words of advice: grating the soap does take a little bit of time…not hours and hours or anything, but find yourself an entertaining show and plop down in front of it because it’s probably going to be a good half-hour in which you’re grating soap.

The good news is that it smells pleasant (at least I think it does!) so that’s helpful.

Oh, and make sure you freeze the bars ahead of time…that seems to help a bit too. I don’t exactly know why but I tried grating it both in frozen and unfrozen forms, and the frozen worked faster.

Questions? No?

Well, then let’s move on to Homemade Dishwasher Detergent. This one is simpler; no grating involved. And it's cheaper too. But I don’t know how long it will last…I’ve only been using it for a few weeks so I can’t really tell. But here it is in case you are interested in trying it out for yourself:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Borax (The box was $3.49 but I only used the 2 cups…so I have plenty to make at least one more batch…so for monetary purposes I’ll use $1.75)
• 2 cups baking soda ($.75 at Meijer)
• 4 packets unsweetened lemon Kool-aid or ½ cup citric acid; you can get citric acid with canning supplies. (I opted for Kool-aid because it was cheaper…even paying full price, which is for suckers, BTW...they were still only $.80
• 1 cup Kosher salt ($1.00…but again I didn’t use the whole container and I have enough for another batch, so I’ll say $.50 for cost estimate)

Instructions:

• Mix together all ingredients
• Use 2 Tablespoons per load in your dishwasher compartment.

My dishes are just as clean as with Cascade or Finish. And for a fraction of the cost: $3.80, I can have clean dishes.

One other thing I wanted to mention: I also purchased inexpensive measuring spoons from the Dollar Tree so I could have designated scoops. But again, I did not include those costs in my totals, as they are not consumables.

For those of you who really want to be precise, you could estimate the number of batches of each cleaner you would make and then divide the cost of the scoop up by the number of batches to give an accurate cost value of the scoop. You could do the same for the bucket used in the laundry detergent.

I’m sure it’s clear as mud.

And I’m sure my dad could explain that better than I…because I guarantee that as he read that, this concept already occurred to him.

So…that’s about all I have to share on my bargain-basement cleaning supplies. For now. I may get really into it...on can never tell.

Actually, I have a LONG list of possibilities for hydrogen peroxide and I’m itching to get started on that…so we’ll see if anything comes of it.

With that…have a fabulous day!

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Cleaning Up Part 1

So…yes, I'm starting this post out like I have started many a post. With a ubiquitous “so”. I guess it’s my thing.

Or maybe I already feel like we are in the midst of a conversation, there has been a slight pause, and I continue with “so”.

Or maybe I’m lazy.

Any of those are possibilities.

So…I’ve been trying to figure out easy ways to save us money. And if you read my Ten Things of Thankful from last week, you know I gave you a bit of a teaser about this here post. (Yes, please say that with a Southern twang in your internal voice…or my voice, if you know me and can hear my posts in my voice. You know what I mean…)

So…to recap: I’m trying to figure out easy ways to save us money, while simultaneously maintaining the level of quality to which we have become accustomed.

And to begin, I tackled cleaning products. Which seems both scary (because I do have germ and cleanliness concerns and phobias), and daunting.

But, thanks to Bargain Briana, I forged ahead; I used her recipes as my basis and inspiration for some of my cleaning products.

But, because I enjoy self-edification (is that even a term? I’m not sure…I Googled it but that didn’t help me as much as I would have hoped), I also Googled some other sites in my search for home-made cleaning products, and found variations on a theme.

So I decided to just go for it. And here’s what I have tried thus far…because I know you’re dying to know:

Towel Freshness:

You know how towels, no matter how often you may wash them, can sometimes smell musty? Well, now you can breathe easy…and not feel as though your person smells musty all the live-long day. The problem (allegedly…I am using Google after all) is a build-up of fabric softener. So the thing that’s supposed to make it soft and smell delicious/lovely/clean makes it smell funky. Kind of like if you would put more deodorant on a stinky armpit…it doesn’t make it smell better (as one would assume)…it makes it more funky. But I digress (that tip, BTW, is an extra free bit of info, just in case you didn’t know.)

Anyway…the way to resolve the problem with musty towels is simple and pretty cheap (much cheaper than buying new towels every few months!). When you wash your next load of towels, just put 1 cup of white vinegar in your fabric softener dispenser and voila! Clean-smelling towels (which do not smell like vinegar, BTW…they smell clean). NOTE: Based on the level of mustiness in your towels, you might have to wash them with vinegar more than once to completely rid the towels of the funk.

Grout Cleaner:

Make a paste of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda (similar to the consistency of a wet toothpaste…does that make sense?), in a ratio of 3:1; maybe add a splash of water to make sure it is moist enough. Using an old toothbrush, scrub along the grout line until the grout is the desired color. Rinse with plain old water and use the brush to ensure any residual baking soda has been removed.

NOTE: I clearly wouldn’t recommend this for large expanses of tile, unless a) you invest in knee pads, b) you have something you can put on the toothbrush handle to make it bulkier because your hand will cramp up from gripping the toothbrush, and c) you have a death-wish. I only have an entryway (a foyer, if you’re feeling fancy…but I wasn’t feeling fancy today) with tile…so it is only slightly laborious to clean the grout but can be done in about an hour. Or so.

Dust on Lampshades:

I know that you were lamenting, just the other day I am certain, that your lampshades have accumulated an abundance of dust and you just cannot get them as clean as you would like. Never fear! A simple (and by “simple” I mean “generic”) lint roller (the ones with the sticky sheets you tear off…despite my lack-luster description, you know what I’m talking about, don’t you?) will do the trick. Depending on the level/thickness of dust, you can probably use one sticky sheet/lampshade. And you’ll be A.M.A.Z.E.D. by how much you clean off those lampshades. You’ll be disgusted.

And yes, I did promise other tips (and I promise you that the next part will be more about things to make...not just cheap/easy ways to clean...these were just too good to pass up), but I don’t want to overload you. Because I know you'll run right out and try them all.

Hence the “Part 1” in the title…that, by its very nature, indicates that there will be at least (and in this case, probably ONLY) a “Part 2”.

Good luck!

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