Sunday, January 22, 2012

Homemade Powdered Laundry Soap

I have recently started making my own household cleaners myself in order to save money and to save my family and I from the nasty toxic fumes. Let's get real ladies. A good "cheap" laundry soap is hard to find. Basically you get what you pay for, but I was determined to find a way to make a laundry soap that works great in my laundry and for very little cost. And that's what I did!

This laundry soap works VERY well. We have a little someone who has an accident from time to time. Needless to say, that was the first load I tested the newly made laundry soap on and to my surprise, no "pee" smell at all!

I recently made homemade fabric softener for literally pennies on the dollar. It was super easy to make and it works great!(I love a bargain!) Now I will show you how I make Homemade Laundry Soap. This recipe is very economical and all of the ingredients can be found at your local Walmart.




Homemade Powdered Laundry Soap (40 loads)




What you will need:






  • A hand grater or a food processor (I used the food processor)




  • A container with a lid to store your Laundry Soap in




  • A measuring cup




  • 1 Fels-naptha bar soap




  • 1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda




  • 1/2 Cup Borax








  1. Grate the Fels-Naptha bar soap. I used my food processor to grate the soap first then I emptied it out and switched to the regular processor blade to get a powdered consistency.




  2. Mix the grated Fels-Naptha bar soap with the Borax and the Super Washing Soda.


That's all there is too it! See?? So simple! I love simplicity!



How to use:



Use 1 tablespoon for light loads or 2 tablespoons for dirtier loads.



I made a double batch. So instead of 40 loads I have an 80 load batch of powdered laundry soap.



**A 40 load batch will cost you about $2.00 to make.**



Give it a try and let me know how much you like it!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Homemade Fabric Softener



Since, we have recently discovered that I am pregnant I have been trying to steer away from harsh and toxic household cleaners. I have also been looking for ways to save as much money as I possibly can and where I can. Babies aren't cheap you know. (lol) But the "natural" "non-toxic" cleaners that are readily available in the stores are very expensive.










So, instead of buying the expensive cleaners from the store, I decided to make them myself! By making your household cleaners yourself, you're not only making a healthier "in home" environment with out the toxic fumes, but your saving a TON of money as well.







I searched online for some recipes for homemade fabric softeners that I could make with ease (I'm all about simplicity ladies) and for pennies on the dollar. I used to use just plain old white distilled vinegar in the rinse cycle and it worked well, but I came across this recipe that only calls for 3 ingredients...... and here it goes!












HOMEMADE FABRIC SOFTENER







What you will need:














  • A very large plastic bowl (one that will hold approximately 1 gallon)






  • A wooden or plastic spoon






  • A measuring cup






  • 1 Cup of Baking Soda






  • 6 Cups of White Distilled Vinegar






  • 8 Cups of Water




***You may use any scented essential oil. I chose not to for simplicity's sake***











  1. Put Baking Soda in bowl






  2. Add 1 Cup of water and stir well (saving the remainder of water for later)






  3. SLOWLY add the Vinegar stirring in 1 Cup at a time (There will be a lot of fizzing. This is normal.)






  4. Stir in the remainder of the Water (TADA! You have fabric softener!)






  5. Pour Homemade Fabric Softener into a gallon size container. (I used a gallon sized iced tea pitcher for ease of pouring.)




How to use your new HomeMade Fabric Softener





You can either add 1 Cup to the rinse cycle or you can do like I do and use a fabric softener ball, because I always manage to miss the rinse cycle.





How well does it work?



Well, it did make my clothes soft, very fluffy, and had that "line dried" freshness to them. As far as static control? Not so much, but it does what it's name says and as a bonus, cuts and cleans soap build-up from the inside of the washer and hoses.



If you decide to make this Homemade Fabric Softener, come back and share your thoughts!