I make my own laundry soap and fabric softener?!

Wow.  It has been a really long time since I last posted.  Several of you told me you miss reading my posts, and that is really encouraging to me!  Remember when I introduced myself and talked about how I am amazed and dumbfounded that perfect moms not only have time to be perfect but also find time to blog about it?  Well, I am realistically imperfect, and it was impossible to find time to blog this past week.  If you ever happen to notice the time stamp on my posts, they're almost always after the kids' bedtimes.  Sometimes my hubby goes to bed early, and since the computer is in our bedroom, my typing disturbs him.  So combine those time limitations with t-ball tournament games, Wednesday night dinner ministry, Monday night small groups, a tropical storm that hit us last weekend, and my high maintenance daughter, and you understand why I haven't posted in so long.  But I've missed it!  And I've been wanting to post on my homemade laundry supplies for quite some time, so here ya go!

I made a promise to myself and to you when I started this blog.  I promised to be honest about things I try and things I do that work and don't work.  I also mentioned to you that if I can do something, ANYONE can do it.  A brainless monkey with no arms can do any homemaking skill I can. Well, my friend Lindsay convinced me to try homemade laundry soap a few months ago.  I posted about it awhile back, but now I have pictures to go with it!  This stuff works.  It really works.  I'm not going to claim that it gets out every stain or anything like that, but I wouldn't have claimed that with any of the store-bought laundry soaps I ever used, either.  I tried it because it would save me money.  As I have mentioned before, I'm not a "green" mom.  Store-bought detergents don't bother me.  I don't worry about the chemicals or anything like that.  But I do worry about saving money.  I can make VERY simple homemade detergent that is at least as effective as store-bought and pay about half the amount as I was spending, even buying my detergent from Sam's.  When I make my own, I get about 20 loads worth of detergent for right around $1.  That's crazy cheap!  Here's how to do it:


You need 3 ingredients: Borax, Washing Soda, and Ivory Soap. You can get all of these ingredients from Publix, and it will cost you about $10 total.

Grate 1 bar of the soap with a cheese grater.


Add the grated soap, one cup of borax, and one cup of washing soda to a food processor. 


Mix the ingredients in the food processor until mixed well.


And there you have it!  I use 2 tbsp of detergent for each load of laundry.  It's inexpensive yet very effective.  And it takes almost no time at all to make it.  Total time, from set up of the food processor and grating the soap through cleaning it all up, takes less than 15 minutes.  


I also decided to try to make my own fabric softener.  I actually tried to use just straight white vinegar first.  I read that it is a very effective softener, and that it makes clothes very soft and static-free.  Boy was that right!  It made my clothes feel INCREDIBLE.  They were so soft, and my towels were so fluffy.  All of the blogs I read insisted that the vinegar smell would vanish from the clothes by the time they dried.  That was incorrect.  Even using a Bounce dryer bar, my dry clothes smelled like vinegar.  I was not about to have my family smell like pickle juice all the time, even if our clothes were super soft.  So after further research, I learned about a couple of techniques to help.  I could either mix in hair conditioner or essential oils.  Well, since you can get super cheap conditioner for less than $1, I decided to try that first.  Wow.  It worked like a charm.  The vinegar works its magic, and the conditioner makes the clothes smell fresh.  And, again, it's SUPER easy to do (I wouldn't even attempt it if it wasn't super easy)!


Mix a half gallon of vinegar with a bottle of any conditioner (about 2 cups) and fill the gallon jug near the top with water.  Leave a little room to be able to shake it well.  It will be a little lumpy at first, but it will become about the same consistency as regular softener after it is left for awhile.  I still shake it a little before I pour it into my Downy ball, but I don't know that it's necessary.  And you use the same amount as you would regular fabric softener.  I haven't worked out a price per load, but it is around $5 for ingredients that will make 2 gallons of softener.





So, since I haven't posted in forever, I'll just tell you some ups and downs of my week.


Frustrating: We had a tropical storm hit our area last weekend.  It was particularly bad timing for a storm because it was Memorial Day weekend, so it affected a lot of barbecues!  Well, the bad weather also affected my son's t-ball schedule.  We should have finished his tournament last week, but several of the games were pushed to this week which really affects my schedule.  Mike and I will be missing small group tomorrow night.  Another frustrating thing is that I tried again to get my daughter to take a nap on her own.  Right now she takes great naps, but it's only if I'm holding her or she's in the van.  She knows immediately if I put her down and wakes up screaming.  A friend of mine recommended a product called Chamomile Calm. It's an all natural homeopathic remedy that worked wonders for her sons.  Well, I gave her the oil, rocked with her and sang to her (which is our routine for night time), prayed with her, and laid her down in her crib.  She screamed for about 45 minutes when I finally gave in and got her out.  She fell asleep on me before I made it to sit down in my recliner, so I know she was tired when I put her in the crib.  That is probably one of the most frustrating things about her. I could get so much done if she'd just nap on her own.  If she doesn't nap, she's a total beast.  It's a lose/lose situation.


On to awesome things:  First, Bry played really well in his game yesterday.  Sometimes it's really funny to watch him because he dances around in the outfield instead of paying attention.  But yesterday he did a great job paying attention and had a great attitude during the game, even though it felt like it was about 400 degrees.  And today was fantastic.  I had a super busy productive day.  I love days Mike is off work.  I am able to get so much done since he plays with the kids.  I also tried out a very easy tiramisu recipe, and it went over really well.  I'm going to make it again soon and take pics so I can post it for you.  :-)  Also, Mike and I got to play with our kids in the sprinkler in the back yard.  We made memories today, and it was so much fun!  Mike and Bry have really great tomato plants growing in the back yard.  Lynnie LOVES tomatoes.  She saw a red one, picked it, and started eating it like an apple.  She almost finished the entire thing!  I thought that was too funny!  


Thanks for reading!  Hopefully it won't take me another week and a half to post again!