Homemade Laundry Detergent~

I have been obsessing about several things lately, one is cutting our everyday costs. 
So many"natural" products are beyond pricey. 
It gets ridiculous really.... so I started with the things that I use every day. 
Like laundry detergent.

I found this recipe on the Why Not Sew? blog... (click for link)
It uses very few ingredients and took very little time to make.
I did not take photos of the process, since WhyNotSew did such a spectacular job of it.

My notes are in hot pink~

Ingredients:
1 bar soap (Kirk's CocoCastile)
1 cup Borax
1 cup Arm & Hammer washing soap (not baking soda)
a big pot (that will hold more than 2 gallons)
a grater (I use my food processor)
a long spoon
a bucket to store detergent in (I use a 2 gallon bucket)


1. Grate the bar of soap. (I used my food processor because I am impatient... it took 30 seconds to grate and the soap rinses off easily)

2. Add 1 gallon hot water to the pot and add the grated soap. Heat until soap has dissolved.
I used Kirk's CocoCastile as my bar soap, only because I hate frangranced detergents... you can add essential oils too for smell, instead of using frangranced soap.

3. Add the Borax and the Washing soap.

4. Bring to a boil. It will coagulate. 
It will also cook over really fast and make a huge mess. Beware.

5. Turn off the heat. Add 1 gallon of cold water. Stir. 

6. Let sit until it cools. If it hasn't coagulated yet, no worries. It will. 

7. Once it is cool transfer it to the bucket. Great tip on WhyNotSew was to store it in the pot you cook it in. Eliminates the messy transfer step. I already added a pot to my thrift shopping list...
Right now I store my detergent in a 2 gallon bucket and scoop out with a measuring cup. 
It is a thick, snotty consistency and I did not want to thin it out to make it pour, because that would mess up my measurement calculations.

I use a 1/2 cup and put it in my front loader dispenser into the powder dispenser. It did not flush out when I put it in the liguid detergent thingy. (thingy is a technical term...haha)

Previously I used the Ecos brand laundry detergent from Costco, which costs around $12 for a 210 oz. jug. 
I used 1/3 cup per load, which came to 30 cents per load!
(I have no idea where they get their calculation on the HE amounts! The Ecos bottle says you can get 100 some loads??!!, but that did not work at all for me. Maybe if you washed 3 towels per load, haha).

After breaking down the math on this recipe, a 1/2 cup per load comes to 
4 cents a load! 1/3 cup comes to 2.6 cents!!

So, on average we do 2-3 loads a day. 

The Ecos brand cost comes to 60-90 cents a day, $18-$27 a month and $216- $324 a year.

This recipe costs 8-12 cents a day, $2.40- $3.60 a month and $28.80- $43.20 a year.

BIG SAVINGS, and more than enough to make it worth the time to cook this up.

I have been using this recipe for about 3 weeks now, and so far have noticed NO difference in the cleanliness of the laundry. 

My clothing no longer has a faint old lady perfumy smell and the Borax makes the whites brighter (I do not use bleach in my l laundry, it is bad for the septic).

I use white vinegar for the fabric softener and if it is a stinky load I put vinegar in the bleach dispenser also with a cup of baking soda inside the washer.

The bleach dispenser goes into the wash load, the fabric softener goes into the rinse.

The baking soda also keeps my front loader from smelling mildewy, something I reallllllyyyy noticed after getting a front loader. It does not seem to empty the water competely out after a load, and here in the PNW it is always a bit damp. Even leaving the door open when not in use did not help. The baking soda/vinegar in an occasional wash load did take them mildew smell away.

SO there you have it.... riveting info from Reenie. ;)
What every day household products do YOU make from scratch?
Please share in the comments~

Cross posted on PeculiarAmbitions.com~

Happiness.

Today I just want to post some things that make my heart smile.

In no logical order whatsoever...

Our chickens, posing for portraits...

This is Henrietta, the escape artist.  Pretty lady.

Picking apples in a friend's orchard... and making cider!

Lotsa apples...

 My happy man who loves his new cider press.

Morning gratitude walks... 

such beautiful things to see

Words to live by...

Kitty feet~ 

Being silly with friends..

My new chicken ornament... with glitter!!! love love love

xo

reenie

Home~ in progress

Here is a photo tour of the kitchen and living room as they are today.

Pig cutting board (made by my late grandfather.. bobblehead cat and troll planter with fresh new wheat grass hair coming in (one of my fav things in my entire house)

Allen Designs cat clock and my new anthropologie plate.

Comb from my hive... we recently lost two hives :(

ignore the dust

New kitchen table light...

New light over kitchen island...

Allen Designs clock... vintage spoon and fork and a rug hooking made by my great-gram Emma.

Kitchen sink window sill...

Living room as-is today. Still need to paint new trim.

Ignore basket full of Mt. Fold Me~

The room you see through the doorway is my future studio workspace. See the new front door lying on the saw horses? It's stain is drying. Once it's clear coated Mr. Danny will return and install it in that front room... after THAT I can SET UP MY WORKSPACE! So close. So excited.

Sofa table detail... 

Our new Ikea sofa table... 

Old dresser from my grandparent's home.

Ignore box of insulation (oops). 

  Living room shelves...

 Hallway/area that leads into bathroom, bedroom and office.

That is all for now... just feeling the need to document the progress.

XO

Still on Hiatus~ Remodeling~

So we are still at it. 9 weeks in!
The remodel of our new(to us) house has taken on a life of it's own, as I am sure every remodel does.

Today I saw some light at the end of the tunnel!
Actual BOXES got unpacked!
So exciting.
Here are some quick shots of the office, it is coming together!
The office/lair is really bedroom #4 all lined with shelves and houses the computer and printers...

This is a view from the back corner, looking out the door to the LR.
See the new trim and door??? I am in love.
Shelves to the left of the door house Paul's work papers and parts of the household library.

Shelves to the right of the door house art books and supplies.

Most of this will get shuffled and dispersed between here and the studio (which is almost ready!)

And here is the woman. The computer.

She lives in the lair now, not in my studio space.

Too much distraction. 

Stay tuned for more pics as I plug along... SO MANY more things to unpack and fit in!

1-1-11

Hello 2011~!
This morning was a perfect one. quiet. coffee. knitting.
Time to think. Purring cat by my side, the sun peeking over the mountain into the window.

New Year's is our favorite holiday. We love the new beginning, talking about plans and goals and wondering what this fresh new year will bring.

I was inspired by Ali Edwards this year to choose a word to focus on for the year.

The list I created to choose from was...

Listen

Nest

Focus

Celebrate 

Be

We decided on "BE".

Just Be... and listen.

Be... and nest

Be... and celebrate

Be thankful. 

It's been years of planning and sacrifice and hard decisions to get us here, on our magical farm and in such a good place mentally and spiritually. 

It feels so good. 

Duly Noted~

I love when my emailed quotes-of-the-day all line up into one blatantly obvious message... heard LOUD AND CLEAR.


Message #1...
"When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat."
-- Nelson Mandela


Message #2...
It's precisely when in the throes of activity, giving 100%, focused and concentrating with all your strength and might, Reenie, that it's easiest to forget I exist at all. Even though that's precisely when I can do the most, with just a nod from you.
Like right now, perhaps?

    The Universe

    

LR in progress~

Today I finally had a chance to start playing with the new living room!

I was waiting to share pictures until things are 'done', since there is such a huge transformation.... but I realized that it will be a long time until things are "completed", so what the hay, here they are, "in-progress".

Left Living Room wall untouched. Wood paneling and 1974 striped shag rug.

Today, from a bit of a distance... that's my mom.

Slider before....

Today, with Xena watching the Bafflehead ducks swimming in the pond.

(ignore cluttery deck)

Shelves are still a cluttered mess... only unpacked, not arranged.

New couch comes Friday.... will retake pics.
I bought Jackie's purple couch and chairs... totally fun.
(Jackie is moving to a condo in the Pearl. Same time. It's like we are giving birth at the same time. Totally useless to help one another... plus it's funny she is moving to the city and I got a farm. Maybe we will trade homes on the weekends? hmmm)

Walls are still painted paneling, but the paint will just not stick properly to it, so before we trim everything out, Paul plans to drywall. Still need drapes.... no time to shop for now.
I LOVE how my fancy rug looks over the neutral carpet we chose.
So cozy.

Off to enjoy my last evening with my mom before she flies back to PA!
:)