DIY Home, Part I

A few years ago I decided to try Homemade Laundry Detergent and I love it. It costs about $30 every year. Depending on how much laundry I do. Two adults, two kids & two dogs... Its a lot of laundry! So it got me thinking why not do everything else homemade? After that I used a vinegar and water solution (about half and half) to clean my kitchen with. I add a few drops of Thieves to it as well. It smells great and helps the cleaning.
Now, a couple years after doing that (after being pregnant and having a newborn to take care of that is) I decided to do a few more DIY things around the house...

I started with Homemade Baby Shampoo/Soap

I didn't use a recipe, I just eyeballed it but I think this is aprrox. what I did:

• 1/2 cup Dr Bronners Castile Soap, Unscented
• 1/2 cup Coconut oil
• 1 cup Distilled water
• Essential oil, I used peppermint and lavender - it smells amazing!! I just did a few drops at a time of each until I decided I liked the way it smelled.

Add it all straight into the container and shake. I only filled it about half full, there are lots of bubbles. Then I put it into an old baby soap container I had.

I had all of this on hand, so I'm guessing I spent less than $3 on this total. It beats $14 for the size soap shown in the picture. (right)

Next was Dishwasher Detergent I got the recipe from Jillee.

I doubled the recipe:

2 cups Washing Soda
2 cups Borax
1/2 cup Salt
1/2 cup Citric Acid
Essential oil, about 10 drops. I used Citrus

I put it in an old cotton candy container from Christmas - I added all the ingredients in and gave it a shake! I also threw in an old formula scoop! Easy!

Since this is the first time making it, I'm guessing it will last at least 3 months. I spent about $20 on all the supplies but obviously didn't use the whole package of any of it. I'd have to figure it out later to get the total cost for this.

*Edit: Add 1-3 drops of dish soap to the soap when you put it in your dishwasher, that'll keep the dishes from getting cloudy after washing them. If you have hard water (I do!) fill your rinse dispenser with vinegar. I also splash a little in before starting it. Works perfect!


Third was hand soap. I was buying these refills for our soap dispensers. I love the dispenser because the kids do not have to touch it, and its nice for when I have meat covered hands while cooking to not have to touch the soap dispenser. Now I just need one of those touch activated faucets! Anyway, I used another one of Jillee's recipe's. Its for her body wash but it seemed to have the consistency I needed for the dispenser I have.  I used 3 Unscented Dove bars to 6 cups of water. I tried the microwave technique as suggested in her blog but two things went wrong there... First, Dove Unscented soap actually means STINKY SOAP. I've used the soap before and never really noticed the horrible stink it had. But once you pop it in the microwave (three bars, one at a time for approx. 90 seconds each) it fills the entire house with the smell of that soap. Everyone was complaining. Second, I have a horrible tendency not to read all the instructions, I just read one thing at a time - its not a good idea. By the time I read the next step after putting them in the microwave I had two of the bars sitting out after being microwaved. So not only did I waste 3 minutes of my life microwaving two smelly bars, I stunk up the entire house. I ended up just grating the last one. After it was all melted I tried adding essential oil into it to make it smell better. It didn't do much, that smell is still lingering in the soap. I will NEVER buy unscented Dove again. Ever.
In short, smell the soap before you microwave it or use it for almost 70 oz of hand soap.

Approximate cost for the soap: $4.00 for almost 70oz.

I am planning on doing Stain Remover, Dish Soap & Bar Soap over the next day or so. :) I will post the results when I finish them!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I've been thinking about making home made laundry detergent for a while now. I've just been too lazy or unmotivated to do it. Finally when Katherine (sister in law) did it I figured its now or never. While I'm at it, I'll make home made fabric softener as well. I went and got all of the stuff yesterday.. Walmart is great for Borax, buckets & baking powder. While smiths is good for the rest of it. Walmart does not carry fels naptha or washing soda. Lame-o's. 


I mixed both the detergent and the fabric softeners in 5 gallon buckets. I doubled the fabric softener recipe. I did one recipe, and then repeated it because the chemical reaction of vinegar and baking soda almost overflows in the bucket. I recommend NOT doubling it at the same time. ha!


Anyway, here is the recipe's I used:


Laundry Detergent:

1 quart Water (boiling)
2 cups Bar soap (grated)
2 cups Borax
2 cups Washing Soda

• Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.
• Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.
• Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.

Fabric Softener:

Baking soda

Distilled White Vinegar

Water

Essential Oil (optional)

• Start by adding 1 cup of baking soda to your large bucket or container. Then add 1 cup of water to the baking soda. You do not have to stir to dissolve the baking soda, as the next step will do that for you.
• Now, slowly pour in 6 cups of distilled white vinegar. This will cause a chemical reaction with the baking soda, and the mixture will start to fizz. (This is why you need to mix it in a large container.) Let the mixture fizz for a few minutes to help dissolve the baking soda.
• Now add 6 more cups of water to the mixture. This will stop the fizzing process. Stir to properly mix all ingredients together.
• If you want to add essential oil, you will now add your choice of oil. 10-15 drops of pure essential oil is generally sufficient enough to give the fabric softener a pleasant scent.
• Pour your fabric softener into your choice of container. If you have left over fabric softener or laundry soap bottles, those will work excellent for storage of your new fabric softener. Just make sure they are properly cleansed before you add your new mix.