Homemade Laundry Soap

I am sure by now most of you mom's have heard about the new trend of making your own cleaning products. I have attempted the homemade fabric softener before and loved it. However I still had a stockpile of laundry detergent from 2 years ago. Well I have finally ran out and decided to give it a try. Here is the break down of the start up cost.

1 box of Borax-$4.94- 19 uses per box - cost per use 26 cents
1 box of Washing Soda-$3.22- 7 uses per box- cost per use 46 cents
1 bar of Fels Naptha Laundry Soap-$0.97- 1 bar per use 97 cents

That breaks down to $1.69 per batch. Each batch yields 640 loads, 10 gallons. Yep...you read that right 640 loads of laundry for $1.69. WOW!!!

Now this is how :

Ingredients:

4 Cups of Hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha Soap Bar
1 Cup- Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax


-Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

- Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda, & Borax to bucket.
-Stir until well dissolved.
-Fill the bucket with more hot tap water until bucket is full.
-Stir well, cover the bucket with lid, and let it sit overnight to thicken (It will turn to gel, kinda like slime)

-Stir mixture to partially break down the gel.
- Fill a clean container with half mixture and half hot tap water.

-Shake before each use.

The answer to the question I know you are going to ask is YES!!! It was messy to make. But Ashlee had such a ball playing in the slime. HAHA. I only used a small amount of the mixture because I only had a couple of containers to put it in. But from everything I have read it will be just fine to store the unused amount in the sealed 5 gallon bucket for as long as needed.

I am using this soap on my laundry today, check back to see how it turned out.

Goals....to do do list.....whatever you want to call it.

I am so unorganized. There I said it, I feel better. I have so many things that I want to accomplish, but a lot of times I start things and never go back to finish because I move on to something else. So to help with this problem I am going to start making a goals list. Each week I will add 5 things to my goal list and try my best to get it done. No moving on to the next item until I am done with the first. So here is my list for this week. 1. Shuffle clothing for Matthew. ( This meaning taking his smaller clothes out and boxing them up, and moving the next size clothing into his closet.) He has a a large growth spurt and nothing in his closet fits. 2. Finish week two of couch to 5K. ( This is really hard for someone who has never ran/jogged in their life. Haha) 3. Make at least 2 freezer meals to stockpile. Baseball season is here and these will be needed soon. 4. Make homemade play dough for Ashlee & Hayden. 5. Go through the books in the play room and take out the " baby" books that can be given away. That doesn't sound like a lot, but this stuff has been on my to do list for awhile. Do you have a way of keeping track of this you need to do? I would love to know how any of you keep things organized.

Books, Books, & more books

I love to read!! I love to read mystery books, romance books, vampire books (lol), kids books, whatever the kind of book I'll give it a try at least once. I have not always been like this, but it has really brought me peace and quite in my life. David makes a big joke out of how much I read. He told me recently that I should stop reading so much fiction and start reading real life books that would interest me. So I have taken him up on his challenge. I have chosen 3 books to help me in 3 different areas of my life. My goal is to have them done by the end of the month of January. I hope I can make that happen. I would encourage all of my friends to pick at least on book to read this year that will broaden your horizons. You never know what new you can learn, even at our old age. Lol! So here is a list of the books I have chosen to start with an a simple reason why. Calm my Anxious Heart: A Woman's guide to finding Contentment - This is not only a book but a 12 week bible study. Saving for Retirement Without Living Like A Pauper- I know nothing about Retirement other than I have a 401K. Organize For A Fresh Start- If you have been to my home with all my kids, you know I need this book. So wish me luck and I hope you find something that interest you too!