I do laundry every day... almost.

I go through a pretty decent amount of laundry detergent.  And some of the store bought stuff has scents that make me want to throw up.  There may be some psychological reasons, but still.  Who wants to want to throw up from their own clean clothes.  Not me.  And I know they have unscented.  Not enough people use that (I did most of the time before I started this.)

I started doing this way before Pinterest.  I got it from a friend...  And the original site no longer exists. And I am not spending the rest of my night looking for a link to the exact recipe.

This makes 4 gallons!  Which lasts me about 3 months-ish.  That's for an average of 7 loads a week.  And I dont measure.

First you will need: 

Borax. 
Washing Soda. 
Fels Naptha soap (you dont really have to, it sounds like you can use whatever soap you want.  Fels Naptha was in the original recipe and I stuck with it.  I tried Ivory once because I heard it was more gentle on super sensitive skin (like new babies), but I didnt see the difference, and this was just fine on my super fair/sensitive skinned littles... even on Tristan as a fresh newborn- never a problem!)
(Baking soda is optional, I usually use some)
Water, of course.
And four 1-gallon jugs.  (the original site said to put it in a 5 gallon bucket- but then you have to stir the WHOLE THING every time. No thanks.)

The biggest pot I have holds about a gallon.  So I fill that up with water and start heating it.  It should get to boiling, or close enough.  That takes a while so we have plenty of time to get things ready.  So..
 Real Step #1

Chop/ grate/ whatever the soap.  Do it because I said so.  And because then it melts way easier when you are mixing it into boiling water.  Stir, stir, stir.  Probably turn the heat down some.  Because Step # 2 will make it overflow.  Or at least it does for me when I forget to turn the heat down.  Which is every time except this last time. For real.  Once it's dissolved...
Step #2. 1 cup of Washing soda. Mix, mix, mix. Blow on it. Again, so it doesnt boil over. Or dont. Maybe that's just what I do.
Step #3. 1 Cup Borax. Stir some more.
Note: You dont have to be stirring this whole time.  But dont let it sit too long either.
If you want, you can add some Baking soda.  Up to a cup, I suppose.  I usually just use whatever is left in a little box and/or my container that I use for cleaning.

Ok. Turn the stove off.  Do you have your gallon jugs ready?  I put some water (usually about 4 cups) of room temp/cool water in them.  Because I do not want the insanely hot soap mix melting the thin plastic.  And then I start to evenly distribute the detergent.

I decided- after doing this for so many years- that it's easier to add water to the cooling pot of soap (after each on get the same amount) to dilute it more than it is to top off the jugs.  Which I dont do that anymore either.  It separates and gets globby.  Especially since my house is a little chilly. So.  With the extra room, I can shake it up and then add hot water (and shake some more) before I use each gallon.  Much easier than trying to shake up a full gallon of jelly.
And do make it a full gallon before using it!
Then I shake it before each use because it's not hard to do that when it's only one gallon at a time.  I think you're supposed to use about 1/2 a cup in each full load.  I just pour it around the bottom while the water is going in .

For fabric softener, I use... vinegar!  It does NOT stink. I promise! I put it straight in the fabric softener thing in the washer. It kills more germs and it really does soften our clothes.... better than not using anything.  I started doing this part when we were using cloth diapers.  (The waxy build up in the washer from store bought fabric softener- even if not used in the same load- can build up on the diapers and make them less absorbent.  NOT GOOD for the little ones. Or the mamas.)  And even though it's been almost a year since I've washed diapers, I still do it for our clothes.

I suppose if you are someone who needs your clothes to smell like something, you could put a few drops of essential oil in.  I dont. Because they are expensive and I'm okay with our clothes just being clean without smelling like anything.  Except when it's warm out and I hang it on the line outside... Mmmm that's my favorite.

Anyways.  I get questions about this one.  So let me know if you have any!
Good luck!

Dishwasher detergent

This one is next because people have been asking about this a lot lately.

We didnt have a dishwasher until we moved here.  So I was super excited to get a new one shortly after we moved it (because the one that was here was 30+ years old and basically just gave everything a hot rinse).    I was not excited when I would pour a glass of water into a fresh-out-of-the-dishwasher glass and it would suds up.  Just a little bit, but still.  Nothing says 'refreshing' like knowing you are drinking soap. Blech.
So I asked around.  And I do not have a link for this because a friend gave me ideas.

 I usually make up about 4 cups at a time- because that's the most (and still mixable) amount my little container holds.  Which, by the way, is labeled with a permanent marker straight onto it. I do not have time or care at all about fancy printed labels for something that is going to live under my kitchen sink.  (No offense to my label-maker happy friends out there.)  Anyways.  "Dishwasher Detergent" it says on the lid and I think the side.  It's a little faded, but you can still read it- in real life, not this picture.

So. 2 cups of Borax. 2 cups of Baking soda. a layer of salt. Shake shake shake.

I saw something about using Washing Soda instead of baking soda.  I tried it and I dont think it did as well.  Sometimes I make it halfsies with the baking soda.  Like 2 cups of Borax, 1 cup Washing soda, 1 cup baking soda.  But let's face it, the less ingredients, the better!  Especially when I'm out and I just pour them directly into the dishwasher thing.
My little old Tupperware midget is a perfect size for measuring. 

Rinse Aid:  I was putting straight vinegar into the Rinse Aid compartment.  But then I read a bunch of things about it messing with rubber parts inside the dishwasher when it sits there for a while (because each load uses so little that it does just sit in there).  So I've just been putting a cup with some in it toward the back of the top rack.  It doesnt really help dry as much.  But it does help get rid of more germs.  Which is the part I like!


And now... No chemical residue on our dishes!  No suds in my drinking water!  And I am happy. 
Let me know if you try it!

Cleaning 101

First.  I won! Second place, but still the same prize.  I am stoked about my new slippers and will definitely be posting a picture when I get them. 

Second.  Let's do this. 

First requested was for a post on my homemade cleans.  Aaaaanddd guess what.  Recently has been a time of making more of a bunch of them.  How convenient!

What's this?  Just baking soda and vinegar?  Yes. So simple!  something needs to be scrubbed?  Baking soda!  Wiped down? Vinegar!  The spray bottle is for convenience. 

The baking soda:  I put in a (cleaned out) Parmesan  cheese container so it's easier to sprinkle/pour.  I do not use this kind for cooking.  The giant bag is for cleaning... everything :)


Things about vinegar that I love:
1. It kills germs.
2. It doesnt stink once it's dry. (I hate the chemically smell of everything when I was done cleaning when I used them.
3.  It doesnt irritate anyone's lungs.
4. Kid safe!

Sometimes I dilute, sometimes I dont.  Just depends on my mood I suppose.  It cleans everything, too!  Windows, mirrors, other glass. (I think it works better than "streak free" Windex! Especially straight.) The sink, counters, tables, anything that needs to be rid of germs.

A little twist on this:

Need a link?  Pick one from here
So Jesse doesnt love the smell of vinegar.  So I thought I would work on that.  And Pinterest gave me some ideas.   Citrus has cleaning powers, too, ya know.  And if things need to *smell* clean, citrus is the way to go, especially instead of bleach or ammonia or whatever else.

So the sites I saw said to let it sit for a week or ten days. Around there.  OR you could forget to do that part and actually finish it after 3 weeks.  Oops.  But it still works.  And it smells good.  And I need to get more oranges to I can just keep this going all the time I think. The spray bottle had a couple ounces of vinegar left in the bottom and I left it there.  I strained the little pieces out of the mix and voila! Better smelling cleaner.  It's not a pretty color, but that's okay.  And I used a little before I added a bit of water.  There is no measuring in this one.  It's abotu 3/4 gone right now, so I'll just have to fill 'er back up with the straight stuff until I can get this going again.  But this one is definitely a keeper. 
Oh!  It's not quite as fantastic on glass.  Maybe the oils from the peels?  But I did use it and then just straight water and my mirrors are clear. 

So there you have it!  The real basics of chemical-free cleaning. 
And why do I do this?  Because it's cheaper than buying chemicals to clean everything.  And I really prefer kid-friendly.  (so it's safe for them to be around what was cleaned and they can do it, too!)  And for health purposes.  My boys have asthma issues.  And Alex's were terrible when he was little.  And I didnt even know this when I started, but I noticed *on my own* that his symptoms greatly improved when I stopped using chemicals.  I'd been chemical-free for a few years before I found anything to back me up (ok- I didnt look, I just happened to see an article somewhere and then had to share it for all the people who thought I was nuts).  This is not the article, but I figured if I claimed something, especially medically related, I should have something.  His asthma is not 100% better.  Especially now with living in a super drafty old house.  And neither is Tristan's.  But I dont want to know how bad his would be if I used "real" cleaning products. 


Stay tuned for dishwasher detergent!

Real quick

I have been taking pictures of my homemade cleaners over the last week or so as I've been making.  BUT.  I'm not doing that right now.

One of my dear old friends makes reall cute things.  Scarves, hats, little sweaters for little dogs.  And now slippers!  And I love slippers.  I wear them all the time.  And I would totally love to win some that she made.  And I get my name entered in more times if I blog about them.

CHECK THIS OUT

Aren't they so comfy looking?  That's on her Etsy site... feel free to check out all the fun things she makes. 
And HERE is her facebook page so you can see what she makes as she posts and enter to win, too!

Next time I'm on here, I promise to get started on my list of things to post about.  For real.  And hopefully while wearing some sweet new slippers. :)

*edit*  My dear "old" friend is older than me, and I never mind pointing that out.  Not just her, about anyone who is older than me.  Because I'm nice like that.  Anyways.  What I actually meant was "long term".  We have been friends since we were young.  Actually young.  Kids even.  So check out the business of my dear friend that I have known since we were just children. hehehe