Making my own stuff

Whew. So after a two month hiatus...

Sorry. It's been a busy couple months for us. Between work, a daughter who's turning 1 soon, and a son who just started preschool, there's chaos and then...there's more chaos.

I mentioned some time ago that I make my own laundry detergent. The ingredient list for that looks remarkably like the ingredient list for making my own dishwasher detergent, so I decided to start doing that too. It's amazing how much cheaper it is...and how much fun everyone has in the process!

So here's the schedule...
1. Go to Home Depot, get a five-gallon bucket and a lid.
2. Go to Michael's or Jo-Ann, get some essential oils (how you scent your laundry detergent is up to you, but I highly recommend getting some lavender oil too) and a container of citric acid. It'll be in the soap making section, because it's used to make bath fizzies.
3. Go to the grocery store, get a box of Borax, a box of washing soda (NOT baking soda), a bar of Fels-Naptha soap, and a gallon of vinegar. Odds are good you already have a couple empty spray bottles laying around, but if not, pick some up. If you couldn't find the citric acid, pick up a few packets of UNSWEETENED lemonade Kool-aid mix.

My total bill so far here is roughly $23.

First, let's make an all purpose cleaner. Take one of your spray bottles, fill it halfway with vinegar, then add enough filtered water to fill it up almost all the way.

Hey, that was easy!

The problem with that is VINEGAR STINKS, so add about 6-8 drops of lavender essential oil. I recommend lavender because lavender oil has the added benefit of having some antiseptic properties, so it does more than just smell nice. If you don't like lavender, you can also try rosemary, grapefruit, lemon, thyme, cinnamon, or...everyone's favorite...pine.

Next, dishwasher detergent. 2 cups Borax, 2 cups washing soda, and enough of those little packets of lemonade mix (or citric acid, if you found it) to make 1/2 cup. Mix well and put it in a jar with a lid. Use a tablespoon in each little cup in your dishwasher.

Hey, that was easy too!

Third, and longest, the laundry soap.

Cut that bar of Fels-Naptha into three chunks. Save two of them, so you can do this again later. Grate the other one into a large saucepan with four to six cups of hot (not boiling) water. Mix and keep it simmering until the soap is melted. Add a cup of Borax, a cup of washing soda, and whatever fragrance you want to use. Pour it into your bucket with enough hot water to make four gallons. Stir well, let it sit overnight, then use half a cup per load of laundry.

The vinegar will also work great in the rinse cycle as a fabric softener AND as a rinse aid in the dishwasher. Seriously.

Now....why go to all this trouble?

Because I went to the trouble and priced out everything. I could get the cleaner on sale for, say, $2.00 per bottle. And the laundry soap on sale for $10 for a 100-ounce bottle. And the dishwasher detergent for $2.00 for a box.

Now, adding everything up...I can make eight bottles of cleaner, 512 ounces of laundry detergent (that I use less of!) and the rough equivalent of one average-sized box of dishwasher soap with this $23 that I spent. Going to the store, that's...

$2.oo * 8 =$16 for the cleaner
$10.00 * 5=$50 for the laundry soap
$2.00 for the dishwasher detergent

$68. I spent $23. And I still have enough to make more of everything. It's free of phosphates, the detergent is gentle enough to use on baby clothes, and it seems to work better. I have had no trouble getting stains out of clothes, and for those of you with rambunctious sons, you know it's a big deal to be able to easily get bloodstains out of stuff.

Anyway. That's my two cents. I also make my own yogurt (inna crockpot!), but that's another post...