So....I made some laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and household cleaner. Laundry detergent and household cleaner work really well. Dishwasher detergent, however is another story... I guess I can add dishwasher detergent to my "epic fail" list (it may be the first but won't certainly be the last). I found the recipes on Pinterest and One Good Thing by Jillee and each of them are as follows:
Laundry Detergent (says it will last a family of four for a year on 30 bucks a batch!)
I made some alterations to it since I couldn't find the Purex fabric softener crystals in a dye/perfume free format. So I just decided to continue using our fabric softener instead.
3 bars Fels Naptha, grated (I just threw it in the food processor and it worked really well)
1 box Borax
1 box Washing Soda
2 cups baking soda
2 containers of dollar tree OxyClean (I used the Fry's brand)
1-2 containers of Purex Fabric Softener Crystals (Again I didn't add these)
You can find all of the ingredients in the laundry section at the grocery store. I just grated the Fels Naptha and mixed everything in a trash bag. It helped to get it all mixed together that way. All you need is 2 tablespoons PER LOAD!! And it really works! I mean I have to put some stain remover on the really tough stains (but I had to do that before).
Dishwasher Detergent was a major fail. I made it with the best of intentions, put vinegar in the rinse aid section in my dishwasher, and everything came out extremely dusty, with a nasty film on everything. I read that it's due to not having phosphate in my homemade stuff. However, I have been doing some more research and think I found a solution. So stay tuned for further discussion on dishwasher detergent...
Household Cleaner
Take a cleaning bottle (Windex, or something like that). Fill it halfway with hot water and halfway with vinegar. Then put in a few squirts of dish soap (I used the fry's brand of Dawn). Voila! you have household cleaner that works REALLY WELL!! Never buying cleaner again!
Stay Classy :)
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Websites that I love (And make my life so much easier)
I was thinking about where to start with this..and I figured I would start with websites that I love and go to often to help with my DIY adventure...So here goes :)
There are two that I go to for money-saving tips, couponing, freebies, etc. They are Hip2Save and Frugal Girls. I love both of them! I go there often to get anything online, in-store, and other freebies and coupons. They are also not into stockpiles or extreme couponing, which I like because..well..I'm not an extreme couponer. I don't have a stockpile or anything close. I just want to save money in the hour or so that I have to grocery shop every week. They rock for that!
The next one that I have been going to for awhile for DIY stuff is One Good Thing By Jillee. I have found all kinds of DIY cleaning and health care products through her. Plus the majority of them can be adapted for peeps with sensitive skin, like myself and my girl.
Finally, as always, there is Pinterest. I find pretty much everything on there. It actually led me to Jillee and other sites like the blog that I'm creating. It's just a bunch of people wanting to save money and try new stuff, like myself! I admit, there have been failures, which I will point out on here from time to time, but there have also been a lot of successes!
Stay classy :)
There are two that I go to for money-saving tips, couponing, freebies, etc. They are Hip2Save and Frugal Girls. I love both of them! I go there often to get anything online, in-store, and other freebies and coupons. They are also not into stockpiles or extreme couponing, which I like because..well..I'm not an extreme couponer. I don't have a stockpile or anything close. I just want to save money in the hour or so that I have to grocery shop every week. They rock for that!
The next one that I have been going to for awhile for DIY stuff is One Good Thing By Jillee. I have found all kinds of DIY cleaning and health care products through her. Plus the majority of them can be adapted for peeps with sensitive skin, like myself and my girl.
Finally, as always, there is Pinterest. I find pretty much everything on there. It actually led me to Jillee and other sites like the blog that I'm creating. It's just a bunch of people wanting to save money and try new stuff, like myself! I admit, there have been failures, which I will point out on here from time to time, but there have also been a lot of successes!
Stay classy :)
The Start of My New Adventure!
Who knew that it would be so easy to start a blog?! Had I known this, I would have done it a long time ago! I wanted to start this because I have been going through a little transformation...well a lot of transformations actually.
First, I have gone from being a married woman, to a mom. I have a beautiful, awesome daughter who is my world. I have found out over the past 18 months that not only is she a lot of work (the most rewarding work ever) but she is very sensitive to perfumes, dyes, and a lot of other additives that are in detergents, cleaners, etc. I have also found that she is hella expensive! So saving money anywhere that I can is awesome.
Next, I made the transition from teacher to therapist! This has been an amazing transformation. I have finally found my dream job and it is so rewarding and much less stressful than before.
My husband and I have also transformed into at-home eaters! Though I'm working full time and need quick and easy meals to get us through when my husband and I don't feel like cooking. We have really made a transformation from eating out all the time and grabbing a quick meal here and there, to making dinner almost every night and making our lunches the next day. It's actually refreshing to know where our money is going and realize that we are saving a ton of money on making dinner and lunches.
Since the invention of Pinterest, I have really brought out the "Martha Stewart" in myself. I've been making meals, cleaning products, menu planning, and doing everything I can to save money. After a lot of thought, I figured, there's more to sharing this stuff than the occasional facebook status. So I thought I would start this, so that I can put all of my thoughts, recipes, DIY stuff, as well as reviews of products that I've tried, and things that I've made. I tell you, there are a lot of things on Pinterest that I've tried and they have been amazing. However, there are a lot of things that I've tried that have sucked..royally. And there isn't a way to re-pin them to say that they are horrible, or atleast I haven't found it. So here goes...
I'm going to try and update this every few days. My goal is every day, but we will see how that goes!
Stay classy :)
First, I have gone from being a married woman, to a mom. I have a beautiful, awesome daughter who is my world. I have found out over the past 18 months that not only is she a lot of work (the most rewarding work ever) but she is very sensitive to perfumes, dyes, and a lot of other additives that are in detergents, cleaners, etc. I have also found that she is hella expensive! So saving money anywhere that I can is awesome.
Next, I made the transition from teacher to therapist! This has been an amazing transformation. I have finally found my dream job and it is so rewarding and much less stressful than before.
My husband and I have also transformed into at-home eaters! Though I'm working full time and need quick and easy meals to get us through when my husband and I don't feel like cooking. We have really made a transformation from eating out all the time and grabbing a quick meal here and there, to making dinner almost every night and making our lunches the next day. It's actually refreshing to know where our money is going and realize that we are saving a ton of money on making dinner and lunches.
Since the invention of Pinterest, I have really brought out the "Martha Stewart" in myself. I've been making meals, cleaning products, menu planning, and doing everything I can to save money. After a lot of thought, I figured, there's more to sharing this stuff than the occasional facebook status. So I thought I would start this, so that I can put all of my thoughts, recipes, DIY stuff, as well as reviews of products that I've tried, and things that I've made. I tell you, there are a lot of things on Pinterest that I've tried and they have been amazing. However, there are a lot of things that I've tried that have sucked..royally. And there isn't a way to re-pin them to say that they are horrible, or atleast I haven't found it. So here goes...
I'm going to try and update this every few days. My goal is every day, but we will see how that goes!
Stay classy :)
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