Thirty Thursday ~ DIY Fabric Softener

I found this DIY recipe here. It was a starting point for me, but I tweaked it a bit because it seemed to work a little better. You will first need: 

6 Cups of Hot Water, 1&1/2 cups White Vinegar & 1 bottle Suave Conditioner (your favorite scent). I used Lavendar.

Pour your hot water and bottle of conditioner into a small pot. Bring to a boil and stir until competely dissolved. On The Frugal Girls site they just mixed everything together until it dissolved, but I found that if you boil your water and conditioner together first it mixes better.

Stir in your vinegar. Mix well.

Pour into empty fabric softener bottle or milk jug or whatever you have on hand. Use 2 tablespoons per load during rinse cycle or pour into your downey ball and throw in the machine. I've been using this fabric softener for a few weeks now and I really like it. Plus it's so easy to make and so much cheaper then buying it in the store. I think the conditioner cost $0.98 and I had the vinegar and water on hand. So for an average price I'd say maybe $1.50-2.00!! You can't beat that for fabric softener. Let me know if you give it a try.

Happy Thursday!

No Boil Laundry Detergent

So last week I did a post on DIY laundry detergent. Since then I've used my detergent, which I like, but I don't love. When you boil the soap and actually use your product, it's really thick. I usually have to add a little bit of extra water and then it pours out and it's clumpy... it gets my clothes clean, but it's just not my most favorite thing. So when I posted my recipe on Facebook I had a friend comment that she doesn't boil her soap, she just mixes up the ingredients and uses it as powder. I don't know why I didn't just think of that. lol. She also said she uses any kind of bar soap. As long as it doesn't say "Beauty Bar" on the label, you can use it. You want the label to read "Bar Soap." So today, here is my new and revised DIY Laundry Detergent and I'm in love with it!

As The Pioneer Woman would say, here's the cast of characters: Washing Soda, Borax and this time (instead of Fels-Naptha soap) I used Softsoap Honeysuckle and Orange bar soap. It smells soooo good.

1. Grate your soap.

2. Measure and pour 1 cup each of Borax and Washing Soda, add to your grated soap.

3. Mix together.

4. Store in air tight container. Use 1-2 tablespoons per load.

I've washed a few loads with my new detergent and I love it. I love the way it smells and I love that it's not all clumpy and gross and it only takes about ten minutes to make up. It's so easy. I hope you try it.



Thrifty Thursday

It seems like all the rage these days is how to save money. Most people I know have taken a look at their spending habits and are not happy so they're making changes and trying to be a little more "frugal or thrifty". In my opinion, no matter the wording it all means the same thing... being economical. With the downturn in the economy, for some it's been a necessity, for others it's just being wise. I'm hoping to incorporate my "wise, thrifty, frugal ideas/purchases" on my new series Thrifty Thursday. 

This week I'm going to share a recipe for my DIY laundry detergent.

It's no secret that I'm addicted to Pinterest! I searched Pinterest high and low and came across several recipes for DIY laundry detergent. However, most recipes called for 5 gallon buckets and made up HUGE batches. Since it was my first time to make my own detergent I really didn't want all the hassle of dealing with so much detergent just in case I didn't like it. Then I happened to stumble across this blog One Good Thing by Jillee. This lady is amazing.. like seriously, my new hero. She's a recovering alcoholic and has become a little Suzie Homemaker in the process... Check out her blog!! Seriously, you'll be wowed! Anyways, this is where I found my recipe.

Ingredients: Fel-Naptha Soap, Borax powder, Washing Soda and Water.

1. Grate your Soap

2. Add your grated soap to a stock pot

3. Add 8 cups of hot water. Bring to a slow boil, stir until soap dissolves

4. Add 1 cup each of Washing Soda and Borax

5. Bring to a boil again.

6. Remove from heat and divide evenly into two containers. I used two 1 gallon milk jugs.

7. Then add water just a few inches from the top of the jugs and your done. (I used my blender to pour the water into the jugs). It's easier to add the water out of a container instead of under the tap. (Less suds to deal with). The mixture will thicken... quite a bit, but don't be alarmed. Just take the end of a wooden spoon or whatever you have on hand and stir. You can also add a little extra water to the detergent when you use it to loosen it up a bit.

Use 1/2 a cup per each load of laundry.

Also when you use your new detergent, don't be alarmed if it's not sudsy. This detergent doesn't get very sudsy but t doesn't mean it's not working. Several bloggers have said that it's not the suds that get your clothes clean, so just a forewarning. :-)

It sounds like a daunting task, but believe me, it's so easy and simple and it saves you TONS of money. My total out of pocket expense for the borax powder, washing soda and soap was around $7.00! All of these supplies will make several gallons of detergent! The only item I will have to go back and buy is the Fel-Naptha soap and it's only around $1.20 per bar!! With Tide being around $10-15 per package, I'd much rather make my own and save that extra money!! Give it a try... I'm sure you'll love it!