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Thursday, August 12, 2010

Alexis Experiments ... So you don't have to (or maybe you'll want to)`

Did I get you with that title? LOL no I'm not do anything life changing just looking for things to do around the house that save time and money. I thought I would share my thoughts on items and things to do around the house.
I experiment so you don't pull your hair out :)




We had a tough time getting Cole to completely wash his hands or not get his "business" on my soap pumps so this was the perfect thing for us. Now the batteries that came with it only lasted 2 weeks and the first soap only lasted a week too. The refills are almost $4 so that was a bit much so I took a screw driver popped off the top and filled it with a generic soap, don't tell :). It was so easy and the second time around we're lasting a little bit longer the newness is rubbing off.

This smells so GOOD!!! It didn't lasted about 2 1/2 weeks, now I work from home so I got potty a lot and have 2 boys home a lot. So in a normal house it would probably last a month. But the smell is great it made the whole bathroom smell good.

Ok this thing rocks!!! It was easy to put in and then the clothes smell awesome and they are so fluffy. I got the 2 month which was 10 cents cheaper then the liquid I use that only last a little over a month.
I love Marzipan and oh my gosh they had to make a ice cream with it!! Come on are you trying to kill me? LOL it's super yummy and thankfully I'll stay out of that isle for a year now.
I know these are better for the environment but I HATE these cartons. And when you have a 6 y/o that wants to be independent this is like a pool of milk!!

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ 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 and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

ALEXIS NOTES: I couldn't find Washing Soda (Went to 4 stores) so I found online you could 1/2 baking Soda & 1/2 Oxy Clean. I ended up using the store brand which works just perfect, but I'm going to hunt and find Washing Soda. I also used Ivory which I'm not big a fan of but it was the only one of the soaps listed I could find. It doesn't really suds up and I will be on the hunt for the others. Overall the clothes come out smelling clean and DON'T worry I tested it with the nasty kids clothes.
Don't pull your hair off
Straighten up and you'll be ok!!
I paid for all these products and tested them out of the kindness of my heart ... LOL :)

22 comments:

  1. YAY ur making ur own laundry soap! Ive been making mine for over a year its awesome! I however make the liquid kind i usually make 6 gallons but i dont have to make it more then a couple of times a year!

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  2. O.K. First of all, I thought you were making a bundt cake. That's cool that you made your own soap.

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  3. The recipe i use is on this site http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm like i mentioned earlier i have been making this soap for over a year now i have tryed many different types of bar soaps that have been reccomended to me if i have to choose a "store-baught" i use Ivory but i HATE the smell...its awful.... Fels-Naptha is YUCKY it smells worse then the ivory IMO :) but the other thing i found is it leaves marks on ur darks does no matter how finely i grate/blend that stuff up the residue is terrible i found... I use a organic soap i baught from trader joes that has the same make up as Fels but it smells so much better its teatree scented to boot when i scent my liquid i scent mine with eucalyptus and teatree oils its a nice smell for the boys clothing! As for fabric softener u cant beat vinegar if u have one of those old pop top liquid fab softener balls just add the vinegar to that! Not sure if costco sells it but im sure they do at Samsclub they sell 2 giant bottles of vinegar for $3something dollars i use vinegar for all my house hold cleaners as i make all my own (i try and steer clear of chemicals when i can i guess im a closet treehugginhippie lol) lol and i use it as the rinse in my dishwasher rather then jetdry and all those type of things. i buy my good quality oils from http://www.beeyoutiful.com/

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  4. I have all of the ingredients for homemade laundry soap, but have yet to make it. It's good to hear from a "real" person that it works. These were great reviews!

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  5. I was so shocked at the price of the soap dispenser that I never gave it a serious thought. :)

    I like the toilet cleaning gel, too. I never would have tried it if BzzAgent hadn't sent me a sample. Ours don't last longer than two weeks, either, because we're always home.

    I'm SO with you on marzipan ice cream. That's like a pint of heaven!

    I make my own powdered laundry detergent. You're right that it doesn't suds up much, but suds aren't necessary to get clothes clean. I figure it saves us about $10/month, so it's worth the time it takes to grate the soap.

    I'm surprised that you couldn't find washing soda. The Arm & Hammer box looks almost exactly like the baking soda box. My store carries washing soda in the laundry aisle--almost next to the borax.

    We like those milk bottles, because they take less space in the refrigerator. But yeah, I can see the mess if a younger child was pouring it.

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  6. I had one of those toilet bowl cleaner gel's but hated the way it smelled - yours is clear and ours was green I would definitely try it again if it didn't smell so strong - what scent was yours?
    Oh and the milk carton thing - I learned the trick to not spilling those is to NOT LIFT THEM OFF OF THE COUNTER. Leave the pouring edge on the counter and tilt it rather than lift and tilt - it really works!

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  7. I love the Bounce Dryer Bar! Even though I've read some horrible reviews, I wills till give it an A+. I do not have the patience to make my own laundry soap, and now you've made me want some Chunky Monkey haha!

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  8. Oh ye, and those milk cartons are not at our Walmart yet, I can already tell I hate them!

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  9. this is soooooo friggin' cool lex!
    you should do this often.. looooved reading this.. and now, tonight.. just cause of this.. i will be buying a bounce dryer ball!!

    have a wonderful wkend dear!!!

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  10. Wait, I'm confused is the laundry detergent recipe from that family with all those kids??? With all those kids wouldn't you just buy your own laundry detergent at the store?

    I gotta try that toilet scrubber but I think my youngest would go in after it. He loves that damn toilet...

    Lots of yummy love,
    Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
    www.mawhatsfordinner.com

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  11. I've thought about making my own detergent. Buying it is so expensive! I may try the toilet gel...

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  12. I cant remember who does it but there is a lady who sells home made clothes soap on Etsy.. I have seen it. Its in the pouder form.. Some people prefer the gel method but some prefer the other.. I know recently I have been buying the powder stuff at Walmart.. So much cheaper than the the gel stuff. or liquid..

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  13. You've been busy, haven't you? I actually just saw an ad for the soap dispenser and went off on it because ... REALLY? REALLY? What's up with worrying about germs on your soap pump? Isn't the whole point to wash your hands after you get the soap from the pump and get rid of alllllll the germs? My personal pet peeve right now.

    So when are you making hte homemade shampoo?

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  14. From the site i get my laundry soap recipe from she has done the calculations for how much cheaper it is to make your own soap here is here math;

    "But is it Really Less Expensive?
    Is the laundry detergent a cost saver? How do the numbers on this add up? Well I am a person who likes to know what I am spending and if my efforts save me in one way or another. This is one of the areas that I wanted to know if I was actually saving money. We do a lot of laundry and I make double batches of this soap and knowing that the time spent doing this was a savings for my family was important to me.

    Here are my calculations:
    The cost of making the above recipe of laundry soap was .71 cents. That was amazing to me! With this 2 gallon size recipe you will have enough to do 64 loads of laundry. That translates to about .01 cent a load.

    How Did I Figure This Out?
    Here is the breakdown of my costs and how I came up with those numbers (I am using the prices I paid for these items and you may find your price varies some based on what you pay):

    Fels Naptha: $1.12 for a 5.5 oz bar. The recipes says use a 1/3 of a bar. I calculated 2 oz. just to make the math a little easier. The cost of the Fels Naptha per batch is: .40 cents

    Washing Soda: $2.23 for a 55 oz. box. This came to .17 cents per batch. I calculated how much per oz (2.23 divided by 55) and then weighed a half cup of washing soda (4.2oz.) and multiplied my per oz. price by 4.2

    Borax: $3.27 for a 76 oz. box. This came to .14 cents per batch. Did the same calculations as above, however a 1/2 cup of borax weighs 3.5 oz.

    For the final numbers I have .40 + .17 + .14 = .71 for 2 gallons of laundry detergent.

    Two gallons translates to 64- 1/2 cup portions and .71 divided by 64 = .01109, etc... or about .01 cent a load!"

    So if you make your own soap put your prices in place of hers and see just how cheap it is to make your own soap!

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  15. I got a sample of that Bounce thing for the dryer and it has lasted forever. It did break in half so half of it was trashed. But, I love it.

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  16. You are so pretty Poser.. I have some of those products in my house and I so love them.. I love that top..

    Have an amazing day..

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  17. I use a similar homemade laundry soap but not in liquid form. Im surprised you couldnt find the washing soda...it is usually right by the Borax and I have seen it both in the grocery store and Walmart. Also you can use any kind of castile soap which you can find by the bar or hand soaps.

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  18. What a great idea for a post. I must look for that Mission to Marzipan because I love it too!

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  19. Girl, your'e too funny! I tried the Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel. I like it but it doesn't last very long. I'd love to try the new Bounce dryer bars.

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  20. I saw that 'hair raising' photo on facebook and died the other day! What are short cuts? To me they are "Eh! I can do it tomorrow", so then I do not have that much at the moment, lol

    I just was talking to another blogger at an event Saturday- kids help you stay on top of things, it is more to do, but you stay busy! Then they go away to college and you find yourself with less to do, is that a bad thing? No, but I got lazy!

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  21. With all the crap you have going on in your life, you have the time to try and make your own laundry detergent??? You are amazing.
    I would never have the patience, it is too easy to buy my Gain powder at BJ's and it lasts us months!
    I agree that you look gorgeous, in BOTH photos. :-)

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