Just curious who else is living super frugal

[brandyk81]

Yeah, there's not much of a smell...the Nels Faptha smells like soap (clean and fresh) but there's not really enough in it to make the clothes smell like anything. The washing soda is like baking soda...takes the scent out of clothes. Like Wifezilla said, you can definitely add essential oils, but I like the lack of smell myself...

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

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It works great in a HE machine, I have used it for two years, maybe more with no issue due to very little suds action with this recipe. Other recipes out there use different soap other than fels naptha but I find it cleans best over zote and a few others that are available.

 

[areyoumymother]

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Laundry Detergent: 1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, grated (sometimes hard to get ahold of, so I buy by the box), 2 c. of washing soda, 2 c. borax. Mix the 3 ingredients together and store in a container until use. Use 3 tsp of detergent for super loads, 2 tsp for medium, and 1 tsp for small. I usually make 3 batches at a time (3 bars of soap grated, 6 c of washing soda, 6 c of borax) and it lasts me 4 months...I have two small children, so we do a good bit of washing. I'm not sure about the high efficiency machines, but I'm sure there is information about it on the internet.

The soap...now that's a different story...its not such an easy process. We use beef tallow (we butcher a whole cow at a time...another way we save money) and we have the butcher save the bones (for the dogs) and the fat/tallow (for soap). We make lye soap, so its not soap you can use to wash your body (its harsh) but with a husband as a mechanic, we have a lot of greasy hands to wash...and that's where we use the soap.

What is washing soda and where do you get it ? I am familiar with the Naptha bar....I have always used it as a spot treatment.

 

[chefchick]

I make mine in a liquid form- 1 bar fels naptha, 2c super washing soda, and 2 c borax. Grate your soap and put it in a very large heavy saucepan. Add 2 qt of water and cook until soap melts. Add soda (make sure it is super washing soda and not regular baking soda) and borax powder, along with 2 more quarts of water. cook, stirring often (mixture will foam up as it cooks) for about 1/2 hour. Now- here is where you get messy- so get yourself a big bucket ( I use a very large round plastic tote) and put it in the bathtub. Add soap mixture. Whisk in 4 more gallons of warm water and stir often until mixture is cool. It will gel as it cools. there may be a white gritty foam on top. I skim it off, but it is probably harmless. I also add a gallon of good smelling detergent at this point to make it look and smell like regular laundry soap. I usually let it set for 12-24 hours before I put it in jugs. this way, if it is too thick, you can whisk in more warm water to get the consistency you like. I use one standard laundry jug capful per load. It cleans really well. Two for Hubby's work clothes. Makes 6 gallons if you do it this way. I find all of the ingredients in the laundry section of my supermarket.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

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Best wishes to you for financial recovery! I think at times we all feel bad when telling our kids no. As long as you love/treat them genuinely and dearly and meet their needs you are doing well. Kids really don't need all that "stuff". It clutters bedrooms and life! In time, it will get easier.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

Okay, I just have to giggle when people say living the "simple life". Yes, I pare down what I own, how much I spend, etc, but it is exhausting at times!!! Cleaning the coop, planting our large garden, packaging up meaties for the freezer, and all the other things I've done this week has made me exhausted. I am about to start canning a little bit, too (and it is just the BEGINNING!!!!!!).

I am still not completely finished with the garden -- just pumpkins left to plant. I've had to plant it myself this year because hubby is really busy with work. 48 tomato plants and 40 pepper plants (various kinds -- green, red, yellow, orange, jalapeno, and hungarian) shall get me through the year! Last year I did 36 tomato plants and I could have used more for making various canned goods. I also planted onions, celery (can't wait to see if this turns out), winter squash, watermelon, cukes, cabbage, pie pumpkins and corn.

I swear this week, I wake up tired! I wouldn't change a thing, though!

Have a great day everybody!

 

[mom22alcorns]

Chickeemomma---you sound just like me...

I have this mantra in my head on my really tired days tha goes a bit like: "If he wanted a wife who gardened, canned, took care of the animals, the kids, the house, the shopping, the couponing, AND worked 4 days a week then he should have married freakin' Laura Ingalls".

But at the end of the day, exhausted or not, I love the life we have made for ourselves and my girls are learning how to work for their needs rather than hope some help might come along, and I can't ask for better than that.

We will be debt free someday---I KNOW it!

 

[ChikeeMomma]

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Hehe........yep, gotcha there! My hubby is quite the neat freak. He would love it if our house was picked up just perfectly at any given moment. I am talking Better Homes and Gardens Magazine is showing up clean. Well, it never is! It is clean, yes! Perfect all the time, no! Usually only near perfect when company is coming.

With two young kids running through, canning season, cooking from scratch, gardening and all my other duties, he will have to wait until he is old and gray before our house will look like nobody lives here! His pole barn is pretty neat and tidy, but then again he does not have children running through it all the time.

 

[mom22alcorns]

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Hehe........yep, gotcha there! My hubby is quite the neat freak. He would love it if our house was picked up just perfectly at any given moment. I am talking Better Homes and Gardens Magazine is showing up clean. Well, it never is! It is clean, yes! Perfect all the time, no! Usually only near perfect when company is coming.

With two young kids running through, canning season, cooking from scratch, gardening and all my other duties, he will have to wait until he is old and gray before our house will look like nobody lives here! His pole barn is pretty neat and tidy, but then again he does not have children running through it all the time.

Man I know it...hehe My 2 girls are pretty good at "helping", but it's more mess than anything. My hubby has finally embraced the "cluttered but clean" look of our home. Mostly due to the fact that when friends and family come over they always say how cozy and inviting our home is. It looks nice and all, but if you look really close you will see the piles of books and craft stuff in inconspicuous places....

 

[heather112588]

I find it is actually really hard to life the simple life...i have the highest respect for self sufficency but i dont think anyone is 100% off the grid anymore.